Thousands of people are entitled to a personal injury claim every year, and yet their fear of solicitors prevents them from receiving compensation.
However, if your case is sound, you are more likely to win your claim than lose it. To help you navigate these waters, we will explain the process and show you where your claim potential lies.
Limitation, Causation, And Liability
Before you talk to a solicitor, you should consider the limitations, causations, and liability of your claim.
In the US, you can claim up to 3 years after the events or up to 3 years after your diagnosis caused by the event.
For example, if you worked as a firefighter and developed cancer due to the equipment, you could still apply for compensation years after your retirement. As long as the diagnosis and connection were made within 3 years, you still have a claim.
TruLaw.com has dealt with this specific issue before, but they have also helped victims receive compensation from water contamination cases, e-cigarettes, and more.
If your claim is within the time limitations, you should consider the causation. The injury has to be caused by another party. Another party could be an individual or a group, such as an organization.
Lastly, this group or person must owe you a duty of care. This comes under liability. A duty of care isn’t a moral standpoint but a legal obligation. This person, organization, or company is legally responsible for your care within this issue.
For example, if you are rock climbing in an indoor facility but signed a waiver explaining the company isn’t responsible for any injury on their property, your compensation claim will fail. It doesn’t matter if the reason for your accident is because of their equipment, as their waiver means they don’t owe you a duty of care.
Of course, this is just an example, each waver is different, and each company has different responsibilities. If you’re unsure of their liability, you can ask a solicitor for help.
No Win, No Fee Solicitors
Many solicitors offer a “No Win, No Fee” package. These packages give you a sense of protection. The solicitors will have a brief look at your case and figure out if you’re likely to win.
They normally consider the limitation, causation, and liability of your claim and make a decision based on that. If they think you have a 50/50 chance of winning, they will take you on. Anything less than that, and they won’t agree to become your solicitor. They will complete this small investigation for free.
You can use this method to figure out if the liability is on the other party or not.
If you lose after this point, the solicitors still will not charge you. However, if you win, they will ask for a percentage of the claim.
Collecting Evidence
Once a solicitor takes on your claim, they will ask for evidence. Depending on the situation, that could mean your medical reports, police reports, video or photo evidence, and eyewitnesses.
Most businesses overwrite their CCTV every week, and witnesses become less reliable as time goes on. To ensure your case is airtight, you should gather your evidence as quickly as possible.
The more evidence you have, the more likely you will win.
Your solicitor will tell you the evidence you’ll need to gather, but as you wait for their response (and ideally as soon as the incident occurs), you should collect as much evidence as possible.
Video proof with a timestamp is the most crucial, but all details can help build your case.
Your Letter Of Claim
Once the evidence has been gathered, your solicitor will send a Letter of Claim to the other party. This letter will contain all of the legal jargon and situational details of your injury.
If the third party accepts its liability in this matter, there is very little it can do to win. An acceptance letter will award you personal injury compensation.
If they reject your claim, you can either drop it or take it to court. Court proceedings are expensive for both sides. The third party is unlikely to reject your claim unless they have clear evidence that they are not in the wrong. If you agree to take the claim to court, there is only a 2% chance of your success.
Final Thoughts
If you have evidence of your injury and its connection to the other party, and you claim within 3 years, you will likely win your claim. However, if they reject your Letter of Claim, there is no point in going to court.
