Accident at work claim

monkeysallsayboo

Hello wise ones!

My partner had an accident at work, which was due to the employer's negligence. We are looking into putting in a personal injury claim and have no idea where to start. Could anyone advise which companies to avoid, or recommend any particular solicitors (do we use a solicitor?!?). Also I'd be interested in hearing people's experiences of what happened when they put in a claim

Thank you

C_Mababejive

Is your partner a TU member? if yes, then that would be the first place to start.

If not, no win no fee solicitors will only take on claims if they feel there is a good chance of winning (and making themselves some money).

-taff

I had an accident at work. I used my union. It took 2 years.

[Deleted User]

**I'm not touting for work which is why I won't give any details of my employer**

I'm an Employer Liability and Clinical Negligence Paralegal. This is general advice given in good faith however no responsibity is accepted for it.

Yep find a solicitor who deals in EL cases (Google...)

One man's meat is another man's poison - there's rarely a Law firm that's generally considered 'good' or 'the best', it's all down to personal experience. Firstly make sure they are specialists in that field and ask them to explain costs. I'm absolutely upfront and transparent about costs when discussing cases with clients, not all Law firms are though.

Be careful about being lured in at the sound of 'no win no fee' - by that I mean make sure they tell you what the fee is if you DO win. Invariably this will be 25% or less of any compensation you win. Now this is the killer and is what more unscrupilous Solicitors *won't* tell you. Say you win £10,000 and their success fee is 25%, you'd think you're left with £7500 right? Not so fast. If medical reports are needing to be obtained and there's a charge, that will come out of your compensation. Medical experts almost always charge for their time and aren't cheap - that comes out of your compensation too. I don't want to scare you off, just make sure the Solicitor you use explains all this to you.

It's worth checking to see if you have legal expences insurance anywhere else, like on a home insurance policy. If so it's likely the solicitor can get all those fees paid that way instead. Just don't rely on any LEI you have on your car insurance as most likely that only applies in RTA cases.

Hope it all goes well.