There are so many factors to discourage you from making a personal injury claim these days.
The Westminster Government almost seem to be trying to outlaw claims for whiplash injury and there is a constant undercurrent of suggestion that such claimants are fraudsters or at least exaggerating their symptoms.
So, if you are thinking of claiming personal injury compensation following an accident, should you do so?
An unattractive “entitlement” mentality
Most of us find it difficult to warm to people who claim entitlement to positions or privileges just because of who they are or what they may claim to have done in the past.
But legal entitlements are different
Fair enough, the legal entitlement to personal injury compensation, where the injury is caused by the negligence of another, is not a “deserving cause” in everyone’s eyes.
Usually, these doubters are folk who have never been in the position of an injury victim themselves.
It is different when you are the victim.
Personal injury compensation’s social function
The entitlement to personal injury compensation in these circumstances fulfils an important social function.
If you have harmed another person by your carelessness, it is only fair that they should receive compensation. The other person is an innocent victim.
If we did not hold people accountable for their acts and omissions in this way, it would encourage an increase in careless conduct.
In most situations, it’s an insurance company, not an individual, which has to pay the compensation.
Negative campaigning by the insurance lobby
Because the buck tends to stop with an insurer, they want to stop you claiming if they can.
- They lobby Parliament to make it more difficult for whiplash claims to succeed.
- They argue that personal injury claims are causing an increase in insurance premiums.
- Their aim is to give you the impression that asserting your legal entitlement to compensation if you have been injured is both disreputable and dishonest.
Compensation is not about paying a penalty or paying out over the odds
Compensation is about getting your reasonable entitlement only; it’s not about getting something extra or a windfall.
We have built our personal injury business on trying to make sure that our clients receive fair compensation for their injuries and other losses: no more, no less.
Stand up for your rights
The insurance industry is hugely powerful.
In the face of this, we see it as our duty to remind you – and keep on reminding you – that, if you are rightfully entitled to compensation as a result of suffering personal injury, you should not be deflected from insisting on and enforcing that right.
Your solicitor can advise you on whether or not you have a right to compensation in the specific circumstances of your accident.
How we can help you
If you have been injured as the result of an accident, you may have no clear idea of your chances of a successful claim for compensation.
We can usually give you an initial assessment over the phone or via email – so you are then better informed in making your decision whether to proceed with a claim or not.
Feel free to contact Peter or Marie on 01343 544077 or send us a Free Online Enquiry.
All initial enquiries are free of charge and without obligation. Get in touch for a chat – what have you got to lose?
Image: Detail from original photo by Brooklyn Morgan via Unsplash.
