In this article, we are considering the situation where you are making the decision between instructing a solicitor to represent your interests in a personal injury compensation claim and instructing someone else – such as a claims management company. We are not considering the situation where you are deciding between having a solicitor and representing your own interests. Grigor & Young LLP / Moray Claims have other articles about the pitfalls of a DIY personal injury claim and the perils of negotiating directly with the third party insurers. The 3 factors we want to highlight here are certainty, insurance and expertise. First of all, certainty. 1. It gives you certainty about who you are dealing with. Only those who undertake wide-ranging education, training and ongoing “Continuing Professional Development” are permitted to practise as a solicitor. At the moment, claims management companies are not regulated in Scotland. Anyone can set up a claims management Continue Reading
5 Important Questions to ask yourself if you have been injured in an accident
In a 1994 episode of The Simpsons, Apu is sacked from his job at the Kwik-E-Mart. This is the result of him selling a customer (Homer) meat which has gone off. Subsequently, Homer feels sorry for Apu, who stays with the Simpson family while he is looking for another job. They devise a plan to visit the President of Kwik-E-Mart in the Indian Himalayas and ask for Apu's job back. The President allows visitors to ask him a maximum of three questions. Of course, Apu only needs a single question – “Can I get my job back, please?” – and, of course, Homer messes it up for him. When they eventually get their audience with the President, high in the mountains, Homer is taken aback by the boss's appearance - a guru with long white hair, sitting cross-legged. Before Apu can get a word in, Homer asks: “Are you really the head of the Kwik-E-Mart?” (Yes). “Really?” (Yes). “You?” (Yes). At that, their questioning rights used up, the President asks them to leave and “come Continue Reading
When can you claim for the loss in value of a repaired car?
Where there is a personal injury claim arising out of a road traffic accident, there is often a claim for damage to a car as well. As we have discussed elsewhere, claims for damage to vehicles will be valued on the basis of the lower of: the cost of repairs; and the net pre-accident value of the vehicle (in other words, the pre-accident value of the vehicle, less any scrap value). Another way of putting it is to say that, if the cost of repairing your vehicle will be “too high” relative to its value, the maximum you will get for it will be its net pre-accident value. What if your car was very new when it was damaged? In that case, while it may be economical to repair the vehicle, you might well feel that your repaired vehicle - even if it has been very well repaired – has lost value compared to what it would have been worth for resale if it had not been in an accident at all. It’s an interesting question: whether the owner of a car which is damaged in a road traffic Continue Reading
Why it matters if you have a contribution for Civil Legal Aid
One of the ways to fund a personal injury claim is by means of legal aid. Advice and assistance is available to cover the preliminary work, including intimating the claim and negotiating with the third party or their insurers. If the negotiations break down for any reason, you will need to raise a court action if you are going to achieve a fair settlement of your claim. Under legal aid, you need to apply for Civil Legal Aid, which requires various forms to be completed. This includes providing details and vouching of your income and capital. The application is then submitted to the Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB) via an online system. SLAB have various tests they apply in determining whether civil legal aid should be granted. This includes such things as: the value of the claim (and whether this is significantly in excess of any offers that have been made already to settle your claim); the prospects of success (anything less than 50% chances of success is going to Continue Reading