Personal Injury Lawyers Nottingham & East Midlands

Personal Injury Lawyers

Have you been hurt in an accident at work? Maybe you’ve been injured in a car crash that wasn’t your fault, or possibly you’re looking for personal injury lawyers because food poisoning ruined your holiday abroad. Whatever the reason behind your need to claim, The Compensation Experts Nottingham & East Midlands can help you today.

What is a Personal Injury Lawyer?

Personal injury is a distinct branch of law that helps more than three million people claim compensation for wrongful injury in the United Kingdom every year. Personal injury lawyers specialise in certain areas of personal injury law, such as medical negligence, road traffic accidents, accidents at work, or armed forces accidents. Just as you wouldn’t see an optician if you have concerns about your knee, nor should you choose a lawyer who doesn’t have the experience and knowledge of your type of claim.

Personal injury law can seem complicated from the outside, but The Compensation Experts do all we can to make claiming as straightforward and stress-free as possible. We are happy to provide you with a free, no-obligation conversation to answer any initial questions you may have about whether you can make a claim, and how to go about doing so.

We work with some of Nottingham and East Midlands leading personal injury lawyers and will match you with one who has an excellent success rate for your type of compensation claim. To take away any worry about the cost associated with making a claim or the financial risk of being faced with legal fees if your claim is not successful, we give our clients the option of a No Win No Fee* agreement. With this, you do not have to pay a penny in legal costs if you do not receive any compensation. The Compensation Experts go above and beyond, to keep our clients informed of the progress of their claim and to make sure they understand what is happening at each step of the process.

Can I Claim Personal Injury Compensation?

You may be entitled to claim compensation if you have been injured in an accident caused by another party’s mistake or negligence. As the claimant, the onus is on you to demonstrate not only that you were hurt or made ill but that your injury could have been prevented if the other party had fulfilled their reasonable duty of care, whether they were an employer keeping machinery in good condition, a shopping centre manager ensuring a spillage was quickly cleared away, or the driver of another vehicle adhering to the highway code.

Your medical records are often sufficient evidence to show the type and extent of your injury, although there may be some occasions where a lawyer asks for the opinion of an independent medical expert. Serious injuries involving brain or spinal damage can take longer as their nature means it is not always clear how lasting damage will be, or the extent it will have on the victim’s life. It is a legal requirement for employers to report serious accidents to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which can also be used as evidence when proving your right to compensation.

The second stage is showing that you were not, or at least not wholly responsible, for causing your injury or illness, but that someone else was. Just because you have been hurt does not mean you are entitled to damages. Nor can you claim if someone made a mistake but you were not harmed.

For example:

1. A patient is misdiagnosed which leads to a delay in their treatment and a worsening of their condition. When the initial doctor is investigated it is found that they took the same reasonable steps as would be expected from another person in their profession, and the misdiagnosis was not due to their mistakes or negligence. Despite the patient being injured (in a sense that their condition deteriorated), the doctor is not considered at fault, and there are no grounds to make a claim.
2. A second patient is misdiagnosed and contacts a personal injury lawyer to seek compensation for the deterioration in their health. When investigating, their lawyer finds that a prior relevant illness was ignored and that another medical professional would reasonably have made a correct diagnosis with this information. The patient has grounds for a claim and receives compensation for damages.
3. A third patient is misdiagnosed however the misdiagnosis has no impact on their health or their condition. They want acknowledgement and payment of damages for the situation. However, their claim is ruled as invalid by a court because, despite the doctor’s error, the patient suffered no harm.

Making a Personal Injury Claim

After getting the necessary information together and ensuring your claim is valid, your lawyer will send a letter to the party you believe to be responsible, known as the defendant. This letter will clearly state the nature of your injury and the circumstances that caused it, and ask whether they accept liability. The defendant has 21 days to acknowledge receipt of this letter, and then a further three months to provide a comprehensive reply stating whether they take responsibility and the reasons if not.

In over 90% of personal injury claims, the defendant accepts responsibility, and a settlement can be agreed without having to go to court. In a small number of requests, however, the defendant may not accept full liability, or you may not be able to agree on a fair and reasonable amount of compensation. In these instances, your lawyer may recommend you challenge their stance in court and ask a judge to decide. They will continue to negotiate as it is possible to reach a resolution even once a request has been submitted to the court and you are waiting for a date.

Personal Injury Claims FAQ

How long will my claim take?

There is not an exact timeframe in which a claim must be finalised. We can, however, give an indication based on similar claims, with those involving less serious injuries typically taking less time than those which cause severe and lasting damage. A claim for an ankle broken when slipping on a wet restaurant kitchen floor normally takes 5-8 months, while a medical negligence claim for a patient who has suffered brain damage can take two or more years.

How much compensation will I receive?

As with the duration, it is not possible to advise the amount of compensation you will receive at the beginning of the process. Your lawyer will be able to give you an approximate figure based on the nature and extent of your injury, the impact it has had on your life, expenses you have incurred since receiving your injury, and any financial implications it will have on you in the future.

How does a No Win No Fee agreement work?

Conditional agreements, more widely referred to as “no win no fee” take away the worry of paying large legal bills if your compensation claim is not successful. Instead of having to pay your lawyer’s hourly rate from the start of your application, you agree on upfront a percentage of your compensation which you will pay to your lawyer when your claim is closed. If you lose your claim, providing you have complied with the terms and conditions of your agreement, you do not have to pay legal fees.

What if the other party ignores my lawyer’s letter?

If the defendant does not acknowledge your request in writing within 21 days, or provide a full reply within the three months following, your lawyer may recommend you submit an application to the court for a Pre-Action Disclosure (PAD) for a court order to be granted that forces them to respond. You do not have to attend court for this.

What is split liability?

If you are partially responsible for your injuries or accident, your lawyer or the defendant may propose you settle the claim with split liability. For example, if you are injured in a car accident caused by another car merging into your lane without due care and attention, but you were speeding at the time of the crash which caused them to misjudge the time they had to safely move into your lane, there could be grounds for split liability. Split liability is usually 50/50 or 75/25, so you would only receive this proportion of any compensation.

Split liability can also happen where it is not possible to ascertain who was at fault due to the evidence available, or where the claimant and defendant will accept complete responsibility for the incident.

How long do I have to make a claim after my accident?

There is a statutory time limit of three years after an accident to make a personal injury claim in most instances. Exceptions are:

If you are a minor at the time of the accident, in which case you have until your 21st birthday

If your illness or injury developed or was diagnosed years after the negligence, such as asbestos-related lung disease. In this instance, you have three years from the date your illness was formally linked to the accident or negligence

Can I make a compensation claim for someone else?

You can submit a compensation claim on behalf of someone else, but any compensation will either be paid to them, their estate, or a trust set up to manage their payment if they are under the age of 18 or do not have the mental capacity to manage their funds. You can also make a claim on behalf of a person’s estate or their dependents.

Will I lose my job if I make a claim against my employer?

You have legal protection from being dismissed by your employer for making a compensation claim for an accident which happened at work and can sue them for unlawful dismissal if they do so. Employment law also protects you from being harassed or discriminated against in any way for bringing about a claim.

What expenses can I claim compensation for?

Compensation awards are calculated to cover pain and suffering from your injury, both now and the potential for it to continue in future; any wages lost while you have been recovering as well as future loss of earnings; the cost of any reasonable private medical treatment and prescriptions; and travel expenses. It can also pay for ongoing nursing care or domestic care; and any clothing or personal items which were damaged in the accident. The defendant will carefully scrutinise all of these amounts, and you will need to provide evidence such as receipts and statements of earning.

How long after my claim settles will I receive payment?

Claims settled out of court are usually paid 21 days after reaching an agreement, but it can vary by a week either side. If a judge settles your claim in court, they will also state a date by which payment must be made, which is usually 21 days. If the defendant does not pay within this time, you have the right to take them back to court.

Compensation money being paid by foreign insurance companies – for example, if you are claiming compensation for an accident you had in a hotel on holiday – can take up to six weeks.

Personal injury law exists to provide restitution for people who are injured through no fault or wrong-doing of their own. There is no reason you should have to struggle financially thanks to a physical injury that prevents you from working or causes expense in some other way, or have to pay to replace your personal property which was damaged or destroyed thanks to another person’s actions.

The Compensation Experts can help you claim compensation for any injury as long as there is medical evidence to substantiate it, and proof linking your injury to an accident or act of negligence such as providing inadequate safety equipment or training at work.

Contact us today. We are happy to answer any questions you have about whether you can make a claim and how to do so, so talk to us today to find out how we can assist you. Call and speak with an advisor directly, or fill in our online form and let us know when you want us to call or email you in reply.

*conditions may apply