Making An Accident At Work Claim – Solicitors Or Do It Myself?

Many people who have been injured at work and think they might be due compensation pause at the idea of hiring accident at work claim solicitors. After all, the thinking often goes, legal costs are very real.

To begin with, it is worth knowing that you can usually make a no-win, no-fee compensation claim after an accident at work. This means:

• You only pay if you win
• There are no upfront legal costs
• You are fully protected if your claim is somehow unsuccessful
• (And you have the legal advice to know whether it will be)

It is also worth remembering that there is little point worrying about having to pay legal costs after winning a successful claim if you don’t have the legal expertise to be successful in the first place.

In this situation, a little expert knowledge and guidance go a long way to ensuring you get the fair compensation that the law says you deserve.

Reach out to our specialist accident claim solicitors today FREE on 0800 0747 644 or complete a Free Online Enquiry and let us explain your rights and options.

“I was initially in two minds whether to go for a claim and had no experience in this area but from the start Helen was extremely helpful and reassuring.  Please pass my thanks on to Nathan, Nadine and Emma too for their great service and support.  I will certainly recommend you guys.  Thanks again Helen, I really appreciate it.”

But if you still think you might like to press ahead with a claim for an accident at work without a solicitor, here is what you need to know:

Can I Make A Work Accident Claim By Myself?

You are not legally required to hire a lawyer to make a personal injury claim. If your employer accepts responsibility for your injury, you may be able to negotiate with their insurer’s claims department directly.

However, there are significant problems with doing this. Not least, if you want to make sure you get full and fair compensation for your injury, you will need to know things like:

• How much you can actually claim for – and how much your employer’s insurer might offer
• The legal precedents that support you in getting the most compensation possible
• How to get special damages as well as general damages (and what the difference is)
• How to negotiate past your employer’s liability denials and objections
• How to encourage your employer’s insurer to respond to you or prevent them from stalling

It is also worth remembering that once you agree to settle a claim for a given amount, you can’t go back and renegotiate later.

It is a sadly common event that claimants reach out to a work accident solicitor only after they have agreed to an insurer’s offer and then later found out it was very low compared with what they could have achieved (i.e. the compensation other people in similar situations received).

Unfortunately, in these circumstances, there is often little that even highly experienced personal injury solicitors can do. You have already agreed to that low offer.

“Very good, quick and professional service. I couldn’t ask for more.”

The Disadvantages Of Not Using A Solicitor To Make A Claim

1) Stalling and delays

Somewhat understandably, few insurers want to pay out on policies. After all, they make their profits by not doing so.

It’s not uncommon for insurers to employ tactics that slow down and draw out the claims process, taking a long time to reply to your emails and letters, and so on. Anything to try and put you off proceeding with your claim.

Unlike a solicitor, most individual claimants don’t have the legal knowledge or leverage to encourage an insurance company to continue with the claims process in a timely fashion.

2) Denials And Argument

It’s also not impossible that an insurer will contest or simply ignore even direct witness testimony or other evidence if it means you might not press your claim.

For example, if you make a claim directly to an insurer, they are unlikely to provide a medical assessment of your injury (a solicitor will insist on this and usually find an independent medical expert for you too).

In all cases, contesting the value of evidence and making your way past flat denials of responsibility usually requires the kind of legal knowledge that only a niche solicitor specialising in this kind of law can provide.

3) Low Offers And Negotiations

Even if the insurance company you are claiming against proceeds in a timely fashion and agrees that your evidence is sound, it is fairly common that they will not offer you the highest amount of compensation you could actually be entitled to.

This means it is always worth consulting with an expert after receiving an insurer’s offer – just to be sure that you aren’t really entitled to much more.

Again, you can make your entire claim with this kind of expert support with no initial cost (paying using a fraction of your successful compensation claim after you have won) with a no win, no fee agreement.

Reach out to Grieves Solicitors today on 0800 0747 644 or fill in our Free Online Enquiry form to set up a cost and obligation-free chat with our accident at work claim solicitors.

Benefit from 76 years of combined experience in personal injury law and a history of millions of pounds of compensation achieved for deserving claimants.

Here at Grieves Solicitors, Personal Injury Specialists, we offer a no win, no fee solution to funding your claim (a conditional fee agreement) which means that you do not have to worry about legal costs and expenses.  You can read about our no win, no fee agreement here.