I need help with Personal Injury

We’ve all heard the mantra on adverts – if you’ve suffered an injury and it wasn’t your fault, you may be eligible for compensation - but what exactly does that mean?

Broadly speaking, personal injury law is concerned with acts of negligence that cause someone to suffer a loss. Everyone around us is under a general duty of care not to cause injury to others. When this duty is broken, then that person has acted in a negligent fashion, and if by acting in this manner they have caused harm to another person, then they may be liable to pay compensation.

The most common example of this is the employee being injured in an accident at work. An employer has a duty to provide a safe workplace for their employees. This could mean supplying earmuffs to prevent deafness in noisy environments, eliminating asbestos that can cause industrial disease, providing a regular “office evaluation” to tackle repetitive strain injury and other common desk-based issues, or just having a robust grievance system in place to reduce stress at work.

However, personal injury law covers far more than just accidents at work. The driver who causes a road traffic accident, for instance, was acting negligently by failing to pay attention to the road. If someone in that crash suffered whiplash, then the negligent driver could well be liable to pay compensation. The doctor who fails to accurately diagnose a condition leading to a delay in treatment could be found guilty of medical negligence. The local council that ignores a broken paving slab may be forced to compensate someone that slips and trips over it. Whether the accident takes place, at home or abroad, anyone who experiences physical or emotional distress caused by the negligence of another may be eligible for compensation.

Having established the above, the next question asked is often, “So how much is my claim worth?” This is always more difficult to answer! Generally speaking, the more severe the injury is, the greater the level of compensation. Someone who suffers whiplash from a car crash, for instance, would not expect the same as someone who lost an arm in a workplace accident. Compensation is regularly more complex than simply putting a price on someone’s pain and suffering; court settlements will routinely include costs for rehabilitation, family support or medical care.

This is why seeking legal advice on these matters is so important. Many firms offer a ‘no win no fee’ system, meaning if you are unsuccessful you do not pay. Personal injury claims often have a time limitation of three years from the date of accident – so if you think you have a case, don’t delay! Using ReviewSolicitors, you can find the right solicitor for your legal issue.