Published in Truckstop News May 2010.

In this month’s issue Steven Hinchliffe of the specialist Personal Injury Compensation firm Hinchliffes Solicitors will consider “THE IMPACT OF THE NEW PROCESS FOR DEALING WITH ROAD ACCIDENT CLAIMS”

From 30 April 2010 there will be an entirely new process for dealing with road accident claims involving a personal injury.  This has been forced through by the Government, acting under pressure from insurance companies, and it will affect all cases where the overall value of the claim is less than £10,000.  In practice, this will include the overwhelming majority of road accident compensation claims.  However, what are the implications for you - can you be sure that your case will be properly conducted by your solicitor and that you will receive the full amount of compensation you are entitled to?

Published in Truckstop News April 2010. 

In this month’s issue Steven Hinchliffe of the specialist Personal Injury Compensation firm Hinchliffes Solicitors (see their advert on the front page) will consider more “PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS’ SUCCESSFUL ACCIDENT AT WORK CLAIMS”.

Continuing his review of successfully completed accident injury claims, Steven Hinchliffe looks at various situations experienced by readers of Truckstop News that ultimately lead to an award of personal injury compensation.

All of the accident victims mentioned in this series of articles are clients of my firm, Hinchliffes Solicitors.  They have kindly given their permission for the disclosure of their details, and in particular of their real life experiences of incidents resulting in personal injury claims, and the steps taken to make a successful accident compensation claim.  All of these clients contacted my firm after seeing our details in Truckstop News - and some of the names referred to may be familiar to you.

In this article I highlight 2 very different accidents in the working environment and examine the outcome for each individual.  As with the previous articles in this series, the common trend remains the significant effect on each person’s life.  Both of my clients sustained significant injuries and suffered financial losses as a result, including lost earnings.  Although using the established legal processes for making personal injury claims as a means of redress cannot truly compensate for the trauma and inconvenience suffered, in appropriate cases it can assist in requiring the guilty party to provide medical treatment and rehabilitation, in addition to financial relief by way of awards of compensation.  As previously stressed, the fundamental aim of all accident claims is to try and return the injured party to the position that he or she would otherwise have been in had the accident not happened.

Published in Truckstop News March 2010.

In this month’s issue Steven Hinchliffe of the specialist Personal Injury Compensation firm Hinchliffes Solicitors will consider more “READERS’ SUCCESSFUL ACCIDENT CLAIMS”.

Continuing his review of successfully completed accident injury claims, Steven Hinchliffe looks at more situations experienced by readers of Truckstop News that resulted in an award of personal injury compensation.

All of the accident victims mentioned in these articles are actual clients of my firm, Hinchliffes Solicitors.  They have kindly given their permission for the disclosure of their details, and in particular of their real life experiences of incidents resulting in personal injury claims, and the steps taken to make a successful accident compensation claim.  All of these clients contacted my firm after seeing our details in Truckstop News - and readers may recognise some of the names referred to.

In this article I highlight 2 work accident claims involving a fall from a vehicle, but with quite different consequences.  As with the other articles in this series, the common trend remains the effect on each individual’s life.  Both of my clients sustained significant injuries and suffered financial losses as a result, but only one was likely to return to his pre-accident state of fitness.  Although using the process of law to make personal injury claims as a means of redress cannot truly compensate for the trauma and inconvenience suffered, it can assist in requiring the guilty party to provide medical treatment and rehabilitation, in addition to financial relief by way of awards of compensation.  As previously indicated, the basic aim of an accident claim is to try and return the injured party to the position that he or she would otherwise have been in had the accident not happened.

Published in Truckstop News February 2010.

In this month’s second article Steven Hinchliffe of the specialist Personal Injury Compensation firm Hinchliffes Solicitors returns to consider more “READERS’ SUCCESSFUL WORK ACCIDENT CLAIMS”.

Returning to his review of successfully completed accident injury claims, Steven Hinchliffe looks at various situations experienced by readers of Truckstop News that ultimately lead to an award of personal injury compensation.

All of the accident victims mentioned in this series of articles are clients of my firm, Hinchliffes Solicitors.  They have kindly given their permission for the disclosure of their details, and in particular of their real life experiences of incidents resulting in personal injury claims, and the steps taken to make a successful accident compensation claim.  All of these clients contacted my firm after seeing our details in Truckstop News - and some of the names referred to may be familiar to you.

In this article I highlight 2 different types of accident at work claims and examine the outcomes.  As with the previous articles, the common trend that emerges is the significant effect on each individual’s life.  Both of my clients sustained significant injuries and suffered financial losses as a result, including lost income.  Although using the established legal processes for making personal injury claims as a means of redress cannot truly compensate for the trauma and inconvenience suffered, it can assist in requiring the guilty party to provide medical treatment and rehabilitation, in addition to financial relief by way of awards of compensation.  As previously stressed, the fundamental aim of all accident claims is to try and return the injured party to the position that he or she would otherwise have been in had the accident not happened.

Published in Truckstop News January 2010.

In this month’s issue Steven Hinchliffe of the specialist Personal Injury Compensation firm Hinchliffes Solicitors considers “THE PITFALLS OF DEALING DIRECT WITH INSURERS IN A ROAD ACCIDENT CLAIM”

This article looks at the very beginning of road accident claims, how they are funded and the pitfalls to be aware of, particularly regarding insurance companies.  However, similar issues could apply to any type of accident compensation claim.

For many commercial entities involved in the personal injury claims business, an accident is purely a commodity to be bought and sold.  Despite the apparent lack of openness, almost all insurance companies will trade a claim for cash, potentially exploiting the injured party rather than protecting their interests.  Many insurers may soon be launching advertising campaigns to persuade the public to deal with them direct, but concealing their real motivation.

Like all injury compensation claims, a road accident claim can only be pursued by solicitors.  Adverts from claims companies on TV, on the Internet and in newspapers might suggest they will handle each case personally, but this is incorrect.  They actually sell the claim to solicitors on their appointed panel, often for a price of between £600 and £800.  The chosen solicitor will usually handle the matter on the basis that the injured person pays no legal costs, but some claims companies either charge a set amount or take a slice of the compensation once the case is successful, and which can amount to a substantial figure.  Before responding to this type of advertising, why not do some research and find a firm of specialist claims solicitors with a proven track record, and deal with them direct.

Published in Truckstop News November 2009.

In this month’s issue Steven Hinchliffe of the specialist Personal Injury Compensation firm Hinchliffes Solicitors will consider more “READERS’ SUCCESSFUL ACCIDENT CLAIMS”.

Continuing his review of successfully completed accident injury claims, Steven Hinchliffe looks at various situations experienced by readers of Truckstop News that ultimately lead to an award of personal injury compensation.

All of the accident victims mentioned in this series of articles are clients of my firm, Hinchliffes Solicitors.  They have kindly given their permission for the disclosure of their details, and in particular of their real life experiences of incidents resulting in personal injury claims, and the steps taken to make a successful accident compensation claim.  All of these clients contacted my firm after seeing our details in Truckstop News - and some of the names referred to may be familiar to you.

Published in Truckstop News October 2009.

In this month’s issue Steven Hinchliffe of the specialist Personal Injury Compensation firm Hinchliffes Solicitors will consider more “READERS’ SUCCESSFUL ACCIDENT CLAIMS”.

Continuing his review of successfully completed accident injury claims, Steven Hinchliffe looks at more situations experienced by readers of Truckstop News that resulted in an award of personal injury compensation.

All of the accident victims mentioned are actual clients of my firm, Hinchliffes Solicitors.  They have kindly given their permission for the disclosure of their details, and in particular of their real life experiences of incidents resulting in personal injury claims, and the steps taken to make a successful accident compensation claim.  All of these clients contacted my firm after seeing our details in Truckstop News - and readers may recognise some of the names referred to.

How do you select the right person to handle your accident compensation claim, particularly in respect of a work accident claim?  Personal Injury compensation claims solicitors, Hinchliffes Solicitors, give some advice.

Solicitor Steven Hinchliffe, the Principal and owner of the firm, says “Always find out if a solicitor will handle the claim and how much experience the proposed file handler has, particularly in dealing with more complicated cases such as accident at work claims.  Also consider how long the firm of solicitors or the claims company has existed, and question whether the proposed file handler is a true specialist in accident compensation claims.  Many companies and solicitors offering personal injury claims services have a mixed caseload of work in various areas of law, which can result in the client not achieving the best possible outcome.”  When making your choice, the length of time that a solicitor has been qualified is often less important than their level of expertise.

The Motor Insurers’ Bureau (”MIB”) was established in 1946 as an organisation to deal with road accident compensation claims by innocent victims who have suffered personal injury or damage to their property because of a negligent uninsured or untraced driver.

Every insurance company underwriting compulsory road accident claim motor insurance is obliged to be a member of the MIB and to contribute to its funding.  One out of every 20 drivers is uninsured!

The MIB must pay compensation where the negligent driver is found to be responsible for personal injury or damage to property arising from a road accident.  The MIB stands in place of the guilty party’s insurers and investigates issues of liability and valuation in the same way as in any other road accident compensation claim.

If you have accidents on holiday (either in the UK or abroad) and want to pursue personal injury claims, as long as the “holiday package” was booked through a tour operator in the UK and what you were doing at the time of the accident was part of that package, then you may be able to make an injury compensation claim against the tour operator for your injuries and any related financial losses.  In this situation the personal injury compensation claim would fall under the jurisdiction of the Courts of England and Wales and can therefore be handled by any UK solicitors experienced in personal injury claims

Under the Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992 a tour operator can be held responsible for all of the services provided as part of a package holiday.  This can include:-