The Claims Process

We will discuss with you how the accident happened and who was to blame. If we don’t think you have a case, we will tell you that straight away.  If we think you may have a good claim, we will talk to you about whether you already have insurance to cover your legal fees and, if not, we will let you know if we can deal with your case on a no win, no fee basis.

Once we have sorted out how your claim will be funded, we will send a “letter of claim” to your opponent, setting out the circumstances of the accident and holding them responsible.  In most cases, they will report the claim to their insurers who will investigate and either admit liability or deny they are responsible.

We will gather all the evidence we can to prove your case.  If the other side deny that the accident was their fault, and when we have seen all the evidence we can get, we will advise you on your likely prospects of success.  If we feel at that stage that you are unlikely to win, we will tell you that as there is no point in you pursuing a case unless you are fairly certain to win.  If we think you have a good chance of winning, we will issue proceedings and prepare the case for a trial.

Liability is the most important thing for us to prove.  If we cannot prove to a judge that your opponent was to blame, or persuade the other side to admit liability, we can’t get you compensation no matter how serious your injuries or how high your financial losses are.  

If we are happy that you are likely to win on liabilty, or the other side have admitted it, we will arrange a medical examination - usually by a consultant but sometimes by a GP - who will send us a report setting out details of your injuries and symptoms and giving their opinion on how well (and when) they expect you to recover. We then look at previous similar cases to assess how much compensation you should expect to get for your “pain, suffering and loss of amenity” (i.e. the injuries themselves and the effect they have had on your ability to enjoy  life).

When we know the effect the injuries are likely to have on your daily life and your ability to work, we will calculate your financial losses.

We will then begin negotiations and try to get you the best possible compensation for what you have lost. If your opponent’s insurers aren’t willing to pay the level of compensation we think you deserve, we will issue proceedings.  Sometimes we have to go all the way to a hearing or a trial so that you can tell the judge how bad your injuries were and what effects they have had on your life.  However, in most cases, we are able to reach a settlement figure which is acceptable to both sides before the hearing takes place.