| p>If you are injured in an accident and it was not | | | | compensation claim and the associated legal costs, |
| your fault, you are entitled to make a claim for | | | | and any raising of the limit will benefit them on both |
| compensation. Once you have decided that you wish | | | | counts. |
| to make a claim, you duly contact a solicitor or claims | | | | In addition, the suggestion is that claimants can |
| management company for advice and set the wheels | | | | submit their own claim on a form provided by the |
| in motion. The professionals then guide you through | | | | insurer, and the insurer will make an offer of |
| the process until your claim is concluded. Meanwhile, | | | | settlement, based on that information and, |
| you get on with the important task of recovering | | | | presumably, a mutually agreed medical report. This |
| from your accident as quickly as possible. This is, | | | | suggested plan is said to considerably cut the time a |
| ideally, how the system works. | | | | claim takes from beginning to end, without affecting |
| Ultimately, a solicitor handles your claim, either directly | | | | settlement values. How can this be so? |
| or via the claims management company. In order for | | | | On the one hand, there are calls for injury claims |
| that solicitor to work on your behalf, he expects to | | | | companies to be professionally regulated and to offer |
| get paid. His/her bill is paid by the third party insurers | | | | unbiased advice (a good thing) and on the other |
| if your claim is won. However, if your injury claim is | | | | hand, there is a suggestion that a body with a |
| worth less than £1000.00, the solicitor is not | | | | vested interest in minimising claim settlement values |
| entitled to costs. Needless to say, your claim is | | | | (Insurance companies) should be in control of the |
| assessed early on to establish if it is likely to reach a | | | | process. |
| value of £1000.00 or not. The vast majority | | | | If the arbitration limit rose to £5000.00, that |
| exceed that value and the solicitor is able to get on | | | | would cut over 50% of valid injury claims out of the |
| with the job of working on your behalf. | | | | legal system and straight into the control of insurers. |
| So what happens if the arbitration limit (the point at | | | | If injury victims still felt they needed professional |
| which legal costs can be applied to a case) is raised? | | | | representation, (and many would want this for a |
| The simple answer is, solicitors will take on less claims | | | | number of reasons), they would end up paying for |
| unless they are likely to reach the new minimum | | | | that representation out of their own pockets which |
| value. There is talk of raising the arbitration limit to | | | | ultimately means, they would not receive 100% of |
| £2500.00 or even £5000.00. | | | | their compensation. Isn't that exactly what the |
| Insurance companies view this as a positive way | | | | proposed Compensation Bill is trying to tighten up on? |
| forward. Not surprising as they ultimately pay for the | | | | |