There are lots of things you should know when hiring a personal injury lawyer, here are 10 things you need to think about.

1)   Dealing with the insurers direct means your solicitor can get you more compensation. A defendant’s insurance company prefers you to liaise with them directly and not speak to the lawyers, because it will cost them less money. They can pay you less than what you are entitled to, so use a solicitor at all times so you receive the most amount of compensation possible.

2)   You only get 3 years to make a claim. You have 3 years to issue your claim at a court and there is a lot of work that needs to be done before a claim can be taken to court. Your claim could be barred if you don’t bring it in time, although there are some exceptions.

3)    Even if the accident was partially your fault, you can still claim compensation. For example if an accident was 20% your fault and 80% the other sides fault you can still claim for 80% of the compensation you would get.

4)    You might not have to go to court. Lots of cases are settled without either party going to court. This is the case even when the other side is disputing liability, so don’t panic about attending court, it might not even happen.

5)   It takes less time than you think to make a claim. Compensation claims are often dealt with in months, not years, although a serious case or complex case can take significantly longer.

6)    Under 18’s can still make a claim. A parent or trusted adult can act as a child’s litigation friend and deal with the claim on the child’s behalf. A judge must approve the settlement and then it isn’t paid out until the child is 18, as it’s invested by the court until that time. It can occasionally be paid out earlier in certain circumstances.

7)    You can claim even if you’re injured by an insured driver. If you’re injured by an uninsured driver you can still claim. Any compensation will be paid out by the Motor Insurers’ Bureau who will then claim compensation back from the uninsured driver. They have to pay out to you not the uninsured driver.

8)   You’ll probably lose some of your compensation if you win, even if it’s no win no fee. No win, no fee means that you don’t pay out anything to your solicitor if you lose, only if you win. Your solicitor will usually keep some of your compensation if you win and you keep approximately 75% of I but they will explain all this to you.

9)    You should use a specialist personal injury lawyer. That’s because they understand the process better than any other type of lawyer. Johnson Law are personal injury specialists.

10) You are entitled to make a claim-forget about compensation culture. Lots of people are deterred from claiming because of compensation culture, but if you are injured and it’s someone else’s fault, why shouldn’t you claim for compensation? You might be off work and unable to pay bills and the compensation will cover you for the hard times.