ROAD TRAFFIC ACCIDENT INJURY CLAMS

We offer over 20 years experience in dealing with road traffic accident personal injury claims.

To qualify for road traffic accident compensation you must have been injured within the last 3 years and the accident must have been someone else's fault.  If you were under the age of 18 when you were involved in a road traffic accident then you have until you are 21 years old to pursue a claim for compensation.

OFFICIAL INJURY CLAIM (OIC)

You can claim through the OIC if:

• If you are over the age of 18
• the accident occurred in England or Wales
• the accident occurred after 31st May 2021
• you were inside a vehicle and you believe the accident was not your fault
• You have the vehicle details of the person who caused the accident
• the driver at fault was in a vehicle with a UK registration number plate
• you have a MINOR INJURY worth less than £5,000 
• the value of your claim (Including personal injury and other protocol damages) is not more than £10,000

Solicitors are no longer able to claim costs for dealing with such claims and therefore if we are instructed to deal with a claim on your behalf under the OIC then we will consider dealing with these claims under a No Win No Fee agreement with a 25% success fee.

CLAIMS NOT SUITABLE FOR OIC?

Not all road traffic accident claims will go through the OIC. The exceptions are as follows:

• Cyclist claims
• Motorcyclist claims
• Pillion passenger claims
• Mobility Scooter claims
• Wheelchair (manual and electric powered) claims
• Riding a horse
• Pedestrian claims
• You are a protected party like a Minor
• Your claim is against an untraced driver
• Your personal injury claim is worth more than £5,000
• Your claim (including injury and other protocol damages is worth more than £10,000) 
• If you are the Personal representative of a Deceased person
• Defendant's vehicle was registered outside of the UK

In the above situations claims are often pursued via the Ministry of Justice RTA Portal or via the Motor Insurers Bureau (MIB).  Normally under these Portals a Solicitor is able to claim their costs of acting on behalf of a Claimant on a successful matter.  We will consider dealing with these types of claims on a No Win No Fee Agreement plus a success fee once we have considered the prospects of success.

What claim I claim for?

We advise that there are 2 elements to injury compensation: GENERAL DAMAGES and SPECIAL DAMAGES.

What are General Damages?

General Damages covers compensation for pain, suffering, and loss of amenity, which is when you no longer have the ability to do things that you were capable of before your injury(ies).

Sometimes, when injuries are particularly significant and you are not able to return to work due to your injury or the injury forces you to change the type of work you do and you do not have the same satisfaction from a new job then additional compensation can be sought under a 'Smith v Manchester award' and you might be able to claim anticipated future loss of earnings.

What are Special Damages?

These are normally referred to as out of pocket expenses and are essentially consequential financial losses after your injury.  Common losses are as follows:

• Travel costs for attending medical treatment and appointments
• Costs of a partner assisting you with washing, cleaning etc
• Damaged belongings
• Damages vehicle
• Aids brought to support your recovery
• Medication costs - prescription and non-prescription costs
• Future care costs and rehabilitation costs
• Modification costs to your home after the accident
• Past and Future Loss of earnings
• Loss of bonuses
• Loss of pension payments
• Gardening costs

So how do I fund a claim?

We advise that we are normally able able to act for Claimants on a 'no win no fee' arrangement.

What is a no win no fee agreement?

If you have been injured because someone else has been negligent in their driving or negligent in carrying out their duties to you and you are unable to afford to pay a Solicitor up front then a no win no fee agreement may be suitable for your claim.

Sometimes a no win no fee agreement is called a 'conditional fee arrangement'. Essentially, a no win no fee agreement is an agreement between yourself (known as the Claimant) and your Solicitors (us) which states that if your claim is unsuccessful, that you will not have to pay a fee for your Solicitors services.  There are also no up front costs so a no win no fee agreement allows you to access legal services when you may not normally be able to afford it.

However, whilst a Solicitors fee (their time spent dealing with your matter) will be written off if the claim is unsuccessful, what about any disbursements for medical reports that have been incurred?

A Claimant remains responsible for the cost of all disbursements.  It is therefore our recommendation that an ATE (After the Event) Insurance Policy is taken out by yourself to protect you if your claim is unsuccessful . This policy, as long as no fraud has been found against you and you have provided full disclosure to the Policy providers when the policy is taken out, will pay your disbursements that have been incurred on an unsuccessful matter.  The only disbursements they will normally not pay are any disbursements incurred prior to when the policy was taken out and Counsel's fees (Barrister fees) and therefore if a Barrister is required, we always look to engage them on a no win no fee arrangement as well, so they will only recover their fee if your claim is successful.  If you lose your claim, you also do not have to pay for the cost of the ATE Insurance Policy.

If you have a BTE (Before the Event) Insurance Policy (normally found as an extra in your motor insurance policy or a household insurance policy), then we are also able to act for you but no success fee would be applicable and no ATE policy is normally required.

If you win your claim, the the At Fault Insurers will pay the majority of your legal fees. A success fee (if dealing on an ATE Policy) and the cost of the ATE Policy will be taken from the compensation you are awarded, though the success fee will only ever represent a fraction of the total sum recovered.

So how do I make a claim?

If you wish to make a claim on a no win no fee basis, then please contact us via our CONTACTS PAGE for a free confidential discussion about your claim.

From the moment you have suffered you injuries, please ensure you keep copies of all receipts, important correspondence, details of all parties involved and photographs of your injuries, vehicle damage (if an RTA) and the accident locus.  This all helps us in assessing the prospects of success of your claim, as we are only able to take on matters on a no win no fee basis if we believe we more likely to win the case than lose the case (on the balance of probabilities).

OUR FEES

Lincoln Watts & Leeding (LWL) are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). Under the SRA Transparency Rules all such legal practices are required to publish information on prices and services in respect of specific types of legal work undertaken by them.

Depending on the value of your claim (which is normally valued using the Judicial College Guidelines 17th Edition and relevant case law) will depend on what costs can be recovered as their are various regimes in place setting out different fees depending on the value of the claim and whether the claim is litigated or not.