Article Surfing Archive

You can claim compensation for many different types of accidents. Some of the most common accidents are road traffic accidents including motorcycle accidents, accidents a work, slip and trips in supermarkets or on uneven pavement. Other claims include industrial diseases, construction accidents, holiday accidents, dog bite injury, medical negligence, product liability and asbestos claims. The list could go on and on. Basically if you have had an accident where you were injured but the accident was not the fault of your own and caused by someone else's recklessness then you are entitled to claim compensation. If the accident was partly someone else's fault you will still have a claim, you just may not get as much compensation.

Many people believe that claiming compensation for an accident is difficult and time consuming and very expensive. This could not be further from the truth. It is quite possible that in the past claiming compensation was a lot harder. These days it is a very simple process that will cost you nothing. In 1988 the Conditional Fee Agreement was brought in to place replace legal aid with regards to compensation claims. This agreement also known as no win no fee makes claiming compensation available to everyone and anyone for no cost to yourself. It is a great way of giving justice back to everyday people. Before this agreement was put in place only people who were entitled to legal aid would put in claims if they even bothered at all. Those on higher incomes where legal aid is not available were put off by the legal fees and worried they wouldn't win the cases and then end up even more out of pocket. These no win no fee agreements are available to anyone from any income or background.

With no win no fee claims your solicitor basically takes the case on and works for nothing. Once the case is won his fees are paid by the losing parties insurance and if you have occurred any charges for the use of government bodies or for medical records during your no win no fee claim; your expenses are refunded to you. You will also get 100% of any compensation awarded to you, without any deductions from your solicitor or anyone. What you need to realise here is that solicitors will not work for nothing which means they will only take on cases they are sure they can win. Compensation claims are really quite easy, if you can prove the accident wasn't your fault and also prove that you were by no means to blame you have a winning case. A solicitor will be able to tell you over the phone if you have a case. There is 'after the event' insurance available for the small chance that your case is lost so your solicitor will still be able to claim back their fees. Again still at no cost to yourself. The only time you may have to cough up is when medical records are needed; the cost of this can come out of the final payout if you wish though, and again the insurance is available for lost cases.

Once you have contacted a personal injury solicitor and they believe you have a case they will send you a form to complete. This is the only bit of hard work on your behalf. You will have to fill out all the details of the accident including times dates, people evolved, witnesses etc. It will even ask you to draw a picture of the accident. It is handy to create a record of all this information as soon after the accident as possible because as times goes on you might forget details. You should also keep a check of expenses since the accident, like how many miles and times you had to go to the doctor or hospital. How many days off work you had, even a diary of the actual pain you were put under will help the overall case. On winning the case you will get all of your out of pocket expenses back which is why it is important to list everything even minor expenses as it all adds up. If you broke your expensive favourite watch in the accident but forget to mention it you will not get a refund for it.

So now you know how to go about making an accident claim and realise it is not an expensive or difficult process you can go about finding a good accident claim solicitor. Remember claiming compensation is your legal and civil right. Those that don't claim are only fools, they are letting the insurance companies get away with not have to cough up. They get enough money each year without all the unclaimed accident claims. Claim was is rightfully yours today!