If you have been injured in an accident through no fault of your own, and this can be proven, then you will win your personal injury claim and secure compensation. The only real issue that could arise when you make a personal injury claim surrounds liability; if it is difficult to prove that you were not responsible, then the other side may contest their level of liability, to reduce their financial burden. However, a good lawyer can eradicate this risk, by providing indisputable evidence, and by citing past cases that they have worked on.
Your Rights Following an Accident
You have the legal right to financial compensation, if you have suffered a personal injury because of somebody else’s actions, be them an individual, organisation or company in the United Kingdom. However, to get the compensation that you are legally entitled to, you must make a personal injury claim. With regards to this, you have two options: 1) Make a claim yourself, or 2) Enlist a solicitor to make your claim for you. Option 2 is the preferred option, since this guarantees that the strongest possible case will be built for you.
What are the next steps I should take?
You should seek legal advice with an experienced lawyer, so that your eligibility for compensation can be determined. Initial consultations with a solicitor are usually free, and they are offered without obligation, so you will not be under any pressure to make a claim.
How Personal Injury Claims are Built in the UK
To build you an injuries in the UK claim that will secure your financial compensation, your lawyer will request all relevant evidence be made available to them. This might include emergency service reports, medical reports, video footage, photographs, or witness statements, among other things. Collectively, this evidence will tell the story of your accident, and when combined with your own version of events, this should be enough to prove your diminished liability, and therefore, win your personal injury claim.
Sometimes, however, the evidence available may not completely tell the story of your accident. If this is the case, then your claim could be open to interpretation. Interpretation is an issue, because it means that the other can present their own version of events. If this happens, and your lawyer cannot dispute the other side’s evidence, then you may have to settle on what is known as a ‘split liability agreement’, where you accept a percentage of the blame and a smaller percentage of the original settlement demand. Hopefully, this will not happen, but bear in mind that some claims for injuries in the UK do go this way.