Sunday, March 17, 2013

Suffered A Whiplash Injury? Here's What The Claims Process Involves


Whiplash injury may be sustained as a result of a road accident, sporting accident or work accident. No matter what the cause of your injury is, if the accident was not your fault, you can pursue a whiplash injury claim and recover compensation for your damages.

Before you start making a claim, the first thing that you need to do is seek medical attention. This will help you get proper treatment for your injury and also help you get your injury documented.

It may be quite easy to prove liability if you had been involved in an accident involving rear-end collision. But, if the accident was a side-on collision, head-on collision, sporting or work related accident, then you will need to work towards preserving more evidences. This can include obtaining contact details of people who witnessed the accident.

The next step towards making a whiplash claim is seeking legal advice. You will have to approach a firm of injury claim lawyers and instruct them to represent your case. These days, there are a number of legal firms who will handle your claim on a genuine No Win No Fee basis. A No Win No Fee is a scheme that eliminates financial risks and allows the claimant to pursue an injury claim free of cost. For this reason, it is essential to look for injury claim lawyers who will use such a scheme when handling your whiplash injury claim.

But, for a lawyer to represent you on a No Win No Fee basis, he will need to evaluate your case and establish that the claim has merit. After the evaluation, your lawyer will be able to tell you whether your claim is likely to succeed or fail. If your claim has good chances of winning, your lawyer will take care of the paperwork involved in the legal proceedings and represent your case.

Under the No Win No Fee scheme, your lawyer will be paid only if the claim is successful. If the claim is not, your lawyer will not charge you any fees and you will be under no obligation to pay your lawyer anything. In addition, for most personal injury cases, your lawyer may recover the legal costs from the responsible party. This means that you will be able to take home full compensation.

Before your claim is started, you may also have to undergo medical examination that will be undertaken by a nominated specialist. This will ensure that the medical report is independent and in no way prejudiced or biased. Once your lawyer has obtained the independent reports, evidences and relevant documents, a whiplash claim for compensation can be initiated.

Based on your injuries, damages and financial losses, your lawyer will prepare a schedule of losses and send a letter of claim to the responsible party. If the claim is straightforward, it will settle out of court within a matter of few months. However, if your opponent does not admit liability, your lawyer may consider taking the case to court where the judge will make the final decision.

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