Two questions here

How much will I get for my injuries; compensation for injuries is based on a medical report conducted by an independent medical expert. It is based on this medical report that compensation would be negotiated and agreed upon.

Once a medical expert has prepared a report on your injuries and you are satisfied with this report your solicitor will use what is known as the JC guidelines, which are guidelines published by the Judicial Studies Board that provide guidelines on the potential value of injuries. They will also use pre-existing case law alongside these guidelines to help us to assess what a court would likely award you should your case proceed to a trial. It is important to note that most cases do not reach the point of a trial and the majority of successful claims are settled before they reach this stage. All offers and valuations in respect of the value of your claim will be discussed with you by the legal expert handling your case.

How much Compensation will I get; In addition to the compensation for your injuries your solicitor would also claim compensation for the injury itself along with any other losses as a result of the accident; loss of earnings (future loss of earnings if applicable), medication/treatment costs, travel expenses as a result of the incident, your property damaged in the incident i.e. push bike, helmet, clothes, mobile. Your solicitor will only be able to claim for any losses that they can prove so this means that you will need to keep receipts or proof of purchase or any damage to items that you wish to claim for. If you wish to claim for loss of earnings then you will need to retain any evidence showing that you suffered a loss, for example, wage slips or tax returns if you are self-employed, your solicitor can ask your employer or the HMRC for this information if you do not have copies it may just take a little longer to obtain this than if you were to have the information already. Details of these losses will be put in a document called a Schedule of Loss which you will be asked to approve before these losses are submitted to the Defendant and /or the Court.

Personal Injury

The length of time taken to settle your claim will depend upon the complexity and severity of your injury and whether the other side admits liability for your accident and/or whether the third party complies promptly with any requests for information.

The initial process is for your Solicitor to submit details of your accident and the allegations of negligence to the company / relevant body who they believe are responsible who then have a period of up to 4 months in which to investigate and return with their decision. If your solicitor receives an admission of liability for your accident then they would proceed to obtain medical evidence from an expert and how quickly they can obtain this depends on both the expert and as mentioned above, the complexity of your injury. In some cases, an injury can take a long time to heal or may require reports from more than one expert and/or you may require further tests or treatment before your solicitor can settle your claim.

Should your solicitor receive a denial of liability for your accident then your claim may take longer as they may need to obtain further documents and send your claim to a Barrister to review before they can proceed to obtain medical evidence.

Clinical Negligence

Most Clinical Negligence claims take longer to reach a conclusion than a personal injury claim. The reason for this is that a lot of Clinical Negligence claims need to undergo a thorough screening and investigation process before details of any claim can be submitted to relevant medical body / Trust. This involves obtaining all of your medical records from your GP and any Hospital you attended ,a meticulous review of these records and obtaining reports from experts in the relevant field as to the potential of any negligence.

No, denial of liability does not mean that your claim will be unsuccessful. Any denial of liability will be reviewed in detail together with any evidence before your solicitor decides whether to continue with your claim.

Yes, your solicitor can claim for your damaged vehicle as well as for injury compensation. This must be your vehicle- if you don’t own it e.g. work vehicle or someone else’s car it is a separate matter.

Yes, your solicitor can claim for loss of earnings you faced as a result of an accident as well as for injury compensation. Any loss of earnings claim will however need to be supported by documents that show that before the accident you were earning more than you do now and that this is as a result of the injuries you sustained and/or there was a period of time where you earned less money as a result of the injury. This can be proved by wage slips/tax returns/and/or bank statements. You may also be able to claim for future losses.

Yes, if your claim is successful you will be able to claim for travel expenses incurred as a result of an accident as well as for injury compensation.

Personal Injury – As set by courts in England and Wales, you have 3 years from the date of an accident, date of knowledge or from your 18th birthday if you were a child at the time in order to pursue a personal injury claim. After that it will become statute-barred and you will no longer be able to pursue a claim.

Clinical Negligence – you have a period of three years from the date of the alleged negligent treatment (or your date of knowledge if that was later) or if you were a child at the time, three years from the date of your eighteenth birthday within which to bring a claim and issue Court proceedings against the Defendant/s. After that time, your claim will become statute barred, meaning that you will no longer be able to pursue a claim.

This is covered is question 1 but any settlement will be negotiated between you and your solicitor and the Third Party. Should your solicitor be unable to reach any agreement then your claim may go before a Judge who will decide on the amount of money you will receive.