There’s a lot out there about claiming compensation after an accident at work, so much in fact that you can feel flooded with jargon terms like ‘no win, no fee’, ‘personal injury claim’ and the like. Below is an easy summary of the criterion needed to make a personal injury claim and some advice about how to do it, with special relevance for those who work in the Lincolnshire or Yorkshire area s of the UK .
Can you make a claim?
The criterion for making a claim is pretty simple. If you’ve suffered an injury, illness or disease because of your employer’s negligence then you can make a personal injury claim for compensation. “Personal injury” covers everything from a twisted ankle to asbestosis. All you have to do is prove that your injury was caused by the negligence of another party and you have grounds for a claim. In the work place this often relates to unsafe equipment, poor health and safety regulations or anything which puts an employee in danger as they carry out their work. Last year in Yorkshire and the Humber alone there were 11320 injuries reported, so although health and safety is gradually improving, injuries do happen.
Who to go to
If you’re reasonably confident you’ve got grounds for a claim the next step is to get in contact with a specialist solicitors firm. A solicitors firm is a safer bet than an accident claim company, as the latter simply act as a middle man between you and a solicitor, selling cases on for a profit. This means they sometimes don’t have the expertise they claim to.
Go to a firm which deals primarily in personal injury claims. They’re more likely to know the minutiae of detail relating to personal injury law than a firm which offers a broader variety of services, and naturally they’ll have extensive experience in personal injury claims. Find a firm which will also give you full compensation if you win your case, as some firms will make deductions from your compensation.
A really important thing to look for is a firm which can offer a face-to-face service. An accident at work can be a traumatic experience so you’ll want to make the process of claiming as stress-free as possible. If you live in Yorkshire or the surrounding area, there are firms available that will come to your home in order to talk through what happened and what you want to do. Seeing your solicitor in the flesh gives you the opportunity to control exactly what your case will be made up of and the reassurance that you won’t become an anonymous voice amongst many. Make sure you have basic details like the date of the accident, what happened and any kind of evidence you can gather that can be used in your case.
