It is a sad statistic that millions of people are injured each year through no fault of their own. These injuries can occur at home, at work or even in people’s vehicles. In the vast majority of cases, the fault can be attributed to somebody or something else.
For example, if you were walking down the street and a car mounted the kerb and drove into you, the car driver would be at fault, and so you have the right to make a personal injury compensation claim against them.
If you have recently been injured through no fault of your own, you may be entitled to compensation. In today’s blog post, I discuss the topic of personal injury compensation in more detail.
Find a lawyer
The first step to finding out whether you might be entitled to personal injury compensation or not is to utilise the services of a personal injury lawyer.
Doing a quick Google search online revealed a firm named Meltzer & Taylor at http://www.meltzertaylor.com, but obviously there is going to be a plethora of lawyers to choose from in your locale.
Make notes
Before you make an appointment to see a personal injury lawyer, they will need to have a full and detailed account from you of the events leading up to your injury or accident.
In order to establish whether you have a good case for compensation, you will need to provide the personal injury lawyer the following details:
- The date and time of the accident, along with details of where and how it occurred;
- Contact information for any witnesses that saw the accident unfold;
- Disclosure of whether you are part of a trade union, as membership can often make you entitled to free or discounted legal representation.
Loss of earnings
If the injuries that you sustained have caused you to become absent from work, your personal injury lawyer will ask you for proof of your loss of earnings, such as wage slips showing a reduced income.
You can also provide evidence of financial expenses that have occurred, as a result, of your injuries.
Insurance policies
Your personal injury lawyer will also ask you if you have any insurance policies that can be used to reduce or cover the legal costs associated with commencing legal proceedings against a third party for your injuries.
For example, your auto insurance may cover you for personal injury compensation – although that depends on whether you have opted to pay for that extra service as part of your policy.
Further evidence
In some cases, you might also be asked to provide further evidence to support your claim. Let’s say that you tripped over on a public road, as a result of a damaged kerb or pothole.
You might be able to find evidence that other people that have previously claimed for compensation because of the same problem, highlighting the fact that the local authority or whoever is in charge of that particular road has failed to rectify the problem.
