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 changes. There is no doubt other big brands like Tesco and Barclays bank will follow in due course.
What are the potential risks?
Supermarkets are great at customer service, price and consistency of the quality of their products.
Making a
personal injury claim is, however different. Suffering an injury can have devastating effects on you physically and mentally. You need a legal representative specialised in personal injury claims to take you by the hand and guide you through the process of making your claim.
The personal injury claims process is more complicated than picking a can of baked beans from the shelf and dropping it into your trolley. You contact a personal injury lawyer when you are in distress and in need of a solution to your physical and mental pain.
Supermarkets as businesses will focus more on their profit margin rather than the interests of the person making a claim. This is what they do when selling mobile phone contracts and insurance policies. They will go for high volume low value claims. The claims will then be processed quickly to make business sense. That is the danger to you the victim of accident.
If you have sustained an injury you need personal care and attention from a doctor and a lawyer who understands your issues. Your claim should not be concluded before you know the extent of your injuries and the time you are likely to recover.
For supermarkets and banks to make profit in the legal service market, they have to recruit inexperienced lawyers or call centre staff to do the work probably outside the UK to save costs. They will introduce automated phone systems that take hours before connecting you to a real person. You will get a personal injury service from a person who has little or no understanding of your claim. It will not be the best service.
My advice as always is that if you have suffered an injury in a car accident or at work through no fault of your own, call a specialist personal injury lawyer who can guarantee you personal service.
Asiimwe Balinda
Personal injury solicitor