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Have you been injured? Here’s your complete guide to making a compensation claim!
Being injured in an accident is no pleasant experience. You’re in pain and feel a lot of mixed emotions, from anger to confusion and fear. But, through all this challenging experience, there might be something that may help you find some help: making a compensation claim.
If you’ve been injured due to someone else’s negligence, you may be entitled to ask for compensation. Taking legal actions against the person or party at fault and being compensated for your injury can help you find some financial and emotional content in all this terrible experience.
Yet, we get it. Making a compensation claim sounds complicated and overwhelming, especially when you’re redirecting all your resources to recovering from your injuries. That is why this article is meant to help you familiarize yourself with the process of making a personal injury claim so that you’ll feel more empowered and motivated to ask for what you deserve.
Keep reading below to learn more about personal injury compensation claims and what steps to follow to make one!
Personal Injury Claims Explained
First things first, let’s help you become more familiar with the topic. If you’ve never made an injury compensation claim before, you probably don’t know much about this area.
That being said, know that a personal injury claim is a legal action taken by a person after being in an accident or being injured due to someone else’s actions or inactions. Simply put, it’s the legal action a victim of an accident that has led to injuries is entitled to make against the person at fault.
A personal injury claim usually involves the following parties:
- The plaintiff (the victim and person who makes a claim)
- The defendant ( the person who is being claimed against)
- The Solicitor (also known as a personal injury lawyer or attorney)
- PIAB (PIAB stands for Personal Injury Assessment Board)
Common types of personal injury compensation claims
Now you know exactly what a personal injury claim is. However, you may not know if your type of accident falls under this category. Here are the most common types of personal injury compensation claims:
- Road accidents
- Accidents at work
- Accidents in public places
- Medical negligence
- Food poisoning
- Boat injury
There are many other types of accidents that entitle the victim to ask for compensation. So, even if your accident doesn’t fall in any of the categories mentioned above, make sure to ask your legal expert for advice on whether or not you’re entitled to make a personal injury claim. In a nutshell, all accidents that involve someone else’s negligence that has caused actionable personal damage can be considered personal injury cases.
Steps to Make a Personal Injury Claim
You’re now likely more familiar with what personal injury claims are. So, let’s skip to the part where you learn what steps you need to follow to make one.
Seek Medical Attention
The first and most crucial step you need to take after suffering an injury is to seek immediate medical attention.
There’s nothing more important than your health and wellbeing. Before you do anything else, make sure that you see a doctor and get a clear idea of the severity of your injuries.
Sometimes, injuries can be much worse than they seem at first. Adrenaline may also prevent you from feeling pain or other symptoms related to your injury. So, it’s important to ask for medical help and have your injuries checked by an expert who can correctly determine what’s wrong and the right treatment options.
As the legal experts from LegalExpert.co.uk explain, “One essential reason to seek medical help is related to gaining medical records for your claim. Medical professionals will record your injuries and their severity, records which you can later use in your compensation claim as evidence.”
Report The Accident as Soon as Possible
No matter where your accident happens, be it at work or in a public space, make sure to report the accident to the people in charge. If you stay silent about your accident and injuries, this can work against you if you decide to make a compensation claim, as it can impact your credibility in court.
So, do not only report the incident to the right people but also make sure that they record it.
Document The Accident
Besides reporting the incident, you also need to document it yourself so that you can prove that the accident has happened as you claim.
Take as many photos as possible of whatever seems relevant at the scene. What’s more, you should also gather contact information from witnesses, the person you have reported the accident to, and other parties involved. If you make a compensation claim, you may need all this data to gather more evidence.
Seek Legal Advice
Another essential step you need to take is to seek legal advice. Making a compensation claim can really be overwhelming if you think of doing it on your own. You have no legal knowledge, and you don’t know what to ask for and how to do it. Instead, a personal injury lawyer has all this information and can easily guide you through all the process, leaving you more time to focus on your recovery.
A personal injury lawyer will also know what documents you need to make your claim, where to take them, and how to negotiate your compensation so that you get the most of it. So, don’t think of going through this alone. Ask for expert legal help, and making a claim will be a lot easier.
Don’t Wait for Too Long
One essential thing you should know about making a personal injury claim is the fact that you have a limited time to take legal actions against the person or party at fault. More precisely, compensation claims for personal injury cases need to be brought within three years from the date since the date when the injury occurred. If you fail to make a claim within this 3-year period, your right to claim compensation will be taken away.
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