What should I do if I wish to claim for accident injury compensation?
Answer:
Prior to claiming for accident injury compensation, the first matter you should attend to is your health. If you were involved in an accident in which you sustained serious injuries, you would have been taken to hospital in an ambulance. However, if the accident did not seem serious enough at the time, seeking immediate medical attention is both vital to your long term health and the success of a claim for accident injury compensation.
Depending on the nature of the accident you might have been able to collect contact details of witness who saw the accident occur, take photographs of the scene or, in the case of a road traffic accident, exchange insurance details with the other drivers involved. These details can help to support your claim for accident injury compensation, as can any police or Health and Safety Executive investigation into the circumstances surrounding the accident.
Because a negligent driver, negligent employer or other person who has been responsible for causing you an injury should report your accident to their insurers, it is probable that you will be approached directly by an insurance company with an offer of early settlement for your accident injury compensation claim. These offers rarely reflect the amount of accident injury compensation that you are entitled to, and therefore it is in your best interests to have a full assessment of your claim for accident injury compensation conducted by an experienced personal injury lawyer at the earliest possible opportunity.
A lawyer will look at the procedures you have already completed, ensure that you have a accident injury compensation claim which is worth your while to pursue, and inform you whether your claim for accident injury compensation can be undertaken on a “contingency fee” agreement. Wherever possible, your lawyer will also advise you how much accident injury compensation you should be entitled to in order to avoid the potential of accepting an inappropriate compensation settlement from the negligent party´s insurance company.