FAQ

The average length of a claim involving an element of personal injury is approximately 9 to 12 months.

Whilst we appreciate that this may seem a long time to wait there are numerous factors which are effectively beyond our immediate control. These factors include such things as how quickly the insurance company are able to deal with your claim, the waiting list for any Consultant we instruct to examine you, the length of time taken by the Police to complete investigations where they are involved and other such circumstances that may arise.

The above estimate is of course not fixed.

In relatively simply cases where there is no element of injury and can be no argument as to how the accident occurred the matter can often be completed in a much quicker time span.

Equally in complicated cases where there is a serious dispute as to how the accident occurred or injuries are more serious than normal then it is likely that your case will take more than 12 months to be concluded.

How much will I get?

This is very much dependent on exactly what we are instructed to claim for.

There are two basic forms of compensation which we can claim on your behalf. These are Special Damages (such as your loss of earnings, inconvenience, travel expenses and hospital expenditure) and General Damages (injuries).

Naturally the Special Damages are relatively easy to assess as these will generally be fixed sums of money which you have had to pay out or have been paid out on your behalf. General Damages are of course much more difficult to assess as the level of compensation you receive for your injury will not have any set figure and is generally a matter for negotiation with the insurance company responsible for paying your claim.

Various factors are taken into account but the most common method of arriving at a suitable figure is by reference to previous cases of a similar nature which are reported in various legal journals.

We would specifically point out that the insurance company may not always agree the extent of damages claimed by us either Special Damages or General Damages. Generally however an amicable agreement can be reached.

We do of course appreciate that many of our client's will speak to people or see articles in newspapers about large sums of money being awarded for very minor injuries. This is however very rarely the case in English Law and each individual case is assessed on the evidence, including medical reports, obtained by ourselves.

How much will I have to pay you to deal with my claim?

This is entirely dependent on how your claim has come to us and what funding arrangements have been agreed.

If you have Legal Expense Insurance and should there be any costs we are unable to recover from the other party's insurance company they will usually pay these on your behalf. If no Legal Expense Insurance is in place then we will have agreed to take your case on a "no win, no fee" basis.

We would ask that you specifically note that the only costs we are able to recover from the other party's insurers or your own Legal Expense Insurers are those that are responsibly and proportionately incurred.

This means that the Court will sometimes not allow you to recover costs where they consider that the work undertaken on your file is excessive. This problem usually tends to arise when a large number of telephone calls are claimed for.

There is consequently a risk that the level of damages you receive will be reduced if the Court believes you have acted unreasonably in relation to the pursuit of your claim.

What can I do to help my case ?

Keep a diary.

When an accident occurs you would be wise to keep a diary of events - not only of the circumstances of the accident, but also detailed notes of visits to your GP/Hospital and the progress of your recovery from any injury.

You should also note in this diary any expenses incurred in relation to your injuries or other losses as quite often whilst you will remember the larger expenses you have incurred you will forget such things as prescription charges which can be recovered from the other sides insurers.

Please remember that we are here to progress your claim for you.

We will do so as quickly as is possible and with the minimum of inconvenience to yourself. In order to do this however we require your full co-operation and an early response to any questions or requests for documents that we make to you.