Personal injury can have serious consequences, resulting in a loss of income or even of work. If that injury was not your fault, then you may be able to gain compensation for the loss of income. Even a claim on personal injury has at its core, two issues: liability and damages. This is true regardless of whether the personal injury at work was due to negligence, or if it was intentional, or a question of strict liability. The legal system has to determine if the defendant is truly liable for damages for the personal injuries you sustained, and if so, what the nature and size of those damages are. All things equal, proving liability and damages will lead to compensation for loss.
Constituents of a Personal Injury or Clinical Negligence Claim
Cases of personal injury or clinical negligence are quite varied in nature, and this is especially true in the case of medical negligence. The first thing to prove is that it was the fault of a third party or the result of a breach of duty. It is not enough to prove that it was not your fault. The whole point of the process is to locate the source of personal injury and extract compensation. There are so many areas in which a case of personal injury can apply, from road traffic accidents to injuries at work.
Clinical negligence is a very complex area. It covers instances of delayed or incorrect diagnoses, mistakes during medical procedures, birth injuries and complications. In seeking compensation for clinical negligence, it’s important to get the best counsel possible because this is an area that demands a lot of experience and skill.
Process for Seeking Compensation
Typically, a personal injury professional will offer a free first interview where they will conduct a case assessment. They may offer to fund the claim through what’s known as a conditional fee agreement, or “no win, no fee” agreement which can be applicable if you’re getting microblade eyebrows. This is done so that the client does not risk paying hefty legal fees for a process that may not succeed. It also puts skin in the game for the personal injury professional, who has to win to get paid.
Many cases of personal injury are resolved through negotiation. Often, defendants feel it is better to lock in a fee rather than going to court and risking paying out an even higher compensation number. For claimants, negotiations expedite the process, allowing them to get back to their lives, without risking going to court and getting nothing. If your personal injury professional can get you a good deal, then you will not have to go to court.
Time to Get Compensation
One question that people who are weighing their options after an accident and want to know what to do to get compensation, is how long it will take to get compensation. There’s no fixed answer. The issue really depends on how severe the initial injury is and what category of injury it is. For example, a brain injury is more complex and serious than losing your toe. Minor personal injury claims which have been processed through the Ministry of Justice portal, are, on average, resolved within three to nine months. Payouts of these kinds of injuries max out at around £25,000.
Clinical negligence cases take longer, largely because of their complexity. For example, it may not be clear what a victim’s prognosis is. Gathering the evidence and make the right assessments is a time consuming and difficult task and can take as much as several years to get done.
It is highly recommended that you seek a personal injury professional or solicitor, to guide you through this process. It is a very complex process in which experience is a must.
