What Stops People From Making A Claim After An Accident?

According to the Health and Safety Executive, there were 1.4 million people suffering from a work-related illness in the 2018/19 financial year. In total, this amounted to 28.2 million working days lost, and around £15 billion in lost productivity. On top of the accidents that occur in the workplace, there are those which occur outside of it, but which nevertheless impact heavily on an workers ability to earn.

If you’ve been injured in an accident which wasn’t your fault, then you may be entitled to compensation. This compensation normally serves two functions: it covers the pain and suffering the accident caused you, and it also helps to compensate you for any loss of income.

With all of that said, research by the National Accident Helpline has revealed that, while an overwhelming majority of us feel that accident victims should be entitled to compensation, only a third of us would actually claim that compensation ourselves.

So what are the barriers to making a claim?

I will have to go to court

While there are some exceptions, the overwhelming majority of personal injury claims do not require the claimant to attend the court in person.

It will be expensive

The overwhelming majority of claims of this sort proceed on a no-win, no-fee basis. This means that the solicitor representing the claimant carries the weight of risk that the case will fail. It’s their job to determine whether the case is worth pursuing in the first place. This means that accident victims will have the security of knowing that they won’t be out of pocket if the case should prove unsuccessful.

The process is too complex

It is the job of the solicitor to help the client to understand the intricacies of the case. As such, if you’re adequately represented, you won’t need to worry about many of the tiny details, and the process will be simple enough not to be overwhelming.

I will suffer social blowback

Those who claim compensation are often unfairly maligned as money-grabbers, and the UK is said to have a ‘compensation culture’. But this is a widespread misconception. Social considerations should never stand in the way of an accident victim making a claim.

I’ll lose my job

If you are claiming compensation from your employer, you might understandably worry about your job prospects in the future. It is illegal for an employer to fire an employee because of a claim. The rules in this regard are extremely stringent – and violating them would leave an employer open to further legal action.

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