Tuesday November 29, 2011 at 7:10am
If you want to claim full personal injury compensation after an accident that was not your fault, you need to see a good personal injury solicitor to help you. The right time to see an injury lawyer is when you have been involved in an accident or when you have suffered illness as a result of poor conditions in your workplace. For example, a specialist brain injury solicitor should be contacted before you accept any compensation settlement offered by an insurance company or your emplo
Wednesday October 5, 2011 at 6:27am
If you have been seriously injured in an accident and need legal advice about making a claim for personal injury compensation, the last thing you want to do is have to travel to see a lawyer. If your injuries are not serious you may speak to a Solicitor over the telephone or by sending e-mail or letter, but it is generally much better to meet your lawyer face to face. Balinda & Co Personal Injury Solicitors understand the difficulties faced by people who have been seriously injured in accide
Monday October 3, 2011 at 6:28am
If you have suffered an injury as a result of another person’s fault, you have a right to claim personal injury compensation. How do you know another person is to blame for the accident? Many people fail to make claims for personal injury compensation because they mistakenly believe that they are at fault and do not have a case. For example, if you are a construction worker and injured at an unstable building site where warning signs of its instability were displayed at the entrance,
Wednesday August 10, 2011 at 7:20am
1. Are you frustrated by your current solicitor’s failure to progress your accident injury claim? 2. Is your solicitor being rude and condescending to you? 3. Is your lawyer forcing you to accept a medical report you consider to be inaccurate and unbalanced? 4. Is your solicitor asking you to pay his fees or disbursements upfront? 5. Is your solicitor forcing you to accept compensation lower than what you believe to be the true value of your claim? 6. Is your solicitor being pushed around
Friday July 8, 2011 at 1:42pm
“Referral fees” also known as “acceptance fees” are the payments insurance companies and claims management companies receive for passing details of their injured customers to lawyers on their panels in order to claim compensation.
To be on the insurance approved panel, a solicitor will generally agree to pay the insurance company a certain amount in respect of each claim referred to the lawyer.
The Legal Services Consumer Panel Report last year revealed the large sums
Tuesday June 28, 2011 at 9:34am
Insurance companies are making millions of pounds out of selling to injury lawyers details of victims of accidents. Former Justice Secretary Jack Straw has revealed, the insurance industry is running a “racket” by selling road accident victims’ phone numbers to injury lawyers. Injury Lawyers on the panels of insurance companies pay up to £1,000 referral fees to get the details of accident victims from insurance companies. Nuisance text message companies telling mobile pho
Saturday October 16, 2010 at 2:11pm
Some people claiming personal injury compensation insist on taking their claims all the way to a hearing before a judge in court. They just want to have their day in court even when there is a sensible offer on the table.
There are two points about going all the way to a full hearing and the litigation risks inherent in a court claim:
1. A court, whether county or high court is a jury. Like any jury system two different judges could come to the opposite conclusions on the same evidence. Any
Thursday October 14, 2010 at 9:43pm
The impartiality of expert witnesses is an issue of importance in personal injury claims. In 2000, the High Court commented upon the effects of partisanship by experts upon the expense and resolution of legal disputes:
“112 … an expert taking a partisan approach, resulting in a failure to resolve before trial or at trial issues on which experts should agree, inflates the costs of resolving the dispute and may prevent the parties from resolving their disputes long before trial.&r
Thursday October 7, 2010 at 3:16pm
Lord Young, the peer leading the Coalition Government’s review of the personal injury compensation system, while addressing the Conservative Party conference this week said, some personal injury lawyers offer “free lottery ticket where you win as you enter”. Young said, he wanted to inject “common sense” in the personal injury claims system. The peer who was one time a solicitor was so critical of some lawyers who advertise on TV aggressively promoting the “no
Monday October 4, 2010 at 11:15am
200 rogue claims management companies have been closed down by the Ministry of Justice.
The Ministry of Justice regulates the claims management industry. Claims management companies (CMCS) operate as middlemen offering their services to people with personal injury claims and debt problems. They offer to help people claim personal injury compensation.
There are now more than 3,000 CMCS operating in the UK.
The Claims Management Regulation Unit has shut down 200 CMCS becau
Friday September 17, 2010 at 4:34pm
Lord Young of Grantham has been tasked by the government to crackdown on advertising for personal injury claims as part of a review of the “health and safety compensation culture.” He will submit proposals to the Prime minister, Cameron, who set up the enquiry amid his Party’s concern at the increase in television advertising by claims management companies or so called “ambulance-chasing lawyers” shouting “No win No Fee.” However sources close to Lord Yo
Tuesday September 7, 2010 at 9:26pm
In this country you will not get personal injury compensation for the fact that the other person was negligent. Compensation will only be given to you for the injury and loss caused by that negligence. Negligence without any injury will mean no compensation. Therefore, for you to get compensation, you are required to prove that another person’s negligence has caused you injury and loss. For example, if you are sitting in your car and another car drives into the rear of your vehicle causing
Saturday September 4, 2010 at 3:14pm
Children and mental patients are regarded as persons under a legal disability and are therefore exempt from the three year time limit.A person is treated as under a disability if he is an infant or of unsound mind. A person is of unsound mind if he is a person who, by reason of a mental disorder, is not capable of managing or administering his property and affairs.It is not necessary for the person making the accident claim to have been a formal or informal mental patient but, if this is the cas
Thursday August 26, 2010 at 10:25am
High volume of personal injury claims increased insurance premiums up by 22 per cent at elephant.co.uk and Diamond insurance company. These two companies are in the Admiral group of insurance companies. Admiral insurance reported a leap in pre-tax half-year profits of £126.9 million partly due to the increase in car insurance premiums that went up because of the high numbers of personal injury claims. The total written premiums by the Admiral group was £556 million in Britain.
Thursday August 5, 2010 at 10:55pm
When you make a
personal injury claim you may hear certain terms being used which you would not normally hear in general speech or may never have heard.
In this blog I will explain some terms to you that may help you understand the process of your personal injury claim. Don’t worry, if you don’t remember everything, you can not be expected to know all the jargon, but it is helpful to have an idea of some so that you can find it easy to communicate with your personal injury lawyer.
Tuesday August 3, 2010 at 10:11pm
In thinking about making a personal injury claim, if your injuries were serious, you need to think about what things you need for the short term and what things you want for the long term. Just as important as defining your personal needs and desires, you should also make it your task to become informed about your rights and duties of making a personal injury claim in the UK. Until you know what you can get under the law, you won’t know if your expectations about the end-result of your cla
Tuesday July 27, 2010 at 10:55pm
Ability
A charity that provides healthy living, leisure and learning resources focused on the inclusion of people with special needs arising from disabilities, long term sickness or mental health problems Ability Net
AbilityNet is a charity that brings the benefits of computer technology to adults and children with disabilities BASIC BASIC is a charity attached to Greater Manchester Neuroscience Centre at Hope Hopspital. Basic provides counselling, information and support services for patien
Friday July 23, 2010 at 10:58pm
Please click on the links below for further information about your rights if you suffered accident injury. The following are support organisations for people who have suffered injury as a result of negligence. 1. The Birth Trauma Association (BTA) - This organisation supports all women who have had a traumatic birth experience. It is estimated that, in the UK alone, post traumatic stress disorder may result in about 10,000 women a year.
2. Phab (physical handicapped-able bodied) - Phab’s
Sunday July 18, 2010 at 5:02pm
The vast majority of accident claims have a value of no more than £10,000 and a significant number of claims are worth £1,000 or less. If the value of your accident claim is less than £1,000, it is worth considering taking your injury claim to the small claims court without using a lawyer.
In the small claims court, an injury solicitor may help you to make your claim in the usual way or advise you how to handle your claim yourself. However, solicitors’ costs are not pay
Friday July 9, 2010 at 9:15am
Insurance companies use a lot of tricks to delay making payment of personal injury compensation. In the United Kingdom, insurance companies act in most cases for the people who are being blamed for accidents, whether the case is a car accident, an injury at work or a trip and fall claim. If a claim is disputed, insurance companies often appoint their own solicitor. Some large organisations such as the government, NHS authorities and public transport are self-insured, they carry their own risks.
Friday June 18, 2010 at 11:59am
The time it takes to complete a personal injury claim varies from case to case. Generally, much will depend on the seriousness of your injuries and whether your condition is likely to improve as well as the attitude of the Defendant’s insurers (the insurance company for the person you hold responsible for your injuries). At Balinda & Co we do everything possible to ensure that your claim proceeds as quickly and efficiently as possible. Here are seven tips to help you avoid unnecessary
Thursday May 27, 2010 at 9:06am
State benefits are deducted from personal injury compensation amounts. If you received certain benefits from the Government as a result of your personal injury, the Department for Work and Pensions will recover from your compensation an amount equivalent to the relevant benefits you were paid. If you received benefits such as disability working allowance, incapacity benefit, job seekers allowance, income support, reduced earnings allowance, severe disablement allowance etc, your compensation amo
Wednesday May 26, 2010 at 6:26am
You are entitled to claim interest on your accident injury compensation, if your claim exceeds £200. This is often overlooked by injury solicitors and yet it is an effective way of increasing the level of your accident injury compensation. The court has power to award you interest. It is therefore important that interest should be included in your claim for injury compensation. Interest on compensation for pain, suffering and loss of amenity runs from the date your claim is taken to court
Monday May 24, 2010 at 8:33am
When you suffer serious injuries in an accident, you are unable to work for a long time. You are struggling paying your household bills, loans and your mortgage. There is a simple procedure frequently overlooked by injury lawyers which can be of great practical help to you. This procedure is called interim payment (advance payment) of some of your accident injury compensation. A specialist personal injury lawyer should know how to claim interim payment on your behalf and should be able to a
Saturday May 22, 2010 at 9:31am
How much is my claim worth is a common and valid question asked by many of our personal injury clients. First, you need to know how personal injury compensation is assessed. You can not understand your compensation amount or the figure you have been offered unless you know how it was calculated by the insurance company. There are two aspects to personal injury compensation amounts. The first one is called general damages which simply means that the amount can not be measured. This compensation i
Wednesday May 19, 2010 at 6:11am
Frozen shoulders sometimes develop following a traumatic injury sustained in an accident. However, most often, frozen shoulders occur for no apparent reason between the ages of 40 and 60. In this blog, I will focus on frozen shoulders resulting from injures sustained in accidents. If your symptoms started after you suffered broken collar borne injuries in an accident, your frozen shoulder, might be related to the shoulder injuries. You should see your doctor for a proper diagnosis. Frozen should
Tuesday May 18, 2010 at 7:15am
Your solicitor can give you a time estimate based on experience. There is no set period when personal injury claims must be settled. The average simple car accident claim where a person has suffered whiplash injuries, for example, can be settled within 6 to 12 months. This will be the case if fault is admitted by the other driver. Other claims such as serious
medical negligence claims can take upwards of 2 years if the doctor (s) or hospital disputes fault. If your injuries are more complicated
Tuesday May 11, 2010 at 7:57am
How to choose which solicitor is best to handle your personal injury claim, though seems common sense, there are important matters you need to know before selecting a personal injury solicitor. I have noted some key points from our experience in helping people claim personal injury compensation. Many clients usually change personal injury solicitors after they have been badly let down. They come to us with horror stories. Some of the firms they move from are big national firms who buy claims fro
Thursday May 6, 2010 at 9:31pm
Personal injury lawyers must follow certain procedures before going to court. The guidelines are called the Personal Injury Pre-action Protocol (PI Protocol). The aim of the protocol is to encourage early and more meaningful exchange of information which in turn leads to cases settling without the need for going to court.
The aims of the PI Protocol are: • more contact between both sides before going to contact. • better and earlier exchange of information. • better investigatio
Thursday May 6, 2010 at 3:13pm
It is very confusing when you see all these companies advertising for personal injury claims online, TV and newspapers. How do you make a choice when they all seem to make the same promises: No Win No Fee, 100% compensation and the rest of it? If you or your loved one have been involved in an accident, claiming compensation may not be the priority. You need medical attention before anything else. Certainly you do not need people knocking at your door or following you in the supermarket car park
Tuesday May 4, 2010 at 9:34pm
How much is your claim worth? The majority of people, who contact us for advice after an accident, enquire about the amount of compensation their claim is worth. Personal injury compensation (also known as “damages”) will be awarded to you only if you can prove that you have suffered injuries as a result of another person’s fault. You will not get compensation if you have not suffered any injury.
Compensation will only be given to you if your injuries were caused by the negli
Monday May 3, 2010 at 11:04pm
It is most likely that you will be able to pick up your can of baked beans along with your personal injury service package from your local supermarket in 2012. The Legal Services Act 2007 dubbed “Tesco Law” has introduced what is known as Alternative Business Structures, or ABs. This will allow big retailers like Tesco or ASDA and banks to enter the legal service market and compete with lawyers. The Co-op has already launched a free legal helpline to take advantage of the forthcoming
Monday April 26, 2010 at 3:53pm
Third Party Capture by insurance companies face mounting criticism from ConsumersThe purpose of third party capture is to reduce the level of compensation paid out to people claiming personal injury compensation. Third party capture is when an insurance company deals directly with a person who has a claim against their policyholder. Some insurance companies waste no time offering to settle personal injury claims while victims of accidents are still in pain. When a claim is notified to the insura