Making a claim for compensation

This section of this guide discusses the process of making a claim for personal injury compensation.

This is an option available to you if you have been injured in an accident which was not your fault. The other alternative is to make a complaint.

A personal injury can be physical, psychological or both and can result in a life long disability. Some injuries are relatively mild and will heal within a short period of time but others can be more serious and have a traumatic effect upon the person concerned.

Does this apply to you?

If it does then you may be entitled to compensation. We do not have a say in the final decision but we can try and demystify the entire process for you.

This process is discussed in this section as follows:

• Personal injury claim process
• Taking legal action
• Using a claims assessor
• Criminal injuries compensation authority
• Criminal compensation order
• Specialist compensation

As further help there are subsections which explain about finding a lawyer, solicitor or claims management firm; what ‘no win no fee’ means and the amount of compensation you may receive.

Helping you to understand the compensation process

This section will take you through the claims process in a step by step manner. It takes an objective look at the compensation process and aims to help and guide you through what can be a complex system to understand.

The issue of personal injury compensation has come to public attention over the last few years and has generated a great deal of discussion.

This may be due to the ‘compensation culture’although the debate still continues as to whether this is a myth or a reality.

There are arguments about the legitimacy of the apparent increase in personal injury claims but this is still ongoing. The issue here is that if you have a genuine injury due to an accident caused by someone else then apply for compensation.

There are personal injury law firms or solicitors who will help you with making a claim and with your interests at heart. They are concerned with securing the best outcome for you and one that will recompense you for the pain and inconvenience caused by your accident.

As with anything in life there are firms who put their own interests before those of their clients. So take some time to find the right lawyer or solicitor for you.

Find out more about the claims process in this section.