PERSONAL INJURY LAW - ACCIDENT COMPENSATION

Our solicitors specialise in personal injury law and we operate throughout the United Kingdom including Scotland and Northern Ireland. We deal with cases using the no win no fee scheme and compensation is paid in full with no deductions. You will not be expected to fund or finance your claim as it proceeds to settlement. We guarantee without reservation that our claims are completely risk free.

SOLICITORS HELPLINE 0844 414 3738

Under UK personal injury law, in order to claim damages it is necessary to show that the person who caused the accident was negligent, that an actual injury was sustained as a result of the accident and that the injury was sufficient to justify a compensation payment. Negligence usually arises when the third party who causes the accident is careless about the safety of other people. In general terms negligence occurs if the person responsible owed a duty of care to another person and did not take reasonable care for the safety of that person.

SOLICITORS HELPLINE 0844 414 3738

There is another category of case where both parties involved in the accident may be responsible in negligence to some degree. A judge may decide that a passenger was partially responsible for his own injuries because he did not wear a seat belt and reduce his damages by a percentage. This concept is known as ‘contributory negligence’ and can result in both drivers in a car accident claiming compensation from each other with both succeeding but only for a percentage against each other. In these cares each driver is usually paid out by the other drivers insurers.

An example of contributory negligence is as follows. If one person was driving too fast in dense fog on the highway and hit another car that did not have its lights on as it should have, then both parties are partially responsible for any injuries caused to either driver or to the passengers. The judge may decide that the driver going too fast in the fog was 60% responsible for the accident, while the driver without adequate lights was 40% responsible. If the driver who didn't have his lights on would have recovered £10,000 on a full liability basis, his recovery would be reduced to £6,000 whilst the other driver would recover 40% of what he might otherwise have been entitled to. Any passengers would recover in full by a contribution from each drivers insurers in the relevant percentages.

SOLICITORS HELPLINE 0844 414 3738

Once negligence has been established it is necessary to prove the extent of the injury and to link the injury to the accident to prove that the third party actually caused the injury. These facts are usually established by reports obtained from a medical consultant.

SOLICITORS HELPLINE 0844 414 3738

Our lawyers are personal injury law experts and will give free advice on all aspects of potential claims at no cost and with no further obligation. If after talking to us you decide to proceed no further than you are quite at liberty to do so and you will not receive any bill for our advice.