You may be entitled to an award of compensation.
You case may involve:
1. A slip and trip at work or on a public pathway
2. Defective work equipment i.e. accidents at work
3. Heavy lifting
4. Road traffic collision
5. Serious head of brain injuries
If you have been involved in accident and it wasn’t your fault then it is important that you follow some steps which we will explain below:
For example, Person A injured themselves on a piece of machinery at work which was defective and as a result suffered an injury to their finger which required medical attention.
In the above scenario Person A should do the following:
1. Write down as much information as they can as to:
• What time the accident happened
• Where it happened
• Who they reported it to
2. If there were any witnesses around who saw the accident happen then it would be helpful to obtain their details because these details can be difficult to remember at a later stage.
3. Log the accident in the accident book if one is available.
4. Seek medical attention as soon as possible. It is well known that the earlier the medical intervention the quicker the recovery.
The above pieces of information will assist in supporting your case especially if the case proceeds to Court.
Who is Responsible
For your personal injury claim to succeed it must be shown that there is a duty of care in existence. This could be a general duty of care, or a statutory duty of care. It must then be proven that a breach of that duty has occurred, leading to actionable damage. The claim must also pass both the factual causation test and the legal causation test, with no new intervening acts having occurred. If your claim passes these stages then you may be able to bring a claim against the defendant who is in breach of their duty, and secure a remedy for damages.
5. Contact our team of personal injury solicitors will offer guidance and advice on the best course of action to take, and will evaluate your claim to determine the likelihood of success.
To pursue your claim for compensation then there is a claims procedure (which differs slightly according to the type of claim you re making) that needs to be followed:
• Once you have provided your solicitor with the details of the claim, they will submit these details on a Claims Notification Form (CNF) electronically to the Defendant Insurer if known; (your Solicitor will undertake a search of the Employers Liability Tracing Office (ELTO)), and the Defendant Only Claim Notification Form (‘Defendant Only CNF’) to the Defendant.
The CNF will require details such as; your personal details, details of the accident circumstances, details of the at fault driver, details of any other losses, whether there were any passengers in your vehicle, details of your injuries, whether you have sought medical attention etc.
• If an insurer is identified then the CNF is sent directly to the insurer via the Portal. The Defendant must send to the Claimant an electronic acknowledgement the next day after receipt of the CNF. (The ‘Claimant’ is known as the individual making the claim for personal injury.)
If the Claimant has sent the CNF to the Defendant directly –
(a) The defendant must send the claimant an electronic acknowledgement the next day after receipt of the CNF and send the CNF to the insurer at the same time and advise the Claimant that they have done so;
(b) The insurer must send to the Claimant an electronic acknowledgment the next day after its receipt by the insurer;
(c) The claimant must then submit the CNF to the insurer direct to the insurer.
• The Defendant must complete the ‘Response’ section of the CNF (‘the CNF response’) and send it to the Claimant –
(a) In the case of an employers’ liability claim, the defendant or insurers then has 30 working days to respond to the CNF in EL claims and 40 days in PL claims and the response will be one of the following:
o admission of liability
o denial of liability
o allegation of contributory negligence
o the matter is a small claim
o there is insufficient information on the CNF
• If the Defendant Insurer fails to respond to the CNF or if they respond and state liability is denied then the claim will no longer continue under the personal injury protocol and will proceed under the Pre-Action Protocol for Personal Injury Claims which allows the Defendant Insurer three months to investigate the claim and provide relevant documents in support of any denial of liability.
If your case has prospects of success, then Court Proceedings may need to be issued once medical evidence has been obtained.
• If, however, liability is accepted for the accident, medical evidence will need to be obtained by your solicitor from an independent medical expert. You will be required to attend a medical examination where a medical expert will assess the extent of your injuries and will provide a timeframe for recovery. The information will be inserted into a medical report which will be sent to your Solicitor.
That medical evidence, once approved by you, will be sent to the Defendant Insurer as part of a Settlement Pack. This Settlement pack will include details of your financial losses and an offer to settle which you have agreed with your Solicitor.
The Defendant Insurer may then accept your offer to settle or make a counter offer to settle within 15 days. A further period of 20 days is allowed for additional negotiations to try and settle the claim.
If the parties cannot agree a settlement figure then the case will proceed to a quantum hearing and a Judge will decide how much compensation you should receive.
How much am I entitled to?
You may be wondering how much compensation you will be entitled to. There will be factors considered to calculate the level of damages you receive. Example of the factors will be, the injuries suffered, the extent of your injuries, the time you have taken off from work and details of the level of pay you receive, if there has been any further treatment recommended to you by the medical expert etc. Therefore, each individual case will be different.
If you have an enquiry regarding any of the above issues please telephone us and ask to speak to a Personal Injury solicitor for a free no-obligation discussion.
Why Summerfield Browne?
Summerfield Browne Solicitors will aim to reach a final settlement, that will give you the compensation you need and deserve. Our team of specialist PI lawyers will robustly negotiate on your behalf, and endeavour to obtain the best settlement for you as soon as possible.
Our PI lawyers will act in your best interests, and will determine the best strategy to enable you to maximise the value of your claim, while minimising the risks associated with the claim. Our PI solicitors may utilise various alternative dispute resolution techniques, such as “Without Prejudice” negotiations or Part 36 Offers, to enhance the opportunity of settling the claim as soon as possible, while achieving the best result for you.
Funding Options
Our team of PI lawyers can now offer personal injury services through a variety of funding methods (including types of “No win no fee” arrangements), including:
• Conditional fee agreements
• Discounted conditional fee agreements
• Damages based agreements
• Fixed fee funding
• Private retainers
