Claim for an injury after a fall

TaBunny

I fell four months ago in the high street and broke my hip, my partner took loads of pictures and we contacted Injury Lawyers 4U off tv, they promised never to charge me anything or to make me take out an insurance etc. Unfortunately for me the pavement was not cracked enough to sue, although it was all broken and uneven it was not rising up by over 2" so I've had to leave it. But hopefully you will be able to sort something for your mum, other thing to remember is that if you do win a claim which is anything over £3000 it can affect benefits if the person is on any so it can be win some lose some. Good luck.

Bossyboots

I'm sorry to hear about your mum, and i hope she gets better very soon.

No real advice other than to reiterate what poochy has said NEVER EVER EVER go through one of these no win no fee companies.

Make sure you get all the information you need to make your claim, take pictures of your mums injuries and of where the accident happened and keep all details. contact a solicitor as you may be entitled to legal aid.

Good luck x

Seek advice from a good personal injury lawyer on a no-win no fee basis. My friend's mum was injured in a car accident, has just received £45,000 and all the solicitors costs and experts' fees etc. were paid by the insurers.

If you decide to go it alone, it would still be wise to get any settlement offer checked by a PI solicitor.

Legal aid is not available for personal injury claims.

sparky61

Thanks for all your advice. We're still waiting for the claim form, I've been told by the council that they only send out post by second class.

dag_2

Not sure whether to contact borough of Kensington and Chelsea direct to make a claim or contact an injury claim company.

I would say do both - but don't do it just yet. Work out what you're going to say first - because you don't want to say anything that may undermine your claim.

I would disagree with rushnowt's advice, of never using a no-win-no-fee solicitor. Nowadays, they can usually claim their own separate fees from the defendant, separately from your compensation award - meaning that even if you do represent yourself without a solicitor, you won't necessarily get any more.

That said - in theory, there's no reason why you can't represent yourself in court. But in practice, you might find it difficult without a solicitor.

Still, you're up for finding out how it's done, yes? Good. In that case, the first thing you should do is have a look at the Pre-Action Protocols for Personal Injury claims - which can be found at http://www.dca.gov.uk/civil/procrules_fin/contents/protocols/prot_pic.htm

The pre-action protocols are a list of guidelines you have to follow before a civil court will hear your case. It might seem long winded, but a lot of it is common sense - for example, you'll have to give RBKC a chance to settle out of court first, and find a doctor who will verify that the injury is real - that sort of thing.

If that seems too much for you, then a solicitor may help you to get through the protocols - but they can't do it all by themselves. Don't expect to be able to tell a solicitor about your claim one day, then forget about it and see a cheque a few months later. You will need to co-operate with them during the process.

If you do want a solicitor, then find one here - http://www.clsdirect.org.uk/directory/index.asp?lang=en - select "Personal Injury" from the list of categories.

Hope that helps.