Here at Bird & Co Solicitors we are more than happy to speak to you about an accident. We offer a free initial consultation either by phone or in person at our offices. If your accident has prospects of success we are able to offer funding which is no win no fee.
Personal injury claims can arise from all manner of accidents. The most obvious are road traffic accidents, ‘car crashes’. These happen all the time and even minor injuries can lead to complications, missed work and expenses. Personal injury claims also cover accidents at work. These can be injuries from machines not working correctly or not being issued with the right safety equipment. Other claims might be medical negligence, injuries on holiday, slips and trips in public and private, prison incidents, criminal injuries, untraceable and uninsured road traffic accidents. There are many other circumstances that lead to a personal injury claims and too many to list here. The general rule is if you have suffered an injury which is caused by someone else there is a potential claim.
Once signed up to our paperwork and we have taken instructions from you we will get to work in making the claim. The two main ways a claim can be submitted is on the Ministry of Justice online Claims Portal if it’s valued under £25,000 and by a hardcopy letter of claim if over that value. There many other reasons which determine if a claim should be submitted by the Portal or by a letter of claim such as the type of accident and where it has happened. We will look into this for you and ensure it is submitted correctly. The next step is that the defendant (the person responsible) and their insurer if they have one, have between 15 working days if a low value road traffic accident or up to three months if a higher value claim to investigate what has happened and return with their decision.
Usually the decision received is an admission or denial. If they admit we seek formal medical evidence. This might be in the form of an expert medical report on your injuries. With the report in hand we can value your injuries and make offers in settlement. If they deny the claim we investigate further and see what evidence we have and can collect to prove the accident. If after further investigation they still dispute the claim this is where the claim might go to Court. We will assist and represent you through the process.
Personal injury claims are unique, they are designed to place the person back in the position where they should have been if the accident didn’t happen. While this is the case it is still a mine field for members of public to bring such claims for injury. Insurers and defendants regularly deny fault, offer low settlement amounts and also fail to respond.
Please note you only have three years from the date of the accident to bring a claim. Alternatively three years from the date when you first became aware that the injury was due to the accident (date of knowledge). I would advise you to seek advice as soon as possible before that time runs out. If it does run out you might be prevented from making a claim.
Our Personal Injury solicitor, David-James Stott, says:
In the light of the above. I’m carrying out a FREE consultation afternoon for any potential personal injury or similar accidents and enquires. The event is next Friday 17.3.17 between the hours of 1pm and 5pm. Call 01476 404 103 or drop by one of our offices. Alternatively if you are not able to do between those times I can be contacted 24/7 on my mobile 07801 479758.