Accident Claims - All what you need to know

Nobody expects to be injured when they wake up and start the day. An accident usually happens quickly and without warning, and it can be a huge shock to the system when an accident happens. Your entire body is vulnerable to injuries caused by different types of accidents every day, no matter where you go and what you do. Some accidents are minor and involve a small cut or bruise that you hardly notice, but other accidents are severe and really affect the way that you live your life. If you have suffered an injury that is not your fault, you deserve justice and compensation for the harm you’ve suffered. Whether you have suffered an injury on the road, at work, at home or in a public place, Free Legal Justice may be able to help you make an accident claim. An accident claim is a legal case you can institute if you've been hurt in some form of accident and it was not your fault. It refers to the legal process of recovering compensation from the party that caused you harm, or who was legally responsible for your injury. The compensation awarded in a successful accident claim will usually be paid by an insurance company. In most cases, you can make an accident claim if you or a loved one has been hurt in any kind of accident in the following circumstances:

1. You were injured within the last three years;
2. The injury resulted in you suffering financially as well as physically; and
3. The injury was clearly caused wholly or partly by somebody else

Free Legal Justice offers free, unbiased legal advice to potential clients on the merits and process of their accident claims. Our accident claims experts will guide you through all the important steps of your claim, without the pressure and without the rush. At the end of the day, the sooner you start your accident claim, the sooner you can make peace with the accident and receive the maximum compensation you deserve. If you've suffered an injury and it feels wrong, contact Free Legal Justice today to see how our accident claims team can help make it right. A work injury results from an accident during the course of work, which leads to some form of physical or mental occupational injury. Accidents at work are caused by a combination of unsafe behaviour and unsafe working conditions. When accidents happen, it is crucial that an employer has adequate safety processes and policies in place to deal with the incident. If another person is to blame for an accident at work that has caused your injury, it is likely that you are entitled to make an accident claim against your employer. This will be a claim for compensation for the injuries you have sustained and pain and suffering you have endured as a result of the accident. Workplace injuries can occur as a result of a single incident, from extreme wear and tear or severe strain. Some common causes of accident claims include:

• Slip and Fall Accidents
• Overexertion
• Fall from height
• Being caught in heavy machinery
• Walking or standing for longs periods of time
• Repetitive motion injuries
• Stepping on sharp objects

While any worker is at risk when of suffering a work-related injury, some employees are more likely to suffer harm and severe injuries than others. This includes people working in hospitals or other care workers, those working in manufacturing and construction industries, as well as those in the retail industry including waiters, cashiers, chefs, shop assistants and bar staff. It's Not Easy To Know Who Was To Blame For Your Accident! It is not always obvious who caused the accident at work, or who is responsible for whatever caused the injury. In most cases your employer is ultimately liable for the harm you have suffered, and will have beached the duty of care that they have towards you because they failed to ensure your health and safety at work. If an employer does not comply with this duty, and their failure to do so results in an accident or injury at work, there will be sufficient grounds for the employee to make an accident claim. If your injury was caused by the negligence of another employee, you should not worry that this person will be personally liable to pay you injury compensation. As a result of a principle known as vicarious liability, your employer will be responsible for all actions of their employees, whether negligent or otherwise. This means that an employer will be liable for the injury that an employee has suffered at work. Employers are required by law to take out liability insurance to cover claims by employees that have suffered injuries at work. Free Legal Justice sees numerous accidents at work which result in our clients instituting accident claims against their employers. The list of different of accident claims is extremely long. Some of the more common reported injuries that Free Legal Justice has dealt with over the years include:

• Bone Fracture Claims

There are 206 bones in the body that can easily be broken in an accident. Feet, ankles, hands, wrist, fingers and toes all have tiny bones that can easily be broken because of an accident in the workplace. If an employee is caught between parts of dangerous equipment or is crushed under the moving parts of defective machinery, they can sustain a severe ankle injury. If an employee is injured because of a car or other workplace vehicle, he/she can suffer multiple fractures in one accident. Some fractures may require surgery for treatment of the injury. Depending on the nature and severity of an injury, it can take as long as two years to completely recover fully from the pain, and to revert to your full motion range and strength of the body part. In other cases, people are able to resume their normal daily routine within three to four months.

• Puncture wounds

Any part of your body could be damaged by means of a puncture wound, caused by stepping on a sharp object in the workplace or by a power tool or dangerous machinery making contact with hard or soft tissue. A puncture wound can limit the employee’s ability to walk, run, stand, lift and carry things. If a puncture wound is in a dangerous place like an abdomen, head or chest, it could cause much more life-threatening injury.

• Sprains and Strains Claims

An employee can easily twist his or her ankle or wrist in the workplace. A twisted joint can result in a strain or a sprain. Naturally, the severity of your injury will determine your recovery period. Generally, the initial treatment of a sprain includes resting and protecting the area for at least a week until swelling goes down. This is followed by a period of one to two weeks of light exercise rehabilitation to restore range of motion, strength, and flexibility. In injury cases surgery may be required, and it can take several more weeks to several months for your life to return to normal.

• Chemical spills and burns

Harmful substances and fire can cause severe burn injuries to the internal and external parts of your body. Employees in the health, science and manufacturing industries are at risk of harmful substances and employers should take careful health and safety measures to ensure that accidents of this nature are prevented in the workplace.

• Cartilage Damage

When an employee suffers a severe fracture or sprain, they could injure their cartilage as well.

• Amputation Accident Claims

Amputations are disastrous, and can occur if an employee is caught in heavy machinery or dangerous equipment, or if they are injured in an accident involving a moving vehicle at work. If the accident is severe and results in multiple fractures or crushed limbs, injuries can necessitate medical amputation. It isn't just drivers who can claim for injuries sustained on the road - car accidents can cause injuries to all sorts of people, including passengers, drivers, and innocent bystanders. All of these people may have been affected by the car accident in some way, and may have a potential compensation claim. If you have been involved in a car accident, there are many possible injuries that you could suffer as a result. There are around 60 different bones in the feet, knees, and ankles that could potentially be injured as a result of a car accident. It is not just the bones that you have to worry about though – your upper and lower body contain many types of muscles, tendons, ligaments, and other soft tissues that could be damaged in a car accident. These tissues provide support and hold the rest of your body together, giving you your flexibility and mobility. An injury involving these tissues could result in severe impairment for the victim of a car accident. Even if the crash happens at a slow speed, a car accident can still exert a huge amount of force on those inside the vehicle. Passenger Accident Claims Passengers and drivers can be flung from cars and sustain injuries when they land, or an innocent bystander or cyclist could be hit by a car and be flung from the point of impact. In some cases, car accidents can cause extremely severe injuries including brain and spinal cord injury resulting in paralysis. If you have been in a car accident and have experienced an ankle injury, you should consider getting in touch with a friendly Free Legal Justice claims handler today, to find out more about your accident claim. At the end of the day, if the car accident was not your fault, then you should not have to pay for your physical injuries or for the financial consequences of such injury. There are certain injuries that are more common than others when it comes to car crashes.

• Fractured Bone Claims

Possibly the most common type of injury resulting from a car accident is a broken bone. This type of injury commonly occurs in head-on collisions and rear-end car collisions. Lower body fractures are particularly common because of the reflex that most people have to extend their feet when they are bracing for the impending impact of a crash, but fractures to the other bones are just as likely. As a driver or a passenger within a car, you can suffer countless broken bones as a result of the steering wheel, windscreen, doors and other vehicles exerting extreme force on your body. You can also sustain broken bones if you are a pedestrian hit by a moving vehicle, or crushed beneath a vehicle, or if you are flung from the vehicle. Depending on how and where the car exerts force on your body, you could sustain fractures to upper body, back and skull, all of which could result in long term and even fatal injuries.

• Bruises, Cuts and Scarring Claims

Car accidents involve the bending, crushing and forceful impact of the body framework of the car, breaking of glass, metals, plastics and personal possessions. When any of these items make contact with your body in the course of an accident, it can result in extensive bruises, cuts and scarring. Often bruising and swelling injuries take a few hours to develop. If the car accident causes an explosion or catches alight, you can sustain very severe injuries and medical complications as a result of the burns.

• Sprains and Strains Claims

Sprains and strains are common injuries resulting from car accidents. A sprain typically means that ligaments have been torn or stretched, and a strain entails the tearing or stretching of tendons or muscles. The bits of soft tissue around your limbs are susceptible to these types of injuries if you are in a car accident.

• Amputation Claims

Amputations are devastating to any victim of an accident. If any part of your body is caught in an accident or severely crushed by a moving car, this can have severe consequences for the victim. Where a car accident results in multiple fractures of one specific area, injuries can necessitate medical amputation. In other severe injuries (including burns and extensive infection) an amputation can result from complications connected to your injuries. Car accidents can cause upper body amputation, lower body amputation and facial amputation and can affect every victim differently. Whether you land up with a broken bone or a sprained tendon, your day to day life will be affected for a certain period of time as a result of the car accident. As a result of your injuries, you may not be able to move around and do the same tasks in the same way as before, which could result in a variety of financial losses, including taking time off of work. If you have found yourself in this situation after a car accident, it is important that you speak to Free Legal Justice as soon as possible. Our experienced accident claims team will guide you and help you navigate through your accident claim. Free Legal Justice is highly experienced in handling personal accident claims which have happened in a wide range of public places, including theme parks, shopping malls, restaurants and bars, parks, schools, theatres, carnivals and music concerts. If you have suffered a personal injury whilst in a public place and you believe it was due to negligence of another individual or body, you may be able to claim compensation for your injuries. Councils, shop owners, businesses and public bodies all have a duty to take reasonable measures to prevent the public from being injured on the premises under their control. Council Owned Accident Claims If your accident was on a council owned property, such as a public walkway or a council house rented out to a member of the public, then you may be able to make a personal injury compensation claim against the local authority if the accident was due to their negligence. When we look at injuries occurring in public spaces, the accident often involves a slip or a trip on an unmaintained road or a pavement, which means that the local council will be responsible. When instituting a claim against a Local Authority for not maintaining a road or sidewalk, the claimant will need to prove that the local council was negligent in their duty to the public by failing to keep the pavement safe. This involves proving that, based on the circumstances of the case, it was not reasonable for the local council to let the public space to fall into a state of disrepair that it could result in a person being injured. Your legal right to compensation is based on getting you back to the position you were in before you suffered an injury. In accident claims generally, compensation sums are calculated with reference to the severity of the injury suffered, and the type of care that the victim may need going forward to be able to live with their injuries. We will also include a claim for out-of-pocket expenses that you have incurred as a result of the accident. Accident claims include amounts for general and special damages. In summary, general damages are compensation for the physical injuries, whereas special damages are compensation for additional expenses incurred due to the injury. A member of the Free Legal Justice accident claims team will be sure to go through your calculation of general and special damages with you in detail once you’ve agreed to make am accident claim. General Damages In Accident Compensation Claims There are specific rules of how to calculate what can be claimed as general damages for different levels of harm experienced in accident claims. Your general damages will be calculated by matching your independent medical report with the sums given in the official Judicial Board Guidelines for the Assessment of General Damages in Personal Injury Cases. The compensation that you will receive at the conclusion of your injury case will be influenced by details such as how severe your injury was and how long you will take to recover from your injuries. There are many injuries that can be included in accident claims. Some of the common injuries that the Free Legal Justice team deal with include whiplash, head and brain injuries, loss of limbs, breaks, fractures, and loss of limb. Head Injury Claims Any injury to the head is a severe issue, because the brain is also at risk of injury. The amount of compensation that you will be entitled to claim will depend on how severe the brain injury is. A person suffering from minor head injury, with no injury to the brain, may be entitled to claim compensation in the region of £3,000 to £6,000. If there is major damage to the head and the brain has also been affected, the compensation claim can be over £20,000. The most severe cases would be those where the victim is left completely unresponsive and has suffered permanent severe brain damage. Such severe head injuries could fetch a compensation of over £200 000, and will be assessed on a case by case basis. Mental or Psychological Injuries Again, the amount of compensation that you can claim for a mental injury will depend on the severity of the mental or psychological injuries you have suffered. If you have suffered psychological harm that is ruled as temporary, and things are expected to return to normal soon, your compensation claim can be anything between £4,000 and £10,000. Where mental and psychological injuries are more severe or permanent, the compensation claim can reach up to £50,000. Upper Body Injuries If you have suffered minor injuries to the upper body area, including the neck and shoulders, you may have a compensation claim in the amount of up to £6 000, depending on the nature of your injuries. If you have suffered more severe upper body injuries, for example dislocation and fractures, you could have a claim of up to £29,000.The biggest compensation pay-out that you can receive will be for severe, permanent injuries such as paraplegia, where the amount of compensation can be anything between £35,000 and £100, 000. Back Injuries Back injuries are risky, painful and draining. If your back has been injured in a car accident, there is a high risk of spinal damage and it is important that you get a medical assessment to prevent any further potential damage. A back injury can result in you becoming less mobile, or even result in you becoming paralysed. A claim for minor back injuries can reach up to £9000, while severe permanent back injuries to nerve root or spinal cord can give you a compensation claim of up to £120,000. Hands, Arms, and Wrist Injuries It can be tricky to calculate the potential loss that a person suffers because of a wrist or hand injury. Less severe hand and wrist injuries can give you an accident claim of between £3 000 – £5 000, whereas a permanent injury or disability can stretch up to £30 000. Lower Body Injuries Injuries to the lower body area include any kind of injury to your ankles, knees, hips and legs. As with the other forms of injuries, the amount that you can claim for lower body injuries will vary depending on the nature of your injury. Accident claims for minor lower body injuries can reach up to £10 000.00. If you have suffered lower body injuries that lead to permanent disability, loss of limb, or consistent and permanent pain, then your compensation claim could be up to £25 000.00. The examples of compensation for various types of injuries mentioned above are not in any way fixed, and should only be used as a rough guideline for the potential value of personal accident claims available to different accident victims. Your individual accident claim will be assessed on a case by case basis by one of our accident claims experts in a free, confidential consultation once you provide us with all the details. Special Damages In Accident claims Special damages forming part of your accident claim include compensation for any additional expenses that you have had to incur as a result of the accident. This is a broad category of damages, and can range from loss of past and future income, to costs of counselling and therapy sessions, to traveling expenses, supplementary childcare expenses, as well as nursing and household adaptations that you have made to help you live with your injuries. Your accident claims handler will explain to you which amounts will contribute to your special damages claim. Special Damages In Personal Injury Accident Claims It is important to know that special damages can only be claimed if you are able to present some sort of evidence of the expenses. You need to show that you have already incurred these expenses, or will in future incur these expenses, for example by presenting receipts, reports, payslips and other documentation relevant to the damages. Our accident claims team is available to consult 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and is ready answer any questions you might have about the calculation of your general and special damages claim. If would like to chat about the accident claims process, please get in touch with Free Legal Justice now by filling out the online form or by calling us on 0800 567 7074. If you are unable to get to one of the Free Legal Justice offices, one of our friendly accident claims solicitors will be able to do a home visit, so that you can discuss your case freely from the comfort of your own home. Free Legal Justice offers all our clients with valid accident claims the option of working under a No Win No Fee agreement. Under a No Win No Fee agreement, if your case is unsuccessful, you won't have to pay a thing to us for the work that the Free Legal Justice team has done on your case. For thousands of clients, this means that they will finally have access to the justice they deserve, and a fair chance to make a claim for rightful compensation, without any financial risk. The good news is that you will never pay Free Legal Justice any legal fees in advance for proceeding with your accident claim. A No Win No Fee agreement means that we will only get paid if your accident claim is successful. If we help you to win your accident claim, Free Legal Justice will receive a success fee of an average of 25% of the compensation received as payment for the work that we have done to help you win your case. Your devoted injury clams solicitor will be sure to discuss the success fee with you upfront, and the agreed success fee will be confirmed in writing before we institute your accident claim. Free Legal Justice carries the risk of your accident claim not being successful. In the unlikely event that your claim is unsuccessful, we will not charge you any legal fees for the work done by our skilled personal injury solicitors. To ensure that you are fully protected and have peace of mind over your financial risks, the Free Legal Justice team will help you to secure ‘After the Event’ insurance. This insurance covers you in the unlikely event that you are unsuccessful with your claim, and in case the court rules that you need to pay a part of your opponent’s legal costs during the case. Contact Our UK Accident Claims Team Today Contact Free Legal Justice at any time of day, on any day of the week, by filling out the short online form and waiting for us to call you back for free, or by calling one of our friendly accident claims handlers on 0800 567 7074. If you would like to discuss your case from the comfort of your own home, please request a complimentary home visit from one of our friendly accident claims handlers, so that we can start your accident claim without delay.