Gardner Leader

Personal injury law is about putting the interests of the client first. In most cases, injury victims want support and guidance throughout the claims process and their primary consideration is recovery and rehabilitation. Unfortunately, a handful of personal injury lawyers taint the reputation of the majority by seeking to make as much money at all costs. Litigation Solicitor Andrew Shipp of Gardner Leader LLP examines the benefits of exercising careful consideration when choosing a solicitor to represent your personal injury claim.

Lawyers sometimes fail to assess their clients’ expectations and wrongly assume that seeking financial recompense is their chief concern. In reality, this assertion is frequently far from the truth. On this basis, personal injury lawyers should think more about an individual’s circumstance and ensure that the claims process is as easy as possible, with as little worry as possible. This can be achieved in a number of ways. 

If, for example, an accident has caused you to have to take unpaid time off work, a good personal injury lawyer should seek to obtain interim payments from the Defendant to make sure that you can, for example, continue to pay your mortgage.

In most cases, clients see the top priority as them being able to return to their pre-accident state, rather than obtaining a monetary settlement.  The Rehabilitation Code was implemented in 1999 and updated in 2007.  This provides a framework for Claimant Solicitors and Defendant Insurers to work together to ensure that an injured party receives the rehabilitation treatment needed to restore their quality of life as quickly as possible.    

Such treatment can include physical or psychological treatment.  Good personal injury lawyers will work closely and have good relationships with a number of treatment providers and are therefore able to arrange the required care on an expedited basis in most cases.

Under the Rehabilitation Code, a duty is placed on the compensation provider to consider whether such treatment is likely to benefit the Claimant, both at the beginning of their claim and also in the long term.  This duty remains throughout the entire claims process.

Unfortunately, access to treatment will not bring about a complete recovery in every case.  However, if you continue to suffer discomfort, it is important that your claim is managed on your behalf, so that the claim itself has little impact on your life, leaving you to concentrate on your recovery. 

So, if you want guidance and support throughout your recovery process, as well as financial compensation, carefully consider your choice of solicitors. Seek recommendations from others and ask questions during the first meeting with your solicitor. Try to ascertain whether they’ll be fighting with your best interests at heart.