There are a huge number of law firms out there who are all competing for your claim.  We can see this from the number of adverts we see on the television and hear on the radio. So, there is no wonder why making the choice of which firm to entrust with your personal injury claim can be a difficult one to make.  Hence why I am writing this blog today – to hopefully give you some tips on things to look out for when it comes to choosing the right law firm for you.

A first point to note is that it is not only law firms who are competing for your business, but also claim referral agencies. These agencies act as middlemen by selling on your claim to law firms. It is advisable to go to a law firm directly, as referral agencies may sell on your claim to the highest bidding firm rather than the firm that will give you the best service and representation. So – do your own research, and choose the right firm for you. I have listed below some things to look out for when choosing your lawyers:

100% of your compensation – the compensation you are awarded is meant to put you in the position you would have been in had the accident not taken place. Therefore, it is only right that you get 100% of it – no deductions, no hidden chares.
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After an accident, you may feel that you do not want to deal with the hassle which comes with starting a claim for compensation. However, I am writing this blog to inform you that it does not need to be the hassle that you think – there are many ‘perks’ that come out of claiming for compensation.

Compensation Pay-Outs

If you go with the right firm, you should obtain 100% of your compensation with no deductions, and no charges to pay. The amount of compensation that you receive for your injuries is based on the severity of your suffering, the length of time you have suffered, and the effects the accident has had on all aspects of your life. What many people do not realise is that, not only can they claim compensation for their injuries, but also you can claim for any financial losses you have suffered as a result of the accident. A common example of a type of loss which can be claimed is that of a loss of earnings. Financial losses can make up a large part of a Claimant’s compensation – so it can be an important reason why someone may want to begin a claim.
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If you are reading this blog, you may have suffered an accident at work, and are looking to research the matter to find out whether you have a claim, and what to do next. If so, read on to hopefully answer a few of your questions.
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At The Injury Lawyers we work on a genuine no win, no fee agreement.  But what does this mean?

It means that we do not charge our clients a penny for our work.  If you instruct us to deal with your claim under our genuine no win, no fee agreement, you simply do not pay us anything for your claim.  If you win your claim, which is highly likely because we only take on claims that we genuinely believe will be successful, then you keep 100% of your compensation.  So – if you are awarded £10,000, we send you your cheque for the whole £10,000.  If you are awarded £1,000, we send you your cheque for £1,000.  It really is that straightforward. 

So – what happens in the unlikely event that you lose your claim? Again, we do not charge you for our costs, or seek to recover any of our costs from you at all.  At the beginning of your claim, we take out an insurance policy that covers us in the event that we lose your claim. And no – you do NOT pay for any of the insurance either!
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It’s a common question for accident victims to ask when they seek our expert advice and quality representation – how much is my whiplash claim worth?

It’s actually a difficult question to answer correctly – the only way to value your claim for whiplash is with this combination:

• A medical report from an independent qualified medico-legal expert – normally a General Practitioner or an Orthopaedic Consultant for whiplash injuries.
• A fully qualified expert personal injury lawyer

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When clients first approach The Injury Lawyers, one of the first questions they tend to ask is ‘what do you think my claim is worth?’  To answer this at such an early stage of their claim can be very difficult; however, we are often able to provide an approximate figure which their claim may centre around.

How is the value of your claim calculated?

The reasons why it is difficult to value a claim at these very early stages is that valuations of a claim are normally based on a medical report. These reports are the product of a medical examination which is arranged by your solicitor, and includes a consultant’s opinion on your injuries, as well as the effects your injury has had on all areas of your life. This medical report is gained in the later stages of your claim once fault has been admitted by the other side.
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If you have been involved in an accident that was not your fault, you may be entitled to a claim for compensation.  Together with this, you may be entitled to claim for any financial losses you have suffered as a result of your accident. This is because compensation is meant to put you back in the position you would have been in (as far as reasonably possible) had you not suffered from the accident. This makes good and fair sense – why should you be the one to suffer and be out of pocket due to the negligence of another?

Our team at The Injury Lawyers will fight tooth and nail to get all of your financial losses back for you – there is, however, a duty to which you must adhere to as well – to mitigate your losses. By this, I mean to keep your losses to a minimum where possible. A good example of this is for a loss of earnings claim. A loss of earnings can be claimed if you have been absent from work due to your accident, and have been left unpaid, or receiving a reduced pay, such as Statutory Sick Pay. However, in order to mitigate your losses, once you are able to begin work again, or even begin work on lighter duties, you should start work immediately.

If you fail to mitigate your losses, the other side can refuse to pay you for it. With the example as set out above, they could not refuse to pay for all your loss of earnings, but only for the proportion that you incurred whilst you were unable to work. Hence, it is crucial that you make the effort to keep your losses to a minimum.
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So – how do you make a claim for compensation?

The best thing you can possibly do is to get in touch with a quality injury lawyer who specialises solely in personal injury claims, and who has years and years of experience.  They are best able to help you through your claim for compensation.  After all, they do this everyday for a living.  This professional injury lawyer will also be able to provide you with free legal advice to make sure that you have excellent prospects of success for your claim.

If your injury lawyer genuinely believes that you have a claim for compensation, they ask you for all the detailed circumstances of your accident so that they can produce a letter of claim.  A letter of claim is the first contact you – well, the injury lawyers on your behalf – have with the other side; that is the negligent third party.  This letter will detail the exact nature of your accident, the location of your accident, and details of your injury.  It will then proceed to set out why we believe the Defendant is negligent and is therefore responsible for your injuries and should pay you compensation. 
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The Chronicle Live has reported that a lorry driver has received £4,000.00 in compensation having slipped on some cat litter in an Asda store.  It is stated that Ian Burridge was delivering to Asda in Stanley, County Durham, and had asked some of his colleagues for a broom so that he could tidy away some cat litter.  Mr Burridge was told that there was no broom available and was unfortunate enough to later slip on some cardboard which was covering the cat litter. 

As a result of the accident, Mr Burridge has developed osteoarthritis for which there is no cure and it is a condition that is only likely to get worse.  Mr Burridge still continues to use painkillers and complains that his knee hurts when he is driving and when he has to go up stairs.

Nichola Waugh, who was representing Mr Burridge, has remarked that ‘Mr Burridge has been a victim of his colleagues’ flippant attitude towards health and safety…If they had taken more care, the accident would never have happened.’  And she is right.  When you go to work, you do not expect to be injured.  Your employer is under a duty of care to ensure that whilst you are at work your health and safety is protected.  So, when Mr Burridge highlighted the problem of the cat litter to his colleagues, his employers should have reacted, or should have at least had a broom available, so that this hazard could have been stopped.
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A rear end shunt refers to a situation where a negligent driver collides into the rear of your car. This most commonly happens when the innocent party is sat stationery, and the negligent driver fails to take heed of the fact that traffic has stopped in front of him.

A common injury associated with these types of accidents is that of whiplash. Whiplash can be experienced by different people in different  – I have listed the common symptoms below:

• Pain, stiffness and/or tenderness in the neck area
• Reduced or even loss of mobility in the neck
• Pins and needles type sensations in the arms
• Recurrent  and severe headaches

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