If you have an accident which has arisen through no fault of your own you may feel initially physically and mentally hurt, you may also feel angry that this has happened to you. You may not as a result be able to go about your normal everyday business you may struggle to get to work, collect your children from school, go out to see your friends, all the normal things that you would have been able to do prior to the accident. Sometimes you may also find that you lose income, overtime payments, bonus payment, promotion opportunities at work, days out with the family, holiday trips to name a few but all things that you reply on.

If this happens to me what should I do?

If you have been hurt and you are not at fault then you may want to explore the possibility of making a claim against the company or person that is responsible for the accident occurring. You may first want to have a chat with an experienced solicitor who will listen to you about what happened and how the accident has affected your life. They will give you guidance on what you should expect to happen next and if the claim goes ahead how things will progress. They will lead you through your claim as easily as they can giving you guidance at all times and keeping you informed of how your claim is progressing.

How much will it cost me to make a claim?

There are various ways to fund a claim, one of which is through a No Win No fee agreement. Full details will be explained on enquiry.

Melanie Neale is the head of the personal injury department here at Hubbard Pegman & Whitney. She has many years of experience in assisting clients to resolve successful personal injury claims some of which have been very traumatic claims. Melanie is a very sympathetic lady who will take the time to listen to you and gather all of the evidence in detail so that a very clear picture is established to pursue the claim.

Recently Melanie represented a client recently who made a claim after an injury read below to find out more.

What happened to my client for the injury to occur?

One of my clients had gone to Frome in Somerset on a shopping trip with two of her friends. She was shopping on a lovely street called Cheap Street. It was narrow with shops on either side, but with the added attraction of having a small stream running through it called “the leat”.

In order to cross the small stream therefore to travel you would have to step over the leat. One would have thought that this would be safe to do. Only a short hop to the other side.

As my client stepped over the leat the stone edged back and forced her foot to angle down into the leat.  The client’s foot was now trapped in the walls of the stream. She could not move. After twisting her foot to release her leg from the leat, she felt excruciating pain and a sustained an injury.

She was taken to a nearby hospital. She was told that her foot has a suspected broken Achilles. She was transferred back home to London.

Is the client able to make a claim for their injury?

My client was able to recognise that she would like to pursue a claim for compensation due to the damage to her foot. She found it difficult to move around her home.

The client contacted Melanie at Hubbard Pegman & Whitney to discuss what happened to her and then she decided to start a claim.

What happened first to assist her with her claim?

Melanie was able to understand what the client had been put through. She was in considerable pain due to an unsafe paving stone. Melanie was able to get the client to be examined by a consultant orthopaedic surgeon. She was diagnosed with a sustained Achilles tendon rupture on the right leg.

Surprisingly the Local Authority denied any responsibility for this accident. They said that this area had been inspected regularly and no defects were found. They were not prepared to offer any compensation. It was necessary to prove to them that the area around the paving stone had not been inspected and maintained and that failure was the cause of the paving stone to tip and cause her injury.

The Local Authority refused to admit any fault and as a result, Melanie advised her client to issue legal proceedings in the County Court. Initially, they defended the case which Melanie continued to pursue.  They then made an offer of compensation. Our client was delighted to accept this.

If you would like to speak to Melanie Neale (Head of Personal Injury Department) then please call her on 0208 735 9774 or email mn@hpwsolicitors.co.uk