Many people in and around Cheltenham and indeed across the country suffer accidents every year. Often these are the results of the actions or lack of action, by a third party. If that is the case, you may well be entitled to make a personal injury claim. This could be in respect to many different types of accident and it may not even occur to you that it would be possible to make any sort of claim. Here are some guidelines to help you along.
Speak to the Professionals:
As a general rule if the accident that you were involved in was caused by the negligence of another party you will have a case for personal injury. There are many different types of accident that this covers, including things like traffic accidents, accidents at work, medical negligence and industrial diseases to name but a few. If you are at all unsure whether you are entitled to make a claim it is easy to check with a local personal injury lawyer in Cheltenham. Any good personal injury lawyer will be able to provide advice and guidance on the best course of action and advise you on how best to proceed.
Make a Timely Claim:
As with anything else, personal injury claims are best tackled as soon as possible after the event has occurred. This ensures that the evidence is fresh, is less likely to be lost and that the memories of all concerned are still clear. The more time that has elapsed between the accident and a claim being made the more difficult the case could potentially be. In addition there could be questions raised about the reason for the delay which would not be in your favour. There are also time limits on how long you get to make a claim. Generally speaking for most things this is three years after the accident. There are, however, exceptions to this, for example where the victim was a child. Your solicitor will be able to guide you with regard to this.
How Much Might You Get?
This is the question on most people’s minds when they start a personal injury claim. Obviously you want to be compensated for things such as loss of earnings and bills incurred. These are relatively easy values to assess. It is other amounts such as those relating to distress and inconvenience that are difficult to put into figures. All personal injury claims are assessed on their own merits based on the evidence provided. There is no standard amount of compensation for any one type of injury which makes it difficult to give an estimate of how much you might receive. Your solicitor should however be able to give you a general guideline.
Never feel bad about making a personal injury claim. If someone was negligent, it is their responsibility not yours. You have entitlements. Make the most of them.