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Unfortunately in the UK we are bombarded with TV shows from the US with most of their legal themed offerings displaying lawsuits and court cases awarding millions of dollars for even the most simplest of ailments and in the most tenuous of links between the injury and the person being sued. Even now we still hear of people expecting huge amounts of money for injuries that, if sustained by a two year old, would barely even register as significant.
There is a distinct difference between, not only the process of compensating the accident victim, but in the mindset of English and Welsh courts that award the compensatory amounts. In the UK we do not use punitive measures on the individuals or companies that are responsible for your injuries. Instead, if found liable for your pain and suffering a monetary figure is found to try and set right the inconvenience you have experienced. That is why it is not rare to see the extra damages such as lost wages and damaged property equal and even exceed the amounts awarded for the actual injuries themselves.
English and Welsh accident injury compensation claims are handled by the same personal injury law. The National Assembly of Wales has not set up any changes other than claiming against the NHS for medical negligence cases. It may be advisable therefore to seek out the assistance of a local solicitor's firm in regards to clinical cases.
There has been a crackdown on compensation claims after the scandal of firms such as The Accident Group which led to the media dubbing the UK a "compensation culture". Such was not really fitting as most UK companies and councils were caught off guard by the introduction of these bulk claims handlers and the period in which things got "out of hand" was fairly short. Legal aid for individual to pursue a claim to be compensated was withdrawn and in it's place came the no win, no fee arrangement which the majority of law firms would only employ if the claimant took out legal insurance. This put the burden of proving a case on the shoulders of the law firm. When you consider that the UK taxpayer is still forking out two billion pounds a year for legal aid any such move should be welcomed with open arms. But this also led to the creation of claims management firms in England and Wales looking to capitalise on the legal insurance policy market now that people had to find alternative sources of funding for some cases. It was the overpriced legal insurance policies that tended to cause the most problems.
The average legal insurance policy should cost no more than £300 - £400 and is usually self underwriting. That means that should the case win or lose you will not be required to pay any fees at all, even the cost of the insurance. This may sound strange and should you want to know more get a qualified individual to explain the legal premise behind the process so that you fully understand what you are getting into. Often, a claims management firm will send round a person who is not legally qualified to get your signature on such documents. If you feel uncomfortable then ask to speak to a solicitor at their firm to get an explanation. Solicitors are governed by The Law Society and the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the new compensation bill that governs claims management companies does not come close to protecting you in the same way.
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