Been involved in a car accident?
I have had an accident. Will I lose my no claims bonus? |
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I have had an accident. Will I lose my no claims bonus? Here at Work Based Accidents we focus totally on helping people who have had accidents at work and we do nothing else. So whether it is slip, trip or fall at work or from an accident and injury arising from faulty equipment or whether the accident has resulted because you have not been trained properly we are the people you should contact as this is our core business. We have experience in dealing with clients who have suffered back injuries from heavy lifting where they have not been trained properly or not been given the assistant they are obliged to have been given under the Health & Safety Regulations. We even deal with claims where clients have suffered from respiratory and skin conditions from handling dangerous chemicals where there has been inadequate ventilation. We have an experienced team of Lawyers who have vast experience in dealing with all types of industrial accidents particularly industrial deafness and blindness together with vibration white finger. Our specialist work based accident Solicitors not only know how to deal with protecting your position on the compensation front by maximising your damages in the minimum possible time but also ensure that your employer does not dismiss you or deal with you in a detrimental way because you are submitting a claim. |
I am only insured third party and can’t afford the repair costs. Can you help? Yes. As soon as you instruct us to act we will send your details to a Solicitor who will analyse the accident circumstances and once that Solicitor is satisfied that the accident was not your fault we can arrange for your vehicle to be repaired for free. In reality the responsible parties insurers will have to meet the cost of the repairs although we have a network of Garages up and down the Country who will repair your vehicle now and wait to get paid at the end of your claim. |
The accident was not my fault. What are the normal things people claim for after a road accident? No two cases are the same but generally speaking after an accident normal things that the Solicitors claim for include personal injury for all the occupants of the vehicle, repairs to vehicle or the excess if you are insured third party, or alternatively the write off value of the vehicle if it was badly damaged. Also any storage and recovery charges that you may have incurred are added to the claim and of course if you have been off work because of the accident loss of earnings are also to be claimed. In English Law a compensation claim is based on putting the person back in the position as though the accident had not happened. |
Can I claim money just because my vehicle is off the road? Yes if your vehicle is not driveable because of an accident and you are not hiring you can claim for what is called “loss of use and inconvenience” and typical awards are in the region of £20.00 to £25.00 per day for every day you are without the vehicle because of somebody else’s fault. |
By mistake I was not insured at the time of the accident. Can you help? Yes. Just because you weren’t insured at the time of the accident doesn’t mean you can’t claim for your losses. It’s best of course if the Police are kept out of the case because if they are involved they are likely to prosecute you for driving without insurance. Nevertheless, if we can clearly show that it was the other sides fault then you should still be able to claim compensation although you will need proper legal advice to ensure your legal position is preserved. |
There were no witnesses to the accident. Is it simply their word against mine? The fact that there are no witnesses or no independent witnesses does not mean that your claim will fail it just means that the Solicitors acting for you have to look at additional factors surrounding the circumstances of the accident such as the impact damage on the respective vehicles, the positioning of any debris left on the road, any written admissions made at the scene of the accident. It is also the case that Solicitors have to try and anticipate how your case would unfold at Court and the fact that a Judge is more likely to be influenced by the respective drivers accident history, ages and likely performance in a witness box if it comes to that. |
I am fully comprehensively covered and my vehicle has been written off. My insurers have offered me less than the vehicle is worth. Can you help? Yes. We are more than happy to negotiate with your insurers for you to increase on the valuation and if we can clearly demonstrate they have under valued your vehicle we may well recommend you obtain an independent Engineers report. If that report values the vehicle in excess of what your own insurers have valued it that is a good ground to have your insurers increase upon the offer and also make a contribution towards paying the Engineers report which costs around £100.00. There are also useful trade guide line books such as Glasses and Parkers that the insurers also tend to rely upon in offering to settle when a fully comprehensively insured vehicle is written off. |
My insurers are insisting I use their Solicitors to claim for my injuries. Do I have to use them? No. Under the Competition Act 1989 and also European Legislation all clients are totally free to choose their own Solicitor. The reason your insurers may want you to use their Solicitors is that they will sell your claim to them. If you do not use your insurers Solicitors your insurers effectively lose money. You have to ask yourself whether Solicitors appointed by the insurers are more focused on looking after those insurers then if you found your own independent Solicitor who only had you as his client. |
What is the Legal Expense cover I took out with my vehicle insurance? This is an additional bolt on to your compulsory vehicle insurance and means you are covered for your own legal costs and your opponents legal costs in the event you have an accident during the course that the Policy runs. If you have Legal Expense cover you can still choose your own Solicitor and have the benefit of that cover in place when you pursue an accident claim. |
Do I have a claim? If you or a member of your family have had an accident which was not their fault, then there is a good chance you will be able to claim compensation from the responsible party or their insurers. Whilst there is a large amount of common sense to be applied in deciding whether to submit a claim, there is no harm in getting independent legal advice and we will provide this to you through one of our panel Solicitors without any charge to you. If you do not have a claim, we will tell you and likewise, if you do have a claim, we will direct you to one of our independent Solicitors who will then contact you directly and talk you through the process. We can do all this directly over the phone with minimum inconvenience to you. |
What happens if I lose? As long as you have given honest and full instructions to us and your Solicitors, it will not cost you anything if your case fails because your Solicitor will be acting for you on a no win no fee arrangement which means that if you do not win your case, you will not have to pay anything. The logic for this is based on the fact that the Solicitor would not have taken on your case at the beginning if he did not believe that you had a good prospect of success and therefore that is the risk that Solicitor is taking when he accepted your case at the beginning. The only exception to this is, again, if you have not been totally honest and upfront with your Solicitor and in that situation there is a risk that the Solicitor may pursue you for fees. |
How much is my claim worth? The general rule is that the longer the injury takes to recover from or the more serious the injury, the greater the compensation will be paid for the injury. Complicated cases where it is not so easy to work out the extent of the injury or whether this is effected for example, your ability to go back to work, your Solicitor may well instruct a Barrister to advice you on your injury claim and any other losses. |
Will I need to go to court? The chances are you will not need to go to Court because less than 2% of cases end up in Court. Most cases are settled by way of negotiation between the parties which means that you are likely to receive offers to settle your claim which will come through your Solicitor which have been made by the other sides insurers. If you are happy with the settlement and your Solicitor recommends that acceptance then your claim will be compromised and you will not need to go to Court. |
How long will my case take? If all runs smoothly and your injury is of a moderate or lesser nature, then the Solicitors handling your claim are likely to conclude it within 6 – 8 months from when they are instructed. We are very keen to ensure that Solicitors that we instruct have modest case loads so that they can devote the appropriate amount of time and attention to dealing with your claim. If you want your claim to be dealt with quickly, you too will have to do your bit as well by responding to your Solicitors as soon as they ask you any questions or require information. Often the responsible parties insurers deliberately drag their feet to slow down their claim but our referring Solicitors will apply the appropriate pressure to ensure that the delay is minimised. |
| What does "No Win No Fee" mean? It means what is says which is if you do not win a case then you have no fee to pay. It also means that if you win the case then technically you do have a fee to pay to your lawyer and this is the part that most people do not understand. However, Solicitors we refer claims to agree not to make any deduction out of our clients damages where they are able to obtain the majority of their fees from the Defendant’s insurers. The No Win No Fee deal that our referring Solicitors operate is called the Conditional Fee Agreement and whilst it is quite a technical document, the gist of it is that you will receive your damages when the case is won, and the Solicitor will receive his fees when the case is won. If the case is lost and you will not be responsible for any fee. |
Do I need to go to Hospital or see my own GP to be able to claim for my injury? No you do not need to attend hospital or see your own GP as a result of an accident although of course it helps prove the claim and the injury if it is recorded on your GP or hospital records should the medical evidence be challenged at a later stage. Apart from anything else, if you have been injured in an accident even though the injury may not be severe, you could save yourself a lot of additional pain and suffering by seeking medical attention, ensuring there is a correct diagnosis and providing you with piece of mind that your injury is not more severe that you had initially anticipated. |
Why choose us? By instructing us you are tapping into our database of panel Solicitors. Choosing the right solicitor for your compensation claim is a difficult process. Selecting the right Solicitor requires an objective evaluation of their skills, their professional reputation and historical performances on previous cases. We at Road Accident Claims have a large panel of Solicitors throughout the country that we believe will provide you with the level of service that you will be more than satisfied with. |
