Maximising your financial entitlements when making a personal injury claim

To get the compensation you deserve for injuries suffered in a no-fault accident, you must first understand the law that will determine your outcome.

They can happen to anyone, at any time and usually when we’re least expecting it. Accidents happen to the best of us but what really hurts, is when we get injured through no fault of our own. Now, first of all, to set the records straight, in not all but a lot of instances, if there’s not a person, organisation, or another external factor at fault for causing your injuries you most probably won’t be entitled to an award of damages.

Now that parts out the way, if you have been injured or harmed due to someone else’s careless or negligent behaviour how can you ensure you get every bit of compensation you deserve?

In some respects, personal injury law is very similar to many other areas of the law in a sense that in most types of claims:

1) You must have, and be able to prove you have a genuine case

2) There must be someone you can bring your case against.

Although this might sound pretty straightforward, there’s a number of other factors involved when seeking justice. In this article, we’re going to stick to the aforementioned, as they are probably the most important things to consider at the beginning of any proceedings.

You must have, and be able to prove you have a genuine case

As the saying goes, “it’s not what you know, it’s what you can prove.” Well, it’s true. If you can’t prove something happened, in a legal sense, it didn’t.

So with that in mind, if you’ve been injured and want to start a claim for compensation, as soon as you are safe to do so, you must gather as much evidence as possible to support your case.

By following our five simple tips, you will be able to prove to anyone that you have a solid and genuine case.

1) Report the accident to the relevant parties

This may seem obvious, but you will be surprised how many people fail to do this, especially when they think their injuries were just minor, then later come back to haunt them.

2)Seek medical attention (even if you think that you

The best way to prove you have suffered any type of injury is by having a medical professional confirm it. And that’s why it’s so important to seek medical attention at the earliest opportunity. Also, be sure to tell them why and how you become injured so it can’t be confused with something else at a later date.

3) Get the names and telephone numbers of any witnesses

Regardless of how significant you think

4) Take photos or video the accident scene

When it comes to photographic or video evidence the fresher it is, the better is. Not only will real-time photos enhance the full … of the scene they can also be used as a time stamp which will ….. It’s also important for other reasons. I remember one case back when I was working in the UK where an elderly lady slipped on a damaged section of footpath causing her to suffer quite significant injuries. She was unable to take pictures at the time but when her family went back to do it, the pavement had been fixed and the coouncil then denied knowledge and liability

5) Take note of all monetary losses

No matter how small, even if a family member has cared for you at no cost, it can still be considered and added to your final settlement.

Someone to bring your claim against

Now this part is …….. For example,

You must not just look at how, what, when or who caused your accident you must also consider who will be representing them. If you had an accident on your next-door neighbour’s footpath and you decide to bring a small claim against them and they are representing themselves you can more than likely represent yourself too, However, unfortunately, in reality, it doesn’t work like that. In most instances, it comes down to money at the end of the say and nobody likes to give it away. For this reason, businesses and insurance companies hire some of the best lawyers to restrict the amount of money they pay towards claims

So depending on who you’re up against will determine whether or not you require legal representation. Of course, if you feel confident representing yourself you’re legally entitled to but it’s not a decision that should be taken lightly.

Many of the people we speak with have started with self-representation and later call us to ask whether or not they should accept an award of damages that has been offered by the defending party. In these instances, we tell these people that, it costs nothing to have one of our panel lawyers look over your case, and if they believe they can help they will let you know.

It’s also worth noting from the offset that if you win your case, the losing party will more than likely pay for your legal costs, you will not have to pay your lawyer personally.

Many people tell us that if they would have known about our no win, no dramas guarantee from the start, they would have just hired a lawyer from the get-go.

I think personal injury lawyers in Australian have received a bit of a bad rap over the years, and rightly so in some cases but people need to be aware of their rights especially as the amount of compensation you receive can have a huge impact on the rest of your life.

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