Making a claim for an injury in Aberdeen

Here is What You Need to Know

If you are the victim of a serious injury you will be experiencing a stressful time – apart from your own worries, your friends and family will be worried too.

Perhaps you don’t know where to turn next and who you can ask for help.

Especially so, if your injury was not your fault, you owe it to yourself and your family to seek compensation for the physical, financial and emotional losses you are suffering.

Almost one in four(18%) of UK adults have suffered some form of personal injury or accident in the last five years, according to a special YouGov report from 2016.

Incredibly, only 20% of those accident victims have gone on to complete a claim. This is clearly wrong when their injuries have been caused by others’ actions.

Despite their suffering a legitimate personal injury, the most common reason given for not pursing redress was a belief that the accident or injury was not serious enough to justify a claim The second biggest reason for not pursuing a claim was because they did not believe in claiming compensation on principle.

But that principled stance means that millions of pounds compensation goes unclaimed every year and that those responsible get off scot free without any reason to address their behaviour in future. That means others will almost inevitably suffer the same injuries you have.And of course, all that unclaimed compensation could actively contribute towards speeding your recovery and comforting your family as they look towards the future following your accident.

Just as you should protect your own interests following an accident you have a social responsibility to protect others further down the line from bad employers, careless drivers and the criminals who prey on everyday people without sanction.

Digby Brown Aberdeen

At Digby Brown, one thing we have identified as an obstacle that prevents people seeking help is the fear of receiving ineffective or costly legal advice. It is something that we consistently hear when we ask for feedback from delighted clients after their cases have been successfully settled.

As a renowned law firm with an impressive national reputation Digby Brown really can help fill in the gaps for you.

We do this by marrying the expertise and approachability of a law firm with local knowledge to the reach, clout and resources of a major national Personal Injury specialist with over 100 years’ experience in our chosen sector.

At Digby Brown you can always put a face to name, we keep you up to speed with the progress of your case at all times, treating you with the courtesy and consideration wewouldlike to receive ourselves were we in your situation.

Digby Brown really are the best of both worlds.

But we can offer far more than courtesy and sympathy – just as you would expect from Scotland’s top personal injury lawyers, a firm with more Association of Personal Injury Lawyers members and Law Society of Scotland accredited personal injury specialists than any other legal practice in the country.

Expert Personal Injury Lawyers

Our record, when it comes to getting you the level of compensation you deserve, speaks for itself. We are proven winners. We pursue and deliver maximum compensation – on average we achieve THREE times more compensation than the pre-litigation offer when your case is settled.

If you take your claim forward with Digby Brown, the first thing you must take on board is that you, and those people both nearest and dearest to you, are not alone – as the latest Scottish Government statistics illustrate.

Overall, 8,766 personal injury cases were initiated in courts in Scotland during 2015-16The majority of these related to motor vehicle accidents (56 per cent).Numbers of this magnitude means that as the trusted name in personal injury law, Digby Brown can draw on a lot of experience in their areas of expertise.

Our experienced solicitors at Digby Brown, are trained to help. And as a firm we have over 100 years of unbroken legal experience dealing with accident claims of exactly the kind that you are contemplating now as a result of your injury. And we can back that up with the kind of knowledge of people, places and problems that our experience brings.

A large part of any recovery on the road to regaining your peace of mind, inevitably starts with making a series of important decisions around how you intend to fight back.

Digby Brown will help you discover exactly how you should seek redress for the physical, financial and emotional losses you have incurred and we will also advise you as to what sort of outcomes you can expect if you chose to go down the road of pursuing compensation through an injury claim.

The good news is that, at every turn, our entire approach is aimed at removing the stress from making compensation claims for our clients.

What is Involved in Making a Claim?

As lawyers we are consistently asked recurring questions about taking a claim. We find that clear, honest answers at the outset give our clients both a kick-start in recovering from their injuries and also reassurance that they will soon regain control of their lives again. By placing your case in our experienced hands you can be reassured that everything is being under control. Your claim will be progressed quickly, professionally and successfully here at Digby Brown.

In general, we know what you are looking for as an injured person. You want guidance and also reassurance and, most likely answers relating to some (or all) of the specifics below:

• You want expert lawyers you can trust to fight your corner.
• You want the maximum compensation you can get without exposure to any fees or costs.
• You want comprehensive redress in the form of compensation that reflects not just the initial effects of the injury you’ve sustained but also, the longer term problems that may arise as a result of your injuries. Your reward must take account of the longer term consequences of your accident.
• You want a breakdown of the fees and costs. You will want to know exactly how do Digby Brown get paid when we offer a no win no fee arrangement.
• Lastly you want to be prepared for what lies ahead during the claims process. This includes finding out what making a claim entails, what can be claimed for and whether or not you case will be heard in a court.

Why Should You Choose Digby Brown Aberdeen?

Here below, are some of the answers to our most frequently asked questions:

• Digby Brown is the biggest and one of the most respected personal injury law firms in Scotland. We have created a unique structure of specialist departments for each injury type meaning that our solicitors have significant individual experience and a proven track record in dealing with your particular type of claim.
• Our firm employs more solicitors who are Association of Personal Injury Lawyers members and Law Society of Scotland recognised personal injury specialists than any other legal practice in Scotland.
• Our clients underline the fact that we can be trusted – their testimonials prove that. So does the long list of charities we work with – these are organisations that put their faith in us year after year out to represent the interests of people who need their help most. Our Trustpilot client review rating is 9.3 out of 10 is the benchmark for customer satisfaction within Scotland’s legal sector.

What is the Fee Structure?

It is completely reasonable that you should be apprehensive about the prospect of incurring legal costs in pursuing a personal injury claim – whether that bill is amassed through legal fees or additional costs such as expert reports. This is why we offer an insurance-funded package, known as a no win no fee arrangement, to our clients (you can read more about this below).

Given the way that we fund pursuing claims on your behalf we are able to carry out all of the full range of legal work required to establish the full extent of your injury. Normally additional costs, such as commissioning expert reports are also paid for as included costs within our no win no fee service. In addition we will undertake all the additional work required to assess the long term impact of your injuries.

We consider matters such as loss of earnings, any physical or cosmetic adjustments to your home that are required as a result of your injuries and we also factor in the cost of any subsequent care required to be provided by others such as family members or carers.

Our job is to ensure that all of the appropriate financial assistance you will need is adequately reflected in your compensation claim. We will also advise you or your family about long term planning as it applies to your injuries.

What is No Win No Fee?

We believe our approach to the funding of injury claims to be the best that there is in the Personal Injury sector.

We are delighted to act for our clients on a “no win no fee” basis precisely through having created an insurance policy to fund the full preparation and running of each case. We agree to act on your behalf and we then pay the premium on the insurance policy. You are not required to pay a single penny towards the policy or pay any of the associated costs relating to your claim. Even if your case is lost you will not be liable to pay anything.

Our 100 years of experience means that we know precisely which cases to pursue for our clients and what the appropriate full levels of compensation are likely to be.

Our funding approach means that we can carry out extensive investigations into every aspect of your case. That starts with defining the impact of your injuries currently and then projecting over the long term to get a sense of how things will progress in terms of a recovery process. We will seek to place a financial value on this within any award you win.

By securing the highest level of compensation for you we are then able to deduct our fee, usually of between 10%-20%. Some claims management companies promise you 100% of any compensation but you should ask them how it is that they can still get paid out of such an arrangement. You should also ask if the compensation figure they can eventually secure for you is both as high as it should be and also at the levels Digby Brown would achieve on your behalf. Honestly, we are completely confident it won’t be – in both cases.

What Will Happen During the Claim Process?

We put ourselves in your shoes and that means we never forget how important it is to give you very clear guidance from the outset as to how exactly your claim is likely to proceed – that is what we’d expect ourselves, in your position. Our experience means we can give very clear and accurate information as things progress. We find this greatly comforts our clients and prepares them for exactly what lies ahead.

When you make an initial call to Digby Brown you will speak with our legal team who will offer you free initial advice. If you have a valid claim, we can then organise a meeting with you – our coverage across Scotland means that this can usually be done face to face. However, if geography is a barrier we can equally telephone or video conference you online – as per your preference. If you are currently in hospital or at home and your injuries mean that you cannot travel we will also visit you, in either location, to assist your claim.

Whatever your circumstances you will meet or speak with the most appropriate solicitor from our specialist departments. A lawyer who is best qualified to handle your type of claim. This first meeting is entirely free to you and conducted on a no obligation basis. We can advise you of exactly what is involved in making a claim and we will also explain our no win no fee insurance fees structure that will be used to fund your entire claim with us. We will also take initial information regarding your accident and injuries.

Following this meeting we will gather together all of the information we need regarding your claim, such as medical reports, expert reports and financial assessments. We will then write to the person or company that is responsible for your injuries. In virtually all cases we will be dealing with that person or company`s insurance company on your behalf. We will explain why we believe they are responsible for your injuries, what those injuries amount to and the impact they have had on you and your life. In most cases liability is not disputed and the main focus involves securing you the highest appropriate level of compensation.

In cases where time is required to ascertain the full extent of your injuries and the long term consequences of your condition we will seek an interim payment of compensation as a first stage to a complete award.

What Can You Claim for?

In terms of what can be claimed for, the main aspects of any claim are pain and suffering, loss of earnings and future loss of earnings.

You can also claim against expenses incurred by you resulting from the injury (such as having to obtain a hire car, damage to items of property, nursing or medical care costs or service costs including costs incurred through hiring companies to do jobs for you that you would normally have done yourself but can no longer undertake because of your injury).

Find out more about what you can claim for.

Will You Need to Go To Court?

It is uncommon that the evidence required will have to be heard by a court in relation to a personal injury claim.

If a court hearing with evidence is required we are fully prepared for such an eventuality and we will make sure you are fully prepared too. However, often as insurance companies are involved, it is routinely the case that settlement is agreed without there ever requiring to be any form of court event or evidence giving in a formal setting.

Contact Our Personal Injury Solicitors in Aberdeen

We consider that the above information will give you a comprehensive rundown of everything you need to know before making your successful injury claim with the aid of Digby Brown.

However, should you require any additional information at all then please do not hesitate to contact us on 0333 500 5925.