By Lewis Houston. Last Updated 10th August 2023. This guide on looking for “accident solicitors near me” could help you seek out legal representation for a claim. As you may be aware, if you’re injured because of somebody else’s negligence, you might be able to claim compensation from them. The process of claiming damages can be daunting, and many people decide to let a personal injury lawyer represent them.
When they do, they’ll often search for local solicitors on the internet. However, in this guide, we’ll explain why you don’t need to use local solicitors to represent you in your claim.
For example, some local law firms don’t provide No Win No Fee services, which can be beneficial to those seeking legal representation. Furthermore, they may focus on areas of law that are not relevant to your claim.
This isn’t the case for the lawyers on our panel. They work exclusively on personal injury claims and always work on a No Win No Fee basis. What’s more, they’re able to provide a nationwide service, meaning you’re not limited to using a solicitor in your area.
Do I Need To Use A Local Personal Injury Solicitor?
If you’re thinking of starting a claim, why not call our team today? We will review your case for free if you contact us on 0800 408 7825. Alternatively, please continue reading to learn more about how we can help.
Accident solicitors near me guide
Select A Section
- Finding Accident Solicitors Near Me
- Types Of Claim Handled By Accident Solicitors
- What Percentage Do Accident Solicitors Take?
- What Do I Need To Do Before Contacting Accident Solicitors?
- How Does The Personal Injury Claims Process Work?
- Compensation For Accident Injuries In 2022
- No Win No Fee Accident Solicitors
- How Do I Find No Win No Fee Accident Solicitors Near Me?
- Further Help Finding Accident Solicitors Near Me
Finding Accident Solicitors Near Me
It is common these days to search for local services using online search engines. On many occasions, adding the phrase “near me” to your search will find businesses that can help nearby.
However, searching for “accident solicitors near me” won’t necessarily mean you’ll find the right law firm to help you. For example, if you’re seeking damages for a cycling accident, this online search will not be useful if it produces results relating to family law or criminal solicitors.
Our panel of solicitors work solely on personal injury, criminal injury and medical negligence claims. Another important factor is that they provide their service on a No Win No Fee basis. In our experience, this isn’t always offered by other law firms.
We believe that claims are easier if you have a personal injury solicitor on your side. Also, it could mean you’ll receive a higher amount of compensation for your injuries.
This is because a personal injury solicitor has years of experience working on claims like this. What’s more, they have experience in negotiating a fair compensation amount for claimants.
Do I Need To Use Car Accident Solicitors Near Me?
As with other personal injury claims, there is no need to hire local solicitors near you. There are more important factors to consider other than a firm’s proximity. It’s vital to consider information such as a lawyer’s speciality or their success rate. Choosing personal injury solicitors near you may seem like something that could help your chances of success, but this is not necessarily true.
Get in touch with our advisors today. A solicitor from our panel may be able to help you, wherever you are in the country.
Types Of Claim Handled By Accident Solicitors
Personal injury claim solicitors will consider cases where another party’s negligence caused an accident or incident in which you were injured. Some of the types of claims they can work on include those involving:
- Accidents at work.
- Car accidents.
- Fatal accidents.
- Medical negligence.
- Public liability claims
- Holiday accidents.
- Criminal injuries.
As well as the criteria listed above, the general personal injury claim time limit is 3 years (or 2 years for some criminal injury claims). This means that you must start a claim within this time to prevent it from being statute-barred. If you would like to find out if a specialist solicitor from our panel could help you, please call today.
What Percentage Do Accident Solicitors Take?
A No Win No Fee agreement is sometimes called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). Within the CFA, there are details about the ‘success fee’ you’ll pay if your case is won. It is a percentage of your compensation that’s deducted by your solicitor.
Legally, the maximum success fee percentage when using a CFA is 25%. Most solicitors charge this as they take on a lot of risk by offering to work on a No Win No Fee basis.
In some circumstances, the solicitors on our panel can work on a lower success fee of 15%. Remember, you won’t pay your solicitor anything at all if the claim is lost.
What Do I Need To Do Before Contacting Accident Solicitors?
As we’ve explained, you don’t need to search for “accident solicitors near me” to start a claim. Instead, a quick call to our team could be all it takes to start the ball rolling.
When you discuss your case, you’ll be asked about what evidence you have. Evidence can be really important in supporting The types of information that could help prove what happened, who was to blame and what injuries you sustained can include:
- Hospital records. It is important to be able to prove what injuries you sustained and what type of treatment you underwent. Therefore, asking for a copy of your medical records could help.
- Witness details. If the defendant doesn’t admit liability, witnesses could be called upon to provide a statement of what they saw.
- Accident reports. If you have an accident in a public place or an accident at work, it should be reported. You could therefore request a copy of the report to help prove that the accident took place and the circumstances that led to it.
- CCTV footage. If the area your accident happened was covered by cameras, you could request a copy. For car accidents (including whiplash claims), dashcam footage could also help.
How Does The Personal Injury Claims Process Work?
If your claim is taken on by a personal injury solicitor from our panel, they’ll work on your claim online, over the phone and by email to make the process as efficient as possible. Once they have collected evidence relating to your claim, they’ll:
- Inform the defendant about the claim.
- Arrange your medical assessment (see below for more information).
- Deal with the defendant’s insurers.
- Try to counter any arguments raised by supplying additional evidence if necessary.
- Update you regularly and answer any questions you think of.
- Review any settlement offers with you before they are accepted.
Essentially, your solicitor will do as much as possible for you and try to ensure you are compensated fully.
Compensation For Accident Injuries In 2022
The value of a personal injury claim depends on the circumstances that surround each one. Because of this, how much a claimant receives can vary.
The figure that you are awarded in line with your pain and suffering is a sum known as general damages. When they are working out the value of your general damages payment, they turn to a few key sources that assist them during the process. One of these is a publication containing guide figures for a number of different injuries. It’s called the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG).
We’ve included figures from the 16th edition of the JCG in the table below. This newest update was published in 2022. Remember, these figures should only be used as guidelines.
| Injury | Severity Level | Settlement Bracket | Notes From The Judicial College Guidelines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jaw | Fracture (ii) | £17,960 to £30,490 | Covers serious fractures that result in permanent consequences and prolonged treatment. |
| Face | Scarring (b) | £17,960 to £48,420 | Where scarring to the face is substantial and causes a severe psychological reaction. |
| Back | Minor (i) | £7,890 to £12,510 | Covers soft tissue injuries that heal in around 2 to 5 years without the need for surgery. |
| Arm | Simple (d) | £6,610 to £19,220 | Straightforward fractures of the forearm. |
| Wrist | Complete loss of function (a) | £47,620 to £59,860 | Where the wrist injury causes the claimant to lose all function. |
| Hand | Serious (e) | £29,000 to £61,910 | Injuries where hand function is reduced to around 50%. |
| Knee | Moderate (i) | £14,840 to £26,190 | Torn meniscus injuries or dislocation that result in weakness, wasting or instability. |
| Ankle | Severe (b) | £31,310 to £50,060 | The injuries in this category will result in extensive treatment and there may be ongoing issues due to the pins and plates used during treatment. |
| Psychiatric Damage | Moderate (c) | £5,860 to £19,070 | While there will have been significant issues to start with, the claimant will recovering be well and will be given a good prognosis. |
| PSTD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) | Severe (a) | £59,860 to £100,670 | All aspects of life will be affected by permanent PTSD symptoms in this category. |
As mentioned earlier, medical assessments are needed during any personal injury claim. A medical expert will meet with you to discuss how your injuries have affected you.
They’ll then examine your injuries and check through your medical records. Once completed, the specialist will prepare a medical report to show what injuries you sustained and to provide a prognosis. Usually, the solicitors from our panel can arrange these appointments locally so you won’t need to travel too far.
In addition to your compensation for your injuries, you could claim special damages. These aim to recover any costs you incurred because of your injuries, such as lost wages, medical costs, care costs and the cost of replacing damaged personal property. You’ll need to provide evidence to support special damages like receipts, bills and invoices.
No Win No Fee Accident Solicitors
Now that we have answered the question, ‘Do I need to work with personal injury solicitors near me?’ You may be curious to know the benefits of working with a solicitor on a No Win No Fee basis.
The solicitors on our panel usually offer their services under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), which is a type of No Win No Fee arrangement. As per the agreement, you typically won’t be charged any service fees upfront or whilst your personal injury claim is ongoing. If your claim succeeds, a legally capped success fee is taken from the compensation amount that you are awarded. However, should your claim fail, you won’t need to pay your solicitor for their work.
If you contact our advisors, they could assess your claim and may connect you with one of the No Win No Fee solicitors on our panel. They could also help answer any questions you may have, such as ‘Do I need to use No Win No Fee accident solicitors near me?’
How Do I Find No Win No Fee Accident Solicitors Near Me?
As we’ve shown, you can contact us rather than search for “accident solicitors near me” if you would like free advice on claiming. To do so, you can:
- Call our advice centre on 0800 408 7825 to speak with an advisor.
- Use our live chat service to discuss your options online.
- Fill in our online contact form, and we’ll call you back.
When you call, there will be no obligation for you to proceed to a claim. However, if your claim appears to have strong grounds, we could help by introducing you to a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel.
Further Help Finding Accident Solicitors Near Me
In this final part of our guide, we have added some content that might help you if you do decide to search “accident solicitors near me” to help you claim compensation.
Solicitors Regulation Authority – The body that keeps a register of solicitors in England and Wales.
Whiplash Reform Programme – Information on the new system designed to streamline low-value road traffic accident claims.
NHS 111 – The service that provides help for your symptoms if you don’t know what to do.
Passenger Injury Claims – Advice on claiming if you’re injured as a passenger in a road traffic accident.
Rights Following An Accident At Work – Explains what to expect if you are injured in a workplace accident.
Council Slips and Trip Claims – Information about claiming if you’re injured because of a defect on a public highway.
Thanks for reading about searching for accident solicitors near me.