The ordinary injured person will not know how much their injury is worth.
Compensation typically tends to cover pain and suffering for the actual injury, medical treatment, time off work, or even for friends/relatives providing assistance while the person is injured.
By having proper legal advice, the injured person can thoroughly explore their claim.
Following a road traffic collision, the insurers of the driver at fault for the incident may attempt to contact the injured person directly and make an offer to settle any potential injury claim. This is known as ‘third-party capture’, and is when the insurance company hopes that a quick cash offer will prevent the injured person seeking legal advice.
This can perhaps be an attractive proposition to the injured person, who may agree to take the money and move on.
However, once the cheque is cashed there is no going back.
If at a later date you find out that your injury is more serious than you first realised, you cannot go back to the insurance company and ask for more compensation.
In accepting an offer immediately and directly from an insurance company, there is a considerable risk that the claim will be settled for much less than it should be.
The offers are made without knowing the true extent of the injury, with no diagnosis or prognosis made.
A solicitor specialising in personal injury work will make sure that an injured person will have the benefit of a medical opinion to ensure the true extent of the injury is known.
It may be the case, for example, that the medical expert believes your career prospects have been compromised by the injury.
Read the full article via Why use a solicitor for a personal injury claim? – Legal / Business / The Courier.