Having the right evidence to prove your claim for personal injury compensation

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When you first speak to a Direct2Compensation solicitor about your personal injury claim, you need to be completely honest about what has happened and how you have sustained your injuries. While we expect this from our claimants, we don’t expect them to know what to do to ensure that the correct evidence is in place, so part of our service involves helping you to gather what you need. Our solicitors are experts in figuring out what evidence is required to ensure that you have a viable claim for personal injury compensation.

In the past, some people have been of the view that they can get away with making a false claim.  This is not the case as Direct2Compensation and our solicitors have worked hard to make sure that fraudulent or unsupported claims are not pursued. We ensure that claims are watertight and can be supported with medical evidence, details of reporting of an accident and other relevant issues before agreeing to pursue a claim for personal injury compensation.

Obtaining medical evidence for a claim

To make a successful claim for personal injury compensation, all claimants need to have the relevant evidence available to enable their solicitor to present a compelling case to the defendant insurers facing the claim.

Firstly, a solicitor will need to be able to prove that an accident has happened and that injuries have been treated professionally. All claims for injury compensation need to be supported by medical evidence and all claimants will need to sign authorities to enable their solicitor to access relevant medical records to prove the extent of any injury sustained. This proof will be used to place a value on the injury element of any claim settlement, and will be given to a medical expert to write a report that will be used to support any claim for injury compensation.

To obtain this proof, any person injured in an accident should seek professional medical treatment, either from a qualified GP or by visiting an A&E department of a hospital. If you want to claim for compensation, you will need to have medical records to back up your claim so going to see the doctor or visiting the hospital is important.

Reporting and recording the accident

Another important piece of evidence that is used to support injury compensation claims is the reporting of an accident to prove it actually happened. The accident should be recorded with the responsible party in charge of the accident location. When an accident happens at work, in a restaurant, shop or other private establishment, a report of the accident and injuries sustained should be entered in an accident book. Don’t worry if this hasn’t been done yet, because we can help.

In cases where people are injured on publicly owned land, such as in a slip and trip compensation claim, the matter should be reported to the local authority, and in road traffic accident claims, to an insurer or the police.

How we can assist you in gathering evidence for a claim

At Direct2Compensation, we’ll ensure that your solicitor confirms the evidence you will require in order to support your claim for injury compensation.

We’ll need you to go through the details of your accident, your injuries and what happened from beginning to end to ensure that we fully understand what you have been through. We’ll ask you about medical treatment so that we can be sure that you have medical evidence to support your claim and find out where the accident has been reported so that details of accident book records or any witnesses can be obtained. All of these elements help to support your claim and give you the best chance of succeeding.

To find out if you can claim, call us on 01225 430285, or if you prefer, . After just a few minutes on the phone, we’ll have enough information to allow our solicitors to get your claim started.

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Comments & Questions

Read on for questions and advice about claiming...

I fell at work lifting some frames onto van, I lost my footing on a step which was some broken breez blocks. I fell backwards and banged my head and then landed on my shoulder. I was taken to local hospital, they gave me a X-ray and I had a grade 2 rupture and ligaments, I’ve been off for 7 weeks with full pay. I’m signed of work till 18th July, also I’m having physio on a weekly basis. Since the accident at work happened they have made a new step. I’ve got photos of my shoulder, but none of the old step, it’s all been logged in accident book, from day one. On the evidence I’ve given you, do you think I have a claim? There was two other workers with me at the time of the accident.

Ian Morris

The steps that you fell from were clearly unfit for use and definitely an accident waiting to happen. Given your description of the incident, I believe that you do have a valid claim against the employer. It is good to hear that you have been paid whilst off, but that doesn’t cover the pain, discomfort and distress caused by the injuries and how it would have impacted on your personal life and usual activities.

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I had an accident at work where I need to have multiple stitches on my thumb, went to my gp and she told me that it needs to go in the accident book so I went to work the next day and my shift leader told me it doesn’t and it hasn’t been recorded by him. But I have proof as my gp had to stitch my thum, its been about a year now but isn’t it illegal to not record the injury?

Ian Morris

Best practice would be for all employers to record all accidents at work, regardless of the severity of the injury sustained. Certainly in this case, where a nasty laceration has been sustained – serious enough to warrant stitches, then an accident book entry should be made. We would recommend that you put the details of the incident and subsequent injury to the employer in writing, retaining a copy of any such report for your own records.

Have you considered making a claim for compensation for the cut you sustained at work? You may well be entitled to compensation if the injury was caused by employer negligence – such as a lack of training, dangerous equipment without adequate safety measures or perhaps you have a working environment that makes the risk of such injuries likely?

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