Compensation Claim

How to make your compensation claim easier

Categories: Compensation Claim | Tags: , , | Written by Hilary on October 31, 2009

 

Road traffic accidents, or RTAs, are among the most common types of compensation claims made in the UK. There are hundreds of minor accidents on the roads and in car parks every day, and while many of them pass off without any injuries, all too often someone is injured and can claim for personal injury compensation.

Whiplash is one of the most common types of injury, and can be suffered by someone even if the other car is travelling at low speeds. When you are the victim of an accident, you can make your claim stand a better chance of success if you follow this checklist.

  • Take photographs of the scene, this always helps insurance companies to apportion blame
  • Get names of everyone involved in the car, including phone numbers, addresses and insurance details
  • Take details of witnesses, with full contact details. This could be essential in finalising your claim
  • Report the incident to the police and receive a crime number
  • Seek medical attention from a hospital or a GP. Where possible, phone for an ambulance

By following these steps you should give your personal injury claim a better chance of success.

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Personal injury lawyers to avoid

Categories: Personal Injury | Tags: , | Written by Michael on October 30, 2009

 

When you suffer an injury and it was not your fault, you are able to claim compensation against the person responsible. Before personal injury lawyers came to be, making claims such as this would prove very expensive and difficult, because you would have to do much of the work yourself. However, with personal injury lawyers making compensation claims is now very easy, but there are still pitfalls to avoid.

Some personal injury lawyers ask you for a payment up front in lieu of any compensation you may receive. You should avoid this because you don’t want to be in a situation of not winning your case and being faced with a lawyer’s bill. Choose a no win no fee lawyer every time.

Some personal injury lawyers also promise you money up front, but instead of giving you the payout, they ask you to sign a loan agreement so that you are tied in to them. Again, should your case be unsuccessful you could end up owing money rather than winning any compensation.

When choosing a personal injury lawyer, do not choose any lawyer who wants payment up front or asks you to sign a loan agreement.

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Why claiming for personal injury is right

Categories: Personal Injury | Tags: , | Written by Paul on October 29, 2009

 

Personal injury claims have developed something of a negative press over the last few years. They are perceived in the media as people trying to get money that is not owed to them, and unscrupulous personal injury lawyers are profiting from it.

However that’s not the case at all. When you suffer an injury and someone is to blame for the injury, you deserve to receive compensation for your injuries. Why should you be out of pocket because of something that was not your fault?

Claiming personal injury compensation is just and right because it is money that owed to you. You could be claiming compensation for a number of different things, without which you could find yourself at a financial loss.

For example, you could be claiming for:

  • Medical expenses incurred because of your injuries
  • Damage to property, such as a vehicle
  • Hire of a courtesy car while your car is being repaired
  • Loss of earnings if you are unable to work (if you are self employed this is crucial)
  • Compensation for your suffering and pain

All of these are legitimate expenses that you should be paid for when you suffer an injury due to someone else’s fault.

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US SEO firm reveals Personal Injury keywords

Categories: Personal Injury Lawyers | Tags: | Written by Hilary on October 28, 2009

 

Personal injury is a highly competitive term on the Internet, with thousands of personal injury lawyer websites and specialists all competing for Internet traffic on the same related keywords. However, what exact keywords are people searching for when they have suffered an accident?

The SEO Consultant Firm, an SEO agency who specialise in the legal sector in the USA, has released a report showing the sort of keywords that people are using when they’re looking for a personal injury lawyer following an accident.

The report, labelled the ‘Personal Injury Search Engine Report’ shows the keywords being used and the volumes that people are searching for them. This report will prove invaluable to any personal injury law firm, and indeed SEO company, who want to rank for these highly competitive terms.

Dustin Ruge, from the SEO Consultant Firm, explains:

Far too many PI and Med Mal law firms simply guess at what types of cases and case volumes exist online today.The PI report is designed to help take the guess work out of online marketing and provide a more calculated method in which these firms can better target their SEO and online marketing efforts.

You can view the report here and see some of the keywords that are being used by people looking for compensation claims online.

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Crash for Cash fraudster jailed

Categories: Road Traffic Accident (RTA) | Tags: | Written by Paul on October 25, 2009

 

Mohammed Patel defrauded £1.6 million in personal injury compensation from insurance companies over the last three years in crash for cash scams. Patel has now been jailed for his part in the scam that cost insurance companies £1.6 million and led to higher premiums for all drivers in the UK.

Patel staged his accidents in the North West of England in towns such as Manchester and Liverpool. Patel was the main driver in the staged accidents, but another 24 men are to be sentenced for their parts in the scam.

Patel’s crimes were discovered when office workers spotted him having repeated accidents at a roundabout outside of their office window. All of his accidents were virtually identical, which triggered their suspicions.

Patel staged one accident with a white van driver, Kevin Mair. Mr Mair described his accident in great detail:

They got out and rather comically had hold of their necks and were quite lethargic getting out of their cars, obviously feigning injury… they were calm, collected and sort of as if they’d been through it before.

Patel would hit his breaks hard while on the roundabout causing the vehicle behind to crash into him. He would then have numerous people come forward who claimed to be in his car, suffering whiplash.

Richard Davies from the Insurance Fraud Bureau added:

We now have the right controls and databases to allow us to pinpoint this activity and the bureau has now got 25 ongoing operations right across the country.

I’m confident we’re going to see many more convictions.

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UK insurance premiums hit 15 year high

Categories: Compensation Claim,The AA | Tags: , | Written by Michael on October 23, 2009

 

According to the AA, insurance premiums in the UK have hit a 15 year high in the third quarter of this year. The blame lies with fraudulent personal injury compensation claims, and genuine injury claims.

The result is that motorists are having to pay more for their car insurance because of personal injury lawyers and compensation claims. The average car insurance quote in the last quarter was £821, a rise of 5.6% on the previous quarter. This is also up by 14% on the same period in 2008.

This increase in insurance premiums is the largest seen by the AA since they started their insurance survey in 1994, 15 years ago. Simon Douglas, the insurance director at the AA, stated:

Despite motor insurance being one of the most competitive markets in the UK, insurers have little choice but to put premiums up.

The AA added that personal injury claims are the reason for the insurance premium rises, as £9.6 billion was paid out in 2008 in the UK for compensation claims. Fraudulent claims totalled $1.9 billion in the same year.

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What to look for in a good personal injury lawyer

Categories: Personal Injury Lawyers | Tags: , | Written by Paul on October 22, 2009

 

When the time comes that you need the services of a personal injury lawyer, you’ll want your compensation claim to run as smoothly as possible and to receive as much compensation as you deserve. Which personal injury lawyer you hire to handle your claim for compensation is essential, as there are many personal injury lawyers offering their services, each with their own different ways of doing things and receiving payment.

Here are a few things to look out for when choosing a personal injury lawyer:

  • Do they insist on payment up front? If they do then you should probably give them a wide berth. The best personal injury lawyers receive payment after your case has been won.
  • Do they advertise on TV? If they’re a big personal injury lawyers then they’ll probably have TV advertising and you will have heard of their name.
  • Do they have a website? With the Internet being so competitive for personal injury lawyers, any lawyer you hire should have a website and one that looks professional and can be found in Google.
  • Are they local to you? It’s often advisable to find personal injury lawyers in your area as ones with local knowledge are more likely to go that extra mile for your case.

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