Since work accident compensation claims belong in the field of personal injury, this means that we are looking specifically for solicitors that are on the Personal Injury Accreditation Scheme; this makes great sense that you would be using a solicitor that has valued experience in the type of claim that you will be making. This is another mark of excellence arising from The Law Society that is to quote them: “Rigorously and independently tested” to maintain a high standard. Lexcel Accreditation and the Personal Injury Accreditation Scheme are two such markings that you should look out for when making an accident at work claim. Various solicitors that have been discussed on this site have earned these Awards. This certainly makes these companies worth considering if you do have a work accident claim that you are ready to proceed with.

Hilary Meredith Solicitors is certainly a highly established legal firm that has managed to pick up Lexcel Accreditation and they also have a solicitor on the Personal Injury Accreditation Scheme to aid that. Should you decide to pursue with a claim with them then you would get in contact with them via an attached phone number listed on the site or you can choose to fill in a form that interestingly has the option available whereby you can request a video appointment, which I haven’t seen before today. In regards to the site itself, you won’t find many pages of relevant content and tools such as personal injury calculator. Finding them via Google might not be easy too, with them not having a great search engine presence, but the TV ads seem to be working well for them and this is one of those solicitor firms that you can just tell gets the right results for their clients.

- What should I initially do when I have had an accident at work?
A report needs to be made in the “accident book”. The employer should have reported the injury to the HSE (Health and Safety Executive); this can easily be done online. You should check your contract for information regarding sick pay. It will be important to take pictures of the injuries perhaps from a camera phone; pictures of the accident scene will help! Remember to keep a diary from the beginning noting such things as any visits to a doctor, specific dates and times when the injury was causing any further suffering and so on.

- Should I claim for compensation or not?
In the above, the note of collecting evidence was made. This would be the process taken from someone considering claiming for compensation. A work accident compensation claim worth proceeding with would generally have a level of severity attached to it that has caused you to not be able to continue work for some time.

- How can I get compensation? What is the next step?
To get compensation you must find a solicitor who will proceed with your work accident compensation claim. More details attached in the following points.

- I am not capable of finding a solicitor myself since the work injury. Who else can?
This is not a problem. Some accidents at work are more serious than others. If you have any family members who can proceed with the work accident claim then that should be just fine.

- Is a solicitor a lawyer? What should I search for?
“Lawyer” is commonly used in the United States (alike attorney). The lawyer term is also used here in the UK, although it is a more generic term for someone who provides legal advice. We specifically look out for a solicitor who provides legal advice and prepares legal documentation. Should your case go to court then a barrister would usually represent your case in the court.

- Do I have a valid claim for compensation?
A solicitor will only take on your case if you have a valid claim. Your accident must have been caused by the negligence of another. The responsibility of health and safety at your workplace lies with your employer.

- How much compensation will I receive for my work accident?
Various work accident claim examples have been made on this site that note the estimated compensation claim amounts for specific work accident types. Work accident compensation amounts will be expanded upon in the future, but you must remember that each specific case is unique to the next. Various multiple injuries could have taken place, the amount of time out of work could vary, the history of accidents at your workplace and various other things could make a difference to the level of compensation. A solicitor that has studied your case indepth will have the resources to make an accurate estimation of how much compensation you could receive.

- Is the level of compensation based on the severity of the injury?
The severity of the injury plays an important role in regards to the amount of compensation claimed for, but loss of amenity also needs to be accounted for. This would cover the loss of comfort, quality of life etc as a result of the injury or disease.

- Who will pay for my accident at work compensation?
You may feel uneasy about the employer footing the bill, but this is not the case. Every employer has insurance in place (employers’ liability insurance is compulsory) and so the compensation will be taken from the insurer’s pocket.

- Will I lose my job making a claim for compensation?
If your employer was at fault and you receive compensation from them as a result, then the question of remaining at that workplace is a cloudy one. Legally, you should not be treated any differently, although I would feel uneasy myself. Although the employers’ liability insurance will cover the compensation, won’t a claim against a company ramp up their insurance policy amount in the future? Another thing is whether the accident claim has had an affect on the business of the company, in the media and so on. This is why this is a cloudy issue as I see it.

- Do I have a claim if my accident at work was caused by a fellow employee or member of the public?
If you were perhaps assaulted at work by a fellow employee or member of the public then the employer is still responsible. Many cases have backed this up over the years. This could have for example loomed from unsatisfactory background checks or unsatisfactory safety measures being taken in the workplace.

- How long after an accident takes place is the claim still valid?
The time limitation here in England and Wales is three years from the date of the accident. There are exceptions to this though, such as with industrial disease whereby a three year stamp is placed on the date that the symptoms were first discovered. Other exceptions stand for age and disability.

- How much will a work accident solicitor cost me?
Work accident claims belong to the personal injury claims field. Personal injury claim cases are most commonly ran on a no win, no fee basis at no cost to the claimant and so there is no need to worry about any such costs throughout the entire process.

- What does no win, no fee mean?
No win, no fee refers to a conditional fee arrangement. If the case is lost then no fee will be paid to the solicitor; the other side’s legal costs and your own disbursements (such as medical reports) can be covered by taking out after-the-event insurance. If the solicitor wins the case then the compensation will be awarded to you and a fee will also be granted to the solicitor, but this fee will be claimed from the other side. This means that you will receive a free solicitor for you case.

- What is a 100% no win, no fee compensation claim?
100% compensation paid out means just that. In the United States, a portion of the compensation is taken by the lawyer. Here in the UK, there are some solicitors that will also take a portion of this. You just need to make sure that you use a solicitor that provides 100% no win, no fee compensation, which should include everything at no cost to you from the initial consultation, to the after-the-event insurance premium fee and so on.

- Who are the best solicitors to use in the UK?
There are many great solicitors operating here in the UK. There are various qualities that you should look out for such as any solicitors that have earned a Lexcel Accreditation Award or perhaps are on the Personal Injury Accreditation Scheme. Locality is also important, expertise in the field of personal injury and looking out for popular legal firms that have been operating for many years makes good sense.

- Where will I find a personal injury solicitor?
You are spoilt for choice when looking out to find a personal injury solicitor. There are various qualities that you should look out for as noted above and when browsing around just remember that you are never under any obligation to use a solicitor when making general enquiries. All the best no win, no fee solicitors operate online and some of the most popular names have of course already been introduced on this site such as Claims Direct, Fentons, National Accident Helpline and so on (be aware though that many popular companies like this are merely introducers). For making personal recommendations, thus far personal injury solicitors in Liverpool has been covered and hopefully more locations will be added soon.

- Should I contact just the one personal injury solicitor?
If you find a personal injury solicitor that provides thorough advice and timely responses to any queries that you may have then feel free to go with that solicitor, but do make sure that they are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). If you are unsure at any stage regarding the quality of any solicitor then do shop around. As noted, you are never under any obligation when making enquiries.

- How long will the work accident compensation process take?
A work accident claim could take months, even years to complete dependent on the severity and value of the case. The chances are high that the case will be settled outside of court though. The process is never too quick though, as evidence needs to be collected, a medical report needs to be collected and the solicitor has to send out a “Letter of Claim” and “Schedule of Losses”. If settled outside court, a compensation amount also has to be agreed.

- Where can I find more work accident claim advice?
Work Accident Compensation Claim is merely an informational site. If you require work accident claim advice then the best place to get it is via a reputable solicitor that has years of valued experience in taking personal injury cases just like yours. They will be able to address any concerns that you may have and this should be completely free information, as it is here.

It is great to see that Claims Direct aren’t simply middlemen, yet are solicitors themselves with a range of impressive accolades to back them up. Claims Direct is of course the brand that they choose to promote nationwide and from this central site they pitch everything from accident at work claims, to medical negligence claims, to road traffic accident claims and so on. 100% no win, no fee is granted once you fill in a form or contact them on their listed number. There is some good information on the site and some useful additions such as their “Personal Injury Claims & Compensation Calculator”. It is difficult to really gather a picture of whether Claims Direct would be one of the best personal injury solicitor firms to head to, but the Accreditation that they have received paints the reflection that they are certainly a reputable name.

Fentons are 100% no win, no fee personal injury solicitors. They have a 24 hour freephone line and also collect leads via a form. They have three offices at this time, starting with the Chancery Lane office in London, then there is the Princess Street office in Manchester and a third office is located in Failsworth (Oldham/Greater Manchester). It is always good to hear about prominent Manchester solicitors, since this is my own local region. It is worth mentioning that Fentons are Law Society Accredited with each of the three Fenton firms having solicitors on the Personal Injury Accreditation Scheme that is certainly a good mark of quality. I have to say, I have been impressed with Fentons from what I have studied thus far. No gimmicks with them, they appear to be a prominent legal name in the field of personal injury.

Only one such recommendation could be made for a personal injury solicitor in Liverpool, other firms will be designated to other areas across the UK. Certain requirements in a legal firm were expected and fortunately one such company outshined the rest. The requirements set included providing a no win, no fee service paying 100% of the compensation out to the client; this included a free initial consultation. This firm is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and they have solicitors on the Personal Injury Accreditation Scheme that is certainly a genuine mark of quality. The firm also has an impressive 30 years experience that very few others can match. A form has been attached below that is directed to this firm (no data is stored here). A solicitor will be assigned to your claim case in as little as 24 hours and will contact within this time.

The broad theme of “personal injury” is certainly evident with many such accidents being catered for from accident at work claims, to holiday accident claims, to medical negligence claims, to military accident claims and so on. Of course, this brand are popular today for the National Accident Helpline adverts that appear regularly on our screens. Looking around for National Accident Helpline reviews online, there was mostly references to their adverts with one such remark having a pop at: “Joe Pasquale overdubbing a computer generated chocolate dog thing!” You can make a compensation claim online via their form or alternatively call them on their free accident helpline. I have always been impressed with the National Accident Helpline for their site content and from their large network of sites (they even operate with ATE insurance and PPI claims so they certainly are a bunch of busy bees).

I was quite impressed to see plenty of information scattered across the First 4 Lawyers site. Within their accident at work section they provide some compensation claim amounts for sample injuries and there was further estimates displayed in the “Compensation Guide” that is a basic compensation claim calculator. First 4 Lawyers have a contact number clearly listed that will grant you a free injury claim assessment available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can always fill in a simple form and request a callback at an hour that suits you. There isn’t too much information surrounding this company online, but since they appear on our TV screens frequently you get the impression that they are doing well for themselves. As always, if you do receive a quote from them then you are never under any obligation to use them.

In regards to the personal injury claims taken by Injury Lawyers 4 U, work accident claims are a major focus, with other areas catered such as medical negligence claims, road traffic accident claims and so on. When you visit the Injury Lawyers 4 U site, there isn’t much information provided such as on the company details and history. They ask for you to leave some basic details so that they can get back to you and they also have a helpline that is available 24 hours (I assume a central office takes these calls and then directs to the appropriate legal firm). I had a look out for Injury Lawyers 4 U reviews online, but mostly ran into complaints of their “annoying adverts”, perhaps more to do with the high frequency that is naturally the case when you have an army of legal firms contributing towards a monster marketing budget.