Accident at work and the legal process If you have been injured in an accident at work or working elsewhere you may have an Accident Compensation Claim against a group or individual responsible, including your employer. Employers are required by law to have Employer Liability Insurance and the insurance company will deal with your Accident Compensation Claim for injury and losses, including loss of earnings. Even if your accident hasn't caused you to take time off work, you can still claim compensation for the physical pain and suffering of your injury. Accidents at work can happen in various ways and even if you think no-one was necessarily to blame, you may have a Accident Compensation Claim, involving defective equipment or machinery, inadequate training in the use of machinery, lifting heavy objects, using dangerous machinery, faulty, damaged or slippery flooring, careless acts by other workers causing an accident, lack of safety clothing for example. In English Law, you must commence Court proceedings to claim damages for personal injury and consequential loss within three years of the date of your accident. (If you are under 18, the three year deadline runs from your 18th birthday. It therefore expires on your 21st birthday.) We will carefully note the limitation date in our firm's records, both in your file and on our computer, but we ask that you too make careful note of this important date in your own records.
In order to bring a compensation claim for your injuries you must prove that some person or organisation other than yourself is fully or partially liable for your injuries. To succeed in your claim, you must prove fault by a third party. To prove fault we will allege negligence and/or breach of statutory duty by the Defendant.
To prove negligence you will have to show that not only was the Defendant in breach of a duty of care owed to you, but also that the breach has caused foreseeable damage to you. To prove breach of statutory duty, reference will be made to the specific duties laid down in Acts of Parliament that may apply to the circumstances of your case.
The burden of proof rests upon you to show that the Defendant was negligent and/or in breach of statutory duty and caused injury to you on a balance of probabilities. In other words you must show that it is more likely than not that the Defendant is liable and has caused you damage.
If you can prove fault on the part of the Defendant, the next stage of your case involves assessing the value of your claim. Lawyers call this 'quantum'.
In legal terms compensation is called 'damages.' Damages fall into two camps. The first type of damage is called general damages. General damages represent accident compensation for the pain and suffering and loss of amenity suffered by you. General damages can only be assessed when the relevant medical report is obtained.
The second type of damage is called special damages. This head of damage is more scientific in its calculation. In essence, special damage relates to out of pocket expenses such as travel expenses, damage to belongings and loss of earnings. This list is not exhaustive.
As you are the Claimant in this case, it is for you to dictate the pace of your litigation. It is not for the Defendant to do so. We advise that negotiations be opened with the Defendant's insurers to see if liability can be admitted at an early stage. We would then prepare full details of your claim (both general and special damage) and provide them to the Defendant's insurers with a view to negotiating a settlement.
We will investigate your case as follows:-
a) Write a letter of claim to the Defendant and correspond with the Defendant's Insurers once appointed by the Defendant on the issue of liability. The Defendant's insurers are under an obligation to make enquiries and confirm within 3 months that they admit liability or that they will provide a detailed response as to why liability is denied.
b) Obtain witness statements when and where appropriate.
c) Obtain out of pocket expenses information when and where appropriate.
Once the above steps have been completed, we will review your case plan. In any event, we will update on progress at regular intervals throughout the duration of your case.
Please remember that although you are entitled to recover losses you have been put to as a result of the accident, you are under a duty to mitigate those losses i.e.; you must, where reasonably practical, keep those losses to a minimum. Losses not mitigated may not be recovered. Please ensure that you keep receipts for any losses you are put to as a result of the accident. We will need these in due course to prove those losses claimed in your accident claim process.
You should note that no two cases are alike, even if the accident and/or injuries involved are nearly identical. This means that the evaluation of two cases which appear to be similar on the surface may actually produce widely different evaluations due to the other factors listed above. Evaluating personal injury cases takes a lot of knowledge, experience and some hard-earned intuition. Without these traits you may be at a serious disadvantage when negotiating with the insurance adjustor. And unless you are in the business of evaluating and settling personal injury cases for a living, you should look to an experienced personal injury attorney for guidance.
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Mr. Davis is the founder and CEO of the Davis Law Group. He brings over 15 years of practical yet innovative experience to personal injury cases. He practices law in Seattle, WA. http://www.injurytriallawyer.com/ . Mr. Davis is the author of "The Ten Biggest Mistakes That Can Wreck Your Washington Accident Case" comlimentary copies are availalbe at http://www.washingtonaccidentbook.com/
Occupation: Attorney, Lawyer Washington attorney Christopher Michael Davis has been representing individuals in accident cases and against insurance companies since 1994. In 2006, he was named a Rising Star Attorney by Washington Law & Politics magazine (this recognition is given only to the top 2.5% of lawyers age 40 and under in Washington State). In 2007, Washington Law & Politics named Mr. Davis a Super Lawyer (the top 5% of lawyers in Washington). Mr. Davis speaks at Continuing Legal Education seminars on topics related to personal injury. He teaches and instructs other lawyers in Washington State on topics such as jury selection, proving damages and developing winning trial techniques. Mr. Davis has been licensed to practice law in Washington State since 1993. He has obtained millions of dollars in verdicts and settlements for his clients. Mr. Davis is a member of numerous professional organizations, including the Washington State Trial Lawyers Association, American Assoc |
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