What qualifies to make a personal injury claim? How to make a personal injury claim? Is your accident injury worthwhile pursuing? What will I need to do to file a compensation claim? All good questions to ask. This article will help you decide whether you have a personal injury claim, how to make a personal injury claim and the steps to take in order to successfully make an accident claim.
Can I Make A Claim?
Yes, anybody over the age of 18 can independently make an accident claim. Parents or guardians can make the accident claim on behalf of children under the age of 18. If a personal injury claim was not filed by the parents or guardians on behalf of the child previously then he or she can make an accident claim when they reach the age of 18. They have a 3 year time limit to make an accident claim otherwise, by law, they will be out of time to make the claim. This means that you must commence court proceedings before your 21st birthday to prevent the accident claim becoming time-barred.
For all claims the time limit to make an accident claim is 3 years from the date the accident happened or when you became aware of your injuries. Some injuries have delayed symptoms for conditions or diseases which may not be visible or readily visible at the time of the accident. Therefore the date of accident can be as of when the symptoms began or the medical diagnosis date.
If you were under a prior mental disability, and were being treated under the Mental Health Act 1983 at the time of your accident or injury, the three-year period would not commence until the date at which you were discharged as a patient, or the disability ceased. You would still need to commence court proceedings within three years of your date of discharge or the date that your disability ended, whichever is the earlier, to prevent it becoming time-barred. In the event that, as a result of an accident, the injuries were such that the injured person was rendered immediately mentally incapable, the three-year period would start when the mental disability ceased. If you believe the injured person may be suffering a mental disability as a result of the injury, it is important that you seek expert legal advice as this can be a very complex. When in doubt seek expert advice as consultations and assessments for cases can be free.
To make a personal injury claim you have to be injured by a third party who caused the accident due to neglect, carelessness or disregard for your safety. You can make a claim if the accident was no fault of your own and the third party is accountable for it, may the third party be someone driving a car, employer, council, landlords or even medical institutions. These are a few examples. If the accident and injury can be proven that it was caused by someone else then you can make a claim.
To make an accident claim you have to ask yourself how serious is your injury. If your injury interferes with your life and restricts you from doing everyday things then your accident claim is worthwhile pursuing. If your injury is persistent or you don’t recover from it within 2 months then you can make an accident claim. Many injury lawyers will advise that an injury that is recovered from quickly does not have good grounds to make a claim for. Serious injuries do not apply to this. When ready, you should file your accident claim using an expert injury lawyer. You can make a claim for many things including the obvious personal injury but you can also make a claim for loss of earnings, future loss of earnings, permanent loss of earnings which means you can no longer work and earn a living, damage to property, psychological injuries where you can suffer from anxiety, depression and post-traumatic disorder, treatment costs, care costs and any other additional expenses such as vehicle hire. An injury can also lead to changes in personality, depression, financial difficulties (loss of enjoyment /loss of opportunity/breakdown of relationship) can be also something that a solicitor can consider with you if you needed to include in your claim.
When accidents occur, they are times of pain, distress, confusion and panic. If injury permitting, you need to stay calm and take the correct steps to ensure that a future claim that you may bring has good foundations. Having evidence, records, receipts, photos, details of witnesses, location, date and time, or any notes regarding the accident and the third party will help your claim considerably. Keep a record of things and they can be utilised by an injury lawyer as evidence and compile a file for your case. Any successful personal injury claim requires evidence so having such documents and details will automatically give the case credibility and improve your chances in getting that all important compensation that you rightfully deserve. Read more articles on how to deal with road traffic accidents and what simple rules to follow to stay safe.