Why should your injury matter?

We welcome a guest blogger today- Lee Kirton 

I have been living in Manchester all my life and know a few people who have had accidents. But then I was with my friend and she slipped in a shop. I could never have imagined the stress and ordeal my friends told me about until I saw what my friend went through during recovery. 

A few months passed and it got me thinking that if you are the innocent party, why shouldn't you have the right to claim? My friend was off work for a long time. (Not everyone is lucky enough to get paid out of work), so it affected her more than expected.  We decided to look up where we could go for advice and found there wasn't a lot of information out there apart from The Citizens Advice Bureau looked the most reputable as a first point of call. 

I now feel quite passionate about this subject as I have had a personal experience of seeing my friend in such a sad situation, because she didn't ask for this to happen and became a burden on her everyday life. When I became to tell people about her accident, I put a few questions together that when I have spoken about it, came up in conversation:

What recovery did she have to go through?

She suffered a fracture in her leg, a dislocated shoulder and heavy bruising.

How did it happen?

She slipped on a wet floor in a store.

How long was her recovery?

She is still going through recovery as we speak. She looked into getting help with her a no win no fee claim with Tyler's Solicitors based in Greater Manchester. I helped her find it as she was showing me pictures of were in her leg was fractured. 

What advice did she receive?

I was pleasantly surprised that the solicitors had years of experience with slips and falls. They where jargon free. I think my friend just wanted to do what was right. She had told me the story time and time again. 

What I think bothered her and myself eventually was her countless trips to the hospital and doctors. She couldn't drive so if it wasn't a bus, it was a taxi. The solicitor said that that medical costs including travel where recoverable. The process so far has been fuss-free. Apart from initial paperwork documenting the accident process and legal terms, it is in the hands of the solicitors now.

Did they tell her how long she would have to wait to receive compensation?

Apparently every claim is different, but the solicitor said she has a good chance of winning. The claim may settle outside court which can reduce the process. They showed her how much she could be awarded in damages and costs with a rather playful personal compensation injury calculator on Tyler’s Solicitors website. (Even if you haven’t got an injury it is a cool calculator for injuries.)

Is there always someone to blame?

I would like to say yes in this case, someone is injured. Luckily my friend had her mother with her, she had to give a witness statement, but what if you’re the only one around when the accident occurs? Questions and answers start to occur, the solicitors where so professional and made us feel at ease. (I thought it would be quite intimidating at first).  This is for solicitors to investigate when talking to you about your claim.

From the research I have carried out, I found some terrible facts from the HSE report Slips and trips are responsible for, on average:

·             over a third of all reported major injuries

·             20% of over-3-day injuries to employees

·             2 fatalities per year

·             50% of all reported accidents to members of the public that happen in workplaces

·             cost to employers £512 million per year (lost production and other costs)

·             cost to health service £133 million per year

·             incalculable human cost

·             more major injuries in manufacturing and in the service sectors than any other cause.

As the saying goes, “where there's blame, there's a claim”.

I know the phrase is cliché but it’s true. Luckily my friend is alive and well and has only endured a minor accident. But this is the summary I have concluded to. If it’s a small injury that was unforeseen then without compensation the recovery of even a small accident can leave you out of pocket.