Frequently Asked Questions

There are 3 years in which formal proceedings can be brought in respect of personal injury claim.

In the case of a child, the 3 years doesn’t start until they have reached their 18th birthday. Some injuries, however are not immediately apparent, like with some types of back injury which can take years to manifest. In such cases as this the three year period starts from the date that the claimant became aware that they had suffered the injury (date of knowledge).

Your compensation is in 2 parts:

1) If your case is successful, you'll receive a lump sum for the injuries you suffered and the ways in which your life has been affected by those injuries (general damages)

2) You'll also receive a payment for the losses and expenses caused by the accident such as loss of earnings, damage to property, medicines, etc. (special damages)

It is not possible to say exactly how much every compensation claim is worth because it depends on a number of key factors including including the severity of the injuries.

If you would like an accurate figure based on your own injuries, give us a call on 0191 2308119.

The law is designed to try to ensure that all claims come to trial within 18 months (if they cannot be settled).

Many minor claims, however should conclude within the first 9-12 months. Much depends upon the severity of the injury.

If the matter does not settle out of court and it is necessary to issue proceedings, the matter will be heard in Court usually within 30 weeks from the date of issue.

If we accept your case on a ‘no win no fee basis’ it means that if you win your legal costs will be recovered from the losing party’s insurer. If your claim fails then we will bear the cost of your legal fees. You will receive 100% of your damages.

Most cases are settled outside of court and therefore, in such circumstances, there would be no need for you to attend court. Inevitably though, some cases cannot be agreed between the parties and in that instance you would be required to attend court. In both cases, you would have our full support.

Yes, we offer a full Probate Service to help you through this difficult time.

If an estate is incorrectly administered, or if the money is distributed before all the debts have been discovered and settled, the Executors or Personal Representatives may be made personally liable. The Administration of an estate may also include defending attacks on the validity of a Will on the grounds of lack of testamentary capacity or undue influence.

Unfair Dismissal is when your employer did not have a fair reason to dismiss you, or the employer did have a fair reason, but the matter was dealt with unfairly.

If you have over two years' continuous employment, and the company is closing down a place of work, or ceasing or diminishing the particular work undertaken by you, then you have a right to redundancy payment if made redundant.

An employer is unable to discriminate on the following grounds:

Sex of employee or prospective employee.
Marital status of employee or prospective employee.
If an employee intends to undergo, is undergoing or has undergone gender reassignment.
Race, (this means colour, race, nationality or ethnic origins) of employee or prospective employee.

Also an employer cannot victimise an employee for bringing a complaint for discrimination or giving evidence in a complaint brought by another employee.