Each of us through our lifetimes will suffer a personal injury or will know someone who has suffered a personal injury. Accidents and injury are commonplace and, in many ways, are part and parcel of life. But it is not the case that for every injury there is blame and therefore, a claim. Rather, it needs to have been caused by the
negligence of another.
In a personal injury claim, the burden is on you, the
Claimant, to prove that you have suffered your injuries because of the breach of a duty of care, or negligence, owed to you by another, whom we call the
Defendant.
You must also prove that the injury is more than trivial, that it has caused you pain and suffering, and, often but not always, economic loss, such as a loss of income and out of pocket expenses like medical costs and travel costs. For the most serious catastrophic personal injury claims, such as brain injury and spinal cord injury, the Claimant is likely to need expensive round the clock professional care and assistance with the day to day activities that we take for granted together with aids and equipment to help them to recover their mobility and a new home or adaptations to their existing home to cater for their lifetime needs.
The most common causes of personal injury in the UK are road and work accidents.
- Roads - Our road network is one of the most congested in Europe and it is therefore no wonder that we are unfortunate to have some of the highest number of road traffic accidents here in the UK, causing thousands to suffer personal injury every year. The primary cause of most road accidents is excessive speed
- Work - The HSE has reported that in the year 2016/17, as many as 1.3 million working people in the UK were suffering from a work-related illness, there were over 2,500 deaths due to latent asbestos exposures and over 600,000 injuries occurred in the workplace, of which over 70,000 were reportable serious accidents or injuries, resulting in over 31 million working days lost at an estimated cost to the UK of £14.9 billion. Including in their report is the shocking fact that 137 people were killed at work. That’s far, far less than a few of decades ago, but its still 137 too many
Whilst it can be relatively straightforward to apportion blame in the more obvious of scenarios; and many successful personal injury claims are resolved without the need for expensive court proceedings or, they settle out of court after proceedings have commenced, the more complex personal injury claims involving arguments about who is to blame and, serious life-changing injuries, are less straightforward, far more expensive and can take longer to resolve.
What will it cost me?
Your solicitor must explain the various methods of funding your personal injury claim and help you to choose the right one for your needs. The amount of costs involved will depend upon how long a case may take, the Defendant's behaviour, the volume of evidence and witnesses, the costs charged by other experts such as doctors, and the court fees should you need to start proceedings, for example, in a personal injury claim the court issue fee can be as much as an eye-watering £10,000. The cost of justice these days is high.
So, it’s difficult to be precise about cost as no two cases are ever the same. In general, if the value of your personal injury claim is less than £25,000, your solicitor will be paid a fixed fee by the losing Defendant's insurer, but only if they win your case. For the higher value and more complex cases, it follows that the legal fees will be greater. Some, although not all, may ask you to agree to pay a contribution towards the fees from your damages at the very end. Also, should you not have any suitable insurance cover, you will almost certainly be advised to take out a policy of legal expenses insurance to provide you with cover against the risk of having to pay some of your opponent’s costs and/or your own legal expenses, such as the court fees. The premium for the insurance is payable by you, although not until the end of the case and you pay it only if you actually go on to win and recover damages.
So, who should I instruct?
Don’t be drawn in by those cheesy daytime TV adverts, the cold calls and the text messages, promising you a bumper pay day. A complex personal injury claim requires strong technical competence and a skill set that will only be found within a specialist law firm. A specialist will have demonstrated that they have achieved the very highest of standards and personal injury accreditation is the mark of quality which will set them apart from their peers. The two accreditation schemes to look out for when choosing your personal injury lawyer are those run by the Law Society and the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers.
Keep it local
You wouldn’t take your car from Winchester to Manchester for a service. So why would you instruct a solicitor from the other side of the country to handle your personal injury claim? There are personal injury specialists in your region and they will give you a far better client focused experience. Keep it local.
Use an
accredited specialist; Alma Law
