Types of Injury
There are different types of injuries, both physical and mental, that can provoke a claim and these can arise from a wide variety of accident situations.
Accidents happen. But if you believe your accident was caused, in whole or in part, by someone else (whether an individual or an organisation) you can consider making a personal injury claim.
These are the main accident categories. If you do not recognise your own situation in these categories, or indeed if you’re not sure who was to blame, don’t worry. If you’ve chosen a personal injury claims specialist who meets the ClaimsGuide recommended criteria, he will quickly be able to ascertain whether or not you have grounds for a claim and the type of injury claim you should be making. The rule is: if in doubt, ask.
Road traffic accidents (RTAs)
By law, all drivers of motor vehicles must have insurance which will cover them for injuries to other people – be they passengers in their own vehicle, drivers and passengers in other vehicles, or pedestrians.
If you (whether you were a driver, a passenger, a pedestrian or a cyclist) have suffered an injury due to a road accident that was not your fault, you should be able to make a claim.
Even if the driver of the vehicle that caused the accident did not have any insurance, or is not identified, you should still be able to make a claim for compensation. Remember that road traffic accidents involving injury should be reported to the police.
If you do not recognise your own situation in this category, or indeed if you’re not sure who was to blame, don’t worry. If you’ve chosen a personal injury claims specialist who meets the ClaimsGuide recommended criteria, he will quickly be able to ascertain whether or not you have grounds for a claim and the type of injury claim you should be making. The rule is: if in doubt, ask.
If you’ve suffered an injury in a road accident and you weren’t to blame, you’re very likely to have a valid claim. Make sure any injury arising from a road traffic accident (RTA) is reported to the police.
Accidents at work
If you have been injured at work, you may be able to claim for injuries and losses, as well as any loss of earnings. It is compulsory for an employer to have insurance in place to cover employee claims. Accordingly, it will be your employer’s insurance company that will pay any compensation awarded.‘It is compulsory for an employer to have insurance in place to cover employee claims’
These are some examples of the more common types of workplace accident. They can take many forms so if you don’t see yours it doesn’t mean you won’t qualify:
- Injuries from defective or dangerous machinery
- Slips or trips on debris or dangerous surfaces
- Injuries involving lifting or manual handling
- Repetitive strain injuries, sometimes known as RSI
- Respiratory diseases from exposure to harmful and dangerous substances
- Employees exposed to violent attacks due to the negligence of their employers
- Careless fellow workers who cause you injury
- Deafness caused by noise
- Dermatitis and skin conditions
- Vibration white finger
Some people are worried about losing their jobs if they make an accident or injury claim. If that is a concern to you, you should seek reassurance from a solicitor, who can tell you about your rights and how to protect them when making a claim. Your employer cannot normally sack you for making such a claim.
If you do not recognise your own situation in this category, or indeed if you’re not sure who was to blame, don’t worry. If you’ve chosen a personal injury claims specialist who meets the ClaimsGuide recommended criteria, he will quickly be able to ascertain whether or not you have grounds for a claim and the type of injury claim you should be making. The rule is: if in doubt, ask.
If you’ve been injured at work, make sure the incident and injury are recorded in the Accident Book that employers are required to maintain in the workplace by the Health and Safety Executive.
Trips and slips
You could suffer an injury due to a slip or a trip in many different circumstances. Your accident may have happened in a shop, a public place or on the street. It may have been caused by a pothole or a slippery or uneven surface. Accidents like these are not uncommon and very often result in broken bones and can have a profound impact on people’s lives.
Public and private organisations owe a duty of care to ensure all visitors to their premises are safe. Local authorities are also under a duty to ensure that pavements and public highways are in a safe condition for public use. Occupiers usually carry insurance against injury from accident claims and, accordingly, it will be their insurance company that will pay any compensation awarded to you.
If it can be shown that someone has a responsibility to maintain the area in which your accident happened, and it can be shown that there was no system of inspection and maintenance, or that that system had failed, you should be able to make a claim.
If you do not recognise your own situation in this category, or indeed if you’re not sure who was to blame, don’t worry. If you’ve chosen a personal injury claims specialist who meets the ClaimsGuide recommended criteria, he will quickly be able to ascertain whether or not you have grounds for a claim and the type of injury claim you should be making. The rule is: if in doubt, ask.
If you’ve injured yourself by tripping or slipping, your best first action is to take a photograph of what caused it. Then report it, ideally in writing, to someone in authority associated with the premises or location.
Other accidents
Accidents can happen almost anywhere and in all sorts of circumstances. As long as it can be shown that the accident was not exclusively your fault and that someone else was at least partly responsible, you should be able to make a claim.
Types not covered elsewhere include, but are not limited to, injuries arising from:
- The use of defective products
- Sports activity
- Accidents in the home
- Animal attacks, dog bites and collisions with animals on the road
- Accidents while on holiday
- Accidents in schools and other educational establishments
If you do not recognise your own situation in this category, or indeed if you’re not sure who was to blame, don’t worry. If you’ve chosen a personal injury claims specialist who meets the ClaimsGuide recommended criteria, he will quickly be able to ascertain whether or not you have grounds for a claim and the type of injury claim you should be making. The rule is: if in doubt, ask.
Sometimes it’s not obvious that you have grounds for a claim. Even if you think you were partly to blame, or your injury only reveals itself or its full extent some time after the event that caused it, you could still have a valid claim. It won’t cost you anything to check with a personal injury claims specialist.
Criminal injury
If you have been a victim of a criminal assault, you may be entitled to compensation. These types of claims are most commonly pursued against the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority. You can do this yourself by referring to www.cica.gov.uk.
However, this can be complicated and you should be aware that such claims are not without cost. You may feel that you need the assistance of a solicitor. Usually, it can be arranged for your claim to be pursued on a ‘contingency fee’ basis. This means that the solicitor will be paid by way of an agreed percentage of whatever compensation is awarded. This is deducted from the compensation awarded when your claim is concluded. However, you do not have to pay anything at the outset, and there would be no charge to you should your case fail.
If you do not recognise your own situation in this category, or indeed if you’re not sure who was to blame, don’t worry. If you’ve chosen a personal injury claims specialist who meets the ClaimsGuide recommended criteria, he will quickly be able to ascertain whether or not you have grounds for a claim and the type of injury claim you should be making. The rule is: if in doubt, ask.
Criminal injuries compensation can be complicated and require very specialist expertise. A good personal injury claims specialist will be able to introduce you to a solicitor who is expert in this area.
Medical negligence
In a situation where you believe the standard of treatment or advice given by a doctor, hospital or other provider of services from the medical profession has fallen below a standard that a reasonably competent person in that field of expertise would normally provide, and you suffer injury (or need further treatment) as a result, you may have a valid claim.
These types of claims require expert knowledge and are normally referred by personal injury claims specialists to solicitors who specialise in the medical negligence field.
Although it is possible for medical negligence cases to be pursued at no cost, this cannot always be guaranteed. However, a good personal injury claims specialist will want to negotiate the best possible deal for you. You can then either decide to proceed on that basis or not.
If you do not recognise your own situation in this category, or indeed if you’re not sure who was to blame, don’t worry. If you’ve chosen a personal injury claims specialist who meets the ClaimsGuide recommended criteria, he will quickly be able to ascertain whether or not you have grounds for a claim and the type of injury claim you should be making. The rule is: if in doubt, ask.
Unlike most personal injury claims, medical negligence cases cannot be guaranteed to be pursued at no cost. A good personal injury claims specialist will be able to recommend a solicitor who is expert in this field and to negotiate on your behalf to minimise costs.
If you think your injury was caused in whole or part by somebody else, the chances are you’ve got grounds for a claim. If in doubt, ask a personal injury claims specialist.