Making a Personal Injury Claim

Claiming Compensation

Evidence is the key to a successful claim. This means witnesses, written records, photographs, etc. Below is some guidance that can really help you win your case.

Record as much information as you can at the scene of your accident. The most important thing to know is the name and address of the guilty party, so depending on the type of accident : the other driver, the employer, the owner of the building, the holiday company. Where the guilty party is a company make sure you have the proper registered company name.

With road accidents you can save a lot of time by insisting on the driver's insurance details (name of insurance company and policy number). Chase these up with a phone call if not immediately available. Don't be put off if the driver was apparently uninsured. First establish whether the car itself was insured and by which company (even if the driver was not actually insured, e.g. a son driving father's car but wasn't a named driver but father was insured). In most cases the insurance company will still have to pay you. If you have established that there is no insurance then contact us immediately so we can lodge a claim on your behalf with the Motor Insurers Bureau who deal with victims of uninsured accidents.

Take the contact details of any witnesses to your accident. Witnesses are extremely important.  Biased witnesses, eg family & friends, are still better than none. Many otherwise good claims are compromised because of lack of witnesses.

If you have fallen, take photos of the defect. Use a ruler to show the height/depth of the defect. If you have a camera handy at the scene of a road accident (eg on your mobile) take photos BEFORE the cars are moved.

If the police attend the scene, make sure you take the attending officer’s details - at least his badge number and the station he is from. Make a note of any incident or reference number.

Were you injured at work or on business premises ? If so they have an accident book. If possible insist your accident is recorded in it and get a copy.

Seek medical advice and treatment either at hospital or from your local doctor as soon as possible after an accident. Some injuries take like whiplash often take 24-48 hours to materialise and sometimes the shock of the accident can mask more serious injuries. Get checked out as soon as possible. It is important to establish that the accident caused your injury, so the sooner there is a written record of it the better.

Important: trauma can mask the pain of some injuries, such as whiplash – make sure you are properly examined even if you feel OK.

Keep a full record (and receipts) of any medical, travel or other expenses you incur as a result of your accident.

Keep a diary of medical appointments. Keep a diary of your experiences - e.g. "In too much pain again to sleep", "cannot do ironing/play football/etc". Compensation is based on your "pain, suffering and loss of amenity" and whilst this can be assumed from the injuries a proper record will help maximise your claim.

Do not exaggerate, it only weakens your claim if you are shown to be "swinging the lead".

Act now - although you normally have three years to bring a claim witnesses move, people forget, papers get lost - the sooner you contact us the better your chances.