This second part of the accident deals with the time from the accident to a final setlement of a motorbike compensation claim. What can you claim for?
Part 2 of 2 - Claiming Compensation
How Do I Make A Claim For Compensation
You will need to find a solicitor with expertise in motorcycle accident claims that can obtain all evidence to support your claim and obtain the details of your injuries and losses and expenses. They will obtain all of this information and then send a letter to the insurers of the other driver, advising them of your claim for compensation.
How Long Will A Claim Take?
The length of the claim will vary depending on the circumstances of the accident and the extent of the injuries. However, most claims are settled within a matter of months.
How Is The Amount Of Compensation For An Accident Claim In Scotland Decided?
If you are able to make a successful claim for compensation as a result of an accident, how will the Court assess exactly how much your claim is worth? When looking to assess the value of a claim, there are two distinct parts to it and your solicitor will help you to assess exactly how much your claim for compensation is worth.
The two aspects of your claim are called general damages (which compensate you for your pain and suffering) and special damages (which compensate you for your losses and expenses).
General Damages
General damages is the term used to compensate you for the injuries sustained. It has always been difficult to assess the exact value of a claim for pain and suffering, but the Court in deciding how much a claim is worth will try and use compensation to put you in the position as if the accident had not happened. If you make a full recovery, this might be easy to do, but of course if you have ongoing pain and suffering, it is much harder to decide how much your claim is worth.
In deciding the amount of your claim for general damages, your solicitor will obtain medical evidence from an Orthopaedic Surgeon or General Practitioner which details the full extent of your injuries, how they have impacted on your day to day living and the amount of pain experienced by you and the duration of that pain. They will advise of any further treatment that you require and provide a prognosis explaining when they expect you to make a full recovery from your injuries (if that is the case).
The solicitor will review this evidence, and along with witness evidence from yourself and any friends or family that have seen the impact on you, will compare your injuries to those of previously decided cases by the Court. This will allow them to reach a figure for compensation that you are likely to receive. Because it is impossible to give an exact figure, your solicitor will normally give you a range in which you might expect to receive compensation (e.g. £4,000 to £6,000) and will do their best to ensure you obtain a fair offer in settlement of your claim.
Special Damages
The other part of your claim is easier to quantify as it is your claim for losses and expenses. This can include a claim for any lost earnings as a result of you being unable to work, damage to your motorbike, damage to any equipment, medication and the cost of any treatment. You are unable to claim compensation for any losses incurred as a direct result of the accident.
Your solicitor will obtain copies of any pay slips to prove your lost earnings and will obtain copies of receipts or for any other losses and invoices for treatment received. He will compile what is called a schedule of special damages detailing the full extent of the amount of compensation you are claiming and will submit this to the other side’s insurance company. Once again, they will then make offers in settlement of your claim.
Whilst it is not straight forward to exactly assess the extent of an injury, you can see from the details above that your solicitor will be able to give you a good indication of the amount of compensation you are likely to receive for your claim.
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