Questions:

1: What sort of legal work do you do?
2: Why should I choose Barratt Goff & Tomlinson to handle my claim?
3: What should I bring to the initial interview?
4: What can I claim compensation for?
5: How does my claim progress?
6: How long will my claim take to settle?
7: If my case is going to take a long time to settle what do I do for money?
8: Who will pay the compensation?
9: How do I manage the compensation when my claim is over?

Q What sort of legal work do you do?
A Barratts deal with personal injury and clinical negligence claims including the following:

• Road traffic accidents
• Cerebral palsy claims
• Accidents at work
• Criminal injuries
• Industrial disease claims
• Inquests
• Tripping/slipping accidents
• Occupiers liability claims
• Accidents whilst on holiday

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Q Why should I choose Barratt Goff & Tomlinson to handle my claim?
A Because we specialise exclusively in this type of work for which we have developed a national reputation. Our biggest source of work is recommendation from former clients - at the end of the day former clients are those who are best able to judge the quality of our service. The next biggest source of work is from other solicitors, very often Solicitors representing Insurance Companies who see how hard we fight for our clients.

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Q What should I bring to the initial interview?
A It would be helpful if you could bring the following documents and information with you, where possible:-

• Your car and/or home contents insurance documents
• National Insurance number
• Wage slips - before and after the accident
• Name and address of your GP and the hospital you attended after the accident
• The name and address of the person you wish to make a claim against and if possible their insurance details
• If the police were involved the name of the officer and address of the police station
• Any receipts you may have for expenses incurred

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Q How does my claim progress?
A When pursuing a claim for personal injury the following will have to be done:-

• Letter of claim sent to the Defendants, notifying them of your claim. They have 21 days to acknowledge receipt and 3 months thereafter to confirm their decision on liability. (NB: there are exceptions to this rule)
• Witness statements and a police report may need to be obtained if liability is in dispute
• Medical records and medical reports will need to be obtained in respect of injuries sustained
• Benefits documents, employment/earnings details and details of financial losses will need to be obtained to quantify financial loss
• In some instances Court Proceedings may be issued. For example, if the 3 year limitation period is approaching or if liability remains in dispute between the parties. In high value claims Court Proceedings are generally commenced. The claim will then follow a timetable set by the Court and the parties
• If liability is established and once the claim is quantified negotiations will take place between the parties to try and settle the matter without if proceeding to trial

When pursuing a claim for clinical negligence the above will have to be done but generally not in a similar order:-

• Clinical negligence claims can be funded by the Legal Services Commission if a person is eligible. Before the LSC will consider a case the Complaints Procedure for the particular hospital, GP etc will have to be followed
• We can provide assistance with how to follow the Complaints Procedure. This involves a letter being drafted to the Hospital/GP, in your name, setting out your complaint. The hospital must then respond within 28 days acknowledging receipt of the complaint and advising when they will provide a substantive response. The Complaints Procedure should usually be undertaken within 6 to 12 months of the act causing you to complain
• Reports on liability and causation (assessing the care/treatment you received and whether that caused injury) are quite often obtained before the Letter of Claim is sent to the Defendant. This is to ensure that there are grounds for pursuing the Defendant before initiating a claim
• Clinical negligence claims, generally take longer to 'get off the ground' than personal injury matters. Conferences are usually held with the experts instructed on liability and causation and quite often a barrister. This is to assess the merits of the claim and to decide on the next steps to take

The amount of work involved in pursuing a claim for either personal injury or clinical negligence will depend very much on injuries.

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Q What sort of legal work do you do?
A Barratts deal with personal injury and clinical negligence claims including the following:

• Road traffic accidents
• Cerebral palsy claims
• Accidents at work
• Criminal injuries
• Industrial disease claims
• Inquests
• Tripping/slipping accidents
• Occupiers liability claims
• Accidents whilst on holiday

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Q How long will my claim take to settle?
A This depends very much on the severity of the injury. If you have a relatively minor injury and make a speedy recovery then we are often able to settle the claim within a few months. However, many of our clients have suffered devastating injuries and we cannot settle those claims until the experts have given a final prognosis; sometimes it takes over three years for a final prognosis to be given.

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Q If my case is going to take a long time to settle what do I do for money?
A We are often able to obtain interim payments on account of your compensation to cover your financial losses and additional expenses as the case goes along. It is not uncommon in major claims for us to obtain interim payments of several hundred thousand pounds in order to buy special accommodation, carry out adaptations, provide for carers, equipment, transport etc.

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Q Who will pay the compensation?
A This is to be paid by the insurance company of the person, company or health authority responsible for your injuries. If you are injured in a road traffic accident and the driver was not insured or was untraced then compensation is paid through the Motor Insurers Bureau. If you are claiming compensation for a criminal injury then this will be paid by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority.

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Q How do I manage the compensation when my claim is over?
A We do not give direct investment advice to our clients but we recognise the importance of ensuring that compensation awards are properly invested. We are therefore able to supply names and addresses of independent financial advisers who specialise in investing compensation awards. We can also give you the names of other solicitors who can set up special needs trusts, which will prevent you losing means tested state benefits as a result of you receiving a compensation payment.

For those individuals who cannot manage their property or affairs, the Court of Protection may well become involved. We assist with making any such application to the Court and in some cases act as Receiver for our clients when we ourselves take responsibility for all financial transactions.

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