Personal Injury Solicitor Warrington

Bullying behaviour is not in itself a matter that you can take to an Employment Tribunal. To do this the bullying would need to be of discriminatory nature, such as on the grounds of race, sex, disability, religion or sexual orientation.

If you feel bullied at work, however, there are a number of practical things that you are advised to do:

• Tell the person firmly, but not aggressively, that they should stop the behaviour because it makes you feel uncomfortable. If you cannot face the person(s) yourself, speak to someone in HR and ask them to intercede on your behalf.
• If things do not improve you should raise a formal complaint, in writing and with specific details.

Keep a full diary of incidents – detailing dates, times, what occurred, and names of any witnesses. Keep copies of any relevant documentation.

Please see our Employment Law services.

This depends on the nature of the change they want to make and the way in which the contract of employment is drafted. It is not usual for important terms such as rates of pay, working hours and job titles to be changed without the employee specifically agreeing to it.

In certain cases, you should consider what the alternative is if you do not agree. For example, if the business is in trouble and changes are required in order to avoid dismissals, any unreasonable refusal to agree to changes may give the employer scope to make dismissals that a tribunal would find to be fair.

Please see our Employment Law services.

It would be wise to, unless you have a genuine reason for not being able to attend, but you should notify your employer of this. You are entitled to be told the subject matter of the hearing and to be given reasonable notice of the time it is to be held. If your employer has not complied with this, you would be within your rights to ask that the meeting be postponed until such time that you can attend and that the employer has given you sufficient information about the reason for the hearing.

You are entitled to be accompanied to a disciplinary hearing by a work colleague or a trade union representative. Your employer should be reasonably accommodating about scheduling the meeting so that your chosen companion can attend.

Please see our Employment Law services.

Yes. You are protected against direct and indirect age discrimination. It would be unlawful for your employer, on the grounds of age to:

• decide not to employ you;
• dismiss you;
• refuse to provide you with training;
• deny you promotion;
• give you adverse terms and condition and/or;
• retire you before your usual retirement age (if you have one) or retire you before the default retirement age of 65 without proper justification.

Please see our Employment Law services.

Simply put, this is where an employer forces you to resign through breach of contract or unreasonable behaviour.

Please see our Employment Law services.

Possibly. This will depend entirely on your circumstances. You may well have a case if you have been unfairly dismissed, constructively dismissed or dismissed on grounds of prejudice or discrimination. Please see our Employment section.

You will need to appeal the decision to dismiss you, in writing, before you can bring an unfair dismissal claim at employment tribunal.

You should also be aware that there are certain time limits that apply to the bringing of employment tribunal claims. Employment Law is complicated and you should seek advice on your particular circumstances.

Please see our information on unfair and constructive dismissal services.

No. If your accident occurred at your workplace your employer is not legally justified to dismiss you if you make a claim for compensation. If they do so, you may well be able to claim for unfair dismissal even if you have not been employed by them for very long.  It is important that you remember that employers are legally bound to take out insurance specifically to cover accidents at work. Any compensation that you are awarded will be paid for from that insurance and will not have to be paid for by your employer(s). Our personal injury expert, Dominic Moss explains more in this short video:

Please see our Accident at Work Claims service.

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Any settlement agreement from your employer has to be explained to you by a qualified adviser for it to be valid. They do not, however, give you any advice as to whether the agreement is a sensible one or whether it is the best financial compromise you could have obtained. If you have been offered a settlement agreement then please give us a call and we will happily discuss your options with you. There is no charge for an initial consultation and it is in complete confidence.

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Am I entitled to make a claim for building injury compensation if I am a contractor working on a site and not an employee?

It is a common misconception that site contractors who have been involved in on-site accidents are not entitled to claim compensation as they are not viewed as employees, but this is not necessarily the case.

If you have sustained injuries due to the negligence of someone who had a duty of care towards you, then you may have a potential claim.

Building sites are usually managed by a company or an individual who also tend to be responsible for the health and safety of all employees, contractors and visitors in that working environment.

These environments are frequently peppered with potential hazards and it is the duty of those in charge to conduct regular risk assessments to prevent the possibility of an accident.

There are however circumstances in which some safety checks can be overlooked, particularly when projects need to be completed in short timeframes. In this case, there is an increased risk of injury to those on-site and unfortunately more accident claims are recorded.

Typical injuries on building sites include lacerations, burns, fractures or sometimes the loss of limbs and severe head and neck injuries.

These can be caused by accidents from working with faulty machinery, falls from height, electrocution and being struck by heavy or falling objects.

If something like the above happens on a building site and somebody is injured as a result, if it can be proven that the incident was due to a breach in the duty of care of whoever was responsible at the time, then those who were injured would have a very strong accident claim against them.

It can be difficult to determine the liable party in any case and so it is highly recommended that anyone who has been involved in an accident speaks to a solicitor at an accredited personal injury law firm like Stonehewer Moss.

Your solicitor would be able to find out who is legally responsible for your injury and work as your representative to obtain the compensation you deserve.

The vast number of claims are settled, by negotiation, without the need for attendance at court. On the rare occasion where a dispute exists, and court proceedings need to be issued we will carefully go through the whole procedure with you and address any concerns you may have. It will be your decision as to whether you start any court proceedings.

Will I have to go to court? Video Transcript

Another thing that a lot of clients ask us is ‘Will I have to go to Court?’. It’s a very difficult question to answer because it depends on each case individually. What we usually say is you need to be prepared to go to Court because there’s always the possibility that that might need to happen. It’s really unlikely and in 99.5% of cases you’ll never have to go because liability is not a problem and we can settle the value of the claim with the insurance company just through negotiations, without a judge having to hear any of the evidence. If the case is a little bit more difficult and liability is a bit up in the air and it’s a bit uncertain as to whether it’s their fault or not, then a trial may be required. Likewise, if there’s complex medical problems and certain things which need to be determined by the judge because they’re still in dispute (such as some of your other losses or your actual medical condition itself), then there’s the potential that a trial might have to take place. However, in the majority of cases they never ever end up going to Court. But it’s something that we could discuss with you and there’s always the possibility that we can push forwards with your claim without even having to think about Court until sometime down the line and then we can assess the case and discuss it with you as to the percentage of chances we think it is that you’re going to need to go to Court. If you’re not sure you can just give us a call and we can go through it with you.

Please see our Personal Injury Claims services.

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No. If your accident occurred at your workplace your employer is not legally justified to dismiss you if you make a claim for compensation. If they do so, you may well be able to claim for unfair dismissal even if you have not been employed by them for very long.  It is important that you remember that employers are legally bound to take out insurance specifically to cover accidents at work. Any compensation that you are awarded will be paid for from that insurance and will not have to be paid for by your employer(s). Our personal injury expert, Dominic Moss explains more in this short video:

Please see our Accident at Work Claims service.

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The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers is very helpful and they have a Dictionary of personal injury terms and acronyms. The Citizens Advice Bureau also has more information.

You need to find a company you can trust who cares about your interests. The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) is a not-for-profit association of solicitors, barristers and academics who specialise in personal injuries work. Look for a lawyer who not only belongs to APIL but is also part of their accreditation scheme. The accreditation scheme guarantees members are competent in a particular field of personal injury. Accredited lawyers from Senior Litigator level upwards have at least five years’ experience of dealing with personal injury claims. All APIL members promise to follow a code of conduct and a consumer charter. Demonic Moss of Stonehewer Moss is a Fellow of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers.

Please see our Personal Injury Claims services.

There are two types of injury compensation that you may be entitled to. The first, called ‘general damages’, and is awarded to compensate you for the pain and suffering caused by the injury. The second type of injury compensation, called ‘special damages’, covers actual financial losses and expenses arising from the injury. This can include lost earnings, care given to you by your friends and family, costs of treatment, travel costs and various other expenses including future losses.

Please see our Personal Injury Claims services.

What will I get Personal Injury compensation for? – Video Transcript

A lot of clients ask us ‘What can I claim compensation for?’. For most claims, there’s two different aspects to it. There’s General Damages and there’s Special Damages. Your General Damages relates to your injury aspects of your claim, which is your pain, suffering and loss of amenity. That takes into account obviously how bad the pain was, how long you suffered for and what it’s impacted in your life in terms of what you can and can’t do now going forwards. In addition to that you’ve got your Special Damages which is your out-of-pocket expenses. These are loss of earnings, care and assistance, travel, it might be a sports membership or something like that that you can no longer use due to the accident. It’s obviously for the claimant to always prove their losses on those ones. So if you’re unaware of how to prove it, or what you need to show it, you can either check out one of our other videos or give us a call and we can go through it with you.

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Yes. Injury compensation cases are commonly brought by the widow/widower of the victim, or by the executors who are named in the victim’s will.

Please see our Personal Injury Claims services.

Usually, to progress a personal injury claim you will need to be examined by an independent doctor. We always endeavour to make this as stress-free as possible for you and arrange a mutually convenient appointment as close to your home as possible.

Will I need to have a medical examination? Transcript

The other thing that clients are often concerned about is whether or not they’ll have to attend a medical appointment. For the majority of claims you will have to attend a medical appointment because that’s how the claims for your General Damages are valued. It’s based on the medical experts prognosis and their opinion on how your injuries are going to progress. A lot of clients will see the medical examiner whilst they’re still suffering from their symptoms and they won’t be fully recovered at the time. So it’s really important that you might to go to one. However, there may be some situations where a medical examination is not required. For example, if there’s some scarring, a laceration and a scar which seems to be permanent, sometimes you might not need to go to a medical examination. Other times, insurance companies or solicitors might make what’s called a pre-medical offer which is an offer to settle your claim without obtaining any medical evidence. However, to make sure that you get an accurate valuation of any injury that you’ve had, the medical examination is probably going to be necessary. If you’re not sure about that, it’s always something we can have a talk about and decide the best course of action. But all the medical examiners are completely independent and impartial and at the end of the day their duty is to the Court. So they’re not tied to us, they’re not tied to any other firm you might be using, their duty is to the Court. So they’re always going to give an honest opinion on what your injuries are and how they’re going to progress going forwards. If you’re concerned about anything like that we can have a chat before you even start your case, but it’s nothing to worry about, we can sort it for you.

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This will, to a large extent, be determined by the nature of the injuries you have sustained and whether the defendants have conceded liability for the accident.

In road traffic accidents where liability is admitted and the injuries sustained are not serious, we would expect matters to be settled in a matter of months. More complex cases can take longer. The vast majority of all cases are settled within 12 months.

It is important to realise that whilst we will act speedily and efficiently, we need to ensure that you have fully recovered from your injuries or that the doctors have determined an accurate prognosis.

Once a claim is settled you cannot claim more later on so we need to ensure that you receive the proper compensation for your injuries and any complications that may arise in the future. We will never pressurise you into settling your claim, we want you to be entirely satisfied before your claim is finalised.

How long will my personal injury claim take? Video Transcript

One of the first things that most of our clients ask us during our initial consultation is ‘How long will my claims process take?’. It’s a little bit tough because it’s very individual to each case and will be determined on a case-by-case basis. It often depends on things which are out of our control such as the insurance company dealing with the claim, the defendant themselves, whether or not the Court proceedings need to be issued. In a fairly straightforward case it can be something that’s brought to a close within a matter of months, sometimes weeks if all is straightforward and nothing is disputed. However, some cases can take several months to years to bring to a close and that can be because of complex arguments on liability or complex medical issues that need to be dealt with and settled between the parties. However, we work hard to make sure that we can push your case forward so that if the insurance company aren’t playing ball really, we can issue Court proceedings and start dealing with the solicitors which can push things along. Once the Court process has started we usually say somewhere between 18 months from the day we issue proceedings to potentially a final hearing. But though a lot of cases do settle before then during that time. It can settle at any period. So there’s no real answer to how long will it take. But, we’ll do our best to make sure we push it forwards for you should you choose to use us. If you’d like to have a chat about it, we can talk about the problems that might occur in your case and whether or not it’s straightforward and we can see if it’s something that we can help you with.

Please see our Personal Injury Claims services.

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This will, to a large extent, be determined by the nature of the injuries you have sustained and whether the defendants have conceded liability for the accident.

In road traffic accidents where liability is not an issue and the injuries sustained are not serious we would expect matters to be settled in a matter of months. More complex cases can take longer. The vast majority of all cases are settled within 12 months.

It is important to realise that whilst we will act speedily and efficiently we need to ensure that you have fully recovered from your injuries or that the doctors have determined an accurate prognosis.

Once a claim is settled you cannot claim more later on so we need to ensure that you receive the proper compensation for your injuries and any complications that may arise in the future. We will never pressurise you into settling your claim, we want you to be entirely satisfied before it is finalised.

Please see our Personal Injury Claims services.

A personal injury can be physical or psychological. It can be an injury or an illness and it could result in death. Examples of personal injuries are cuts, breaks, bruising, soft tissue injuries, anxiety, scarring, damage to organs and loss of senses. These might occur as a result of accidents at work, a road traffic accident, a trip or fall that happened in a public place, as well as injuries sustained as a result of clinical or cosmetic negligence. There are lots of other examples.

Please see our Personal Injury Claims services.

The responsibility for an accident at work is very often it is the employer, even though they may try to blame you or even discipline you for the accident. However, sometimes the accident might be the responsibility of a third party, for example, a building site main contractor. It might be due to the fault of a work colleague acting in a manner not related to the job. It might even be your own fault in whole or in part. If you are unsure, get in touch with our personal injury lawyer for a free initial case review in complete confidence.

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You need to find a company you can trust who cares about your interests. The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) is a not-for-profit association of solicitors, barristers and academics who specialise in personal injury law. Look for a lawyer who not only belongs to APIL but is also part of their accreditation scheme. The accreditation scheme guarantees members are competent in a particular field of personal injury. Accredited lawyers from Senior Litigator level upwards have at least five years’ experience of dealing with personal injury claims. All APIL members promise to follow a code of conduct and a consumer charter. Dominic Moss of Stonehewer Moss is a Fellow of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers.

Please see our Personal Injury Claims services. 

There are certain limitation periods for making a personal injury claim and some exemptions too.

The Limitation Act stipulates the date by which you can make a claim after you have had an accident. In most cases, this is three years from the day the accident occurred. After this time, you cannot easily make a claim unless there is some special reason why you should be allowed to do so. For example, if you were unable to deal with your own affairs for a period of time.

There are exceptions, for example, the limitation date for children who have an accident when they are under 18^th. is their 21^st birthday. That is three years from when they became an adult. 

If your injury was not caused by a one-off event, for example, a repetitive strain injury, then the three-year timeline only starts to run on the day you became aware you had an injury as a result of the negligence of a third party. This might be the day you are diagnosed with a condition by your doctor.

There are a lot of exceptions to the three-year limitation date rule (you might only have one year to make a claim if your accident was in Spain or two years if it was on a boat) so the best advice is to give us a call and we will tell you where you stand.

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Once you have instructed us and we have taken down all the relevant information with regard to the circumstances of the accident we will write a letter of claim to the other party’s insurers. In many cases, the insurers have up to 3 months in which to investigate the claim and either admit fault or deny liability.

Where the circumstances are clear cut, for example in a simple road traffic accident, the insurers admit liability straightway without the need for further consideration. If the blame for the accident is less clear-cut, they may wish to investigate the matter further.

Once liability is admitted we will arrange for you to undertake a medical examination. The instructed doctor will be independent. We will send you a copy of the report when it is available and then discuss its content with you to ensure that you are completely satisfied with it.

Only then will we negotiate settlement of your claim with the insurance company at a level of compensation previously agreed with you.

Please see our personal injury services.

An interim payment in a personal injury claim is an amount of money paid by the insurance company for the Defendant to the Claimant prior to settlement of the claim. For example, in some cases, people often cannot get back to work immediately and consequently have a much-reduced income. In such cases, we can often make an application for an interim payment for you to alleviate any short-term financial difficulties.

In larger cases where someone has been very seriously injured, we may ask for an interim payment to enable works to be undertaken on the injured persons’ house to make it more accessible, for example, a walk-in shower or to lower the kitchen work surfaces for a wheelchair user. 

No Win No Fee

When it comes to making a personal injury claim, one of the most important things to consider is how you will fund your case. After all, taking legal action can be costly, and if you don’t have the right funding in place, you may find yourself struggling to cover the costs.

No win no fee arrangements can be extremely beneficial for claimants, as they provide access to justice regardless of their financial situation.

However, it’s important to remember that not all no win no fee solicitors are the same. Some may charge hidden fees or have strict conditions in place, so it’s always worth doing your research before you choose a solicitor to work with.

No win no fee agreements have become a popular way for personal injury claimants to pursue compensation. But what exactly are they and what do you need to know about them? Stonehewer Moss Solicitors we will explain everything you need to know about no win no fee agreements, including how they work and the pros and cons of using them. 

What Is a Success Fee?

If your claim is successful then you become liable to pay your solicitors base costs, plus any success fee they charge. The success fee is very often misunderstood and often confused with the solicitors overall cap on costs. To be clear the success fee forms part of the overall costs charged, that is, the base costs plus the success fee.  

At Stonehewer Moss we apply an overall cap on the costs we charge you based on the amount of compensation you receive. This overall cap is typically between 18% and  30% of the compensation amount recovered, although this will be subject to your individual circumstances. This is a cap both on your liability for your base fees in general and the success fee added together.  

Accordingly when considering which law firm to use it is therefore much more useful (and much easier to understand) if you just ascertain what the overall cap is on your liability for legal costs is, as this is the amount that you will usually pay.

At Stonehewer Moss there is an overall cap so that your liability for all your legal costs will never exceed 30% of the damages you are awarded and can be as low as 18%.

No Win No Fee

When it comes to making a personal injury claim, one of the most important things to consider is how you will fund your case. After all, taking legal action can be costly, and if you don’t have the right funding in place, you may find yourself struggling to cover the costs.

No win no fee arrangements can be extremely beneficial for claimants, as they provide access to justice regardless of their financial situation.

However, it’s important to remember that not all no win no fee solicitors are the same. Some may charge hidden fees or have strict conditions in place, so it’s always worth doing your research before you choose a solicitor to work with.

No win no fee agreements have become a popular way for personal injury claimants to pursue compensation. But what exactly are they and what do you need to know about them? Stonehewer Moss Solicitors we will explain everything you need to know about no win no fee agreements, including how they work and the pros and cons of using them. 

What Is a Success Fee ?

If your claim is successful then you become liable to pay your solicitors base costs, plus any success fee they charge. The success fee is very often misunderstood and often confused with the solicitors overall cap on costs. To be clear the success fee forms part of the overall costs charged, that is, the base costs plus the success fee.  

At Stonehewer Moss we apply an overall cap on the costs we charge you based on the amount of compensation you receive. This overall cap is typically between 18% and  30% of the compensation amount recovered, although this will be subject to your individual circumstances. This is a cap both on your liability for your base fees in general and the success fee added together.  

Accordingly when considering which law firm to use it is therefore much more useful (and much easier to understand) if you just ascertain what the overall cap is on your liability for legal costs is, as this is the amount that you will usually pay.

At Stonehewer Moss there is an overall cap so that your liability for all your legal costs will never exceed 30% of the damages you are awarded and can be as low as 18%.

No. Your compensation is usually net of tax. Any claim for loss of earnings will be paid less any tax and National Insurance you would have paid. If you are claiming benefits related to your accident, your award might be reduced to repay these benefits. If you are claiming benefits not related to the accident, your lump sum award may affect your entitlement to benefits. We can help you with this by creating a personal injury trust.

The law for employers has not changed despite the coronavirus pandemic. An employee may be entitled to compensation if they contract COVID-19 because their employer has not done enough to ensure that their workplace is ‘COVID-secure’.

Employers have a legal duty to their employees to take reasonable care for their health and safety and they must take reasonable steps to do this. In particular, employers must take steps to secure a safe system of work, safe premises, safe equipment, and competent staff.

If you believe you have contracted COVID-19 due to ineffective health and safety measures implemented at your place of work, you may be able to bring a claim against your employer and secure compensation.

In order for us to assess whether or not you have a COVID-19 at work claim, we would ask all potential applicants to answer the following questions and send us your answers by email in confidence to info@stonhewermoss.co.uk.

This will enable us to determine whether or not you have a case to bring a claim against your employer before arranging a free initial consultation.

Pre-Assessment Questionnaire

Pre-existing medical conditions such as back injuries can complicate personal injury claims. A car accident or accident at work can aggravate an old injury or can cause a latent problem to become an injury. These situations require a law firm to take the time to understand the client and their medical history and individual circumstances. In this video Dominic Moss, senior partner here at Stonehewer Moss, personal injury solicitors, briefly details the considerations when handling claims involving pre-existing injuries such as back problems.

Please see our personal injury services.

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Fell between loose scaffolding boards onsite at work, injuring my back. The site manager says I cannot claim against them because I’m self-employed, is this right?

If you are a self-employed sub-contractor it may be assumed that you don’t hold the same legal rights as a full time employee, but this is not always true. If you have sustained an injury on a construction site through no fault of your own, you may be entitled to compensation providing your case meets the criteria required for a personal injury claim.

If you are employed to work on a construction site, the company that hired you or possibly the site owner, has a duty of care towards you. Therefore strict health and safety regulations must be in place to prevent the risk of injury to staff and visitors on site.

All employees should be provided with adequate training and regular risk assessments should be conducted by the site managers.

Changes to the working environment tend to be constant on building sites which means as structures are built, new hazards arise. It is also the employer’s responsibility to ensure that all equipment and tools are maintained to a safe working standard at all times, this includes scaffolding.

Loose scaffolding boards pose a direct risk to the health and safety to anyone who walks upon them.

Should the boards have been loose at the time of your accident, it would suggest that there is clear negligence on behalf of your employer towards the safety inspection of the environment prior to the accident occurring, which would be a strong enough reason to claim compensation against them for your injuries.

Personal injury claims take into account not only the immediate pain and suffering of the victim, but also the financial losses, medical costs and the effect it has had on quality of life.

In order to establish whether you have a potential injury claim, as well as the likely amount of compensation you could be entitled to, it is highly recommended that you speak with a personal injury solicitor.

A solicitor would discuss with you the accident circumstances and your employment agreement and advise on the relevant next steps to progress your case.

Am I entitled to make a claim for building injury compensation if I am a contractor working on a site and not an employee?

It is a common misconception that site contractors who have been involved in on-site accidents are not entitled to claim compensation as they are not viewed as employees, but this is not necessarily the case.

If you have sustained injuries due to the negligence of someone who had a duty of care towards you, then you may have a potential claim.

Building sites are usually managed by a company or an individual who also tend to be responsible for the health and safety of all employees, contractors and visitors in that working environment.

These environments are frequently peppered with potential hazards and it is the duty of those in charge to conduct regular risk assessments to prevent the possibility of an accident.

There are however circumstances in which some safety checks can be overlooked, particularly when projects need to be completed in short timeframes. In this case, there is an increased risk of injury to those on-site and unfortunately more accident claims are recorded.

Typical injuries on building sites include lacerations, burns, fractures or sometimes the loss of limbs and severe head and neck injuries.

These can be caused by accidents from working with faulty machinery, falls from height, electrocution and being struck by heavy or falling objects.

If something like the above happens on a building site and somebody is injured as a result, if it can be proven that the incident was due to a breach in the duty of care of whoever was responsible at the time, then those who were injured would have a very strong accident claim against them.

It can be difficult to determine the liable party in any case and so it is highly recommended that anyone who has been involved in an accident speaks to a solicitor at an accredited personal injury law firm like Stonehewer Moss.

Your solicitor would be able to find out who is legally responsible for your injury and work as your representative to obtain the compensation you deserve.

Hurt myself at the gym when the machine I was using broke mid-set. Am I able to claim against the gym even if they took me through the health and safety precautions prior to me joining?

Gym owners and operators are responsible for your health and welfare whilst on their premises and using their facilities.

Injuries are common occurrences within gyms due to the intensity of exercise people perform there. Under one roof there are many potential hazards to be wary of, such as heavy weights being thrown around, wet surfaces from water bottles or sweat as well as other gym-goers using equipment like treadmills which carry the risk of falling.

It goes without saying that you cannot claim against a gym for over exerting yourself whilst exercising. You have a responsibility to ensure that you are choosing appropriate weights and exercises to suit your fitness level to avoid injury.

Most gyms provide health and safety information upon joining and a large amount of machines now have instructions on how to properly use them. There are however, circumstances in which a gym may be liable for an injury you have sustained, some examples include:

• Slipping on wet floors where there are no warning signs in place
• Tripping on loose mats or objects which are obstructing walkways
• Becoming injured whilst using faulty equipment, ie if a bungee resistance cord snaps whilst lifting heavy weights on a machine
  

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If you have been injured in a gym, in order to claim compensation it must be proven that your accident was as a result of the gym’s negligence. It is important to obtain supporting evidence following your accident in the form of witness statements, photos of both the injury and accident site, CCTV footage, medical evidence and a report of it in the gym’s accident book.

Having a legal specialist work with you is the best way to achieve success in any injury claim.

If you believe your gym accident was not your fault and it happened within the last 3 years, we advise to speak with a solicitor who will determine if you have a potential claim and advise you on next steps toward obtaining compensation for your injuries.

We like to offer all our clients a friendly personal service you expect from a local solicitor, combined with the quality of service you expect from a specialist personal injury lawyer. To achieve this, Stonehewer Moss serve clients throughout Cheshire from our office in Northwich; including Middlewich, Winsford, Crewe, Chester, Warrington, Runcorn and surrounding areas.

A lot of our clients might be concerned that they’re not local to our office in Northwich and might not be able to come and see us as easily as some of our local clients. It doesn’t mean that we can’t help you with your claim. We can see you by Zoom, we can see you by FaceTime. We’ve often done WhatsApp video calls with clients who don’t live locally to us and we can still deal with your claim with the same level of service as if you could come and see us in the office. We can do all those things for you. We can talk to you on the phone, we can deal with your claim by email and at the end of the day it doesn’t impair our ability to come and help you win your case. Obviously the office is available if you wanted to ever come and see us or sometimes we will come and see you. Even if you are far away, it’s not necessarily too much work for us to come and do that. Obviously it would depend on your case how it’s progressing forwards, but if you want to give us a call we can arrange Zoom calls, anything like that to help you deal with your case and know that we’re giving you the best service possible. It doesn’t matter that you’re not local, we can help you. 

Please see our About Us page for more information.

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You may have been asked to sign a Conditional Fee Agreement. This is an agreement that is used when you do NOT have the benefit of an existing legal expenses policy. It allows the solicitors to claim some of their costs back from the defendants at the conclusion of the claim along with a success fee which is payable by the client. Whilst in principle the client is responsible for their fees from the outset of the claim, in reality, these fees will be capped so that you receive at least 75% of the compensation you are awarded. The cap does not apply to any disbursements you may need to obtain.

This means that before a solicitor can proceed with your case, you will need to show them certain documents. These will include a current passport, utility bills and the like. Solicitors need to see the original items and need to retain copies for their file. We recommend that you do not send valuable items such as passports and driving licences through the post.

No. The free initial case review is just that, but we hope that having advised you initially you will allow us to help you should you decide to pursue the matter with professional help.

Please see our Free Initial Case Review offer.

Often referred to as a “success fee”, in a personal injury case a solicitor may not be able to recover all their costs from the losing party so they may charge a success fee or contingency fee. This fee must not be more than 25% of your compensation. In this video, Dominic Moss, senior partner here at Stonehewer Moss personal injury solicitors, explains the fees solicitors charge in personal injury claims.

Please see our personal injury services.

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Watch this short video for an explanation of who pays the legal costs in a personal injury claim. Dominic Moss, senior partner here at Stonehewer Moss solicitors, briefly details the alternatives and gives potential claimants some ideas of the questions they should be asking at the start of a case.

Please see our personal injury services.

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No Win No Fee

When it comes to making a personal injury claim, one of the most important things to consider is how you will fund your case. After all, taking legal action can be costly, and if you don’t have the right funding in place, you may find yourself struggling to cover the costs.

No win no fee arrangements can be extremely beneficial for claimants, as they provide access to justice regardless of their financial situation.

However, it’s important to remember that not all no win no fee solicitors are the same. Some may charge hidden fees or have strict conditions in place, so it’s always worth doing your research before you choose a solicitor to work with.

No win no fee agreements have become a popular way for personal injury claimants to pursue compensation. But what exactly are they and what do you need to know about them? Stonehewer Moss Solicitors we will explain everything you need to know about no win no fee agreements, including how they work and the pros and cons of using them. 

What Is a Success Fee?

If your claim is successful then you become liable to pay your solicitors base costs, plus any success fee they charge. The success fee is very often misunderstood and often confused with the solicitors overall cap on costs. To be clear the success fee forms part of the overall costs charged, that is, the base costs plus the success fee.  

At Stonehewer Moss we apply an overall cap on the costs we charge you based on the amount of compensation you receive. This overall cap is typically between 18% and  30% of the compensation amount recovered, although this will be subject to your individual circumstances. This is a cap both on your liability for your base fees in general and the success fee added together.  

Accordingly when considering which law firm to use it is therefore much more useful (and much easier to understand) if you just ascertain what the overall cap is on your liability for legal costs is, as this is the amount that you will usually pay.

At Stonehewer Moss there is an overall cap so that your liability for all your legal costs will never exceed 30% of the damages you are awarded and can be as low as 18%.

No Win No Fee

When it comes to making a personal injury claim, one of the most important things to consider is how you will fund your case. After all, taking legal action can be costly, and if you don’t have the right funding in place, you may find yourself struggling to cover the costs.

No win no fee arrangements can be extremely beneficial for claimants, as they provide access to justice regardless of their financial situation.

However, it’s important to remember that not all no win no fee solicitors are the same. Some may charge hidden fees or have strict conditions in place, so it’s always worth doing your research before you choose a solicitor to work with.

No win no fee agreements have become a popular way for personal injury claimants to pursue compensation. But what exactly are they and what do you need to know about them? Stonehewer Moss Solicitors we will explain everything you need to know about no win no fee agreements, including how they work and the pros and cons of using them. 

What Is a Success Fee ?

If your claim is successful then you become liable to pay your solicitors base costs, plus any success fee they charge. The success fee is very often misunderstood and often confused with the solicitors overall cap on costs. To be clear the success fee forms part of the overall costs charged, that is, the base costs plus the success fee.  

At Stonehewer Moss we apply an overall cap on the costs we charge you based on the amount of compensation you receive. This overall cap is typically between 18% and  30% of the compensation amount recovered, although this will be subject to your individual circumstances. This is a cap both on your liability for your base fees in general and the success fee added together.  

Accordingly when considering which law firm to use it is therefore much more useful (and much easier to understand) if you just ascertain what the overall cap is on your liability for legal costs is, as this is the amount that you will usually pay.

At Stonehewer Moss there is an overall cap so that your liability for all your legal costs will never exceed 30% of the damages you are awarded and can be as low as 18%.

CRU stands for Compensation Recovery Unit and a CRU Certificate is issued by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) to show the amount of recoverable state benefit or lump-sum payments which applies to your injury compensation claim. Watch this short video to find out more or read this article:

Please see our personal injury services.

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In this short video, Dominic Moss, Stonehewer Moss’ senior personal injury lawyer explains what no win, no fee means in personal injury compensation claims cases.

Please see our personal injury services.

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In this short video, we explain what the term “Special Damages” means in a personal injury claim.

Please see our personal injury services.

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In a personal injury compensation claim, you may hear the term “General Damages”. In this short video, our personal injury claims solicitor, Dominic Moss explains what this means.

Please see our personal injury services.

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In this short video, Dominic Moss, senior partner here at Stonehewer Moss, personal injury solicitors, explains why less than 1% of personal injury claims require the claimant to appear in court.

Please see our personal injury services.

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There are two types of injury compensation that you may be entitled to. The first, called ‘general damages’, and is awarded to compensate you for the pain and suffering caused by the injury. The second type of injury compensation, called ‘special damages’, covers actual financial losses and expenses arising from the injury. This can include lost earnings, care given to you by your friends and family, costs of treatment, travel costs and various other expenses including future losses.

Please see our Personal Injury Claims services.

What will I get Personal Injury compensation for? – Video Transcript

A lot of clients ask us ‘What can I claim compensation for?’. For most claims, there’s two different aspects to it. There’s General Damages and there’s Special Damages. Your General Damages relates to your injury aspects of your claim, which is your pain, suffering and loss of amenity. That takes into account obviously how bad the pain was, how long you suffered for and what it’s impacted in your life in terms of what you can and can’t do now going forwards. In addition to that you’ve got your Special Damages which is your out-of-pocket expenses. These are loss of earnings, care and assistance, travel, it might be a sports membership or something like that that you can no longer use due to the accident. It’s obviously for the claimant to always prove their losses on those ones. So if you’re unaware of how to prove it, or what you need to show it, you can either check out one of our other videos or give us a call and we can go through it with you.

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No. Seeking compensation for an accident at work that was not your fault is not grounds for dismissal. Your employer will have insurance to cover your accident claim. For the most part, your solicitor will be dealing with the insurance company. Watch this short video to learn more.

The responsibility for an accident at work is very often it is the employer, even though they may try to blame you or even discipline you for the accident. However, sometimes the accident might be the responsibility of a third party, for example, a building site main contractor. It might be due to the fault of a work colleague acting in a manner not related to the job. It might even be your own fault in whole or in part. If you are unsure, get in touch with our personal injury lawyer for a free initial case review in complete confidence.

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Ideally you should make your accident at work claim as soon as possible but this may not be easy. For the majority of cases, any claim for an accident at work compensation must be made within three years of the date of the accident. There are some exemptions and you may be able to make a claim for an accident dating back further. 

As specialist personal injury lawyers, we will be able to advise you on your rights.

How long do I have to make an accident at work claim? Video Transcript

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There are certain limitation periods for making a personal injury claim and some exemptions too.

The Limitation Act stipulates the date by which you can make a claim after you have had an accident. In most cases, this is three years from the day the accident occurred. After this time, you cannot easily make a claim unless there is some special reason why you should be allowed to do so. For example, if you were unable to deal with your own affairs for a period of time.

There are exceptions, for example, the limitation date for children who have an accident when they are under 18^th. is their 21^st birthday. That is three years from when they became an adult. 

If your injury was not caused by a one-off event, for example, a repetitive strain injury, then the three-year timeline only starts to run on the day you became aware you had an injury as a result of the negligence of a third party. This might be the day you are diagnosed with a condition by your doctor.

There are a lot of exceptions to the three-year limitation date rule (you might only have one year to make a claim if your accident was in Spain or two years if it was on a boat) so the best advice is to give us a call and we will tell you where you stand.

Contact us

An interim payment in a personal injury claim is an amount of money paid by the insurance company for the Defendant to the Claimant prior to settlement of the claim. For example, in some cases, people often cannot get back to work immediately and consequently have a much-reduced income. In such cases, we can often make an application for an interim payment for you to alleviate any short-term financial difficulties.

In larger cases where someone has been very seriously injured, we may ask for an interim payment to enable works to be undertaken on the injured persons’ house to make it more accessible, for example, a walk-in shower or to lower the kitchen work surfaces for a wheelchair user. 

No Win No Fee

When it comes to making a personal injury claim, one of the most important things to consider is how you will fund your case. After all, taking legal action can be costly, and if you don’t have the right funding in place, you may find yourself struggling to cover the costs.

No win no fee arrangements can be extremely beneficial for claimants, as they provide access to justice regardless of their financial situation.

However, it’s important to remember that not all no win no fee solicitors are the same. Some may charge hidden fees or have strict conditions in place, so it’s always worth doing your research before you choose a solicitor to work with.

No win no fee agreements have become a popular way for personal injury claimants to pursue compensation. But what exactly are they and what do you need to know about them? Stonehewer Moss Solicitors we will explain everything you need to know about no win no fee agreements, including how they work and the pros and cons of using them. 

What Is a Success Fee?

If your claim is successful then you become liable to pay your solicitors base costs, plus any success fee they charge. The success fee is very often misunderstood and often confused with the solicitors overall cap on costs. To be clear the success fee forms part of the overall costs charged, that is, the base costs plus the success fee.  

At Stonehewer Moss we apply an overall cap on the costs we charge you based on the amount of compensation you receive. This overall cap is typically between 18% and  30% of the compensation amount recovered, although this will be subject to your individual circumstances. This is a cap both on your liability for your base fees in general and the success fee added together.  

Accordingly when considering which law firm to use it is therefore much more useful (and much easier to understand) if you just ascertain what the overall cap is on your liability for legal costs is, as this is the amount that you will usually pay.

At Stonehewer Moss there is an overall cap so that your liability for all your legal costs will never exceed 30% of the damages you are awarded and can be as low as 18%.

No Win No Fee

When it comes to making a personal injury claim, one of the most important things to consider is how you will fund your case. After all, taking legal action can be costly, and if you don’t have the right funding in place, you may find yourself struggling to cover the costs.

No win no fee arrangements can be extremely beneficial for claimants, as they provide access to justice regardless of their financial situation.

However, it’s important to remember that not all no win no fee solicitors are the same. Some may charge hidden fees or have strict conditions in place, so it’s always worth doing your research before you choose a solicitor to work with.

No win no fee agreements have become a popular way for personal injury claimants to pursue compensation. But what exactly are they and what do you need to know about them? Stonehewer Moss Solicitors we will explain everything you need to know about no win no fee agreements, including how they work and the pros and cons of using them. 

What Is a Success Fee ?

If your claim is successful then you become liable to pay your solicitors base costs, plus any success fee they charge. The success fee is very often misunderstood and often confused with the solicitors overall cap on costs. To be clear the success fee forms part of the overall costs charged, that is, the base costs plus the success fee.  

At Stonehewer Moss we apply an overall cap on the costs we charge you based on the amount of compensation you receive. This overall cap is typically between 18% and  30% of the compensation amount recovered, although this will be subject to your individual circumstances. This is a cap both on your liability for your base fees in general and the success fee added together.  

Accordingly when considering which law firm to use it is therefore much more useful (and much easier to understand) if you just ascertain what the overall cap is on your liability for legal costs is, as this is the amount that you will usually pay.

At Stonehewer Moss there is an overall cap so that your liability for all your legal costs will never exceed 30% of the damages you are awarded and can be as low as 18%.

No. Your compensation is usually net of tax. Any claim for loss of earnings will be paid less any tax and National Insurance you would have paid. If you are claiming benefits related to your accident, your award might be reduced to repay these benefits. If you are claiming benefits not related to the accident, your lump sum award may affect your entitlement to benefits. We can help you with this by creating a personal injury trust.

The value of every accident at work compensation claim depends on the seriousness of the injury as well as the chances of you making a full recovery.

In handling your claim, we will also look at other financial aspects such as medical expenses, travel costs and loss of earnings you may have had as a result of the accident. We will also factor into the value of your claim any long term medical expenses that you may incur for life-changing injuries that require ongoing medical treatment.

We will also seek to obtain interim payments where possible to help you to avoid financial hardship caused by an accident at work that wasn’t your fault.

Whatever the nature of your injury, our aim is to get you the highest amount of compensation as quickly and stress-free as possible so that you can get your life back on track.

How much will my accident at work claim be worth? Vide Transcript

The value of your claim will depend on a number of things. It will depend on what injury you’ve sustained, how long it’s gone on for and what other losses you’ve also incurred. For example, for a knee injury that recovers fairly quickly you’re potentially looking in the region of about £5,000. However, there’s then brackets of that where the knee injury gets more and more severe, all the way up to serious knee injuries. Which involves damaged ligaments and risks of osteoarthritis, loss of movement and restriction and things like that, where you could be looking at in the region of between £60,000 and £90,000. So it’s very difficult to tell often at the early stage, however it’s something that we might be able to give you an idea of. It’s difficult if you’ve only just had your accident and you’re not sure on how recovery is going to go, but we can keep an eye on that as your claim progresses. In addition to that loss, which is called your General Damages, you’ve also got your Special Damages which relates to your out-of-pocket expenses. Such as loss of earnings, care and assistance, travel, all those sorts of things which would be in addition to the other figures mentioned earlier if you had a bad knee injury. It’s something that we can help you with and we can have a chat about the value of the claim right from the off, however it’s really difficult to pin it down until we know how you are going to recover. But it’s something that we know we can keep an eye on and push your claim forwards whilst you’re still recovering from your injuries and determine the true value of your claim once we’ve obtained all of the medical evidence required. You might want to check out some of our other videos where we talk about General Damages and Special Damages specifically, so that you can understand those better and how to prove those losses more efficiently.

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If you’re injured because of an accident at work, there are a few important things you should do before contacting us:

• Record your accident with your employer and ensure it’s logged in an accident book
• Take photos of your injury and where it took place, make detailed notes and get the details of witnesses
• Make an appointment to see a doctor so that they can record details of the accident in your medical records and treat the injury
• Check your contract of employment to see your entitlements for pay and benefits if you are unable to work
• If you’re a trade union member, notify your representative

The next step is to get in touch with us to see if you have a claim. It’s best to get legal advice as soon as possible so that we can obtain crucial evidence and because there may be time limits.

We offer a Free No Obligation Case Review so that we can understand more about the accident circumstances and to advise you on whether or not you have a claim.

We will guide and support you throughout the personal injury claims process, dealing directly with your employers and their insurance company on your behalf to secure compensation for your injuries quickly and amicably.

Broke my arm when I was trampled by livestock whilst working on a farm. Can I claim compensation?

In any workplace, it is the duty of the employer to maintain a safe working environment.

Although seemingly docile animals, working with cows and other livestock can carry a risk of biting, kicking or crushing. Farm employers should ensure risk assessments are conducted frequently and that measures are put in place to deal with hazards and risks where necessary.

The Health and Safety Executive’s “Farmwise” Guide (based on the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974) states that in order to reduce the risk of accident/injury, it is imperative that any employee handling livestock should have:

• Proper handling facilities, which are well maintained and in good working order
• A race and a crush suitable for the animals to be handled
• Trained and competent workers
• A rigorous culling policy for temperamental animals

Should any of the above points not be adhered to by your employer, resulting in an accident causing you injury, you could be eligible for compensation.

I work in a factory and broke my finger after getting it caught in a machine whilst working, I have been left with scars and was out of work for a few weeks – am I entitled to compensation?

In any factory, some of the most common accidents are associated with machinery. Factory workers are often exposed to a range of hazards, which if overlooked can have disastrous effects on the well-being of the employees.

All factory workers should have adequate training and be made aware of potential hazards or risks within their line of work before carrying out any tasks. Health and safety procedures within factories must be extremely strict and adhered to by all members of staff, the employer must also ensure that machinery is maintained to a safe working standard for the operators and that regular safety checks are conducted in case any new hazards arise.

If your finger was trapped because of a lack of safeguarding, a fault with the machine or inadequate training, it is highly likely that you are entitled to compensation due to the negligence of the factory employer.

I have scars from accidentally cutting myself at work but I’m no longer in pain, can I still claim compensation?

It is more common thank you may think for people to suffer from permanent scarring following an accident and never make a personal injury claim for it.

Many believe that because their physical pain has subsided and they can go about their daily life, they are not eligible for compensation. This however is not the case.

It is the duty of employers to ensure their employees operate in a safe working environment, this includes training staff how to use equipment properly and safely and making them aware of any hazards involved in carrying out their job.

Should the employer’s negligence to health and safety standards result in an accident causing injury to an employee, the employee then has the right to claim compensation against them.

Scarring from a cut can be traumatic both physically and mentally. Scars can be a reminder of the accident and they can also cause someone to become self-conscious depending on the their severity and whereabouts on the body.

If you have permanent scarring from an accident at work that occurred within the last 3 years, you may be eligible for compensation. It is recommended that you consult a professional in Personal Injury Law, such as Stonehewer Moss, for further clarity on where you stand with your personal injury claim.  

A shop mannequin fell on me, hitting me in the head. Can I claim compensation for my head injury? I had to take a week off work for concussion.

Whether you are a customer or an employee of a store, every shop owner has a legal responsibility to keep the public out of harm’s way whilst on their premises, as outlined in the The Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957.

This includes ensuring heavy objects like mannequins are stable and secured to the floor to prevent them from falling over.

It is difficult to know what to do after suffering an accident in a shop, as they can come as quite a shock and can be uncomfortable to handle in a public setting.

If possible, it is important that you or someone you are with takes names and contact details for any witnesses to the event, as well as pictures of the scene and the injuries sustained.

This evidence will be of help to you further down the line should you decide to make a personal injury claim. 

If it can be demonstrated that the shop owner was negligent in their duty of care towards you, you may be eligible for compensation. Getting in touch with an experienced personal injury solicitor could be vital in winning your claim.

Legal professionals have the experience and knowledge to determine the extent of your claim, how much compensation you could receive as well as who is liable for your injuries.  

Burnt my forearms when I slipped and fell onto the stove at work. I am a chef and can’t currently work due to my injuries, am I able to claim for my loss of earnings?

The use of grills, ovens, hot pans and oils come as part of the package when working as a chef.

Kitchens are dangerous environments for anyone to navigate, particularly in restaurants or other commercial businesses where there can be multiple appliances operating at any given time, with many members of staff working in the same area.

It therefore comes as no surprise that injuries such as burns, lacerations, slips, trips and falls are common within the industry.

There are strict rules and regulations within restaurants for all kitchens to be cleaned and maintained to a safe working standard to prevent the risk of injury to staff.

However, accidents still do happen regardless of the measures put in place.

Chefs require the use of their arms and hands to carry out their job, a severe burn injury can cause loss of function and permanent scarring as well as leave a chef out of work for a considerable length of time to recover.

Restaurant owners and employers have a duty to ensure their staff are safe whilst working on the premises.

This includes training employees on how to operate the kitchen appliances, handle hot food and drinks as well as clean the work space efficiently. If for whatever reason this training has not been provided, your working environment it not safe, or the equipment you use is faulty, resulting in an accident causing injury, you may be entitled to compensation.

If you have had to take time off work in order to recover from your injuries, your loss of earnings would be considered within the sum of compensation.

If you have suffered an accident at work as a chef, after seeking medical assistance you should follow internal procedures to make your employer aware of the incident as well as logging it in the accident book.

It is then advised that you speak with legal experts like Stonehewer Moss who can help you determine whether you have a potential workplace injury claim and, should you wish to proceed, progress your case and resolve your injury claim as quickly and as stress-free as possible

Fell between loose scaffolding boards onsite at work, injuring my back. The site manager says I cannot claim against them because I’m self-employed, is this right?

If you are a self-employed sub-contractor it may be assumed that you don’t hold the same legal rights as a full time employee, but this is not always true. If you have sustained an injury on a construction site through no fault of your own, you may be entitled to compensation providing your case meets the criteria required for a personal injury claim.

If you are employed to work on a construction site, the company that hired you or possibly the site owner, has a duty of care towards you. Therefore strict health and safety regulations must be in place to prevent the risk of injury to staff and visitors on site.

All employees should be provided with adequate training and regular risk assessments should be conducted by the site managers.

Changes to the working environment tend to be constant on building sites which means as structures are built, new hazards arise. It is also the employer’s responsibility to ensure that all equipment and tools are maintained to a safe working standard at all times, this includes scaffolding.

Loose scaffolding boards pose a direct risk to the health and safety to anyone who walks upon them.

Should the boards have been loose at the time of your accident, it would suggest that there is clear negligence on behalf of your employer towards the safety inspection of the environment prior to the accident occurring, which would be a strong enough reason to claim compensation against them for your injuries.

Personal injury claims take into account not only the immediate pain and suffering of the victim, but also the financial losses, medical costs and the effect it has had on quality of life.

In order to establish whether you have a potential injury claim, as well as the likely amount of compensation you could be entitled to, it is highly recommended that you speak with a personal injury solicitor.

A solicitor would discuss with you the accident circumstances and your employment agreement and advise on the relevant next steps to progress your case.

Am I entitled to make a claim for building injury compensation if I am a contractor working on a site and not an employee?

It is a common misconception that site contractors who have been involved in on-site accidents are not entitled to claim compensation as they are not viewed as employees, but this is not necessarily the case.

If you have sustained injuries due to the negligence of someone who had a duty of care towards you, then you may have a potential claim.

Building sites are usually managed by a company or an individual who also tend to be responsible for the health and safety of all employees, contractors and visitors in that working environment.

These environments are frequently peppered with potential hazards and it is the duty of those in charge to conduct regular risk assessments to prevent the possibility of an accident.

There are however circumstances in which some safety checks can be overlooked, particularly when projects need to be completed in short timeframes. In this case, there is an increased risk of injury to those on-site and unfortunately more accident claims are recorded.

Typical injuries on building sites include lacerations, burns, fractures or sometimes the loss of limbs and severe head and neck injuries.

These can be caused by accidents from working with faulty machinery, falls from height, electrocution and being struck by heavy or falling objects.

If something like the above happens on a building site and somebody is injured as a result, if it can be proven that the incident was due to a breach in the duty of care of whoever was responsible at the time, then those who were injured would have a very strong accident claim against them.

It can be difficult to determine the liable party in any case and so it is highly recommended that anyone who has been involved in an accident speaks to a solicitor at an accredited personal injury law firm like Stonehewer Moss.

Your solicitor would be able to find out who is legally responsible for your injury and work as your representative to obtain the compensation you deserve.

There are two types of injury compensation that you may be entitled to. The first, called ‘general damages’, and is awarded to compensate you for the pain and suffering caused by the injury. The second type of injury compensation, called ‘special damages’, covers actual financial losses and expenses arising from the injury. This can include lost earnings, care given to you by your friends and family, costs of treatment, travel costs and various other expenses including future losses.

Please see our Personal Injury Claims services.

What will I get Personal Injury compensation for? – Video Transcript

A lot of clients ask us ‘What can I claim compensation for?’. For most claims, there’s two different aspects to it. There’s General Damages and there’s Special Damages. Your General Damages relates to your injury aspects of your claim, which is your pain, suffering and loss of amenity. That takes into account obviously how bad the pain was, how long you suffered for and what it’s impacted in your life in terms of what you can and can’t do now going forwards. In addition to that you’ve got your Special Damages which is your out-of-pocket expenses. These are loss of earnings, care and assistance, travel, it might be a sports membership or something like that that you can no longer use due to the accident. It’s obviously for the claimant to always prove their losses on those ones. So if you’re unaware of how to prove it, or what you need to show it, you can either check out one of our other videos or give us a call and we can go through it with you.

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There are certain limitation periods for making a personal injury claim and some exemptions too.

The Limitation Act stipulates the date by which you can make a claim after you have had an accident. In most cases, this is three years from the day the accident occurred. After this time, you cannot easily make a claim unless there is some special reason why you should be allowed to do so. For example, if you were unable to deal with your own affairs for a period of time.

There are exceptions, for example, the limitation date for children who have an accident when they are under 18^th. is their 21^st birthday. That is three years from when they became an adult. 

If your injury was not caused by a one-off event, for example, a repetitive strain injury, then the three-year timeline only starts to run on the day you became aware you had an injury as a result of the negligence of a third party. This might be the day you are diagnosed with a condition by your doctor.

There are a lot of exceptions to the three-year limitation date rule (you might only have one year to make a claim if your accident was in Spain or two years if it was on a boat) so the best advice is to give us a call and we will tell you where you stand.

Contact us

An interim payment in a personal injury claim is an amount of money paid by the insurance company for the Defendant to the Claimant prior to settlement of the claim. For example, in some cases, people often cannot get back to work immediately and consequently have a much-reduced income. In such cases, we can often make an application for an interim payment for you to alleviate any short-term financial difficulties.

In larger cases where someone has been very seriously injured, we may ask for an interim payment to enable works to be undertaken on the injured persons’ house to make it more accessible, for example, a walk-in shower or to lower the kitchen work surfaces for a wheelchair user. 

No Win No Fee

When it comes to making a personal injury claim, one of the most important things to consider is how you will fund your case. After all, taking legal action can be costly, and if you don’t have the right funding in place, you may find yourself struggling to cover the costs.

No win no fee arrangements can be extremely beneficial for claimants, as they provide access to justice regardless of their financial situation.

However, it’s important to remember that not all no win no fee solicitors are the same. Some may charge hidden fees or have strict conditions in place, so it’s always worth doing your research before you choose a solicitor to work with.

No win no fee agreements have become a popular way for personal injury claimants to pursue compensation. But what exactly are they and what do you need to know about them? Stonehewer Moss Solicitors we will explain everything you need to know about no win no fee agreements, including how they work and the pros and cons of using them. 

What Is a Success Fee?

If your claim is successful then you become liable to pay your solicitors base costs, plus any success fee they charge. The success fee is very often misunderstood and often confused with the solicitors overall cap on costs. To be clear the success fee forms part of the overall costs charged, that is, the base costs plus the success fee.  

At Stonehewer Moss we apply an overall cap on the costs we charge you based on the amount of compensation you receive. This overall cap is typically between 18% and  30% of the compensation amount recovered, although this will be subject to your individual circumstances. This is a cap both on your liability for your base fees in general and the success fee added together.  

Accordingly when considering which law firm to use it is therefore much more useful (and much easier to understand) if you just ascertain what the overall cap is on your liability for legal costs is, as this is the amount that you will usually pay.

At Stonehewer Moss there is an overall cap so that your liability for all your legal costs will never exceed 30% of the damages you are awarded and can be as low as 18%.

No Win No Fee

When it comes to making a personal injury claim, one of the most important things to consider is how you will fund your case. After all, taking legal action can be costly, and if you don’t have the right funding in place, you may find yourself struggling to cover the costs.

No win no fee arrangements can be extremely beneficial for claimants, as they provide access to justice regardless of their financial situation.

However, it’s important to remember that not all no win no fee solicitors are the same. Some may charge hidden fees or have strict conditions in place, so it’s always worth doing your research before you choose a solicitor to work with.

No win no fee agreements have become a popular way for personal injury claimants to pursue compensation. But what exactly are they and what do you need to know about them? Stonehewer Moss Solicitors we will explain everything you need to know about no win no fee agreements, including how they work and the pros and cons of using them. 

What Is a Success Fee ?

If your claim is successful then you become liable to pay your solicitors base costs, plus any success fee they charge. The success fee is very often misunderstood and often confused with the solicitors overall cap on costs. To be clear the success fee forms part of the overall costs charged, that is, the base costs plus the success fee.  

At Stonehewer Moss we apply an overall cap on the costs we charge you based on the amount of compensation you receive. This overall cap is typically between 18% and  30% of the compensation amount recovered, although this will be subject to your individual circumstances. This is a cap both on your liability for your base fees in general and the success fee added together.  

Accordingly when considering which law firm to use it is therefore much more useful (and much easier to understand) if you just ascertain what the overall cap is on your liability for legal costs is, as this is the amount that you will usually pay.

At Stonehewer Moss there is an overall cap so that your liability for all your legal costs will never exceed 30% of the damages you are awarded and can be as low as 18%.

No. Your compensation is usually net of tax. Any claim for loss of earnings will be paid less any tax and National Insurance you would have paid. If you are claiming benefits related to your accident, your award might be reduced to repay these benefits. If you are claiming benefits not related to the accident, your lump sum award may affect your entitlement to benefits. We can help you with this by creating a personal injury trust.

The value of every compensation claim for slips, trips and falls accidents depends on the seriousness of the injury as well as the chances of you making a full recovery.

In handling your claim, we will also look at other financial aspects such as medical expenses and loss of earnings you may have had as a result of the accident. We will also factor into the value of your claim any long term medical expenses that you may incur for life-changing injuries that require ongoing medical treatment.

We will also seek to obtain interim payments where possible to help you to avoid financial hardship caused by an accident that wasn’t your fault.

Whatever the nature of your injury, our aim is to get you the highest amount of compensation as quickly and stress-free as possible so that you can get your life back on track.

For the majority of cases, any claim for slips, trips, and falls accidents compensation must be made within three years of the date of the accident. There are, however, some exemptions to this rule in instances whereby you may be able to make a claim for an accident dating back further. As specialist personal injury lawyers, we will be able to advise you on your rights.

How do I make a compensation claim?

If you’re injured because of a slip, trip or fall in a public place, there are a few important things you should do before contacting us. It is really important that you gather as much evidence as possible to prove that the accident happened as a result of someone else’s negligence, for example:

• Photos of where the accident happened
• Measurements of any holes, cracks etc
• Contact details of witnesses
• Details of who owns the property/land
• Photos of your injuries and the medical treatment you received

It’s best to get legal advice as soon as possible after your accident so that we can obtain crucial evidence e.g. CCTV footage as this may be difficult to obtain at a later date. There may also be time limits to your claim.

We offer a Free No-Obligation Case Review so that we can understand more about the accident circumstances and to advise you on whether or not you have a claim.

We will guide and support you throughout the personal injury claims process, dealing directly with third parties and their insurance companies on your behalf to secure compensation for your injuries quickly and stress-free.

Local personal injury solicitors

We all know that accidents can happen. Recovery from such injuries can take time or be life-changing. The financial impact from the loss of earnings and unexpected rehabilitation, medical and other associated costs can be significant, putting you and your family at risk at a time when you are at your most vulnerable.

Whatever the cause of your injury, if it was an accident that you have suffered as a result of someone else’s negligence – either partly or fully – you could be eligible to claim compensation.

At Stonehewer Moss, our expert personal injury solicitors are here to offer you independent, trusted advice to help secure the financial compensation and rehabilitation support you need to get your life back on track.

No win no fee personal injury claims

No Win No Fee agreement, also known as a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) in the legal world, is an arrangement between a claimant and solicitor. In simple terms a ‘No Win No Fee’ arrangement means that you will not pay a fee if your claim is unsuccessful.

Stonehewer Moss Solicitors, based in Northwich, is one of Cheshire’s leading personal injury claims solicitors, with vast experience and an extensive record of compensation claims success for a wide range of injury types.

Why should you claim compensation?

There are many reasons why you may want to consider claiming compensation for your personal injury. For example, if you have suffered from an injury that has left you with long-term physical or psychological damage, then claiming compensation can help to cover the cost of your medical treatment and any other expenses that you have incurred as a result of your injury. Additionally, if you have been unable to work due

to your injury, claiming compensation can help to replace some of your lost income. Finally, claiming compensation can also help to hold the person or organisation responsible for your injury accountable for their actions.

Why Choose Stonehewer Moss Solicitors?

If you are injured in an accident you will want the best team of experts who know personal injury law and are highly qualified within this area. Its crucial to obtain the very best solicitors as this can be a critical factor in obtaining the maximum compensation you deserve. Selecting the right solicitor will greatly increase your chances of winning your claim. 

At Stonehewer Moss Solicitors we have years of experience dealing with high value complex claims. Our solicitors know the laws and regulations that exist to protect you which is all the more important to choose the very best.

If you have suffered an injury as a result of an accident that wasn’t your fault, you may be entitled to compensation. Contact us online to see if you have a claim for compensation.

Get in touch to start your claim

Call us on freephone 0800 434 6544 or 01606 87 22 00.

Email us at info@stonehewermoss.co.uk

ENQUIRY FORM.

Slipped on milk in Sainsburys and twisted my ankle, Sainsbury’s say it isn’t their fault. What can I do?

In this case, there are two conditions that need to be proven ahead of making a personal injury claim.

One being that you have sustained an injury from slipping on the milk in Sainsburys, the second that it is the supermarket’s negligence that caused the accident to happen.

Sainsburys are responsible for the care of customers who are shopping in their stores, therefore they must ensure that the supermarkets are well maintained and in suitable condition for customers to walk freely with little risk to their safety.

Obstructions such as trolleys and crates, as well as spillages are common hazards found in supermarkets. It is the duty of the store and it’s employees to make sure appropriate warning signs are placed upon wet floors at the earliest convenience to avoid potential accidents.

Claims of this nature are not always straightforward, as it would need to be proven that there was a reasonable window for Sainsbury’s staff to clear the hazard following the milk spillage and prior to the accident occurring.

It is possible for the claim to become a ‘my word against yours’ situation, especially if Sainsburys has denied liability. Your priority would be to speak with an accredited personal injury solicitor, who would be able to discuss the best course of action for you, as well as obtain the relevant evidence to support your claim.

Broke my wrist after tripping on a pothole in a carpark. Can I claim compensation and who should I claim against? 

Pothole accidents are fairly common within the UK affecting both road users as well as pedestrians. One of the most common questions we are asked when it comes to pothole injuries is “who is to blame”?

It is important to find out who owns the land where the pothole is situated. Under UK Health & Safety legislation, private companies who allow the public to access their premises must ensure that the grounds are maintained to a safe standard at all times.

If they overlook potential safety risks and an accident occurs as a result, they could then be held liable for those who were injured. If however the carpark was not owned by a private company, it is a possibility that your claim would be raised against the local council.

In order to claim compensation from tripping over a pothole, you will need to prove that your injuries were sustained due to the negligence of somebody who had a duty of care towards you.

It is therefore important that you report your accident to the local business, store or council at the earliest convenience following your accident. You should also take pictures of the pothole and the surrounding area and note the depth and circumference of the hole, prior to any potentially liable party filling it in.

If there were any witnesses to your accident, it would also be beneficial to take their names and contact details, in case they are needed to support your compensation claim later down the line.

The public liability insurers of negligent parties may sometimes approach the claimant with an early settlement offer following their accident.

It is rare for these offers to represent the full amount of compensation the claimant would be entitled to for their injuries and so it is always advised that you speak with an accredited legal professional like Stonehewer Moss before accepting any offer made. 

Broke my hip after slipping on an icy pavement. What should I do?

Street slip injury claims are not as straightforward as they may seem. Contrary to popular belief, it is not the council’s responsibility to keep all roads clear of ice and snow.

For many streets it is the duty of the residents to salt and grit the pavements to allow safe passage.

Main roads are managed by the council, however during the wintry months primary routes are prioritised to keep the majority of road traffic flowing, which means some smaller roads may not be tended to as quickly.

If the pavement you slipped on was the council’s responsibility, the chances of you being successful with your injury claim will depend on whether it had been reasonably practicable for the council to grit the walkway prior to your accident.

You must keep in mind that although councils are responsible for gritting pavements during icy conditions, it would be considered impracticable for them to be expected to safeguard every single road due to logistical, and financial restraints.

There is however a better chance of you being successful in your claim if you slipped somewhere that is considered to be a high risk area, such as outside a school or hospital, as these are places where high volume of pedestrians is to be expected.

The best thing to do after a street slip accident, is contact personal injury specialist like Stonehewer Moss Solicitors. Using their experience, a solicitor will be able to advise you on where you stand with your claim and indicate the level of compensation you could be entitled to. 

Hurt myself at the gym when the machine I was using broke mid-set. Am I able to claim against the gym even if they took me through the health and safety precautions prior to me joining?

Gym owners and operators are responsible for your health and welfare whilst on their premises and using their facilities.

Injuries are common occurrences within gyms due to the intensity of exercise people perform there. Under one roof there are many potential hazards to be wary of, such as heavy weights being thrown around, wet surfaces from water bottles or sweat as well as other gym-goers using equipment like treadmills which carry the risk of falling.

It goes without saying that you cannot claim against a gym for over exerting yourself whilst exercising. You have a responsibility to ensure that you are choosing appropriate weights and exercises to suit your fitness level to avoid injury.

Most gyms provide health and safety information upon joining and a large amount of machines now have instructions on how to properly use them. There are however, circumstances in which a gym may be liable for an injury you have sustained, some examples include:

• Slipping on wet floors where there are no warning signs in place
• Tripping on loose mats or objects which are obstructing walkways
• Becoming injured whilst using faulty equipment, ie if a bungee resistance cord snaps whilst lifting heavy weights on a machine
  

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If you have been injured in a gym, in order to claim compensation it must be proven that your accident was as a result of the gym’s negligence. It is important to obtain supporting evidence following your accident in the form of witness statements, photos of both the injury and accident site, CCTV footage, medical evidence and a report of it in the gym’s accident book.

Having a legal specialist work with you is the best way to achieve success in any injury claim.

If you believe your gym accident was not your fault and it happened within the last 3 years, we advise to speak with a solicitor who will determine if you have a potential claim and advise you on next steps toward obtaining compensation for your injuries.

There are two types of injury compensation that you may be entitled to. The first, called ‘general damages’, and is awarded to compensate you for the pain and suffering caused by the injury. The second type of injury compensation, called ‘special damages’, covers actual financial losses and expenses arising from the injury. This can include lost earnings, care given to you by your friends and family, costs of treatment, travel costs and various other expenses including future losses.

Please see our Personal Injury Claims services.

What will I get Personal Injury compensation for? – Video Transcript

A lot of clients ask us ‘What can I claim compensation for?’. For most claims, there’s two different aspects to it. There’s General Damages and there’s Special Damages. Your General Damages relates to your injury aspects of your claim, which is your pain, suffering and loss of amenity. That takes into account obviously how bad the pain was, how long you suffered for and what it’s impacted in your life in terms of what you can and can’t do now going forwards. In addition to that you’ve got your Special Damages which is your out-of-pocket expenses. These are loss of earnings, care and assistance, travel, it might be a sports membership or something like that that you can no longer use due to the accident. It’s obviously for the claimant to always prove their losses on those ones. So if you’re unaware of how to prove it, or what you need to show it, you can either check out one of our other videos or give us a call and we can go through it with you.

Watch Video

The Criminal Injury Compensation Authority is a government organisation that can pay money (‘an award’) to people who have been physically or mentally injured because they were the blameless victim of a violent crime such as an assault. Whilst you must have notified the police to be eligible to make a CICA claim, the offender does not necessarily have to have been convicted of, or even charged with the crime for you to make a claim. However, your claim could be affected by your behaviour, your criminal record, your failure to co-operate with the police, or if you have delayed making the claim.

There are certain limitation periods for making a personal injury claim and some exemptions too.

The Limitation Act stipulates the date by which you can make a claim after you have had an accident. In most cases, this is three years from the day the accident occurred. After this time, you cannot easily make a claim unless there is some special reason why you should be allowed to do so. For example, if you were unable to deal with your own affairs for a period of time.

There are exceptions, for example, the limitation date for children who have an accident when they are under 18^th. is their 21^st birthday. That is three years from when they became an adult. 

If your injury was not caused by a one-off event, for example, a repetitive strain injury, then the three-year timeline only starts to run on the day you became aware you had an injury as a result of the negligence of a third party. This might be the day you are diagnosed with a condition by your doctor.

There are a lot of exceptions to the three-year limitation date rule (you might only have one year to make a claim if your accident was in Spain or two years if it was on a boat) so the best advice is to give us a call and we will tell you where you stand.

Contact us

An interim payment in a personal injury claim is an amount of money paid by the insurance company for the Defendant to the Claimant prior to settlement of the claim. For example, in some cases, people often cannot get back to work immediately and consequently have a much-reduced income. In such cases, we can often make an application for an interim payment for you to alleviate any short-term financial difficulties.

In larger cases where someone has been very seriously injured, we may ask for an interim payment to enable works to be undertaken on the injured persons’ house to make it more accessible, for example, a walk-in shower or to lower the kitchen work surfaces for a wheelchair user. 

No Win No Fee

When it comes to making a personal injury claim, one of the most important things to consider is how you will fund your case. After all, taking legal action can be costly, and if you don’t have the right funding in place, you may find yourself struggling to cover the costs.

No win no fee arrangements can be extremely beneficial for claimants, as they provide access to justice regardless of their financial situation.

However, it’s important to remember that not all no win no fee solicitors are the same. Some may charge hidden fees or have strict conditions in place, so it’s always worth doing your research before you choose a solicitor to work with.

No win no fee agreements have become a popular way for personal injury claimants to pursue compensation. But what exactly are they and what do you need to know about them? Stonehewer Moss Solicitors we will explain everything you need to know about no win no fee agreements, including how they work and the pros and cons of using them. 

What Is a Success Fee?

If your claim is successful then you become liable to pay your solicitors base costs, plus any success fee they charge. The success fee is very often misunderstood and often confused with the solicitors overall cap on costs. To be clear the success fee forms part of the overall costs charged, that is, the base costs plus the success fee.  

At Stonehewer Moss we apply an overall cap on the costs we charge you based on the amount of compensation you receive. This overall cap is typically between 18% and  30% of the compensation amount recovered, although this will be subject to your individual circumstances. This is a cap both on your liability for your base fees in general and the success fee added together.  

Accordingly when considering which law firm to use it is therefore much more useful (and much easier to understand) if you just ascertain what the overall cap is on your liability for legal costs is, as this is the amount that you will usually pay.

At Stonehewer Moss there is an overall cap so that your liability for all your legal costs will never exceed 30% of the damages you are awarded and can be as low as 18%.

No Win No Fee

When it comes to making a personal injury claim, one of the most important things to consider is how you will fund your case. After all, taking legal action can be costly, and if you don’t have the right funding in place, you may find yourself struggling to cover the costs.

No win no fee arrangements can be extremely beneficial for claimants, as they provide access to justice regardless of their financial situation.

However, it’s important to remember that not all no win no fee solicitors are the same. Some may charge hidden fees or have strict conditions in place, so it’s always worth doing your research before you choose a solicitor to work with.

No win no fee agreements have become a popular way for personal injury claimants to pursue compensation. But what exactly are they and what do you need to know about them? Stonehewer Moss Solicitors we will explain everything you need to know about no win no fee agreements, including how they work and the pros and cons of using them. 

What Is a Success Fee ?

If your claim is successful then you become liable to pay your solicitors base costs, plus any success fee they charge. The success fee is very often misunderstood and often confused with the solicitors overall cap on costs. To be clear the success fee forms part of the overall costs charged, that is, the base costs plus the success fee.  

At Stonehewer Moss we apply an overall cap on the costs we charge you based on the amount of compensation you receive. This overall cap is typically between 18% and  30% of the compensation amount recovered, although this will be subject to your individual circumstances. This is a cap both on your liability for your base fees in general and the success fee added together.  

Accordingly when considering which law firm to use it is therefore much more useful (and much easier to understand) if you just ascertain what the overall cap is on your liability for legal costs is, as this is the amount that you will usually pay.

At Stonehewer Moss there is an overall cap so that your liability for all your legal costs will never exceed 30% of the damages you are awarded and can be as low as 18%.

No. Your compensation is usually net of tax. Any claim for loss of earnings will be paid less any tax and National Insurance you would have paid. If you are claiming benefits related to your accident, your award might be reduced to repay these benefits. If you are claiming benefits not related to the accident, your lump sum award may affect your entitlement to benefits. We can help you with this by creating a personal injury trust.

Every compensation claim for an assault depends on the severity of the injury.

In handling your claim, as well as securing compensation for pain and suffering, we will look at financial aspects such as medical expenses, rehabilitation costs, loss of earnings you may have had as a result of the accident. We will also factor into the value of your claim any long term medical expenses that you may incur for life-changing injuries that require ongoing medical treatment.

We will also seek to obtain interim payments where possible to help you to avoid financial hardship caused by an assault.

Our aim is to get you the highest amount of compensation quickly and stress-free so that you can get your life back on track.

For the majority of victims, any assault compensation claims must be made within three years of the date of the incident. There are, however, some exemptions to this rule in instances whereby you may be able to make a claim for an assault dating back further. Claims under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) scheme must usually be made within two years of the incident date. As specialist personal injury lawyers, we will be able to advise you upon these important time limits.

If you have suffered an injury as a result of an assault, it’s best to get legal advice from an experienced personal lawyer.

We offer a Free No Obligation Case Review so that we can understand more about the assault circumstances and to advise you on whether or not you have a claim with the utmost confidentiality.

We will guide and support you throughout the personal injury claims process via the CICA, to secure compensation for your injuries. We handle each case with understanding, sensitivity, and compassion.

As a local firm, we can also arrange home visits or meet you at a hospital if required.

There are two types of injury compensation that you may be entitled to. The first, called ‘general damages’, and is awarded to compensate you for the pain and suffering caused by the injury. The second type of injury compensation, called ‘special damages’, covers actual financial losses and expenses arising from the injury. This can include lost earnings, care given to you by your friends and family, costs of treatment, travel costs and various other expenses including future losses.

Please see our Personal Injury Claims services.

What will I get Personal Injury compensation for? – Video Transcript

A lot of clients ask us ‘What can I claim compensation for?’. For most claims, there’s two different aspects to it. There’s General Damages and there’s Special Damages. Your General Damages relates to your injury aspects of your claim, which is your pain, suffering and loss of amenity. That takes into account obviously how bad the pain was, how long you suffered for and what it’s impacted in your life in terms of what you can and can’t do now going forwards. In addition to that you’ve got your Special Damages which is your out-of-pocket expenses. These are loss of earnings, care and assistance, travel, it might be a sports membership or something like that that you can no longer use due to the accident. It’s obviously for the claimant to always prove their losses on those ones. So if you’re unaware of how to prove it, or what you need to show it, you can either check out one of our other videos or give us a call and we can go through it with you.

Watch Video

There are certain limitation periods for making a personal injury claim and some exemptions too.

The Limitation Act stipulates the date by which you can make a claim after you have had an accident. In most cases, this is three years from the day the accident occurred. After this time, you cannot easily make a claim unless there is some special reason why you should be allowed to do so. For example, if you were unable to deal with your own affairs for a period of time.

There are exceptions, for example, the limitation date for children who have an accident when they are under 18^th. is their 21^st birthday. That is three years from when they became an adult. 

If your injury was not caused by a one-off event, for example, a repetitive strain injury, then the three-year timeline only starts to run on the day you became aware you had an injury as a result of the negligence of a third party. This might be the day you are diagnosed with a condition by your doctor.

There are a lot of exceptions to the three-year limitation date rule (you might only have one year to make a claim if your accident was in Spain or two years if it was on a boat) so the best advice is to give us a call and we will tell you where you stand.

Contact us

An interim payment in a personal injury claim is an amount of money paid by the insurance company for the Defendant to the Claimant prior to settlement of the claim. For example, in some cases, people often cannot get back to work immediately and consequently have a much-reduced income. In such cases, we can often make an application for an interim payment for you to alleviate any short-term financial difficulties.

In larger cases where someone has been very seriously injured, we may ask for an interim payment to enable works to be undertaken on the injured persons’ house to make it more accessible, for example, a walk-in shower or to lower the kitchen work surfaces for a wheelchair user. 

No Win No Fee

When it comes to making a personal injury claim, one of the most important things to consider is how you will fund your case. After all, taking legal action can be costly, and if you don’t have the right funding in place, you may find yourself struggling to cover the costs.

No win no fee arrangements can be extremely beneficial for claimants, as they provide access to justice regardless of their financial situation.

However, it’s important to remember that not all no win no fee solicitors are the same. Some may charge hidden fees or have strict conditions in place, so it’s always worth doing your research before you choose a solicitor to work with.

No win no fee agreements have become a popular way for personal injury claimants to pursue compensation. But what exactly are they and what do you need to know about them? Stonehewer Moss Solicitors we will explain everything you need to know about no win no fee agreements, including how they work and the pros and cons of using them. 

What Is a Success Fee?

If your claim is successful then you become liable to pay your solicitors base costs, plus any success fee they charge. The success fee is very often misunderstood and often confused with the solicitors overall cap on costs. To be clear the success fee forms part of the overall costs charged, that is, the base costs plus the success fee.  

At Stonehewer Moss we apply an overall cap on the costs we charge you based on the amount of compensation you receive. This overall cap is typically between 18% and  30% of the compensation amount recovered, although this will be subject to your individual circumstances. This is a cap both on your liability for your base fees in general and the success fee added together.  

Accordingly when considering which law firm to use it is therefore much more useful (and much easier to understand) if you just ascertain what the overall cap is on your liability for legal costs is, as this is the amount that you will usually pay.

At Stonehewer Moss there is an overall cap so that your liability for all your legal costs will never exceed 30% of the damages you are awarded and can be as low as 18%.

No Win No Fee

When it comes to making a personal injury claim, one of the most important things to consider is how you will fund your case. After all, taking legal action can be costly, and if you don’t have the right funding in place, you may find yourself struggling to cover the costs.

No win no fee arrangements can be extremely beneficial for claimants, as they provide access to justice regardless of their financial situation.

However, it’s important to remember that not all no win no fee solicitors are the same. Some may charge hidden fees or have strict conditions in place, so it’s always worth doing your research before you choose a solicitor to work with.

No win no fee agreements have become a popular way for personal injury claimants to pursue compensation. But what exactly are they and what do you need to know about them? Stonehewer Moss Solicitors we will explain everything you need to know about no win no fee agreements, including how they work and the pros and cons of using them. 

What Is a Success Fee ?

If your claim is successful then you become liable to pay your solicitors base costs, plus any success fee they charge. The success fee is very often misunderstood and often confused with the solicitors overall cap on costs. To be clear the success fee forms part of the overall costs charged, that is, the base costs plus the success fee.  

At Stonehewer Moss we apply an overall cap on the costs we charge you based on the amount of compensation you receive. This overall cap is typically between 18% and  30% of the compensation amount recovered, although this will be subject to your individual circumstances. This is a cap both on your liability for your base fees in general and the success fee added together.  

Accordingly when considering which law firm to use it is therefore much more useful (and much easier to understand) if you just ascertain what the overall cap is on your liability for legal costs is, as this is the amount that you will usually pay.

At Stonehewer Moss there is an overall cap so that your liability for all your legal costs will never exceed 30% of the damages you are awarded and can be as low as 18%.

If a claim is made by a parent or guardian, the financial compensation awarded is put into a secure trust fund until the injured child turns 18 years of age. However, a parent or guardian can make a request to access these funds to cover essential costs such as medical expenses if required.

If the claim is made by the injured child once 18 years of age, the compensation sum will be paid directly to the claimant.

No. Your compensation is usually net of tax. Any claim for loss of earnings will be paid less any tax and National Insurance you would have paid. If you are claiming benefits related to your accident, your award might be reduced to repay these benefits. If you are claiming benefits not related to the accident, your lump sum award may affect your entitlement to benefits. We can help you with this by creating a personal injury trust.

The value of every compensation claim for a child accident and injury depends on the seriousness of the injury as well as the chances of them making a full recovery.

In handling your claim, we will also look at other financial aspects such as medical expenses, including any long term medical expenses that you may incur for life-changing injuries that require ongoing medical treatment.

Whatever the nature of your child’s injury, our aim is to get you the highest amount of compensation as quickly, amicably and stress-free as possible.

A parent or guardian can make a claim for compensation on behalf of an injured child (a minor) – they are known as their ‘Litigation Friend’. This person must be independent; meaning if a parent is to blame for the accident sustained by the child, they cannot act as the child’s Litigation Friend.

However, if the parent or guardian has not made a claim on behalf of an injured child, once they turn 18 years of age, they can make a compensation claim themselves. They have three years from the day that they turn 18 to make the claim.

We offer a Free No Obligation Case Review so that we can understand more about the accident circumstances and to advise you on whether or not you have a claim.

We will guide and support you throughout the personal injury claims process, dealing directly with the third parties and insurers if required on your behalf to secure the compensation your child deserves for their injuries, quickly and amicably.

There are two types of injury compensation that you may be entitled to. The first, called ‘general damages’, and is awarded to compensate you for the pain and suffering caused by the injury. The second type of injury compensation, called ‘special damages’, covers actual financial losses and expenses arising from the injury. This can include lost earnings, care given to you by your friends and family, costs of treatment, travel costs and various other expenses including future losses.

Please see our Personal Injury Claims services.

What will I get Personal Injury compensation for? – Video Transcript

A lot of clients ask us ‘What can I claim compensation for?’. For most claims, there’s two different aspects to it. There’s General Damages and there’s Special Damages. Your General Damages relates to your injury aspects of your claim, which is your pain, suffering and loss of amenity. That takes into account obviously how bad the pain was, how long you suffered for and what it’s impacted in your life in terms of what you can and can’t do now going forwards. In addition to that you’ve got your Special Damages which is your out-of-pocket expenses. These are loss of earnings, care and assistance, travel, it might be a sports membership or something like that that you can no longer use due to the accident. It’s obviously for the claimant to always prove their losses on those ones. So if you’re unaware of how to prove it, or what you need to show it, you can either check out one of our other videos or give us a call and we can go through it with you.

Watch Video

There are certain limitation periods for making a personal injury claim and some exemptions too.

The Limitation Act stipulates the date by which you can make a claim after you have had an accident. In most cases, this is three years from the day the accident occurred. After this time, you cannot easily make a claim unless there is some special reason why you should be allowed to do so. For example, if you were unable to deal with your own affairs for a period of time.

There are exceptions, for example, the limitation date for children who have an accident when they are under 18^th. is their 21^st birthday. That is three years from when they became an adult. 

If your injury was not caused by a one-off event, for example, a repetitive strain injury, then the three-year timeline only starts to run on the day you became aware you had an injury as a result of the negligence of a third party. This might be the day you are diagnosed with a condition by your doctor.

There are a lot of exceptions to the three-year limitation date rule (you might only have one year to make a claim if your accident was in Spain or two years if it was on a boat) so the best advice is to give us a call and we will tell you where you stand.

Contact us

An interim payment in a personal injury claim is an amount of money paid by the insurance company for the Defendant to the Claimant prior to settlement of the claim. For example, in some cases, people often cannot get back to work immediately and consequently have a much-reduced income. In such cases, we can often make an application for an interim payment for you to alleviate any short-term financial difficulties.

In larger cases where someone has been very seriously injured, we may ask for an interim payment to enable works to be undertaken on the injured persons’ house to make it more accessible, for example, a walk-in shower or to lower the kitchen work surfaces for a wheelchair user. 

No Win No Fee

When it comes to making a personal injury claim, one of the most important things to consider is how you will fund your case. After all, taking legal action can be costly, and if you don’t have the right funding in place, you may find yourself struggling to cover the costs.

No win no fee arrangements can be extremely beneficial for claimants, as they provide access to justice regardless of their financial situation.

However, it’s important to remember that not all no win no fee solicitors are the same. Some may charge hidden fees or have strict conditions in place, so it’s always worth doing your research before you choose a solicitor to work with.

No win no fee agreements have become a popular way for personal injury claimants to pursue compensation. But what exactly are they and what do you need to know about them? Stonehewer Moss Solicitors we will explain everything you need to know about no win no fee agreements, including how they work and the pros and cons of using them. 

What Is a Success Fee?

If your claim is successful then you become liable to pay your solicitors base costs, plus any success fee they charge. The success fee is very often misunderstood and often confused with the solicitors overall cap on costs. To be clear the success fee forms part of the overall costs charged, that is, the base costs plus the success fee.  

At Stonehewer Moss we apply an overall cap on the costs we charge you based on the amount of compensation you receive. This overall cap is typically between 18% and  30% of the compensation amount recovered, although this will be subject to your individual circumstances. This is a cap both on your liability for your base fees in general and the success fee added together.  

Accordingly when considering which law firm to use it is therefore much more useful (and much easier to understand) if you just ascertain what the overall cap is on your liability for legal costs is, as this is the amount that you will usually pay.

At Stonehewer Moss there is an overall cap so that your liability for all your legal costs will never exceed 30% of the damages you are awarded and can be as low as 18%.

No Win No Fee

When it comes to making a personal injury claim, one of the most important things to consider is how you will fund your case. After all, taking legal action can be costly, and if you don’t have the right funding in place, you may find yourself struggling to cover the costs.

No win no fee arrangements can be extremely beneficial for claimants, as they provide access to justice regardless of their financial situation.

However, it’s important to remember that not all no win no fee solicitors are the same. Some may charge hidden fees or have strict conditions in place, so it’s always worth doing your research before you choose a solicitor to work with.

No win no fee agreements have become a popular way for personal injury claimants to pursue compensation. But what exactly are they and what do you need to know about them? Stonehewer Moss Solicitors we will explain everything you need to know about no win no fee agreements, including how they work and the pros and cons of using them. 

What Is a Success Fee ?

If your claim is successful then you become liable to pay your solicitors base costs, plus any success fee they charge. The success fee is very often misunderstood and often confused with the solicitors overall cap on costs. To be clear the success fee forms part of the overall costs charged, that is, the base costs plus the success fee.  

At Stonehewer Moss we apply an overall cap on the costs we charge you based on the amount of compensation you receive. This overall cap is typically between 18% and  30% of the compensation amount recovered, although this will be subject to your individual circumstances. This is a cap both on your liability for your base fees in general and the success fee added together.  

Accordingly when considering which law firm to use it is therefore much more useful (and much easier to understand) if you just ascertain what the overall cap is on your liability for legal costs is, as this is the amount that you will usually pay.

At Stonehewer Moss there is an overall cap so that your liability for all your legal costs will never exceed 30% of the damages you are awarded and can be as low as 18%.

No. Your compensation is usually net of tax. Any claim for loss of earnings will be paid less any tax and National Insurance you would have paid. If you are claiming benefits related to your accident, your award might be reduced to repay these benefits. If you are claiming benefits not related to the accident, your lump sum award may affect your entitlement to benefits. We can help you with this by creating a personal injury trust.

How much you will get from a clinical negligence claim depends on the seriousness of the injury as well as the chances of you making a full recovery.

In handling your claim, we will also look at other financial aspects such as medical expenses and loss of earnings you may have had as a result of their negligence. We will also factor into the value of your claim any long term medical expenses that you may incur for life-changing injuries that require ongoing medical treatment.

We will also seek to obtain interim payments where possible to help you to avoid financial hardship caused by their negligence.

Our aim is to get you the highest amount of compensation as quickly and stress-free as possible.

For the majority of cases, any claim for clinical negligence compensation must be made within three years of the date of the incident. There are, however, some exemptions to this rule in instances whereby you may be able to make a claim for an injury dating back further, for example, if the injury involves a minor. As specialist injury lawyers, we will be able to advise you on your rights.

p>It’s best to get legal advice as soon as possible so that we can obtain crucial evidence.

We offer a Free No Obligation Case Review so that we can understand more about the clinical treatment circumstances and to advise you on whether or not you have a claim.

We will guide and support you throughout the personal injury claims process, dealing directly with third parties and their insurance companies on your behalf to secure compensation for your injuries quickly and stress-free.

There are two types of injury compensation that you may be entitled to. The first, called ‘general damages’, and is awarded to compensate you for the pain and suffering caused by the injury. The second type of injury compensation, called ‘special damages’, covers actual financial losses and expenses arising from the injury. This can include lost earnings, care given to you by your friends and family, costs of treatment, travel costs and various other expenses including future losses.

Please see our Personal Injury Claims services.

What will I get Personal Injury compensation for? – Video Transcript

A lot of clients ask us ‘What can I claim compensation for?’. For most claims, there’s two different aspects to it. There’s General Damages and there’s Special Damages. Your General Damages relates to your injury aspects of your claim, which is your pain, suffering and loss of amenity. That takes into account obviously how bad the pain was, how long you suffered for and what it’s impacted in your life in terms of what you can and can’t do now going forwards. In addition to that you’ve got your Special Damages which is your out-of-pocket expenses. These are loss of earnings, care and assistance, travel, it might be a sports membership or something like that that you can no longer use due to the accident. It’s obviously for the claimant to always prove their losses on those ones. So if you’re unaware of how to prove it, or what you need to show it, you can either check out one of our other videos or give us a call and we can go through it with you.

Watch Video

There are certain limitation periods for making a personal injury claim and some exemptions too.

The Limitation Act stipulates the date by which you can make a claim after you have had an accident. In most cases, this is three years from the day the accident occurred. After this time, you cannot easily make a claim unless there is some special reason why you should be allowed to do so. For example, if you were unable to deal with your own affairs for a period of time.

There are exceptions, for example, the limitation date for children who have an accident when they are under 18^th. is their 21^st birthday. That is three years from when they became an adult. 

If your injury was not caused by a one-off event, for example, a repetitive strain injury, then the three-year timeline only starts to run on the day you became aware you had an injury as a result of the negligence of a third party. This might be the day you are diagnosed with a condition by your doctor.

There are a lot of exceptions to the three-year limitation date rule (you might only have one year to make a claim if your accident was in Spain or two years if it was on a boat) so the best advice is to give us a call and we will tell you where you stand.

Contact us

An interim payment in a personal injury claim is an amount of money paid by the insurance company for the Defendant to the Claimant prior to settlement of the claim. For example, in some cases, people often cannot get back to work immediately and consequently have a much-reduced income. In such cases, we can often make an application for an interim payment for you to alleviate any short-term financial difficulties.

In larger cases where someone has been very seriously injured, we may ask for an interim payment to enable works to be undertaken on the injured persons’ house to make it more accessible, for example, a walk-in shower or to lower the kitchen work surfaces for a wheelchair user. 

No Win No Fee

When it comes to making a personal injury claim, one of the most important things to consider is how you will fund your case. After all, taking legal action can be costly, and if you don’t have the right funding in place, you may find yourself struggling to cover the costs.

No win no fee arrangements can be extremely beneficial for claimants, as they provide access to justice regardless of their financial situation.

However, it’s important to remember that not all no win no fee solicitors are the same. Some may charge hidden fees or have strict conditions in place, so it’s always worth doing your research before you choose a solicitor to work with.

No win no fee agreements have become a popular way for personal injury claimants to pursue compensation. But what exactly are they and what do you need to know about them? Stonehewer Moss Solicitors we will explain everything you need to know about no win no fee agreements, including how they work and the pros and cons of using them. 

What Is a Success Fee?

If your claim is successful then you become liable to pay your solicitors base costs, plus any success fee they charge. The success fee is very often misunderstood and often confused with the solicitors overall cap on costs. To be clear the success fee forms part of the overall costs charged, that is, the base costs plus the success fee.  

At Stonehewer Moss we apply an overall cap on the costs we charge you based on the amount of compensation you receive. This overall cap is typically between 18% and  30% of the compensation amount recovered, although this will be subject to your individual circumstances. This is a cap both on your liability for your base fees in general and the success fee added together.  

Accordingly when considering which law firm to use it is therefore much more useful (and much easier to understand) if you just ascertain what the overall cap is on your liability for legal costs is, as this is the amount that you will usually pay.

At Stonehewer Moss there is an overall cap so that your liability for all your legal costs will never exceed 30% of the damages you are awarded and can be as low as 18%.

No Win No Fee

When it comes to making a personal injury claim, one of the most important things to consider is how you will fund your case. After all, taking legal action can be costly, and if you don’t have the right funding in place, you may find yourself struggling to cover the costs.

No win no fee arrangements can be extremely beneficial for claimants, as they provide access to justice regardless of their financial situation.

However, it’s important to remember that not all no win no fee solicitors are the same. Some may charge hidden fees or have strict conditions in place, so it’s always worth doing your research before you choose a solicitor to work with.

No win no fee agreements have become a popular way for personal injury claimants to pursue compensation. But what exactly are they and what do you need to know about them? Stonehewer Moss Solicitors we will explain everything you need to know about no win no fee agreements, including how they work and the pros and cons of using them. 

What Is a Success Fee ?

If your claim is successful then you become liable to pay your solicitors base costs, plus any success fee they charge. The success fee is very often misunderstood and often confused with the solicitors overall cap on costs. To be clear the success fee forms part of the overall costs charged, that is, the base costs plus the success fee.  

At Stonehewer Moss we apply an overall cap on the costs we charge you based on the amount of compensation you receive. This overall cap is typically between 18% and  30% of the compensation amount recovered, although this will be subject to your individual circumstances. This is a cap both on your liability for your base fees in general and the success fee added together.  

Accordingly when considering which law firm to use it is therefore much more useful (and much easier to understand) if you just ascertain what the overall cap is on your liability for legal costs is, as this is the amount that you will usually pay.

At Stonehewer Moss there is an overall cap so that your liability for all your legal costs will never exceed 30% of the damages you are awarded and can be as low as 18%.

No. Your compensation is usually net of tax. Any claim for loss of earnings will be paid less any tax and National Insurance you would have paid. If you are claiming benefits related to your accident, your award might be reduced to repay these benefits. If you are claiming benefits not related to the accident, your lump sum award may affect your entitlement to benefits. We can help you with this by creating a personal injury trust.

For the majority of cases, any claim for cosmetic treatment negligence compensation must be made within three years of the date of the incident. There are, however, some exemptions to this rule in instances whereby you may be able to make a claim for an injury dating back further, for example, if the injury involves a minor. As specialist injury lawyers, we will be able to advise you on your rights.

It’s best to get legal advice as soon as possible so that we can obtain crucial evidence.

We offer a Free No Obligation Case Review so that we can understand more about the cosmetic treatment circumstances and to advise you on whether or not you have a claim.

We will guide and support you throughout the personal injury claims process, dealing directly with third parties and their insurance companies on your behalf to secure compensation for your injuries quickly and stress-free.

Suffered burns following laser treatment at a salon, I’m too embarrassed to leave the house as the burns are on my face. Can I claim against the salon?

Prior to providing laser treatment to clients, all beauty technicians in the UK are required by law to be qualified and registered to a professional body.

Clinics providing this service must adhere to strict health and safety standards.

Despite this, there have been many reports of injury to clients whereby the technicians have not carried out the procedure correctly, the wrong laser intensity has been used, a patch test has not been offered to the client beforehand or the technician has not been trained to specifically provide laser treatment. 

If it can be established that your burns were caused due to the negligence of your technician, you may be able to claim compensation for your injury.

In order to do this, it is wise to speak with a legal professional regarding your potential claim.

A personal injury solicitor will want to understand the full circumstances of your injury and obtain satisfactory compensation in line with the injuries you have sustained as well as your ongoing pain and suffering.

There are two types of injury compensation that you may be entitled to. The first, called ‘general damages’, and is awarded to compensate you for the pain and suffering caused by the injury. The second type of injury compensation, called ‘special damages’, covers actual financial losses and expenses arising from the injury. This can include lost earnings, care given to you by your friends and family, costs of treatment, travel costs and various other expenses including future losses.

Please see our Personal Injury Claims services.

What will I get Personal Injury compensation for? – Video Transcript

A lot of clients ask us ‘What can I claim compensation for?’. For most claims, there’s two different aspects to it. There’s General Damages and there’s Special Damages. Your General Damages relates to your injury aspects of your claim, which is your pain, suffering and loss of amenity. That takes into account obviously how bad the pain was, how long you suffered for and what it’s impacted in your life in terms of what you can and can’t do now going forwards. In addition to that you’ve got your Special Damages which is your out-of-pocket expenses. These are loss of earnings, care and assistance, travel, it might be a sports membership or something like that that you can no longer use due to the accident. It’s obviously for the claimant to always prove their losses on those ones. So if you’re unaware of how to prove it, or what you need to show it, you can either check out one of our other videos or give us a call and we can go through it with you.

Watch Video

There are certain limitation periods for making a personal injury claim and some exemptions too.

The Limitation Act stipulates the date by which you can make a claim after you have had an accident. In most cases, this is three years from the day the accident occurred. After this time, you cannot easily make a claim unless there is some special reason why you should be allowed to do so. For example, if you were unable to deal with your own affairs for a period of time.

There are exceptions, for example, the limitation date for children who have an accident when they are under 18^th. is their 21^st birthday. That is three years from when they became an adult. 

If your injury was not caused by a one-off event, for example, a repetitive strain injury, then the three-year timeline only starts to run on the day you became aware you had an injury as a result of the negligence of a third party. This might be the day you are diagnosed with a condition by your doctor.

There are a lot of exceptions to the three-year limitation date rule (you might only have one year to make a claim if your accident was in Spain or two years if it was on a boat) so the best advice is to give us a call and we will tell you where you stand.

Contact us

An interim payment in a personal injury claim is an amount of money paid by the insurance company for the Defendant to the Claimant prior to settlement of the claim. For example, in some cases, people often cannot get back to work immediately and consequently have a much-reduced income. In such cases, we can often make an application for an interim payment for you to alleviate any short-term financial difficulties.

In larger cases where someone has been very seriously injured, we may ask for an interim payment to enable works to be undertaken on the injured persons’ house to make it more accessible, for example, a walk-in shower or to lower the kitchen work surfaces for a wheelchair user. 

No Win No Fee

When it comes to making a personal injury claim, one of the most important things to consider is how you will fund your case. After all, taking legal action can be costly, and if you don’t have the right funding in place, you may find yourself struggling to cover the costs.

No win no fee arrangements can be extremely beneficial for claimants, as they provide access to justice regardless of their financial situation.

However, it’s important to remember that not all no win no fee solicitors are the same. Some may charge hidden fees or have strict conditions in place, so it’s always worth doing your research before you choose a solicitor to work with.

No win no fee agreements have become a popular way for personal injury claimants to pursue compensation. But what exactly are they and what do you need to know about them? Stonehewer Moss Solicitors we will explain everything you need to know about no win no fee agreements, including how they work and the pros and cons of using them. 

What Is a Success Fee?

If your claim is successful then you become liable to pay your solicitors base costs, plus any success fee they charge. The success fee is very often misunderstood and often confused with the solicitors overall cap on costs. To be clear the success fee forms part of the overall costs charged, that is, the base costs plus the success fee.  

At Stonehewer Moss we apply an overall cap on the costs we charge you based on the amount of compensation you receive. This overall cap is typically between 18% and  30% of the compensation amount recovered, although this will be subject to your individual circumstances. This is a cap both on your liability for your base fees in general and the success fee added together.  

Accordingly when considering which law firm to use it is therefore much more useful (and much easier to understand) if you just ascertain what the overall cap is on your liability for legal costs is, as this is the amount that you will usually pay.

At Stonehewer Moss there is an overall cap so that your liability for all your legal costs will never exceed 30% of the damages you are awarded and can be as low as 18%.

No Win No Fee

When it comes to making a personal injury claim, one of the most important things to consider is how you will fund your case. After all, taking legal action can be costly, and if you don’t have the right funding in place, you may find yourself struggling to cover the costs.

No win no fee arrangements can be extremely beneficial for claimants, as they provide access to justice regardless of their financial situation.

However, it’s important to remember that not all no win no fee solicitors are the same. Some may charge hidden fees or have strict conditions in place, so it’s always worth doing your research before you choose a solicitor to work with.

No win no fee agreements have become a popular way for personal injury claimants to pursue compensation. But what exactly are they and what do you need to know about them? Stonehewer Moss Solicitors we will explain everything you need to know about no win no fee agreements, including how they work and the pros and cons of using them. 

What Is a Success Fee ?

If your claim is successful then you become liable to pay your solicitors base costs, plus any success fee they charge. The success fee is very often misunderstood and often confused with the solicitors overall cap on costs. To be clear the success fee forms part of the overall costs charged, that is, the base costs plus the success fee.  

At Stonehewer Moss we apply an overall cap on the costs we charge you based on the amount of compensation you receive. This overall cap is typically between 18% and  30% of the compensation amount recovered, although this will be subject to your individual circumstances. This is a cap both on your liability for your base fees in general and the success fee added together.  

Accordingly when considering which law firm to use it is therefore much more useful (and much easier to understand) if you just ascertain what the overall cap is on your liability for legal costs is, as this is the amount that you will usually pay.

At Stonehewer Moss there is an overall cap so that your liability for all your legal costs will never exceed 30% of the damages you are awarded and can be as low as 18%.

No. Your compensation is usually net of tax. Any claim for loss of earnings will be paid less any tax and National Insurance you would have paid. If you are claiming benefits related to your accident, your award might be reduced to repay these benefits. If you are claiming benefits not related to the accident, your lump sum award may affect your entitlement to benefits. We can help you with this by creating a personal injury trust.

The value of every compensation claim for a cycling accident depends on the seriousness of the injury as well as the chances of you making a full recovery.

In handling your claim, we will also look at other financial aspects such as medical expenses, repairs to your bicycle, damage to property in your possession, and loss of earnings you may have had as a result of the accident. We will also factor into the value of your claim any long term medical expenses that you may incur for life-changing injuries that require ongoing medical treatment.

We will also seek to obtain interim payments where possible to help you to avoid financial hardship caused by a cycling accident that wasn’t your fault.

Whatever the nature of your injury, our aim is to get you the highest amount of compensation as quickly and stress-free as possible so that you can get your life back on track.

For the majority of cases, any claim for cycling accident compensation must be made within three years of the date of the accident. There are, however, some exemptions to this rule in instances whereby you may be able to make a claim for an accident dating back further, for example, if the accident involved a minor. As specialist personal injury lawyers, we will be able to advise you on your rights.

It’s best to get legal advice as soon as possible after your cycling accident so that we can obtain crucial evidence.

For a successful cycling accident compensation claim to be successful, there are some things you will need to do:

• Seek medical attention to assess your injuries and obtain a medical report.
• Ask people around if they saw what happened and if they would be willing to come forward as witnesses. Get their contact details.
• Get the contact details of anyone else involved in the accident. Write down the number plate details if a vehicle was involved as well as the other party’s name, address, and insurance details.
• Get pictures of the scene and of the bike and vehicle damage with your camera phone if you have one with you.
• If the police attend the accident, obtain a copy of their report.

We offer a Free No Obligation Case Review so that we can understand more about the accident circumstances and to advise you on whether or not you have a claim.

We will guide and support you throughout the personal injury claims process, dealing directly with third parties and their insurance companies on your behalf to secure compensation for your injuries quickly and stress-free.

There are two types of injury compensation that you may be entitled to. The first, called ‘general damages’, and is awarded to compensate you for the pain and suffering caused by the injury. The second type of injury compensation, called ‘special damages’, covers actual financial losses and expenses arising from the injury. This can include lost earnings, care given to you by your friends and family, costs of treatment, travel costs and various other expenses including future losses.

Please see our Personal Injury Claims services.

What will I get Personal Injury compensation for? – Video Transcript

A lot of clients ask us ‘What can I claim compensation for?’. For most claims, there’s two different aspects to it. There’s General Damages and there’s Special Damages. Your General Damages relates to your injury aspects of your claim, which is your pain, suffering and loss of amenity. That takes into account obviously how bad the pain was, how long you suffered for and what it’s impacted in your life in terms of what you can and can’t do now going forwards. In addition to that you’ve got your Special Damages which is your out-of-pocket expenses. These are loss of earnings, care and assistance, travel, it might be a sports membership or something like that that you can no longer use due to the accident. It’s obviously for the claimant to always prove their losses on those ones. So if you’re unaware of how to prove it, or what you need to show it, you can either check out one of our other videos or give us a call and we can go through it with you.

Watch Video

There are certain limitation periods for making a personal injury claim and some exemptions too.

The Limitation Act stipulates the date by which you can make a claim after you have had an accident. In most cases, this is three years from the day the accident occurred. After this time, you cannot easily make a claim unless there is some special reason why you should be allowed to do so. For example, if you were unable to deal with your own affairs for a period of time.

There are exceptions, for example, the limitation date for children who have an accident when they are under 18^th. is their 21^st birthday. That is three years from when they became an adult. 

If your injury was not caused by a one-off event, for example, a repetitive strain injury, then the three-year timeline only starts to run on the day you became aware you had an injury as a result of the negligence of a third party. This might be the day you are diagnosed with a condition by your doctor.

There are a lot of exceptions to the three-year limitation date rule (you might only have one year to make a claim if your accident was in Spain or two years if it was on a boat) so the best advice is to give us a call and we will tell you where you stand.

Contact us

An interim payment in a personal injury claim is an amount of money paid by the insurance company for the Defendant to the Claimant prior to settlement of the claim. For example, in some cases, people often cannot get back to work immediately and consequently have a much-reduced income. In such cases, we can often make an application for an interim payment for you to alleviate any short-term financial difficulties.

In larger cases where someone has been very seriously injured, we may ask for an interim payment to enable works to be undertaken on the injured persons’ house to make it more accessible, for example, a walk-in shower or to lower the kitchen work surfaces for a wheelchair user. 

No Win No Fee

When it comes to making a personal injury claim, one of the most important things to consider is how you will fund your case. After all, taking legal action can be costly, and if you don’t have the right funding in place, you may find yourself struggling to cover the costs.

No win no fee arrangements can be extremely beneficial for claimants, as they provide access to justice regardless of their financial situation.

However, it’s important to remember that not all no win no fee solicitors are the same. Some may charge hidden fees or have strict conditions in place, so it’s always worth doing your research before you choose a solicitor to work with.

No win no fee agreements have become a popular way for personal injury claimants to pursue compensation. But what exactly are they and what do you need to know about them? Stonehewer Moss Solicitors we will explain everything you need to know about no win no fee agreements, including how they work and the pros and cons of using them. 

What Is a Success Fee?

If your claim is successful then you become liable to pay your solicitors base costs, plus any success fee they charge. The success fee is very often misunderstood and often confused with the solicitors overall cap on costs. To be clear the success fee forms part of the overall costs charged, that is, the base costs plus the success fee.  

At Stonehewer Moss we apply an overall cap on the costs we charge you based on the amount of compensation you receive. This overall cap is typically between 18% and  30% of the compensation amount recovered, although this will be subject to your individual circumstances. This is a cap both on your liability for your base fees in general and the success fee added together.  

Accordingly when considering which law firm to use it is therefore much more useful (and much easier to understand) if you just ascertain what the overall cap is on your liability for legal costs is, as this is the amount that you will usually pay.

At Stonehewer Moss there is an overall cap so that your liability for all your legal costs will never exceed 30% of the damages you are awarded and can be as low as 18%.

No Win No Fee

When it comes to making a personal injury claim, one of the most important things to consider is how you will fund your case. After all, taking legal action can be costly, and if you don’t have the right funding in place, you may find yourself struggling to cover the costs.

No win no fee arrangements can be extremely beneficial for claimants, as they provide access to justice regardless of their financial situation.

However, it’s important to remember that not all no win no fee solicitors are the same. Some may charge hidden fees or have strict conditions in place, so it’s always worth doing your research before you choose a solicitor to work with.

No win no fee agreements have become a popular way for personal injury claimants to pursue compensation. But what exactly are they and what do you need to know about them? Stonehewer Moss Solicitors we will explain everything you need to know about no win no fee agreements, including how they work and the pros and cons of using them. 

What Is a Success Fee ?

If your claim is successful then you become liable to pay your solicitors base costs, plus any success fee they charge. The success fee is very often misunderstood and often confused with the solicitors overall cap on costs. To be clear the success fee forms part of the overall costs charged, that is, the base costs plus the success fee.  

At Stonehewer Moss we apply an overall cap on the costs we charge you based on the amount of compensation you receive. This overall cap is typically between 18% and  30% of the compensation amount recovered, although this will be subject to your individual circumstances. This is a cap both on your liability for your base fees in general and the success fee added together.  

Accordingly when considering which law firm to use it is therefore much more useful (and much easier to understand) if you just ascertain what the overall cap is on your liability for legal costs is, as this is the amount that you will usually pay.

At Stonehewer Moss there is an overall cap so that your liability for all your legal costs will never exceed 30% of the damages you are awarded and can be as low as 18%.

No. Your compensation is usually net of tax. Any claim for loss of earnings will be paid less any tax and National Insurance you would have paid. If you are claiming benefits related to your accident, your award might be reduced to repay these benefits. If you are claiming benefits not related to the accident, your lump sum award may affect your entitlement to benefits. We can help you with this by creating a personal injury trust.

The value of every compensation claim for accidents on holiday depends on the seriousness of the injury or illness as well as the chances of you making a full recovery.

In handling your claim, we will seek compensation for pain and suffering as well as recovering costs for medical bills, additional travel expenses and even loss of earnings you may have had as a result of the accident. We will also factor into the value of your claim any long term medical expenses that you may incur for life-changing injuries that require ongoing medical treatment.

We may also be able to obtain interim payments where possible to help you to avoid financial hardship caused by an accident that wasn’t your fault.

Whatever the nature of your injury, our aim is to get you the highest amount of compensation as quickly and stress-free as possible so that you can get your life back on track.

For the majority of cases, any claim for accidents on holiday compensation must be made within three years of the date of the accident. There are, however, some exemptions to this rule in instances whereby you may be able to make a claim for an accident dating back further. In other cases, you might be limited to two years if the accident was on a boat or plane, or only one year to make your claim, for example, road traffic accidents in Spain, so it is best to take advice as soon as possible after you return from holiday. As specialist personal injury lawyers, we will be able to advise you on your rights.

If you’re injured because of an accident or illness whilst on holiday, there are a few important things you should do before returning home. It is really important that you gather as much evidence as possible to prove that the accident happened as a result of someone else’s negligence, for example:

• Photos of where the accident happened
• Measurements of any holes, cracks etc
• Contact details of witnesses
• Details of who owns the property/land
• Photos of your injuries and the medical treatment you received whilst abroad (and at home)

It’s best to get legal advice as soon as possible after your accident so that we can obtain crucial evidence e.g. CCTV footage as this may be difficult to obtain at a later date. There may also be time limits to your claim.

We offer a Free No-Obligation Case Review so that we can understand more about the accident circumstances and to advise you on whether or not you have a claim.

We will guide and support you throughout the complex personal injury claims process, dealing directly with foreign third parties and their insurance companies on your behalf to secure compensation for your injuries or illness quickly and stress-free.

There are two types of injury compensation that you may be entitled to. The first, called ‘general damages’, and is awarded to compensate you for the pain and suffering caused by the injury. The second type of injury compensation, called ‘special damages’, covers actual financial losses and expenses arising from the injury. This can include lost earnings, care given to you by your friends and family, costs of treatment, travel costs and various other expenses including future losses.

Please see our Personal Injury Claims services.

What will I get Personal Injury compensation for? – Video Transcript

A lot of clients ask us ‘What can I claim compensation for?’. For most claims, there’s two different aspects to it. There’s General Damages and there’s Special Damages. Your General Damages relates to your injury aspects of your claim, which is your pain, suffering and loss of amenity. That takes into account obviously how bad the pain was, how long you suffered for and what it’s impacted in your life in terms of what you can and can’t do now going forwards. In addition to that you’ve got your Special Damages which is your out-of-pocket expenses. These are loss of earnings, care and assistance, travel, it might be a sports membership or something like that that you can no longer use due to the accident. It’s obviously for the claimant to always prove their losses on those ones. So if you’re unaware of how to prove it, or what you need to show it, you can either check out one of our other videos or give us a call and we can go through it with you.

Watch Video

There are certain limitation periods for making a personal injury claim and some exemptions too.

The Limitation Act stipulates the date by which you can make a claim after you have had an accident. In most cases, this is three years from the day the accident occurred. After this time, you cannot easily make a claim unless there is some special reason why you should be allowed to do so. For example, if you were unable to deal with your own affairs for a period of time.

There are exceptions, for example, the limitation date for children who have an accident when they are under 18^th. is their 21^st birthday. That is three years from when they became an adult. 

If your injury was not caused by a one-off event, for example, a repetitive strain injury, then the three-year timeline only starts to run on the day you became aware you had an injury as a result of the negligence of a third party. This might be the day you are diagnosed with a condition by your doctor.

There are a lot of exceptions to the three-year limitation date rule (you might only have one year to make a claim if your accident was in Spain or two years if it was on a boat) so the best advice is to give us a call and we will tell you where you stand.

Contact us

An interim payment in a personal injury claim is an amount of money paid by the insurance company for the Defendant to the Claimant prior to settlement of the claim. For example, in some cases, people often cannot get back to work immediately and consequently have a much-reduced income. In such cases, we can often make an application for an interim payment for you to alleviate any short-term financial difficulties.

In larger cases where someone has been very seriously injured, we may ask for an interim payment to enable works to be undertaken on the injured persons’ house to make it more accessible, for example, a walk-in shower or to lower the kitchen work surfaces for a wheelchair user. 

No Win No Fee

When it comes to making a personal injury claim, one of the most important things to consider is how you will fund your case. After all, taking legal action can be costly, and if you don’t have the right funding in place, you may find yourself struggling to cover the costs.

No win no fee arrangements can be extremely beneficial for claimants, as they provide access to justice regardless of their financial situation.

However, it’s important to remember that not all no win no fee solicitors are the same. Some may charge hidden fees or have strict conditions in place, so it’s always worth doing your research before you choose a solicitor to work with.

No win no fee agreements have become a popular way for personal injury claimants to pursue compensation. But what exactly are they and what do you need to know about them? Stonehewer Moss Solicitors we will explain everything you need to know about no win no fee agreements, including how they work and the pros and cons of using them. 

What Is a Success Fee?

If your claim is successful then you become liable to pay your solicitors base costs, plus any success fee they charge. The success fee is very often misunderstood and often confused with the solicitors overall cap on costs. To be clear the success fee forms part of the overall costs charged, that is, the base costs plus the success fee.  

At Stonehewer Moss we apply an overall cap on the costs we charge you based on the amount of compensation you receive. This overall cap is typically between 18% and  30% of the compensation amount recovered, although this will be subject to your individual circumstances. This is a cap both on your liability for your base fees in general and the success fee added together.  

Accordingly when considering which law firm to use it is therefore much more useful (and much easier to understand) if you just ascertain what the overall cap is on your liability for legal costs is, as this is the amount that you will usually pay.

At Stonehewer Moss there is an overall cap so that your liability for all your legal costs will never exceed 30% of the damages you are awarded and can be as low as 18%.

No Win No Fee

When it comes to making a personal injury claim, one of the most important things to consider is how you will fund your case. After all, taking legal action can be costly, and if you don’t have the right funding in place, you may find yourself struggling to cover the costs.

No win no fee arrangements can be extremely beneficial for claimants, as they provide access to justice regardless of their financial situation.

However, it’s important to remember that not all no win no fee solicitors are the same. Some may charge hidden fees or have strict conditions in place, so it’s always worth doing your research before you choose a solicitor to work with.

No win no fee agreements have become a popular way for personal injury claimants to pursue compensation. But what exactly are they and what do you need to know about them? Stonehewer Moss Solicitors we will explain everything you need to know about no win no fee agreements, including how they work and the pros and cons of using them. 

What Is a Success Fee ?

If your claim is successful then you become liable to pay your solicitors base costs, plus any success fee they charge. The success fee is very often misunderstood and often confused with the solicitors overall cap on costs. To be clear the success fee forms part of the overall costs charged, that is, the base costs plus the success fee.  

At Stonehewer Moss we apply an overall cap on the costs we charge you based on the amount of compensation you receive. This overall cap is typically between 18% and  30% of the compensation amount recovered, although this will be subject to your individual circumstances. This is a cap both on your liability for your base fees in general and the success fee added together.  

Accordingly when considering which law firm to use it is therefore much more useful (and much easier to understand) if you just ascertain what the overall cap is on your liability for legal costs is, as this is the amount that you will usually pay.

At Stonehewer Moss there is an overall cap so that your liability for all your legal costs will never exceed 30% of the damages you are awarded and can be as low as 18%.

We can help you by:

• Obtaining compensation for your motorcycle accident claim;
• Recovering any loss of earnings you may have incurred from your accident on the road;
• Recovering any policy excess with your own insurers;
• Providing access to specialist rehabilitation care including physiotherapy;
• Claim for an accident involving an uninsured driver through the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIA) scheme.

No. Your compensation is usually net of tax. Any claim for loss of earnings will be paid less any tax and National Insurance you would have paid. If you are claiming benefits related to your accident, your award might be reduced to repay these benefits. If you are claiming benefits not related to the accident, your lump sum award may affect your entitlement to benefits. We can help you with this by creating a personal injury trust.

How much will my motorcycle accident claim be worth?

The value of every compensation claim for a motorcycle accident depends on the seriousness of the injury as well as the chances of you making a full recovery.

In handling your claim, we will also look at other financial aspects such as medical expenses, bike repairs, and loss of earnings you may have had as a result of the accident. We will also factor into the value of your claim any long term medical expenses that you may incur for life-changing injuries that require ongoing medical treatment.

We will also seek to obtain interim payments where possible to help you to avoid financial hardship caused by the motorcycle accident that wasn’t your fault.

Whatever the nature of your injury, our aim is to get you the highest amount of compensation as quickly and stress-free as possible so that you can get your life back on track.

For the majority of cases, any claim for motorcycle accident compensation must be made within three years of the date of the accident. There are, however, some exemptions to this rule in instances whereby you may be able to make a claim for an accident dating back further. As specialist personal injury lawyers, we will be able to advise you on your rights.

It’s best to get legal advice as soon as possible after your motorcycle accident so that we can obtain crucial evidence and because there may be time limits. 

We offer a Free No Obligation Case Review so that we can understand more about the accident circumstances and to advise you on whether or not you have a claim.

We will guide and support you throughout the personal injury claims process, dealing directly with third parties and their insurance companies on your behalf to secure compensation for your injuries quickly and stress-free.

In some cases, motorcycle accident claimants will make a personal injury claim through their bike insurers’ solicitors. If you’re not happy with how your claim is being handled, you may be able to change legal advisors. If you’re looking for a local, specialist personal injury lawyer that can offer a more personal service, talk to us about moving your claim to us.

There are two types of injury compensation that you may be entitled to. The first, called ‘general damages’, and is awarded to compensate you for the pain and suffering caused by the injury. The second type of injury compensation, called ‘special damages’, covers actual financial losses and expenses arising from the injury. This can include lost earnings, care given to you by your friends and family, costs of treatment, travel costs and various other expenses including future losses.

Please see our Personal Injury Claims services.

What will I get Personal Injury compensation for? – Video Transcript

A lot of clients ask us ‘What can I claim compensation for?’. For most claims, there’s two different aspects to it. There’s General Damages and there’s Special Damages. Your General Damages relates to your injury aspects of your claim, which is your pain, suffering and loss of amenity. That takes into account obviously how bad the pain was, how long you suffered for and what it’s impacted in your life in terms of what you can and can’t do now going forwards. In addition to that you’ve got your Special Damages which is your out-of-pocket expenses. These are loss of earnings, care and assistance, travel, it might be a sports membership or something like that that you can no longer use due to the accident. It’s obviously for the claimant to always prove their losses on those ones. So if you’re unaware of how to prove it, or what you need to show it, you can either check out one of our other videos or give us a call and we can go through it with you.

Watch Video

There are certain limitation periods for making a personal injury claim and some exemptions too.

The Limitation Act stipulates the date by which you can make a claim after you have had an accident. In most cases, this is three years from the day the accident occurred. After this time, you cannot easily make a claim unless there is some special reason why you should be allowed to do so. For example, if you were unable to deal with your own affairs for a period of time.

There are exceptions, for example, the limitation date for children who have an accident when they are under 18^th. is their 21^st birthday. That is three years from when they became an adult. 

If your injury was not caused by a one-off event, for example, a repetitive strain injury, then the three-year timeline only starts to run on the day you became aware you had an injury as a result of the negligence of a third party. This might be the day you are diagnosed with a condition by your doctor.

There are a lot of exceptions to the three-year limitation date rule (you might only have one year to make a claim if your accident was in Spain or two years if it was on a boat) so the best advice is to give us a call and we will tell you where you stand.

Contact us

An interim payment in a personal injury claim is an amount of money paid by the insurance company for the Defendant to the Claimant prior to settlement of the claim. For example, in some cases, people often cannot get back to work immediately and consequently have a much-reduced income. In such cases, we can often make an application for an interim payment for you to alleviate any short-term financial difficulties.

In larger cases where someone has been very seriously injured, we may ask for an interim payment to enable works to be undertaken on the injured persons’ house to make it more accessible, for example, a walk-in shower or to lower the kitchen work surfaces for a wheelchair user. 

No Win No Fee

When it comes to making a personal injury claim, one of the most important things to consider is how you will fund your case. After all, taking legal action can be costly, and if you don’t have the right funding in place, you may find yourself struggling to cover the costs.

No win no fee arrangements can be extremely beneficial for claimants, as they provide access to justice regardless of their financial situation.

However, it’s important to remember that not all no win no fee solicitors are the same. Some may charge hidden fees or have strict conditions in place, so it’s always worth doing your research before you choose a solicitor to work with.

No win no fee agreements have become a popular way for personal injury claimants to pursue compensation. But what exactly are they and what do you need to know about them? Stonehewer Moss Solicitors we will explain everything you need to know about no win no fee agreements, including how they work and the pros and cons of using them. 

What Is a Success Fee?

If your claim is successful then you become liable to pay your solicitors base costs, plus any success fee they charge. The success fee is very often misunderstood and often confused with the solicitors overall cap on costs. To be clear the success fee forms part of the overall costs charged, that is, the base costs plus the success fee.  

At Stonehewer Moss we apply an overall cap on the costs we charge you based on the amount of compensation you receive. This overall cap is typically between 18% and  30% of the compensation amount recovered, although this will be subject to your individual circumstances. This is a cap both on your liability for your base fees in general and the success fee added together.  

Accordingly when considering which law firm to use it is therefore much more useful (and much easier to understand) if you just ascertain what the overall cap is on your liability for legal costs is, as this is the amount that you will usually pay.

At Stonehewer Moss there is an overall cap so that your liability for all your legal costs will never exceed 30% of the damages you are awarded and can be as low as 18%.

No Win No Fee

When it comes to making a personal injury claim, one of the most important things to consider is how you will fund your case. After all, taking legal action can be costly, and if you don’t have the right funding in place, you may find yourself struggling to cover the costs.

No win no fee arrangements can be extremely beneficial for claimants, as they provide access to justice regardless of their financial situation.

However, it’s important to remember that not all no win no fee solicitors are the same. Some may charge hidden fees or have strict conditions in place, so it’s always worth doing your research before you choose a solicitor to work with.

No win no fee agreements have become a popular way for personal injury claimants to pursue compensation. But what exactly are they and what do you need to know about them? Stonehewer Moss Solicitors we will explain everything you need to know about no win no fee agreements, including how they work and the pros and cons of using them. 

What Is a Success Fee ?

If your claim is successful then you become liable to pay your solicitors base costs, plus any success fee they charge. The success fee is very often misunderstood and often confused with the solicitors overall cap on costs. To be clear the success fee forms part of the overall costs charged, that is, the base costs plus the success fee.  

At Stonehewer Moss we apply an overall cap on the costs we charge you based on the amount of compensation you receive. This overall cap is typically between 18% and  30% of the compensation amount recovered, although this will be subject to your individual circumstances. This is a cap both on your liability for your base fees in general and the success fee added together.  

Accordingly when considering which law firm to use it is therefore much more useful (and much easier to understand) if you just ascertain what the overall cap is on your liability for legal costs is, as this is the amount that you will usually pay.

At Stonehewer Moss there is an overall cap so that your liability for all your legal costs will never exceed 30% of the damages you are awarded and can be as low as 18%.

No. Your compensation is usually net of tax. Any claim for loss of earnings will be paid less any tax and National Insurance you would have paid. If you are claiming benefits related to your accident, your award might be reduced to repay these benefits. If you are claiming benefits not related to the accident, your lump sum award may affect your entitlement to benefits. We can help you with this by creating a personal injury trust.

We can help you by:

• Obtaining compensation for your road traffic accident claim;
• Recovering any loss of earnings you may have incurred from your accident on the road;
• Providing access to a replacement hire vehicle;
• Recovering any policy excess with your own insurers;
• Providing access to specialist rehabilitation care including physiotherapy;
• Claiming for an accident involving an uninsured driver through the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB) scheme.

The value of every compensation claim for a road traffic accident depends on the seriousness of the injury as well as the chances of you making a full recovery.

In handling your claim, we will also look at other financial aspects such as medical expenses, vehicle repairs, and loss of earnings you may have had as a result of the accident. We will also factor into the value of your claim any long term medical expenses that you may incur for life-changing injuries that require ongoing medical treatment.

We will also seek to obtain interim payments where possible to help you to avoid financial hardship caused by an accident on the road that wasn’t your fault.

Whatever the nature of your injury, our aim is to get you the highest amount of compensation as quickly and stress-free as possible so that you can get your life back on track.

For the majority of cases involving road traffic accidents, claims for compensation must be made within three years of the date of the accident. There are, however, some exemptions to this rule in instances whereby you may be able to make a claim for an accident dating back further. As specialist personal injury lawyers, we will be able to advise you on your rights.

It’s best to get legal advice as soon as possible after your road traffic accident so that we can obtain crucial evidence and because there may be time limits.

We offer a Free No-Obligation Case Review so that we can understand more about the accident circumstances and to advise you on whether or not you have a claim.

We will guide and support you throughout the personal injury claims process, dealing directly with third parties and their insurance companies on your behalf to secure compensation for your injuries quickly and stress-free.

In some cases, road traffic accident claimants will make a personal injury claim through their car insurers’ solicitors. If you’re not happy with how your claim is being handled, you may be able to change legal advisors. If you’re looking for a local, specialist personal injury lawyer that can offer a more personal service, talk to us about moving your claim to us.

Injured whilst travelling as a passenger in a taxi, can I claim compensation?

Road Traffic Accidents are unfortunately very common, not only can drivers be injured but also their passengers. Whilst travelling in a taxi the driver has a duty of care towards their passenger,  to drive responsibly and keep them out of harms way.

If you were injured in a taxi due to the negligence of your driver or another road user, you may have a viable claim for injury compensation.

It is important to note that if you were not wearing a seatbelt during the time of the accident, you may still be eligible for compensation but the value of this would decrease significantly, as you may have partially contributed to the injuries you sustained.

Following an accident, you should take photos of the accident site as well as the details of the taxi driver, the other party/parties involved as well as any key witnesses to the event. If your driver is at fault, your claim may be pursued against their own insurance policy, or the company they work for. 

After seeking medical attention, it is important that you speak with an accredited personal injury solicitor such as Stonehewer Moss, to ensure you understand the extent of your personal injury claim as well as the legal process to obtaining compensation.

If I am involved in a road traffic accident a professional driver, do I claim against the other road user(s) or my employer?

Road Traffic Accidents are one of the most common personal injury claims made by UK citizens each year. As a professional driver, you are at a higher risk of being involved in an accident due to the amount of time you will spend on the road.

It is the legal duty of any professional driver employer to conduct regular health and safety checks, to ensure that you have adequate training and that your work premises are managed and maintained to a sufficient standard.

It is also good working practice to report any new health and safety issues to your employers at the earliest convenience.

If you have sustained an injury after having been involved in an accident with another motorist whilst driving on the job, your personal injury claim would most likely be settled by the other motorist’s insurer if they were at fault.

If it’s your own fault, it may be the case that you will not have a claim for compensation however the situation might be different if the accident was caused by a defect in the vehicle, a lack of training given to yourself by your employer, or some other health and safety failing for which your employer might be liable.

In such cases it might be that you would have a claim against your employer. Also there are circumstances where the highways agency might be to blame, for example, for failing to grit the highway in cold weather, or failing to maintain the highway to a reasonable standard in some other way.

It is always wise to speak with a legal professional with regard to any Road Traffic Accident you have been involved in, as they will be able to help you understand the legal process as well as advise you on next steps with regard to your personal injury claim.

I broke my arm after being hit by an E-scooter when crossing the road. Who is at fault? Can I be compensated?

E-scooters are becoming an increasingly popular mode of transport, especially for those living in large towns and cities. In these areas however, there are far more pedestrians walking alongside and crossing the roads.

The number of pedestrians and E-scooter drivers on the road at the same time spikes around peak times when people are commuting to work, which can be dangerous for road users if they do not remain vigilant.

E-scooters are quick and tend to have quiet motors which means they can be hard to see and hear on approach, pedestrians therefore run a high risk of colliding with an e-scooter if the driver fails to stop in time.

If you have been involved in an accident with an e-scooter, you will need to prove that the accident was caused due to the negligence of the driver.

Evidence of this could be obtained through CCTV or dashcam footage, police reports, medical notes as well as witness statements. Enlisting the help of a Personal Injury Solicitor would significantly benefit you as they would be able to advise on the legal process and obtain this information for you.

I was hit by a car when riding an E-scooter in a designated area, I am currently off work because of my injuries. What do I do?

Whilst it is now very common to see people riding e-scooters along the roads and pavements in the UK.

Unfortunately, due to the limited protection afforded to the riders, this means the rate of e-scooter related accidents has surged and the number continues to rise.

Although encouraged, it is not a requirement to wear protective gear or a helmet when hiring an e-scooter and due to their limited braking capacity and high speeds, it is common to hear of accidents involving both scooter riders and other motor vehicles.

The impact these accidents have on people’s lives can be catastrophic, injuries include severe fractures, injury to the head, neck or spine and sadly some fatalities have been reported.

There are however, a lot of responsible e-scooter users who are involved in accidents through no fault of their own. These can occur due to pot holes in the road or through the negligence of another road user.

If you have been struck by another vehicle whilst riding an E-scooter through no faut of your own, you most likely will be eligible for compensation.

This compensation would include the loss of earnings you have suffered as a result of the accident. It would be beneficial for you to speak with a legal professional in order to determine the level of compensation you could be granted, as well as how to proceed with your claim.

What do I do if I was injured as a pedestrian in a hit and run road traffic accident?

Being involved in a pedestrian road traffic accident can be an incredibly scary and shocking experience. Mostly because pedestrians are considered the most vulnerable of road users, who take the full force with little to no protection when coming into contact with other vehicles.

The outcome of pedestrian accidents can be catastrophic. Whilst some victims may suffer from broken limbs and severe lacerations, there are others who are left with irreversible physical and psychological damage or sadly pass away from their injuries.

Pedestrian accidents occur frequently at road crossings and in the night time where visibility is low. Frequent causes often include drunk and disorderly driving, poor road maintenance and obstructed walkways.

These types of claims are not always straightforward, there have been many cases in which the pedestrian has been found to be fully or partially at fault for their injuries and this is for reasons such as not looking before crossing a road, crossing roads in dangerous circumstances and wearing dark clothing whilst walking on a road at night time. This however shouldn’t put you off seeking advice.

If you have been involved in an accident as a pedestrian the most important thing to do is get the urgent medical care you need. You should then try to acquire as much evidence you can in support of your claim, in the form of witness statements, CCTV/dashcam footage, together with pictures of both the accident scene and your injuries – a family member or close friend may be able to help you with this. It is then recommended that you seek legal advice.

Stonehewer Moss offer a no-win, no-fee service, as well as free consultations to discuss your potential claim prior to progressing.

Accredited Personal Injury lawyers like those at Stonehewer Moss are highly skilled and experienced in dealing with the complications of accident claims. With the evidence gathered from the accident our solicitors can provide you with expert advice and work to attain the compensation you deserve.

There are two types of injury compensation that you may be entitled to. The first, called ‘general damages’, and is awarded to compensate you for the pain and suffering caused by the injury. The second type of injury compensation, called ‘special damages’, covers actual financial losses and expenses arising from the injury. This can include lost earnings, care given to you by your friends and family, costs of treatment, travel costs and various other expenses including future losses.

Please see our Personal Injury Claims services.

What will I get Personal Injury compensation for? – Video Transcript

A lot of clients ask us ‘What can I claim compensation for?’. For most claims, there’s two different aspects to it. There’s General Damages and there’s Special Damages. Your General Damages relates to your injury aspects of your claim, which is your pain, suffering and loss of amenity. That takes into account obviously how bad the pain was, how long you suffered for and what it’s impacted in your life in terms of what you can and can’t do now going forwards. In addition to that you’ve got your Special Damages which is your out-of-pocket expenses. These are loss of earnings, care and assistance, travel, it might be a sports membership or something like that that you can no longer use due to the accident. It’s obviously for the claimant to always prove their losses on those ones. So if you’re unaware of how to prove it, or what you need to show it, you can either check out one of our other videos or give us a call and we can go through it with you.

Watch Video

The responsibility for an accident at work is very often it is the employer, even though they may try to blame you or even discipline you for the accident. However, sometimes the accident might be the responsibility of a third party, for example, a building site main contractor. It might be due to the fault of a work colleague acting in a manner not related to the job. It might even be your own fault in whole or in part. If you are unsure, get in touch with our personal injury lawyer for a free initial case review in complete confidence.

Contact us

There are certain limitation periods for making a personal injury claim and some exemptions too.

The Limitation Act stipulates the date by which you can make a claim after you have had an accident. In most cases, this is three years from the day the accident occurred. After this time, you cannot easily make a claim unless there is some special reason why you should be allowed to do so. For example, if you were unable to deal with your own affairs for a period of time.

There are exceptions, for example, the limitation date for children who have an accident when they are under 18^th. is their 21^st birthday. That is three years from when they became an adult. 

If your injury was not caused by a one-off event, for example, a repetitive strain injury, then the three-year timeline only starts to run on the day you became aware you had an injury as a result of the negligence of a third party. This might be the day you are diagnosed with a condition by your doctor.

There are a lot of exceptions to the three-year limitation date rule (you might only have one year to make a claim if your accident was in Spain or two years if it was on a boat) so the best advice is to give us a call and we will tell you where you stand.

Contact us

An interim payment in a personal injury claim is an amount of money paid by the insurance company for the Defendant to the Claimant prior to settlement of the claim. For example, in some cases, people often cannot get back to work immediately and consequently have a much-reduced income. In such cases, we can often make an application for an interim payment for you to alleviate any short-term financial difficulties.

In larger cases where someone has been very seriously injured, we may ask for an interim payment to enable works to be undertaken on the injured persons’ house to make it more accessible, for example, a walk-in shower or to lower the kitchen work surfaces for a wheelchair user. 

No Win No Fee

When it comes to making a personal injury claim, one of the most important things to consider is how you will fund your case. After all, taking legal action can be costly, and if you don’t have the right funding in place, you may find yourself struggling to cover the costs.

No win no fee arrangements can be extremely beneficial for claimants, as they provide access to justice regardless of their financial situation.

However, it’s important to remember that not all no win no fee solicitors are the same. Some may charge hidden fees or have strict conditions in place, so it’s always worth doing your research before you choose a solicitor to work with.

No win no fee agreements have become a popular way for personal injury claimants to pursue compensation. But what exactly are they and what do you need to know about them? Stonehewer Moss Solicitors we will explain everything you need to know about no win no fee agreements, including how they work and the pros and cons of using them. 

What Is a Success Fee?

If your claim is successful then you become liable to pay your solicitors base costs, plus any success fee they charge. The success fee is very often misunderstood and often confused with the solicitors overall cap on costs. To be clear the success fee forms part of the overall costs charged, that is, the base costs plus the success fee.  

At Stonehewer Moss we apply an overall cap on the costs we charge you based on the amount of compensation you receive. This overall cap is typically between 18% and  30% of the compensation amount recovered, although this will be subject to your individual circumstances. This is a cap both on your liability for your base fees in general and the success fee added together.  

Accordingly when considering which law firm to use it is therefore much more useful (and much easier to understand) if you just ascertain what the overall cap is on your liability for legal costs is, as this is the amount that you will usually pay.

At Stonehewer Moss there is an overall cap so that your liability for all your legal costs will never exceed 30% of the damages you are awarded and can be as low as 18%.

No Win No Fee

When it comes to making a personal injury claim, one of the most important things to consider is how you will fund your case. After all, taking legal action can be costly, and if you don’t have the right funding in place, you may find yourself struggling to cover the costs.

No win no fee arrangements can be extremely beneficial for claimants, as they provide access to justice regardless of their financial situation.

However, it’s important to remember that not all no win no fee solicitors are the same. Some may charge hidden fees or have strict conditions in place, so it’s always worth doing your research before you choose a solicitor to work with.

No win no fee agreements have become a popular way for personal injury claimants to pursue compensation. But what exactly are they and what do you need to know about them? Stonehewer Moss Solicitors we will explain everything you need to know about no win no fee agreements, including how they work and the pros and cons of using them. 

What Is a Success Fee ?

If your claim is successful then you become liable to pay your solicitors base costs, plus any success fee they charge. The success fee is very often misunderstood and often confused with the solicitors overall cap on costs. To be clear the success fee forms part of the overall costs charged, that is, the base costs plus the success fee.  

At Stonehewer Moss we apply an overall cap on the costs we charge you based on the amount of compensation you receive. This overall cap is typically between 18% and  30% of the compensation amount recovered, although this will be subject to your individual circumstances. This is a cap both on your liability for your base fees in general and the success fee added together.  

Accordingly when considering which law firm to use it is therefore much more useful (and much easier to understand) if you just ascertain what the overall cap is on your liability for legal costs is, as this is the amount that you will usually pay.

At Stonehewer Moss there is an overall cap so that your liability for all your legal costs will never exceed 30% of the damages you are awarded and can be as low as 18%.

No. Your compensation is usually net of tax. Any claim for loss of earnings will be paid less any tax and National Insurance you would have paid. If you are claiming benefits related to your accident, your award might be reduced to repay these benefits. If you are claiming benefits not related to the accident, your lump sum award may affect your entitlement to benefits. We can help you with this by creating a personal injury trust.

The value of each compensation claim for a serious injury depends on the severity of the injury.

In handling your claim, we will look at financial aspects such as medical expenses, travel costs and loss of earnings you may have had as a result of the accident. We will also factor into the value of your claim any long term medical expenses that you may incur for life-changing injuries that require ongoing medical treatment.

We will also seek to obtain interim payments where possible to help you to avoid financial hardship caused by a serious injury that wasn’t your fault.

Our aim is to get you the highest amount of compensation, quickly and stress-free, to secure the best possible future for you and your family.

For the majority of cases, any serious injury compensation claim must be made within three years of the date of the accident. There are, however, some exemptions to this rule in instances whereby you may be able to make a claim for an accident dating back further. As specialist personal injury lawyers, we will be able to advise you on your rights.

If you have suffered a serious injury, it’s best to get legal advice as soon as possible so that we can obtain crucial evidence and because there may be time limits.

We offer a Free No Obligation Case Review so that we can understand more about the accident circumstances and to advise you on whether or not you have a claim.

We will guide and support you throughout the complex personal injury claims process, dealing directly with third parties and insurance companies on your behalf to secure compensation for your injuries in a compassionate manner.

There are two types of injury compensation that you may be entitled to. The first, called ‘general damages’, and is awarded to compensate you for the pain and suffering caused by the injury. The second type of injury compensation, called ‘special damages’, covers actual financial losses and expenses arising from the injury. This can include lost earnings, care given to you by your friends and family, costs of treatment, travel costs and various other expenses including future losses.

Please see our Personal Injury Claims services.

What will I get Personal Injury compensation for? – Video Transcript

A lot of clients ask us ‘What can I claim compensation for?’. For most claims, there’s two different aspects to it. There’s General Damages and there’s Special Damages. Your General Damages relates to your injury aspects of your claim, which is your pain, suffering and loss of amenity. That takes into account obviously how bad the pain was, how long you suffered for and what it’s impacted in your life in terms of what you can and can’t do now going forwards. In addition to that you’ve got your Special Damages which is your out-of-pocket expenses. These are loss of earnings, care and assistance, travel, it might be a sports membership or something like that that you can no longer use due to the accident. It’s obviously for the claimant to always prove their losses on those ones. So if you’re unaware of how to prove it, or what you need to show it, you can either check out one of our other videos or give us a call and we can go through it with you.

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The responsibility for an accident at work is very often it is the employer, even though they may try to blame you or even discipline you for the accident. However, sometimes the accident might be the responsibility of a third party, for example, a building site main contractor. It might be due to the fault of a work colleague acting in a manner not related to the job. It might even be your own fault in whole or in part. If you are unsure, get in touch with our personal injury lawyer for a free initial case review in complete confidence.

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There are certain limitation periods for making a personal injury claim and some exemptions too.

The Limitation Act stipulates the date by which you can make a claim after you have had an accident. In most cases, this is three years from the day the accident occurred. After this time, you cannot easily make a claim unless there is some special reason why you should be allowed to do so. For example, if you were unable to deal with your own affairs for a period of time.

There are exceptions, for example, the limitation date for children who have an accident when they are under 18^th. is their 21^st birthday. That is three years from when they became an adult. 

If your injury was not caused by a one-off event, for example, a repetitive strain injury, then the three-year timeline only starts to run on the day you became aware you had an injury as a result of the negligence of a third party. This might be the day you are diagnosed with a condition by your doctor.

There are a lot of exceptions to the three-year limitation date rule (you might only have one year to make a claim if your accident was in Spain or two years if it was on a boat) so the best advice is to give us a call and we will tell you where you stand.

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An interim payment in a personal injury claim is an amount of money paid by the insurance company for the Defendant to the Claimant prior to settlement of the claim. For example, in some cases, people often cannot get back to work immediately and consequently have a much-reduced income. In such cases, we can often make an application for an interim payment for you to alleviate any short-term financial difficulties.

In larger cases where someone has been very seriously injured, we may ask for an interim payment to enable works to be undertaken on the injured persons’ house to make it more accessible, for example, a walk-in shower or to lower the kitchen work surfaces for a wheelchair user. 

No Win No Fee

When it comes to making a personal injury claim, one of the most important things to consider is how you will fund your case. After all, taking legal action can be costly, and if you don’t have the right funding in place, you may find yourself struggling to cover the costs.

No win no fee arrangements can be extremely beneficial for claimants, as they provide access to justice regardless of their financial situation.

However, it’s important to remember that not all no win no fee solicitors are the same. Some may charge hidden fees or have strict conditions in place, so it’s always worth doing your research before you choose a solicitor to work with.

No win no fee agreements have become a popular way for personal injury claimants to pursue compensation. But what exactly are they and what do you need to know about them? Stonehewer Moss Solicitors we will explain everything you need to know about no win no fee agreements, including how they work and the pros and cons of using them. 

What Is a Success Fee?

If your claim is successful then you become liable to pay your solicitors base costs, plus any success fee they charge. The success fee is very often misunderstood and often confused with the solicitors overall cap on costs. To be clear the success fee forms part of the overall costs charged, that is, the base costs plus the success fee.  

At Stonehewer Moss we apply an overall cap on the costs we charge you based on the amount of compensation you receive. This overall cap is typically between 18% and  30% of the compensation amount recovered, although this will be subject to your individual circumstances. This is a cap both on your liability for your base fees in general and the success fee added together.  

Accordingly when considering which law firm to use it is therefore much more useful (and much easier to understand) if you just ascertain what the overall cap is on your liability for legal costs is, as this is the amount that you will usually pay.

At Stonehewer Moss there is an overall cap so that your liability for all your legal costs will never exceed 30% of the damages you are awarded and can be as low as 18%.

No Win No Fee

When it comes to making a personal injury claim, one of the most important things to consider is how you will fund your case. After all, taking legal action can be costly, and if you don’t have the right funding in place, you may find yourself struggling to cover the costs.

No win no fee arrangements can be extremely beneficial for claimants, as they provide access to justice regardless of their financial situation.

However, it’s important to remember that not all no win no fee solicitors are the same. Some may charge hidden fees or have strict conditions in place, so it’s always worth doing your research before you choose a solicitor to work with.

No win no fee agreements have become a popular way for personal injury claimants to pursue compensation. But what exactly are they and what do you need to know about them? Stonehewer Moss Solicitors we will explain everything you need to know about no win no fee agreements, including how they work and the pros and cons of using them. 

What Is a Success Fee ?

If your claim is successful then you become liable to pay your solicitors base costs, plus any success fee they charge. The success fee is very often misunderstood and often confused with the solicitors overall cap on costs. To be clear the success fee forms part of the overall costs charged, that is, the base costs plus the success fee.  

At Stonehewer Moss we apply an overall cap on the costs we charge you based on the amount of compensation you receive. This overall cap is typically between 18% and  30% of the compensation amount recovered, although this will be subject to your individual circumstances. This is a cap both on your liability for your base fees in general and the success fee added together.  

Accordingly when considering which law firm to use it is therefore much more useful (and much easier to understand) if you just ascertain what the overall cap is on your liability for legal costs is, as this is the amount that you will usually pay.

At Stonehewer Moss there is an overall cap so that your liability for all your legal costs will never exceed 30% of the damages you are awarded and can be as low as 18%.

No. Your compensation is usually net of tax. Any claim for loss of earnings will be paid less any tax and National Insurance you would have paid. If you are claiming benefits related to your accident, your award might be reduced to repay these benefits. If you are claiming benefits not related to the accident, your lump sum award may affect your entitlement to benefits. We can help you with this by creating a personal injury trust.

In handling your claim, we will also look at other financial aspects such as medical expenses and loss of earnings you may have had as a result of the illness. We will also factor into the value of your claim any long term medical expenses that you may incur for life-changing injuries that require ongoing medical treatment. The value of every compensation claim for a work-related illness depends on the seriousness of the injury as well as the chances of you making a full recovery.

We will also seek to obtain interim payments where possible to help you to avoid financial hardship caused by industrial disease, as well as making claims on behalf of families who have lost loved ones to a work-related illness or industrial disease.

Whatever the nature of your injury, our aim is to get you the highest amount of compensation as quickly and stress-free as possible.

The standard three-year rule for personal injury claims does not apply for work-related illnesses or industrial disease claims.

In these cases, the general rule is that the limitation clock does not start ticking until the injured person becomes aware that they have an injury and that the injury is related to work. Once the limitation clock starts, then you generally have three years from that date to make a claim.

A typical example would be someone who worked in a noisy factory for many years in the 80s and 90s but who only became aware they had started losing their hearing in the last few years.

As specialist personal injury lawyers, we will be able to advise you on your rights.

Once diagnosed with a work-related illness or industrial disease, the next step is to get in touch with us as soon as possible to see if you have a claim.

We offer a Free No Obligation Case Review so that we can understand more about the accident circumstances and to advise you on whether or not you have a claim.

Such cases are often complex and require a solicitor with experience and expertise in these types of claims as in most cases, there is not one single event which caused the injury, it may have developed during employment with 1 or more employers dating back many years, and some, if not all, of those companies, may no longer exist.

We will guide and support you throughout the personal injury claims process, dealing directly with your employers and their insurance company, tracking down companies if necessary, on your behalf to secure the compensation you deserve for your injuries.

The law for employers has not changed despite the coronavirus pandemic. An employee may be entitled to compensation if they contract COVID-19 because their employer has not done enough to ensure that their workplace is ‘COVID-secure’.

Employers have a legal duty to their employees to take reasonable care for their health and safety and they must take reasonable steps to do this. In particular, employers must take steps to secure a safe system of work, safe premises, safe equipment, and competent staff.

If you believe you have contracted COVID-19 due to ineffective health and safety measures implemented at your place of work, you may be able to bring a claim against your employer and secure compensation.

In order for us to assess whether or not you have a COVID-19 at work claim, we would ask all potential applicants to answer the following questions and send us your answers by email in confidence to info@stonhewermoss.co.uk.

This will enable us to determine whether or not you have a case to bring a claim against your employer before arranging a free initial consultation.

Pre-Assessment Questionnaire

Can I claim compensation against my employer for developing Carpal Tunnel Syndrome? I spend long hours typing at a computer in my office job and have recently been diagnosed.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) can cause numbness, tingling and pain in the hand and fingers. It is described by the NHS as a pressure on a nerve in your wrist which can result in limited dexterity and difficulty in gripping.

For those who develop CTS it can significantly affect their day to day lives, especially if the condition has developed due to their line of work as it can prove difficult to continue work as normal.

If you work in an office environment using a computer, you are at higher risk of developing Carpal Tunnel Syndrome due to the level of pressure exerted on the wrist.

CTS It is also a common issue amongst construction workers and jobs that involve repeated use of vibratory equipment, machinery and tools.

There are many ways in which your employer can be negligent to upholding health and safety regulations, such as not providing adequate training to staff, failing to supply any necessary protective equipment or allowing regular breaks from vibratory tools or repetitive strain tasks.

Given the heightened risk of developing CTS in certain professions, it is the duty of the employer to ensure regular assessments are conducted to reduce the risk of injury to their employees.

Should your employer fail to do so and you develop Carpal Tunnel Syndrome as a result, you may be able to claim compensation.

Instructing an accredited personal injury solicitor like Stonehewer Moss would greatly benefit you when making an injury claim, your solicitor would be able to guide you through the legal process and advise on the amount of compensation you would be entitled to for the injury sustained.

Special Damages are any type of damages you get from your claim that aren’t actually related directly to your injury. So, they would be more things to do with loss of earnings. For example, the cost of care that you’ve received, or the damage to any of the property that you may have had as a result of the accident. For example, your car or your equipment.

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General Damages are those damages that relate directly to your injury. So as opposed to Special Damages which are on another Jargon Busters blog, General Damages are those things that relate to the pain and suffering and loss of amenity. Now what does that mean? Pain is obvious, that’s the original pain you had when you had your accident, suffering is the more long-term effect and the loss of amenity is the fact that you can’t do anything or something that you currently could do before the accident, for example play football. That might go on forever, it might only go on for a matter of weeks and that is how the figure of General Damages is made up and that’s separate to any financial losses which as I say I talk about elsewhere.

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We may have sent you a form which says on the top CNF and you might be wondering what is this form? The CNF is the Claims Notification Form and it’s a form we use to start a claim, sometimes for information only and sometimes to send to the defendant. Particularly if it’s an employer where they need to have notice of the claim. They receive the form and most often we’ll receive back details of their insurers.

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You may have received a CRU certificate in the post, this is a certificate from the Compensation Recovery Unit whose name are the initials of the certificate. This is simply an explanation of the amount of money that you have had from the government as a result of your accident. So, if you have an accident, you go off work and you have to actually claim benefits as a result of that. The government will want that money back and they’ll want that money back from the compensator and the compensator is the person who is liable to pay your compensation. So, the government provide a certificate that tells us how much money they want back as a result of your accident.

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A claim form is a form that you might get after your claim’s been going a little while. If we aren’t able to negotiate a settlement with the other side, either because they don’t accept that it’s their fault or they won’t pay you enough money, then we have to issue the case at Court. To do that we need to fill in a claim form and we need to make sure that the claim form is correct because once it’s been completed it’s not as easy to change. So, if we’ve sent you a claim form and ask you to check through it along with what we call particulars of claim, which is more words about how your accident happened and what it is that you want to claim for, then make sure it’s all correct.

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We may talk about issuing Court proceedings to you and you may think well what does this actually mean? What is this issuing word? It’s simply, and I think it makes it sound perhaps too simple, it is the act of sending your claim to the Court, because before we issue proceedings the claim is being dealt with by negotiation, mostly with the insurance company for the defendants. If for some reason they don’t want to pay you any money, or enough money, then we have to send the case to Court using the Court forms and that process is called issuing proceedings. You must have issued proceedings in any case within three years of the date of your accident. I shouldn’t say in any case, in most cases that is the case.

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We may have talked to you about disclosure and if you’ve had a letter about disclosure it’s probably a good idea to give us a call back and make sure you understand what your obligations are. But for the purpose of this Jargon Buster blog what you should know is that disclosure is the part of any Court proceedings where the party send to the other party any papers, documents, videos, anything that might be something that they want to rely on in their case. So for example proof of a loss, proof that your car has been damaged, proof that you’ve lost earnings or proof that the accident happened in a certain way, so it might be CCTV evidence. The defendant has the same obligations of disclosure and once disclosure has taken place, they the parties should theoretically have all the information that the other has got about how the accident happened and what it’s worth.

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We may have talked to you in discussions and mentioned the pre-action protocol. You might have seen it in paperwork and you might think well what is this protocol that people are talking about? This is simply an agreement between Personal Injury claimant lawyers like myself and defendant bodies such as insurance companies and defendant solicitors, to make sure that steps are taken so that the parties have as much information as close to the beginning of each claim as possible. In the olden days people used to ambush each other by suddenly sending people information very late in the day. Nowadays the protocol states that all the parties must get together as soon as possible, providing each other with as much information as possible, to try and see whether the claim can be settled before the Court has to be involved.

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Sometimes we as solicitors throw around jargon which is difficult to understand and we often talk about things like liability, but what does liability mean? It sounds like something you owe doesn’t it? But in fact it isn’t, liability is where when we look at the other side and see are they going to be liable for your accident? So we need to look at what their duties are in law, whether they’ve been negligent, to decide whether in your particular circumstances they’re going to have to pay out. A party will only have to pay you compensation if they have some liability for the accident and therefore the injury that you have suffered.

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We may have had to discuss with you contributory negligence. We often call this ‘con neg’ for short which doesn’t help matters when you’re trying to follow that it is that we’re trying to tell you as solicitors. Contributory negligence is, in short, an allegation made by defendants that you are partly responsible for your own accident and it might happen if you were walking along and you tripped over, they might say well you should have watched where you were going so you’re partially responsible. If you’re driving a car and not wearing a seatbelt, or you didn’t cause the accident but the fact that you weren’t wearing a seatbelt means that you’re contributory negligent for the injury that you suffered, because if you had been taking steps to protect yourself you wouldn’t have had the same injuries. So these allegations come in and when we get them and they say your client is contributory negligent for some reason or other, we will have to discuss that with you. It doesn’t mean we agree with them, but is it an issue that we will have to take on board and see whether or not we agree with them or not.

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Another word that’s used quite frequently in Personal Injury lawyer’s offices is quantum. We talk about quantum a lot, it’s a funny word, it sounds a bit Latin and people perhaps don’t understand what we mean by quantum, but it’s really simple. All it is, is how much your claim is worth. So, when we talk about the quantum of damages, we’re talking about how much you’re likely to get as a result of part of your injury, or all of your injury claim, depending on which element we’re talking about. Whether it’s just the injury or your financial losses. If it’s both then that is the full amount of quantum, if it’s just quantum relating to your injury claim, then that’s just injury quantum.

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