Llanelli Personal Injury Solicitors
Llanelli personal injury solicitors
By Daniel Kenyan. Last Updated On 1st October 2021. This is our guide on Llanelli personal injury solicitors. It only takes an instant for your life to be changed by an accident. A simple slip or trip over a hazard object and you could be looking at months, years or even a lifetime dealing with the consequences. If you have suffered a personal injury in Llanelli by choosing to start a personal injury case will allow you access to compensation to cover the monetary losses you incur, and any extra expenses you may need to fund, allowing you to move on with your life. Dialling 0800 073 8804 will connect your call to a Legal Expert representative that can help you, but understanding the basics by reading below may also help.
Making A Claim For Your Accident Or Injury
Legislation has been implemented to enable people to seek compensation if they have been injured due to the negligence of others. Our No Win No Fee personal injury solicitors have considerable experience in claims just like yours. Legal Expert’s team will talk you through the whole claims process from gathering evidence to the likelihood of success.
Most claims are subject to a three-year time limit from the date the injury or accident occurred. An exception to this is certain conditions, such as asbestosis, mesothelioma and hand-arm vibration syndrome, where the damage occurs over a period of time and can take years to be diagnosed. In such cases, the time limit applies from when your diagnosis is confirmed as before this you may not have been aware of the illness.
What Are The Key Criteria’s For Making An Accident Claim?
If your accident in Llanelli happened recently, within the last three years, and wasn’t your fault you may be able to make a claim. In order to claim compensation, however, you need to make a claim against someone (known as the defendant).
Your personal injury lawyer will need to show that:
- The defendant had a duty of care towards you
- They did not respect the duty of care
- The failure on their part caused your accident resulting in injury or illness
Most claims need to be started within three years of the accident or diagnosis, but the sooner you can begin a claim the better – even if the full extent of the consequences of your injury or illness is not yet completely understood.
How To Locate The Right Personal Injury Solicitor For Your Claim
Like any other service, you should naturally consider all your options before deciding who you would like to represent you. Your first instinct might be to look for Llanelli personal injury solicitors and while using a local solicitor may be a viable option do not rule out the option of using a solicitor such as Legal Expert who covers all the UK. Always consider a solicitors knowledge, expertise and experience over location so that your claim reaches its maximum potential.
Settling a compensation claim can sometimes be a slow process, with the most complicated claims requiring months, if not years, to allow all the facts to be determined and the full compensation calculation to be finalised. So you could be working with your personal injury solicitor for the foreseeable future. All solicitors must be registered with the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), but even so, some practices will be able to offer a higher quality of service than others.
Llanelli Accident and Injury Solicitor Reviews
Personal injury solicitor reviews are a good place to start, allowing you to get a feel for the companies before you approach them. Once you are ready to start phoning some solicitors to discuss your case you will have a clearer picture of the level of service you should expect. One area of particular interest should be in your payment terms.
Many high street firms need to charge per case, regardless of the outcome. You may be happier choosing a company that takes your case on a No Win No Fee basis, or Conditional Fee Agreements as they are more formally called. Even so, the fine print can vary from agreement to agreement, with the final amount you keep varying considerably.
Do I Need a Llanelli Area Solicitor For My Claim?
Most solicitors now can handle a claim from anywhere in the UK due to our expanding communications services. You may prefer to choose Llanelli personal injury solicitors but bear in mind that with modern technology, there’s actually no need to meet face-to-face.
Of course, some claims will require that you have a further specialist medical examination to document the nature of your injuries or illness in a form suitable for inclusion with your claim. Legal Expert’s panel of solicitors have a nationwide directory of suitably qualified medical professionals so it is likely that they will be able to arrange for such an examination to take place near your home.
What Claims Can Our Team Conduct Across The Country?
With a national network of solicitors, we have experts in most types of claims and can put you in touch with the right personal injury solicitor for your case. The list below is not intended to be exhaustive, so if you don’t feel your accident or illness fits into one of the categories below it doesn’t mean we can’t help! Simply call our helpline and see what we can do.
What are industrial disease claims?
Llanelli is historically built on mining, and later on metal manufacture with tinplate and steel still being produced. Historically, these are all industries that have been lax in health and safety and as such many workers, even those who have retired, are still finding out the true cost to their health.
Industrial diseases are those caused by poor working conditions, and the Government maintains a list of which diseases are considered to have industrial origins. For example: cataracts caused by exposure to hot metal, hearing loss from noisy machinery, or COPD from working in coal mines.
Due to the time lag between exposure and the damage becoming apparent many industrial diseases claims have a different time limit to other types of personal injury claims.
What are medical negligence claims?
When a healthcare professional – a doctor, nurse, midwife or similar – makes a mistake your health can be compromised. If the mistake could have been avoided then they may be negligent. Medical or clinical negligence claims require that you show both that the healthcare professional failed to uphold their duty of care to you and was negligent in their work, and that the result was the injury or condition you now suffer from.
Common types of claims include failure to diagnose a condition, especially if that leads to a worse outcome, mistakes during surgical procedures, for example removing healthy tissue or incompetence during your care such as being given the wrong medication or a harmful dose.
Work accident claims in Llanelli
Many of the industries in the Llanelli economy are risky – metal production for example. Employers have a duty of care towards their employees and should be undertaking regular health and safety assessments, at least yearly or when there is a substantial change to working conditions, and acting on the recommendations to reduce the risk of injury, illness and death. Where an employer has failed in this duty of care, employees may have a claim if they have suffered as a result.
Fatal accident statistics
If someone’s workplace injuries are the direct cause of their death, then these are known as fatal accidents. Unfortunately, these take place every year in Great Britain. Statistics from the HSE reveal that were 142 recorded cases of workers dying from their workplace injuries.
You will find a graph below that shows some of the industries in which these workplace fatalities took place.
Llanelli personal injury solicitors statistics graph
Slip, trip, and fall injury claims
Tripping over a loose paving slab, slipping on a wet surface or falling from an unexpected edge may seem like trivial accidents, and for the most part, all that is injured is pride. Take a tumble badly causing bones to be broken, tendons torn or ligaments snapped could lead to months or years of recovery. Serious cases can result in damage from which the victim cannot recover, with neck and spinal injuries being the most common in these slip, trip, and fall cases.
Serious injury claims solicitors
If you are unlucky enough to experience a serious injury your life can be changed forever. Car accidents, work incidents, just being in the wrong place at the wrong time and you can find yourself needing to get used to using a wheelchair, missing a limb or dealing with disfigurement.
In these cases, it is very important that the personal injury lawyers you instruct have high levels of knowledge and expertise as the case will undoubtedly be complex and take time to resolve – final payments may be delayed pending doctor’s reports, for example, to allow a suitable sum to cover nursing care, modifications to your home and loss of both immediate earnings and potential earnings as a result of your condition.
Claims for road traffic accidents in Llanelli
You don’t need to be driving to be injured in a road traffic accident. While it is true that cars are becoming safer, there are still plenty of accidents happening on the roads day in and day out. If the accident you were involved in wasn’t your fault you may be able to claim compensation. In road traffic accident claims solicitors will have to ensure that the defendant is at fault or partially at fault at least.
The Whiplash Reform Programme (WRP)
If you have suffered an injury in a road traffic accident worth up the value of £5,000 in compensation, you could be eligible to use the government online portal. It is called the Whiplash Reform Programme. This was introduced to help streamline the large number of claims being made up to this value; especially whiplash claims.
However, the value of your claim is not the only factor that affects your eligibility to make a claim in this way. You also:
- Must have sustained your injury as a driver or passenger – pedestrians and cyclists cannot use the WRP.
- Have been injured after 31st May 2021.
- Must have a road traffic injury claim worth up to £5,000 in compensation, but it does not need to be whiplash.
For more information, get in touch with us today.
Personal Injury Claim Time Limits
Personal injury claims have a 3-year time limit placed on them by law. This is stated in the Limitation Act 1980. It can prove very difficult to make a claim if you haven’t issued court proceedings before this time window has expired.
This time limit will usually begin from the date of the accident that caused your injury. However, some conditions can be caused by unsafe working conditions that cannot be tracked back to one specific date. For example, a repetitive strain injury. In these cases, your time limit could start from what’s known as the “date of knowledge”. This can be the date of your diagnosis, for example. You will need medical evidence to back up your date of knowledge.
Child accident claims
Those under 18 years old cannot make a claim themselves. It must be done for them by a litigation friend. This is an adult who has the child’s best interests at heart such as a parent or guardian. The time limit to issue court proceedings is suspended until the underage claimant turns 18. Once they reach adulthood, then the time limit will start.
Claiming on behalf of those with a reduced mental capacity
The claimant may have a reduced mental capacity. For example, they may be in a coma due to their injuries. In these instances, their time limit is suspended until their mental capacity returns.
If the injured party’s mental capacity does not return, then their time limit is suspended indefinitely. A litigation friend can also make a claim for them on their behalf.
Is No Win, No Fee Really Free?
Unlike pay-per-hour or pay-per-case solicitors in Llanelli the team at Legal Expert work under Conditional Fee Agreements, more commonly known as “No Win No Fee”.
Under these arrangements you you will not pay anything upfront, not throughout the case and even if the case loses, you only pay a percentage at the end of the case if successful – this is usually when the case is decided and compensation has been paid.
Making A Successful Compensation Claim
The perfect claim would occur if the claimant had had the foresight to document the circumstances surrounding their accident when it occurred. In some cases, such as road traffic accidents there may be a video log via a dashcam, and medical reports from A&E detailing the nature of your injuries, along with witness details who readily remembered the accident and were keen to provide statements to attest to what happened.
Most people will be more interested in recovering from their ordeal than pursuing compensation, and rightly so. However, the sooner you can begin your claim the better. Facts will be clearer in your mind about what happened, and when.
If you are the victim of medical negligence advice is still the same, write down or dictate what happened as soon as you are able – even if at that point you aren’t concerned with whether or not you have a claim. It will help you come to terms with what has happened and will be invaluable evidence should you decide to seek compensation.
Once you have decided to investigate whether compensation would be payable your next step is to contact some law firms. By all means, read personal injury solicitor reviews, but make sure that you also speak to some lawyers directly who will be able to advise on the strength of your case and inform you of the stages you will need to progress through to make a successful claim.
Contact us now
Once you have decided to pursue compensation and researched the market, you should call Legal Expert’s helpline on 0800 073 8804 or send a message via the LegalExpert.co.uk contact form. Our helpful advisers can assist you in the first stages of starting a compensation claim, but if you prefer you can request that a qualified solicitor calls you back. Your call is no obligation and no risk so there’s no reason not to call us.
Helpful details and contact information
If you have had an accident in Llanelli you may be unsure where to seek advice, so here are a few helpful links to get you started.
Local Police Station
Llanelli Town Centre,
Waunlanyrafon,
Llanelli,
Carmarthenshire
SA15 3AA
Web: www.dyfed-powys.police.uk/
Llanelli Justice Centre
Court Buildings
Town Hall Square
Llanelli
SA15 3AL
You can also head to the Llaneli Justice Centre section of the government website.
Prince Philip Hospital Llanelli,
Address:
Bryngwyn Mawr
Dafen
Llanelli
Carmarthenshire
SA14 8QF
Tel: 01554 756567
Web: www.wales.nhs.uk/
Legal Expert Guides
Accident in the street: – For accidents in the street, our guide can provide a wealth of information.
Midwife negligence: – Has your midwife not provided proper care and you or your baby suffered because of this, then read this guide.
Claim Calculator: How much should you expect to receive? Our claims calculator page can give you an idea.
Other Guides Available
- Plymouth Personal Injury Solicitors
- Scunthorpe Personal Injury Solicitors
- Sheffield Personal Injury Solicitors
- Lytham St Anne’s Personal Injury Solicitors
- Horsham Personal Injury Solicitors
Thank you for reading our guide on Llanelli personal injury solicitors.
