Mark Hambling, Partner at Rogers & Norton has been asked to write a Personal Injury Column for the North Norfolk Post which will be published shortly. The information in the column is certainly helpful to any client considering pursuing a personal injury claim and therefore I have posted below a copy of the information provided.
In a climate when insurers are keen to refer cases to their Panel Solicitors in exchange for sometimes substantial referral fees, it is not surprising that the client seems to be guided through their personal injury claim with very little advice as to the legal requirements for a successful Personal Injury claim. Mark Hambling, Partner in Rogers & Norton’s personal injury department sets out briefly below the legal requirements for a successful claim.
Do I have to prove someone was to blame to pursue a claim?
In most claims the requirement to prove fault is necessary to succeed. There are some very limited occasions when a claim can succeed without proving negligence on the part of the party against whom you are claiming but these are very limited. However, in most cases the parties seeking to prove the claim must show that the person against whom they are claiming owed them a duty of care which can be in Common Law, for example the duty of road users to ensure the safety of fellow road users or in statute, for example the duty of an employer to ensure that an employee is safe at work. It is then necessary to show that that duty of care has been breached which will usually require evidence.
Do I have to show that the breach of duty has caused my injury?
Yes, it is not enough to show blame and no injury or indeed an injury but no breach of duty. For example if an employer asked an employee to sit on a defective chair this may give rise to a breach of duty but if the employees back ache arises from the employer partaking in sport and not him sitting on the chair, the claim will not succeed. Equally, an injury alone caused through work without proving a breach of duty will not succeed.
What compensation can I pursue?
An award in compensation is generally split in to three component parts. The first aspect reflects the pain, suffering and loss of amenity that the injured party has sustained. This will usually be proven by a medical report to establish the injury, its link to the accident and the extent of the injury. In the absence of agreement a Court will assess this award which is known as general damages. In addition you will recover the items of expense that it can be shown have been caused by the injury and these are known as items of special damage. Finally, the award may attract interest at rates set by the Court.
How do I pay for pursuing a claim?
As the law stands currently there is provision in the event of a successful claim for your costs to be recovered in addition to your damages. Your solicitor may be advising you under legal expense insurance or under a No Win No Fee Agreement and it is usual for the solicitor to endeavour to recover all of his costs from the other party if the claim is successful. If the claim is unsuccessful and you have legal expense insurance generally the insurers will pay your costs. Under a No Win No Fee Agreement it is likely that the solicitor will not be paid for his time as the claim has not been successful. In successful cases we at Rogers & Norton provide clients with a guarantee that we will recover our costs from the other party in full, therefore you receive 100% of your damages.
Mark Hambling is a Partner specialising in matters of personal injury and clinical negligence. He is a Senior Litigator with the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers and an Accredited Specialist in personal injury with the Law Society. He can be contacted on 01603 675637 or mbh@rogers-norton.co.uk
In a climate when insurers are keen to refer cases to their Panel Solicitors in exchange for sometimes substantial referral fees, it is not surprising that the client seems to be guided through their personal injury claim with very little advice as to the legal requirements for a successful Personal Injury claim. Mark Hambling, Partner in Rogers & Norton’s personal injury department sets out briefly below the legal requirements for a successful claim.
Do I have to prove someone was to blame to pursue a claim?
In most claims the requirement to prove fault is necessary to succeed. There are some very limited occasions when a claim can succeed without proving negligence on the part of the party against whom you are claiming but these are very limited. However, in most cases the parties seeking to prove the claim must show that the person against whom they are claiming owed them a duty of care which can be in Common Law, for example the duty of road users to ensure the safety of fellow road users or in statute, for example the duty of an employer to ensure that an employee is safe at work. It is then necessary to show that that duty of care has been breached which will usually require evidence.
Do I have to show that the breach of duty has caused my injury?
Yes, it is not enough to show blame and no injury or indeed an injury but no breach of duty. For example if an employer asked an employee to sit on a defective chair this may give rise to a breach of duty but if the employees back ache arises from the employer partaking in sport and not him sitting on the chair, the claim will not succeed. Equally, an injury alone caused through work without proving a breach of duty will not succeed.
What compensation can I pursue?
An award in compensation is generally split in to three component parts. The first aspect reflects the pain, suffering and loss of amenity that the injured party has sustained. This will usually be proven by a medical report to establish the injury, its link to the accident and the extent of the injury. In the absence of agreement a Court will assess this award which is known as general damages. In addition you will recover the items of expense that it can be shown have been caused by the injury and these are known as items of special damage. Finally, the award may attract interest at rates set by the Court.
How do I pay for pursuing a claim?
As the law stands currently there is provision in the event of a successful claim for your costs to be recovered in addition to your damages. Your solicitor may be advising you under legal expense insurance or under a No Win No Fee Agreement and it is usual for the solicitor to endeavour to recover all of his costs from the other party if the claim is successful. If the claim is unsuccessful and you have legal expense insurance generally the insurers will pay your costs. Under a No Win No Fee Agreement it is likely that the solicitor will not be paid for his time as the claim has not been successful. In successful cases we at Rogers & Norton provide clients with a guarantee that we will recover our costs from the other party in full, therefore you receive 100% of your damages.
Mark Hambling is a Partner specialising in matters of personal injury and clinical negligence. He is a Senior Litigator with the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers and an Accredited Specialist in personal injury with the Law Society. He can be contacted on 01603 675637 or mbh@rogers-norton.co.uk
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