If you have been injured as a result of an accident which was
not your fault in the last three years, where should you go
for advice as to how to make a claim for compensation? The answer
used to be “visit your local solicitor”. However, the Government
abolished legal aid for personal injury cases and as a result,
many members of the public felt they would have to pay high
fees when dealing with a solicitor direct for a personal injury
claim, and therefore were vulnerable to aggressive marketing
from claims management companies such as Claims Direct and The
Accident Group. Although these companies have now faded away,
others have appeared in their wake.
You will no doubt have heard claims management companies advertising
on the radio, on television and in newspapers. Often, these
companies are staffed by salesmen, none of whom have been legally
trained. Unfortunately, many potential claimants fail to read
the small print when dealing with such companies. Signing up
with these companies can involve having to take out a loan to
pay for the cost of an insurance premium and can also result
in unnecessary deductions being made from your compensation.
Although the Compensation Act, passed this summer, will go some
way to regulate these companies, the answer for anyone wishing
to make a claim because of an accident they have had should
still be to visit their local solicitor.
Abney Garsden McDonald are your local personal injury solicitors
in Cheadle Hulme and Poynton. Our advice is free as all work
done would be paid for by the other side in a successful case
or by an insurance policy in an unsuccessful case. We are not
permitted to make deductions from compensation recovered. We
concentrate just as much on speeding up our clients’ recovery
from their injuries as on recovering compensation for them.
We are also Law Society accredited and members of the Association
of Personal Injury Lawyers, who strive to improve working conditions
and general health and safety standards and place the injured
person at the forefront of their claims.
Making a claim for compensation also helps to protect people’s
health and well-being and can often result in the law being
changed to prevent similar accidents occurring in the future.
Please visit your local personal injury solicitors, Abney Garsden
McDonald in Cheadle Hulme and Poynton.
