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| Personal Injury Compensation |
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If you've been injured in an accident, you may be entitled to compensation. We've been helping accident victims for over 20 years and we may be able to help you.
Personal Injury Frequently Asked Questions
- how do I know whether I can claim compensation?
- what can I make a claim for?
- if I am injured at work and make a claim, will I lose my job?
- what about if I am a victim of crime?
- how long will it take to get my money?
- how much will it cost to make a claim?
- what is a 'no win no fee' agreement?
- what is a 'success fee'?
- I want to find out more - what should I do next?
how do I know whether I can claim compensation?
There are two basic questions you should ask yourself when you are considering whether or not you can make a claim for compensation following an accident. The first is 'Who's fault was the accident?', and the second is 'How long ago did it happen?'
Looking at the first question, if the accident was not your fault, you would have a very good chance of making a successful claim for compensation. If however, you in any way contributed to the accident, your chances of success and ultimately the amount of compensation will be reduced. For example, if you were driving along a road and a lorry failed to stop at a red light, causing an accident and injuries to yourself, it is clear that the lorry driver would be at fault. If however, you were driving at night with no lights and a car pulled out of a junction into you because the driver did not see you, you would be in some way responsible for your accident and hence your chances of making a full claim would be reduced. To take the worst case, if you were driving on the wrong side of the road and had an accident, you would generally be totally to blame and would not have any chance of claiming compensation.
In the case of time, there is a general rule that you have three years from the date of the accident to start to make a claim. In the case of injuries to a child this is extended - the three years starts after the childs' 18th birthday. There are a couple of exceptions to this rule. The first is for longer term problems which have been caused by someone else's negligence, where the three years starts from the date on which the accident victim first noticed a serious problem. An example of this would be a miner who develops symptoms some years after finishing working down the pits. The other exception is for claims to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board (CICB), which have a time limit of two years from the date of the incident.
what can make a claim for?
When a claim is made, it is split into two parts. The first part is the General Damages, which cover the pain and suffering caused by the injury itself. The second part is the Special Damages, which cover additional expenses which have been incurred as a result of the accident.
The levels of general damages are defined generally by the extent of the injury. Obviously if somebody loses a leg as a result of the accident, they should be entitled to more compensation than someone who broke their arm. Lawyers have tables of injuries and compensation levels, which give them a guide to how much an accident victim may be expected to receive.
For special damages, much more is take into account. For example, if a professional footballer breaks his leg, the knock on financial implications for the rest of their life could be great. If however an office worker broke their leg, it would not necessarily harm their earning potential, so their damages would be less. These type of damages often involve very complicated calculations based on many factors including:
- the age of the victim
- the profession of the victim
- the extent of the injury
- the likelihood of the victim needing longer term care
- the likelihood of the victim finding suitable alternative employment
In certain circumstances special damages can run to very high figures indeed. This is particularly the case where children are injured in such a way that they will need care for the rest of their lives.
Other elements to the compensation claim include incidental expenses and costs associated with the accident such as:
transport costs to attend hospital and medical appointments
the cost of medicines
the replacement of goods and clothing damaged in the accident
compensation for time off work due to the accident
To calculate a final figure needs expert knowledge and this is where your lawyer will be able to help.
if I am injured at work and make a claim, will I lose my job?
Unfortunately many accidents do happen at work and often they are quite bad. In the same way as you would make a claim for compensation if you were involved in an accident outside the workplace, accidents at work can be claimed for. Employees may be hesitant in making a claim as they could think that it will jeopardize their employment prospects, but this should not be the case. Your employers will be insured, so the claim will in fact be dealt with by the insurance company on a day to day basis. As a result of the accident claim however, your employer's insurance premiums could rise, but this should be no concern of yours, if you are injured, you should be compensated. In any case, if as a direct result of making your claim your are dismissed or unfairly treated, you would have a very good case for an unfair dismissal claim.
If as a result of the accident you are unable to continue working then your compensation should reflect this.
what about if I am a victim of crime?
If you have been injured as a result of a criminal act e.g. if you were assaulted in the street, you can make a claim to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board (CICB), which awards compensation for such events. The time limit for claims to the CICB is less than for normal personal injuries, and is set at two years after the incident.
how long will it take to get my money?
Compensation claims are never short term cases and you should be prepared for some delay between coming to see us and the final conclusion of your claim. The length of time a case takes depends very much on the severity of the injury. In severe cases a claim could take a number of years to reach a conclusion because of the amount of evidence needed to assess the claim. Such evidence may include detailed medical assessments and calculations on potential loss of earnings. Of course you also want to be sure that the injury sustained will not deteriorate further after you receive your money, so you need to have a stable condition.
For a small claim for something such as whiplash from a car accident, you would be looking at somewhere around three months, although again this is only an estimate. Your lawyer will be happy to advise you on the expected time scale. In certain cases, where it is clear a case will go on for many years, an interim payment can be made, to take care of initial expenses. Obviously the final figure awarded will be adjusted to reflect this, but it often provides invaluable financial 'first aid' at a tricky time.
how much will it cost to make a claim?
The cost of making a claim depends very much on the severity of the accident and the time it takes to agree a compensation figure. Most lawyers charge on a time basis i.e. they charge in direct relation to the time they spend on your case. You can imagine the costs associated with a case lasting a number of years can run in to tens of thousand of pounds. But rather than be faced with massive bills, you can take out a 'no win no fee' agreement with your lawyer which will take care of the costs and the worry about meeting bills.
what is a 'no win no fee' agreement?
The term 'no win no fee' is to be honest a little misleading. It generally refers to something called a conditional fee agreement. These agreements are usually taken out with Conditional Fees Insurance, and work as follows:
You have an accident which is not your fault and come to speak to a lawyer
if the lawyer feels you have a good case, they will suggest that you take out an insurance policy (we use on called Accident Line Protect, which is approved by the Law Society)
Once you have taken out the insurance, you case continues
If you are successful in your claim, the other side usually pays all of your fees and expenses anyway. The fees charged by us in this case will include something called a success fee, which takes account of our risk if you lose your case (see the next question)
If your claim is not successful, without insurance you would be faced with paying all of the other side's costs, which could run into thousands. With the insurance however, all of the other side's costs will be taken care of.
You should be aware that you will still be liable for some costs even with Conditional Fees Insurance. These include:
- the insurance premium itself
- fees for 'disbursements' e.g. medical reports etc. which are needed as the case progresses (although you would get these back if you were successful)
- barrister's fees, although some barristers are prepared to enter into similar 'no win no fee' agreements
- costs above the level of £100,000 (although costs of this level are most unlikely)
- any of you opponents costs incurred before you took out the insurance
- If you are successful, your lawyer will usually charge a 'success fee' which can now be claimed from the losing party, together with the insurance premium.
what is a 'success fee'?
When you take out a Conditional Fees Insurance policy, your lawyer will talk to you about a 'success fee'. This is a percentage of the basic costs which they add to your bill if you are successful in your claim.
The success fee reflects the fact that if your case is unsuccessful, we will not be paid for the work we have done, so in some way, it is a reward for the risk we have taken. Also of course, we are not being paid as the case progresses so again we are suffering financially. Until recently, the fee was paid out of any damages you receive. However, recent changes in the law mean that if you are successful, you can now claim the success fee from the losing party, so you receive all of the damages awarded to you.
Success fee conditions:
the success fee cannot be more than 100% of the basic costs on your case
the total of our success fee and any barrister's fees are capped - it will not be more than 25% of any damages recovered.
Your lawyer will be happy to discuss Conditional Fees Insurance with you when you have your first appointment.
I want to find out more, what should I do next?
If, after reading this guide, you feel that you may have a claim for damages, you should call us immediately and we will provide a you with a free assessment of your case and your likelihood of success.
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