Victims Reluctant To Pursue Personal Injury Claims
By: Christian Ward | Posted: 16th August 2008
One of the most important things to do after having had an accident, or if you have experienced a personal injury of any kind that is not your fault, is to find yourself a good personal injury solicitor. However, new research has revealed that potential claimants have many negative perceptions about such solicitors and are loath to pursue any kind of legal recourse.
Law firm Russell Jones and Walker looked into the UK's attitudes to personal injury compensation claims, and the results showed that a substantial majority of the population believe pursuing a claim is too expensive and time consuming. Other reasons given were more worrying.
Other grounds that were cited for not wanting to proceed with legal proceedings included the emotional cost of pursuing a case, and difficulty in finding good legal advice. An underlying reason behind the reasons may also be the perceived perception of claimants- who may believe their own debatable bad press-that of being nothing more than ‘money grabbers'. This perception could prove to be a barrier, with claimants believing that if they take a stand they will be labeled or made fun of. With claimants often viewed as 'money-grabbers', this further deters people from taking a stand for fear of being labeled or derided.
This last concern unfortunately was borne out by research done earlier in the year by the Leadership factor with respondents. They asserted that claimants are financially motivated rather than unfortunate victims-this does nothing to dispel the unsympathetic view of claimants as a whole.
Time and expense was another major reason why claimants decide not to bring a case, this coupled with the negativity associated with bringing compensation claims, is shutting out victims who have been hurt from getting the compensation they deserve.
A wider campaign needs to be started to educate the public on the broader benefits of taking legal action and to this end Russell Jones and Walker is calling for other law firms and claims management companies to communicate the procedures involved in a more clear fashion. To this end, the education of the public needs to delve deeper into what exactly makes up a claim. It is not just about the money. Costs of rehabilitation, loss of future earnings, psychological trauma and of physical changes to property are all factors that can hurt claimants in the long run more than just the accident that has occurred.
Christian is an author of several articles pertaining to No Win No Fee, Compensation Claims, Personal Injury and other legal articles.
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Tags: important things, respondents, negativity, solicitors, whole time, law firms, personal injury compensation, personal injury compensation claims, personal injury solicitor, legal proceedings, taking a stand, more than money, legal recourse, claimants, unfortunate victims