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Types of Personal Injury At MJP, our expert personal injury claim lawyers cover a wide range of illness and accident claims for which compensation may be awarded. If you cannot find what you are looking for, or alternatively, if you have, but require additional information, please email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it to see if we can help. The personal injury claims we cover includes:
Find a Solicitor Online If you are searching for a solicitor online, or simply want online legal advice, MJP can help. We have specialists who focus in different areas of law. Email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it to see if we can help.
A useful tip before you choose your Solicitor
If you have been looking a solicitor online, before finally making a choice, you should ask the following questions:
The Compensation Claims Process Although the process can vary, the usual process is as follows. Your Initial Consultation If we consider that your claim merits further investigation, we will carry out all necessary investigations and gather the relevant evidence, upon completion of which, if we are satisfied that we can prove your case against a responsible party, we will prepare a formal Letter of Claim, subject to your approval, to be sent to your opponents, their insurers or solicitors who have three months in which to respond.
Gathering Evidence We will gather evidence to support your claim including medical evidence for which you will have to see a medical expert who can assess the nature and extent of your illness or injury.
Establishing your Losses We will work out the financial losses and expenses you incurred in relation to the suffering caused by your accident.
Negotiations A negotiated settlement will follow if liability is admitted and the value of compensation can be agreed. Negotiations remain open throughout with a view to resolution before reaching Court. Most cases are settled prior to commencing Court proceedings.
Part 36 Offers At any stage, either side can put forward an offer to settle the claim, which is open for acceptance for 21 days, and if the offer is accepted, there will be a payment of compensation and costs. If the 21 day period has expired, the offer can only be accepted with the permission of the other side, failing which, the Court. Ordinarily with a later acceptance, the client will have to pay both sides’ costs from the date the offer was made.
Issuing Court Proceedings If negotiations fail, we will prepare to issue proceedings which may involve instructing a Barrister to draft the necessary Court documents.
The Defence If the claim is contested, a formal document called a “Defence” will give reasons why.
The Court Timetable The Court will case manage the timetable. After the Defence has been received, the Court will actively case manage the proceedings to ensure the process moves towards a hearing as quickly as possible. Often the timetable is agreed between the solicitors for each side and approved by the Court. All concerned will try to honour the timetable but sometimes slippage occurs and the timetable has to be revised.
Disclosing Supporting Documents We will send relevant documents in support of your claim to the Defendants who, in turn, will send us documents they wish to rely on. You must retain documents relevant to the circumstances of your case and, in particular, with regard losses and expenses you have incurred and sent them to us. Evidence from Witnesses We will prepare statements for you and your witnesses relevant to your claim on the issues of fault and value. Both parties will exchange statements on a given date. If the statements cannot be agreed, the witnesses may be required to give evidence at a trial.
Evidence from Experts In most straightforward cases, the only expert evidence required is from a single medical expert who has been jointly instructed by both sides. The Judge may decide however that each side should have their own medical expert which is common in more complex cases where more than one medical expert may be required. In some cases, other experts may be required on the issue of how much the case is worth; in particular, Care/Occupational Therapists, Accountants or Architects. If there is an issue about who is at fault, experts in areas such as accident reconstruction or engineering, may be required.
Those experts may be asked lots of questions from the opposing solicitors and if there are experts on each side, they are usually asked by the Judge to meet to identify the areas agreed and disagreed, and to prepare a joint statement of their findings. Those experts may still be asked to give evidence in Court, or the Judge may decide to rely on the written joint reports.
Preparing the Final Schedule of Losses and Expenses We will prepare a final Schedule of Losses and Expenses, both past and future which, with your approval, we will send to the Defendants who will respond with a Counter Schedule of Loss, outlining the areas where they agree/disagree.
Mediation/Round Table Meeting At any time, the parties can hold a meeting “off the record” to see if terms of settlement can be reached but such meetings are most usually held after the expert’s joint statement and prior to a trial. Such meetings are more common in complex cases.
Trial Although the majority of cases settle before trial, those that do not will be decided upon by a Judge after hearing the evidence and making a decision on fault together with the amount of the award. Sometimes the amount of the claim can be agreed so the trial Judge only has to decide on fault.
Personal Injury Trusts A “Trust” is a relationship which is recognised and enforceable in the Court. Where there is an award of compensation for a personal injury, a Trust arises where that award is put under the control of persons other than the compensated person (the “Trustees”). The Trustees must look after the award (which becomes the “Trust Fund”) for the benefit of the “Beneficiaries” who will usually not be the same as the Trustees. In some cases there may be just one Trustee and one Beneficiary but the Sole Trustee cannot be the Sole Beneficiary or else there is no Trust relationship.
When the Trustees are appointed, they agree to act in the interests of the Beneficiaries and not themselves. This is why it is called a “Trust”. They are entrusted to look after the Trust Fund for the Beneficiaries. In the case of a personal injury settlement, the Beneficiaries can benefit in the ways set out in the document (the “Trust Deed”). Some Trusts are imposed by law and do not need a Trust Deed but personal injury settlements usually have a Trust Deed to make sure all the terms are clear. In the case of a personal injury settlement, the compensated person is expected to be the main concern of the Trustees even if there are other potential Beneficiaries.
Personal Injury Trusts can benefit both sets of clients, i.e those receiving means tested benefits and those who do not.
Compensation Recovery Unit You may be in receipt of or entitled to claim for Government benefits as a result of your accident or claim. If you receive such benefits as a direct consequence of the accident, then the party paying the compensation is required to repay the benefits you have received and they can be deducted from certain parts of your claim.
Legal Expense Insurance You may have legal expense insurance cover which would pay our fees. It is worth checking your motor insurance and/or home buildings/contents policies to see whether you are covered. If you have any doubts, we will be pleased to review the policy documents and advise.
In some circumstances, your credit card may also give you cover and it is worth checking. Whilst personal injury claims are usually less complex than clinical negligence claims, it is no less a specialist area of law.
We have 25 years specialist experience Have been members of both the Law Society specialising in Personal Injury panel since 1994, and Clinical Negligence panel since 1995. |
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Greyfriars House
18-20 Prince Of Wales Road
Norwich
NR1 1LB
t: 01603 877000