Making a claim is not as complicated as you may think. If you’re not sure whether you may have a personal injury or medical negligence claim, you may feel overwhelmed about potentially going forward with one.
This guide is intended to help you work out if you would be able to make a claim after suffering an injury or illness.
Type of injury
Personal injuries come in many different forms. However, the general rule is that if you have been injured in an accident that was the fault of another person or organisation, you may have a personal injury claim.
Some of the most common types of personal injury include:
- Accident at work
- Road traffic accident
- Slips, trips and falls
- Faulty product injury
- Accident abroad
However, if you’ve had an accident that doesn’t appear to fit into one of these categories, you may still have a claim. It is advisable to seek guidance on the issue.
Time limits
In the majority of cases, you will have a certain amount of time in which to bring a claim for compensation. This is generally three years. So if you have been injured in the last three years, you could be able to make a claim.
However, there are exceptions to the rule. For example, if the accident happened to a child, they have three years from their 18th birthday in which to make their claim. Meanwhile, if you are claiming on behalf of someone without the mental capacity to claim for themselves, it is unlikely that you will face any time limit.
Injury severity
In order to make a claim, your injury needs to be serious enough to require medical treatment. It is therefore important to seek medical attention as soon as possible. If your injury is serious enough to claim for, you will likely require a period of recovery. The sooner you can start getting back on your feet, the better.
As well as helping you to recover physically from your ordeal, medical attention will provide important evidence for your claim.
Evidence
To present a claim, you may need certain pieces of evidence. This will help to strengthen your case. Among the most important and persuasive pieces of evidence you can submit with your claim are police, workplace accident and medical reports.
These will support your claim that the injury caused you real problems and that the accident was caused by someone else. Your solicitor will also want to know about any witness statements you may have access to. These will help show who was responsible for the incident.
Compensation
The amount of compensation you receive after a successful claim will depend on a number of factors. These are based on the pain and suffering your injury has caused you to experience, as well as any costs you have incurred as a result of your injury.
If you have been forced to take time off work and therefore lost earnings, this will be taken into account when compensation is awarded. You could also be compensated for any damage sustained to your belongings.
Photo credit: Vadim Guzhva
