The UK Personal Injury Claim Industry

The UK personal injury claim industry is split into four main sectors, most claims fitting within one of them. Road traffic accidents, workplace accidents, medical negligence and accidents in public places are the usual categories but of course there will always be some claims that do not fit any of them for one reason or another.

Road Traffic Accidents

There are about 250,000 reported road traffic accidents each year in the UK, although it is estimated a truer figure for a total would be three times that amount. Most of the accidents happen in rush hour and are caused by driver error, usually at junctions or traffic islands. On average, 5 people lose their life every day of the year in road traffic accidents in the UK. If you are injured in a road traffic accident that was not your fault, you may be able to make a personal injury claim.

Workplace Accidents

It is a legal duty for all UK employers to ensure their work environment is safe for their employees to carry out their jobs. If they fail and are lax where health and safety issues are concerned (refer to HSE for legislative info), an employee injured at work through their negligence would be entitled to make a compensation claim against them. This also applies to industrial illnesses, if for instance the employer has not provided proper protective gear to keep employees safe from fumes, or something similar.

Medical Negligence

These are probably the most complex of all personal injury claims because there are so many different healthcare workers that could make an error. Your GP could mistreat or misdiagnose your illness. The local A & E could totally miss a break in one of your bones. The pharmacist could dispense the wrong medication. A dentist could not take enough care and extract the wrong tooth. The optician could prescribe the wrong prescription for your spectacles or contact lenses. And so the list goes on. There are care homes that could give substandard care, physiotherapists who treat the wrong muscles, and practice nurses who take a smear test incorrectly.

If a medical professional of any sort has made a mistake with your care, you could be entitled to make a medical negligence claim. Because they are so complicated, you may want to put in a lot of research before you go ahead and hire a solicitor for your claim. It could be that you really believe that you have a decent claim, but legally you don’t have a leg to stand on. Sometimes, firms such as The Medical Negligence Experts allow you to call them on an advice line for free, to give you an idea about whether you have a strong claim.

Most personal injury claims are settled by insurance companies, and this is the case with medical negligence claims UK. However, by the nature of medical negligence UK, the legalities are more complex than for other claim types and the insurers employ lawyers to look very closely at any claim they receive. Medical negligence solicitors are used to dealing with them and will ensure that your case is dealt with in a fair manner.

When you use experienced medical negligence lawyers, you will know your claim is in the safest of hands.

Accidents In Public Places

Wherever the public venture, someone is responsible for their safety. Whether that is a supermarket chain, a shop, the cinema, the local council, the theme park operators, a business owner or anyone else, they are all supposed to ensure the area they are in charge of is free from accidents caused through their negligence.

If they fail to keep people safe and injuries occur through their fault, they could well have to face a personal injury claim.

Criteria for Making a Claim

The criteria for making a personal injury claim is the same in most cases, the time scale being the main factor that sometimes differs. Usually,

· You have to have been injured in an accident, or had an illness created or made worse, through the fault of someone else.

· The illness or injury must have been severe enough for you to seek medical attention.

· In most cases you have to start your claim within three years of the incident.

If you were under 18 at the time of the incident, and no one made a claim for you at the time, you have three years from your 18th birthday to pursue compensation. If you are suffering from an industrial illness, some of which can take up to 40 years to show themselves, you have three years from the date of the diagnosis of your health condition. If your injury or illness was caused while you were at sea or in the air, you only have 2 years to start your claim.

The majority of medical negligence claims are started within the three-year period, as victims usually know pretty quickly when something has gone wrong. In fact, the sooner you start your claim for medical negligence the better, as then any evidence is fresher in everyone’s minds and so is more readily accepted, helping towards the success of your pursuit of compensation.