We offer a full service for the pursuit of personal injury claims to claim compensation on behalf of victims of all types of accidents and also, where appropriate, will act for a client who is the subject of such claims.
We offer a free initial interview to determine whether a client may have a claim and, if so, how the claim should be funded. While in exceptional cases Legal Aid may be available, in most cases the normal procedure will either be to take advantage of the client's existing legal expenses insurance to pursue the claim or to arrange for the client to sign a Conditional Fee Agreement (known as a "no win, no fee agreement"). Either way, this will enable a client to pursue a claim for compensation.
Although Legal Aid personal injury cases are now only granted in limited and exceptional circumstances, we still have a franchise with the Legal Services Commission for personal injury work which ensures that we work to high quality assurance criteria carried through to all cases undertaken within the department. While we deal with all types of any such claims the most common we deal with are as follows:-
Accidents at work.
Road traffic accidents.
Slipping and tripping claims (accidents on public or private property).
Injuries caused by defective products.
Criminal injuries.
Occupier liability claims.
Sporting injuries.
We can see you either in our office, or hospital, or come to your home. At our initial free consultation, we will assess the prospects of success in your case based upon the facts of the law and the evidence needed to win your case, as well as considering how much compensation you may win. We will also establish the correct funding for the case.
For many types of claim a client may have the benefit of what is called legal expenses insurance to pursue the claim. As referred to in all our client care letters, clients should check all their available insurance policies (including house/contents policies, car insurance policies, stand alone insurance policies, and even their credit card policies) to check whether they may be entitled to pursue or defend their claim with the benefit of such insurance. In most cases, the insurance companies will agree that we can act for the client although occasionally an insurer will insist upon using their panel solicitor.
The department is headed by Stephen Cox who is a member of the Law Society's personal Injury Panel and also the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL).
As well as providing a full legal service during office hours we are now able to offer free of charge 20 minute meetings by appointment only. These will take place between the hours of 5.30 and 7pm on a fortnightly basis on matters relating to disputes and litigation only. During these sessions we will give preliminary advice only but we hope to be able to provide assistance particularly to those who are in the first instance unable to meet with us during the day.
