Personal Injury Claim - FAQ

TheRedAdmiral

Having read many of the messages, on this forum, I thought it might be an idea to offer my personal view as to what I would advise MSE Readers to do should they be the victim of someone else’s driving. A sort of F.A.Q if you like:

1: STAY CALM

It serves no purpose to get involved in a heated debate at the scene.

If anything it only serves to inflame the situation and can often result in the other person “Putting up the Shutters” and being as unhelpful as possible.

There is no point arguing (or even discussing) who is at fault. Admissions of liability, at the scene, carry very little weight. Let the Insurance Company / Solicitors deal with who is at fault.

Stay calm. Swap Details. Leave the scene.

2: SWAP DETAILS

You will need to swap the following

a) Name & Address
b) Insurance Details – (Required under Section 154 of the Road Traffic Act)
c) Obtain Registration Number, Make and Model of Other Car.

I would also advise you to Double Check all of these details.

Taking a Registration Number down incorrectly can, in some instance, result in an unsuccessful claim.

3: WITNESSES

Take the name and address of any witnesses - Even if the accident is straight forward.

It is surprising how many accidents subsequently become "disputed"

4: PHOTOS

If you have a camera (possibly on you mobile phone) take photos of the damage to both vehicles.

It may help speed up the claim and avoid any disputes.

5: GO TO GP/HOSPITAL

If you believe that you are Injured you should visit your GP/Hospital as early as possible.

Firstly to make sure that you are ok – and that the injury is not serious.

Secondly it adds weight to the credibility of your claim.

6: SOLICITOR

Ring a Personal Injury Solicitor and ask them for FREE ADVICE.

There are lots of good ones around

A good Personal Injury Solicitor will have arrangements with Medical Agencies, Engineers and Hire Companies. This will often mean that you will not have to make any payment during the course of the claim – as these “disbursements” will be claimed directly from the responsible Insurance Company.

Many Solicitors will also offer you a “No Win – No Fee” service providing you with that additional peace of mind.

If you are unsure PM me J



Comprehensive Insurance

Remember, just because you have Comprehensive Motor Insurance Policy, it does not mean that you have to use it.

You have a choice. If you choose NOT to use your Insurance Company IT CAN OFTEN SAVE YOU MONEY

• No XS to pay - A Solicitor can also deal with your repairs
• Hire Vehicle - A Solicitor can source you a "Replacement Vehicle"
• Loss of No Claims Bonus – A Solicitor can arrange for your claim to be reported "For Information Purposes Only". This will ensure that you will not temporarily lose your NCB.
• Other Losses – A Solicitor can also deal with other losses – (i.e. Loss of Earnings)

Hope this Helps - If you are unsure PM me J

darich

Firstly - I'd put getting a witness at the top of the list. Many people quickly leave the scene so they don't get involved......or because when the two motorists start discussing the accident witnesses believe they're not required.
Get a witness first - they can leave. The other driver will NOT leave so deal with them second.......and I'm talking from experience.

Secondly - the last line in part 2 is incorrect
"Taking a Registration Number down can, in some instance, result in an unsuccessful claim.".
I suspect should have the first word as "Not".

If you have legal protection, why use a solicitor who will take a percentage of your claim, when you've already paid for one who will take 0%????

TheRedAdmiral

Amended the bit about the Registration Number

In respect to your final paragraph No Solicitor should take a percentage of any client's money and I have put that in bold because it is very important.

Solicitors normally get paid by the responsible persons Insurance Company - and they only get that if they do a good job and settle a persons claim.

Irrespective as to whether a person has Legal Expenses or not virtually all claims will end up with a Solicitor. The Legal Expense Insurer will just sell the claim on.

I personally never pay for Legal Expense Insurance as, in my opinion, it is a waste of money. I would save myself the £30 that some firms now charge and "if injured" use a No Win No Fee firm. I get the same service with no initial outlay.

darich

So if I employ a no win no fee solicitor to claim (for the sake of arguement) £2000, how much of that would I receive and who pays the solicitor that I have employed?

geri1965_2

The other party pay the solicitors costs - so you will get £2,000.

Quentin

TheRedAdmiral wrote: »

The Legal Expense Insurer will just sell the claim on.

You can find claim handler solicitors who pay you a commission (£500 is not unusual!) just for using them (they do pay a high commission to insurance companies who pass on leads to them, and some are happy to pay anyone who goes direct to them). The commission is on top of any compensation they get you. Google cashback claims handler.

Quentin

TheRedAdmiral wrote: »

2: SWAP DETAILS

You will need to swap the following

a) Name & Address
b) Insurance Details – (Required under Section 154 of the Road Traffic Act)
c) Obtain Registration Number, Make and Model of Other Car.

You also need the owner's details (and need to pass these on if you are not the owner of the car you are driving).

cp3go

Does anybody know which Solicitor firm would give me the best service? I've heard of Claims Direct before but have also heard McKeowns Solicitors have a good service. I'm sure there are many other personal injury solicitors as well.

dacouch

cp3go wrote: »

Does anybody know which Solicitor firm would give me the best service? I've heard of Claims Direct before but have also heard McKeowns Solicitors have a good service. I'm sure there are many other personal injury solicitors as well.

You will now be deluged with PMs from PI solicitors and the like...

Crazy_Jamie

TheRedAdmiral wrote: »

In respect to your final paragraph No Solicitor should take a percentage of any client's money and I have put that in bold because it is very important.

Not at the moment, but if Lord Justice Jackson gets his way contingency fees could well find their way in to the UK Legal System. But I digress.

TheRedAdmiral wrote:

Solicitors normally get paid by the responsible persons Insurance Company - and they only get that if they do a good job and settle a persons claim.

You are either confused here or don't understand costs in legal claims. When dealing with a claim a solicitor will be racking up costs irrespective of whether they are doing a good job or not or how the litigation is going. At the end of litigation, and irrespective of whether a case has been settled or proceeded to a final hearing, those costs will need to be paid. Conditional Fee Agreements ('no win no fee') are of course the exception in terms of risk to the Claimant if the case fails, but you are simply wrong to suggest that solicitors will only recover their costs if they have done a good job and if they settle the claim. The standard of job they've done has no bearing on what they recover (it's simply whether the time spent is reasonable) and they will recover their costs whether they settle or win at a final hearing.

Brigid26

Does anyone have any experience of dealing directly with Insurance Companies vs having a claim solicitor? What are the advantages/disadvantages?