Do you know your rights when it comes to personal injury compensation?

Many of us have at some time or another suffered an injury through no fault of our own.

But whilst it may have led to time off work or a recurring back problem, a new study shows the majority of us would never dream of making a personal injury claim, whether through embarrassment or a fear of the cost

However if an injury is a result of a third party’s negligence then it’s perfectly reasonable for you to look into the process of making a claim.

So if you are unsure of the circumstances in which you could make a claim or are looking for advice on where to turn for help, then watch our web TV show where Muiris Lyons and David Bott from the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) give the most up to date legal information on when it’s fair to claim, how to do so and who to trust.

Muiris Lyons and David Bott from APIL join us live online on Tuesday 23rd November at 15:00 to discuss how to get a fair deal when it comes to making a personal injury claim.

For more information visit www.apil.org.uk

H: Jayne Constantinis, host
A: Muiris Lyons, APIL
B: David Bott, APIL

H: Hello and welcome to the Consumer Advice Show, I’m Jayne Constantinis. A recent survey has revealed that more than 4 in 5 of us believe that there’s a compensation culture in the UK. Yet the same report shows that many of us would never even consider making a personal injury claim, even if we were confident that somebody else was negligence was to blame. Many of those people said they’d simply be too embarrassed to make a claim. While some believe compensation is only for people who don’t have any money. Well to address this and other matters arising from the survey, I’m joined by Muiris Lyons and David Bott from the Association of Personal injury lawyers. Welcome to both of you. Coming up on the show today – fighting for fair treatment. When it’s right to make a claim and all your questions answered. And don’t forget this is a live show so if you’ve got any questions or comments for our guests then use the box on your screen and click send, we’ll do our best to tackle them over the course of the next 15-20 minutes. And if you’re Tweeting while watching the show please use the # studiotalk and we’ll try and give you a mention. Now let me begin Muiris by asking you about this survey, because it’s quite interesting that several different reasons came out didn’t they for why people might not make a claim. So tell us what some of those reasons were?

A: Yes very interesting piece of research because it shows two things really. First it reinforces the point that there is no compensation culture, lot of headlines about that but the facts are that over the last 10 years in broad terms, claims have been falling rather than going up, and what our piece of research has done is looked at why are people not bringing claims and it’s identified a group of people who are very reluctant to bring claims, even though they may have, you know, valid claims to bring. There seem to be two reasons why they’re concerned about bringing claims – one is worry about legal costs and the other is a worry about a stigma or an embarrassment about bringing claim

H: Were you surprised by some of the reasons that came out in the research?

B: In part yes. We have seen statistics over the last 10 years that show that year-on-year there’s a general downturn, so we’re surprised in some part, but I think the thing that struck out the most for me is the young and the old, were most affected by this embarrassment, or most affected by this concern about costs. And ultimately the 16-24s and the over 55’s if anyone needed the benefit of a lawyer or if anyone needed the benefit of knowing what their rights were, it’s exactly these people

H: That’d really interesting. What’s going on with those two age groups then?

A: Well we haven’t drilled down into why, so that this issue about concern over legal costs and a sort of stigma and in terms of the legal costs, really that oughtn’t be an issue for anybody because there is now the ability to bring claims on a no win, no fee basis, and that means that people can bring claims knowing that it’s not going to cost them anything if they lose, and if they win they keep all of the damages, so that takes care of that

H: But in a way that phrase, no win, no fee – is that not part of what’s brought about the stigma, the other thing that you mentioned?

A: Well I think it may have done, and of course there’s a lot of advertising and so on. What our organisation, Association of Personal Injury Lawyers is really focusing on is try8ing to educate people about the difference between an accident and negligence, because accidents can happen. You can only bring a claim where someone injures you because they’ve shown a lack of care, they’ve failed to be careful, they’ve been negligent and so that’s really the message for people that are worried about bringing a claim, is you need to look – you know have you been injured because someone else is at fault, and if you have, you know our advice is to go and see a specialist lawyer as soon as possible.

H: And I suppose the word that’s often used is opportunistic, isn’t it, that people feel that’s how they’re going to be labelled

B: Yes it’s a harsh word, an entirely incorrect word, because I - you know put yourself in the shoes of this particular individual, say you’ve been injured at work, through no fault of your own, you’re sitting at home on the sofa. What you should be feeling is aggrieved, and what you should be feeling is that you need redress, and the law is there for you, and the lawyers are there for you as well, so what you should feel is the opposite of embarrassed, you should feel the need to find out what your rights are

H: So now you’ve raised another really important issue which is how do you find out what you might be entitled to or what your legal position is, all that sort of really important information

B: Well there’s no lack of information out there, obviously we’re in the internet age at this point in time. I mean in the first instance consult a lawyer, and I strongly advise that you go to a specialist lawyer, you know, don’t – I wouldn’t just go to the person who’s nearest, if they don’t know, I mean in the same way you wouldn’t necessarily go to a GP if you wanted a heart bypass surgery. You might well start with a GP but you’ll absolutely get a specialist another time. And with regards to personal injury work, it’s very much a situation where you do need a specialist. If you don’t know one off-hand I strongly suggest that you look at the APIL website, APIL runs an accreditation scheme in which we have you know specialist personal injury lawyers, and so that will certainly help them out

H: That’s your website, Association of Personal Injury lawyers, APIL – APIL

B: That’s right

H: Good place to start. Ok. Stay with me, many more questions coming up in a minute. In the next part of today’s program we’re going to discuss how important it is to seek that good advice and how to go about getting a fair deal. Don’t go away

Break

H: So if you’ve just joined us we’re talking about knowing your rights when it comes to personal injury compensation, and why you shouldn’t feel guilty about making a claim. So let’s get down to some sort of specifics as far as you can. What are the right circumstances and the right type of injury that might warrant a claim, you know for people to start looking into the process?

A: Well the key is to be able to distinguish between what’s an accident, because accidents can happen to anybody and what’s an injury that’s been caused because someone’s failed to be careful, so if you look at – for example – in the workplace now it’s very reassuring that over the last 10 years claims in the workplace have fallen significantly and that’s to be welcomed because it means less people are being injured, but if you are unfortunate enough to have an accident at work then the key is to get early advice about whether or not your employer’s failed in your duty to you to take care of you, because you know we all go to work, we all expect to come home again in the evening, we don’t expect to be injured, and our employers owe us a responsibility, a duty to take care of us while we’re at work

H: Well that’s interesting though because we don’t all go to work, and you know you mentioned earlier the older age bracket that are particularly – along with the younger – particularly unwilling, or hesitant about making a claim – is there something going on that they think they’re just such a tiny – you know it’s the David and Goliath that they might be needing to – it might be the council maybe that’s –

B: Well possibly, but hopefully ultimately the law is there to help,, you know the law is meant to be a leveller, you know for the David’s versus the Goliaths, and ultimately if they get the right advice they’ll be told very early on whether they have a claim or don’t have a claim, and I think that what we want people to do is just to know where they stand, and then at that point they can make a decision whether they want to actually make a claim or not, but the research shows that people feel embarrassed or they feel a stigmatised as a result of a certain thing, and that’s the opposite of how we want people to feel, we want people to feel knowledgeable, we want people to feel empowered and that’s the way it should be

H: So let’s just go back to the practical issue of where – let’s say it’s a little old lady who’s tripped up on a paving stone, where does she begin the process of finding out if she’s got a claim, in practical terms?

B: Well practical terms I would go to a specialist personal injury lawyer, and that specialist personal injury lawyer will firstly sit down and look at the facts, and in the first instance they’ll find out whether they think there is the potential of a claim, and let’s assume there is a potential of a claim then obviously we have to find out the level of the injury, and the simplest way to do that would be for the person to go for an independent medical examination, and assuming that the independent medical examination said that yes there is a problem and that problem is directly related to the accident and liability is resolved early on as well, then there’s a claim. So there’s quite a few hurdles, none of them massive but quite a few hurdles before you get to the bit that the matter’s concluded

H: And does that cost anything?

B: It shouldn’t do, I think Muiris talked earlier about no win, no fee, and obviously if you are with a specialist solicitor, they are set up exactly for this, and so you know – there are very few circumstances in which a client would be charged

H: And that’s why you think it’s important because in the survey a lot of people said they’d go to their local solicitors as you pointed out earlier

B: I think it’s about trust isn’t it, I mean the first thing is about going to someone that you trust and you either get that trust because someone in your family or a friend has used a particular lawyer and they say he or she is a good guy, go to him. If you don’t have that, where do you find the trust, and that’s where APIL as a body that was set up 20 years ago to champion the rights of injured people will come to your aid, because we do have this accreditation scheme and if you don’t have the knowledge as to who to go to, we can give y9ou that knowledge

A: Yes I mean the first thing a lawyer will do if you go to see him is he’ll check to see whether there are different ways of funding your case, so for example some people may have before the event legal expense insurance in their household or buildings policy, so they can use that to bring a claim, or they might be a member of a trade union so they can use their trade union membership to bring a claim. But if you don’t have insurance and you’re not in a union then the no win, no fee agreement is there and that should mean that you’re able to bring a claim at no cost to you and keep all of your damages

H: So that really is no cost whatsoever

A: Yes

H: Because people again are often suspicious that there’s a loophole or they’ll be liable –

B: I can understand that, there is a sort of natural distrust

H: Of course! Quite right too!

B: If a lawyer sits opposite you, you’ve got 200 years of some Dickensian dramas of a lawyer saying “I know what I said, but by the way you now owe me” – but if you do go to someone who knows what they’re doing, they will come up with the best for you. And also, bear in mind you know we are bound by the solicitor’s regulation authority, and rule one says that we have to be independent and rule one says that we have to give best advice, and part of that advice is coming up with a mechanism that allows a client to get to the end without any cost consequences, so every pound that they get in compensation ends up in their back pocket. There’s an easy mechanism to do that and if your lawyer’s sitting opposite you saying anything different, find another lawyer

A: All APIL members subscribe to a consumer charter to make sure we put our clients first, and there are certain guarantees in those charters so that’s why we say an APIL accredited lawyer is a good starting point

H: Great. We’re going to take lots of questions that have come in in just a moment, so don’t go away. In the final part of the show we’re going to take all those questions and hopefully leave you with some top tips and useful advice about when it comes to personal injury compensation

Break

H: So Muiris Lyons and David Bott are here from the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers, so let’s try and get through as many questions as we possibly can, and plenty have come in – let’s begin with this one from Fred Morris, which may take the whole of the rest of the show because he kind of asks all the questions that are on people’s minds, so keep track of all the questions – “can you claim for any type of injury? Do you have to be off work? If I make a claim against my employer is my job safe? Is there a time limit? How much is it going to cost? How much will a lawyer take of my settlement and will I have to appear in court?” So, let’s take them step-by-step – any type of injury?

A: Yes it’s a great question because it deals with –

H: It is everything isn’t it?

A: Yes absolutely any type of injury. I mean the law accepts that there’s a certain minimum level, so for example if you fall over and graze your knee it’s not going to be enough to trouble the law with, but for anything that’s more serious than that then yes, absolutely so you know as long as it’s an injury that causes pain, discomfort, suffering, those sorts of things, yes absolutely you can bring a claim for that

H: And he also says do you have to be off work? That’s interesting because that also feeds into the extent of the injury

B: No, no I mean there’s all different aspects of a claim, obviously there’s the injury that is caused to you, there’s the loss of earnings should there be any, there’s rehabilitation, future care if it’s a serious injury, so there’s all different aspects of a claim. I mean ultimately the two things that the employers, and the person – the individual should be thinking about as much as anything is one was it an accident or is it something that’s compensatable? Was it – you know – was I injured as a result of – you k now – someone else’s lack of care, ok? And if you get through that then you start it. The next question is what’s the value of the claim, and as Muiris says if you’ve grazed your knee yes, liability might be 100% but there’s no real value to it, so it has to be more than a small injury in order for the matter to progress really

H: And then he also raises an interesting point which is, his – or anybody’s – relationship with your employer, if you’re making a claim against them

B: Yes you know we do live in the real world, you know we have to give real world answers and it’s also – there’s a recession on as well, so you can entirely understand why people are a bit more concerned about raising claims against their employers, and the fact is that the trends say that, as you go into recession, claims against your employers go down, as you go out of recession claims against the employers go up because people have been more confident. But, let’s face facts on this in so far as the employer, by law, has to have an insurance policy, and that insurance policy has to cover for all of these things, you know any workplace accidents, so it’s not a claim against the employer per say, it’s a claim against the insurance company. And also if you are a good, fair, honest employer, I would say that your number one priority is having a safe workplace and so if an individual doesn’t raise this problem, he doesn’t necessarily know what to fix, and so I think that there is an aspect of performing a public service – you know you’re certainly helping out other people down the line, because certainly with regards to a lot of claims, 50% of the reason why people do it is to make sure that no one else suffers in the way that they do

H: And what about a simple answer to this one, will he have to appear in court?

A: It’s very unlikely, 97% of all personal injury claims conclude out of court so it’s very rare to actually go to court, and of course everyone’s got a vested interest in avoiding that because going to court’s more expensive, so if a case is going to settle it’s much better to try and settle it out of court. So you shouldn’t be worried about that; that really is a last resort

B: Absolutely, we’ll have to see a medical, we’ll have to do some other things, you know as far as – like we need, you know we need the straw to build the bricks of the case, so clearly the individual has to cooperate with a lawyer, but as far as going to court is concerned, insurers don’t particularly want things to go to court, the clients certainly don’t want things to go to court, and the claims solicitors don’t want things to go to court. If you can come to a mediated settlement, which as Muiris says, 97% does, that’s the way that things normally resolve themselves

H: We also from Fred had a question about timing, how – how long after – is there a time limit on making the claim, and we’ve had a similar question from Nigel Gooding, I’ll just read out this example. He says “is there a time period for claiming? I badly jarred my back a few years ago when I slipped on a patch of spilled diesel that hadn’t been cleared up on the workshop floor. Didn’t want to make a fuss at the time” (That must be something you hear a lot) “but I was laid-off a few weeks back, and think now that not making a fuss hasn’t helped me keep my job, so as I’m struggling with mobility, I should seek compensation?” I suspect there are several issues going on there

B: Certainly as far as what’s the timescale is concerned, the general rule, and this is obviously subject to, you know, caveats and the like, but the general law is that it’s 3 years from date of knowledge, and there’s nothing that leads me to believe from what Nigel says that it’s longer than three years, so 1-2 years is the sense, so certainly on the face of it is within the timescale, but also bear in mind the longer you wait obviously the more tricky it is with the evidence

H: Yes

B: Because obviously if he didn’t report it to his employers, say, if he didn’t go to a GP, if it’s 2 ½ years later and you’re trying to say to the employers now “oh by the way there was an accident 2 ½ years ago” – evidently you might well struggle, but if it is in the accident book and if he did see his GP, he’s got a lot of independent evidence that proves it took place hasn’t he? So on the face of it; you know there’s certainly something to look into there

H: So he should go on your website and then go and consult a lawyer?

B: Absolutely. I mean obviously we can’t get into specifics now but these are exactly the sort of questions that he should be sitting opposite a specialist personal injury lawyer asking what do you think?

H: Ok so from a back injury to something completely different, from Maria who says “I was left with a permanent bald patch after the hair dying procedure went wrong in my local salon. What do I need to do to make a claim?”

A: Well again I think the answer is go and see a specialist accredited lawyer. This is a really interesting area because APIL have been focusing on this area for the last 18 months, because there have been a number of stories of people who have gone to hair salons and had you know, very very poor outcomes and suffered some quite significant injuries, so on the face of it it may sound a slightly unusual thing but actually she should go and seek specialist advice. I’m sorry to hear that’s happened to her but she needs to go and get some advice about the individual circumstances of her claim

H: Ok

B: Also bear in mind that even, you know an outside might go well it’s just an injury to hair, but it’s a very, very obvious injury that takes place. You know as far as you know, personal – personal confidence is concerned, these types of injuries really do affect a person’s outlook

H: Yes, yes, it’s not just about the grazed knee example is it?

A: Absolutely

H: I’m afraid we’ve run out of time. We could have gone on and on, but thank you very much for coming in to talk to us and –

A: Thank you

H: And to hopefully give us some useful tips and so on. Thank you and thank you for watching, and if you’d like more information then go to the website that we’ve been talking about – it’s APIL.org.uk. Thank you very much for watching. Bye bye