Claims and Compensation blog

Friday, 31 October 2008

Finding a No Win No Fee Claims Management Company or Solicitor

I read with interest a recent legal claim for Personal Injury Compensation involving a Rugby Player who claimed that he was blinded in one eye through the negligent and violent actions of an opponent whilst playing for Moseley against Coventry RFC in September 2001. Clearly, this is no standard or normal Personal Injury Claim and I doubt very much that the claimant was able to find a No Win No Fee Claims Management Company or Solicitor very easily.

Why?

This claim was always going to be difficult to win as it rested on the good old fashioned 'he said she said' kind of argument! In most No Win No Fee Personal Injury Claims, a Solicitor or Claims Management Company will evaluate the likely chances of success any claim will have. It is all about risk assessment and if a claim has strong chances of success, it can be run on a No Win No Fee basis (Conditional Fee Agreement) with ease. Clearly, if a claim is weak or extremely risky - as this one was - then it is far from likely to be taken on by a Solicitor on a No Win No Fee basis.
In most claims, there are clear hazards that were foreseeable, obvious negligence and rules broken - like for example when someone suffers an injury in the workplace because an employer cut corners and failed to provide the correct equipment and training. In cases like that, it is easy to evaluate a claim and get things moving. In the instance of the Rugby Players claim, such an evaluation would be much harder and therefore very risky for a Solicitor to take on with no guarantee of payment of their fees.

The Claim

As a result of the difficulty of this claim, the claimant Rugby player was left with no option other than to represent himself and it seems he did a very good job of it! He gave evidence at the courts and was able to call on witnesses from his Rugby team who corroborated his version of events. The courts were told that one of the two defendants was initially charged by the Police with Assault, but that the charge was later dropped due to a lack of sufficient evidence. The Judge took evidence from the claimant, witnesses and both defendants before adjourning the case for a while.

The result

After the adjournment, the Judge awarded the claim in favour of the claimant, but ruled that one of the two defendants were not liable for the injuries that had been inflicted on the Claimant. The exact level of damages will be set at a further hearing later this year.

Making your claim

To make your claim, come to us. Direct 2 Solicitors are approved for Regulated Claims Management Services by the Ministry of Justice (Authorisation CRM 3364), check the regulators web site www.claimsregulation.gov.uk and are also members of the Claims Standards Council. We offer genuine peace of mind, honesty and a friendly caring service.

If you are in need of a reliable and approved Claims Management Company to manage your accident compensation claim, look no further. Email us at webenquiries@direct2solicitorsltd.co.uk, call us on 0800 9177456, or get us to call you, using the big blue "Call me back" box at the top right of this page.

Labels: , , , ,

Wednesday, 15 October 2008

Fraudsters get found out

Fraudulent Claims don't win!

It is pleasing to hear that London Police have today arrested a Man on suspicion of being involved in a multi-million pound insurance claim scam. Rather worryingly though, the individual arrested is reported as being the Director of an Accident Management Company - clearly someone who should no better.

Ministry of Justice

The regulatory authority for the Claims Management Industry - the Ministry of Justice, will surely look in to this story very closely. Whilst the individual remains innocent until proven guilty, this story does our industry no favours. However, thankfully, it seems that the Police are on top of this and working hard to ensure that individuals who want to rip-off and steal from Insurance Companies cannot get away with it. At Direct 2 Solicitors, we are all for helping innocent victims claim what they are legally entitled to. We are also equally against fraudulent claims and welcome the news that criminals working to cheat both the insurance industry and the general public will not get away with it.

Trustworthy Industry

Out of bad can come good - hopefully, this goes some way towards showing that our industry can be trusted and that the tiny minority of individuals who do think that breaking the law and being fraudulent will work, will find it doesn't. If you have a genuine claim, make it. If you don't... don't even try. Compensation is there to compensate innocent victims of non-fault accidents, not for free handouts to all and sundry.

Making your claim

To make your claim, come to us. Direct 2 Solicitors are approved for Regulated Claims Management Services by the Ministry of Justice (Authorisation CRM 3364), check the regulators web site www.claimsregulation.gov.uk and are also members of the Claims Standards Council. We offer genuine peace of mind, honesty and a friendly caring service.

If you are in need of a reliable and approved Claims Management Company to manage your accident compensation claim, look no further. Email us at webenquiries@direct2solicitorsltd.co.uk, call us on 0800 9177456, or get us to call you, using the big blue "Call me back" box at the top right of this page.

Labels: , , ,

Tuesday, 14 October 2008

Accidents in the workplace

Is your employer geared up to deal with accidents in the workplace?

We all know that accidents can happen - even when the most stringent Heath & Safety laws are followed and dedicated planning to avoid accidents or injuries at work has been undertaken. Therefore, with this in mind it is fair to ask the following question; Is your employer prepared and organised to deal with accidents and injuries in the workplace?

Being prepared

Apart from ensuring that staff are properly trained, properly qualified and that the workplace is as safe as it is possible to make it, employers have various obligations regarding accidents in the workplace. If the worst happens and a worker is injured, then the employer must ensure that the following things are available to staff.

1, A first Aid Kit - Does your employer provide first aid equipment?
2, A designated 'first aider' - Do you know who is trained in your workplace?
3, An accident book - Does your employer provide an accident book where you could record the details of your accident in your words?
4, Training - Does your employer train you in how to deal with the aftermath of an accident?
5, Telephone - Do you have access to a telephone should you need to call the emergency services?

Ensure your safety and that of your colleagues

If you feel that your employer and your place of work places you at a heightened risk of injury, then you are obliged to bring this to your employers attention. You don't have the power or authority to MAKE them do anything about the Health & Safety management at your workplace, but you do have the ability to remind those responsible for it should there be shortcomings. It could be that something that presents a clear danger to workers has not been noticed. If you report it, it may be repaired. If you don't, it may hurt someone. If your employer fails to act on your warnings, you could also go to your local Health & Safety executive office and ask for them to inspect your workplace.
Nearly all employers take the safety of their staff and customers extremely seriously and don't place staff at undue risk of injury. However, there are some firms out there who don't take their legal obligations anything like as seriously as they should. If you work for an employer like that, try doing something about it.

Avoiding Accidents at work

Direct 2 Solicitors hope that we can help people avoid the terrible situation where they are unable to earn an income due to an accident at work. However, if the worst does happen, we are here to help and have an expertise in dealing with accidents in the workplace and assisting clients who have been injured at work.

Making your claim

To make your claim, come to us. Direct 2 Solicitors are approved for Regulated Claims Management Services by the Ministry of Justice (Authorisation CRM 3364), check the regulators web site www.claimsregulation.gov.uk and are also members of the Claims Standards Council. We offer genuine peace of mind, honesty and a friendly caring service.

If you are in need of a reliable and approved Claims Management Company to manage your accident compensation claim, look no further. Email us at webenquiries@direct2solicitorsltd.co.uk, call us on 0800 9177456, or get us to call you, using the big blue "Call me back" box at the top right of this page.

Labels: , , ,

Fill out the form below and one of our representatives will give you a
call back.All fields mandatory.

Title:
Forename:
Surname:
Contact tel no.: 
Call me:  
Where did you
hear about us?

UK Personal Injury Lawyer specialising in Accident Compensation Claim, Personal Injury Settlements, No Win No Fee* Claims

* Direct 2 Solicitors Ltd confirm that we and our Panel Solicitors absolve you, the client from the need to pay disbursements or indemnity insurance on your behalf *