In the second of her four part series, Lauren Martin from the Personal Injury team at Thatcher + Hallam Solicitors, looks at the misconceptions that surround people making personal injury claims. You can read Lauren's article from last week on the basics of personal injury claims here.

There is a common misconception that people claiming compensation are greedy, out to make a quick buck and should just 'get on with it' and learn to live with injuries they've suffered. However, this is not the case! 

Here are some of the reasons why making a personal injury claim is the right course of action:

Injured people who could claim but don't can end up relying on the NHS for treatment and rehabilitation. This puts more pressure on local health services.

Rehabilitation for an injury can take months to start via the NHS and in that time it might be that the injuries will prevent the injured person from working. This then puts pressure on their home life, family situation and often leads to a need to claim government benefits.

The injuries caused were preventable. Making a claim often brings about change so other people don't suffer the same fate in the future. For example, a successful claim could lead to a local Council fixing a loose slab or an employer repairing faulty machinery. Your personal injury claim can make a difference to other people, by preventing future accidents and injuries from taking place.

The bottom line is this. Insurance is there for a reason. It puts a much heavier strain on health services and the Department of Work and Pensions when a claim is not made and the injured person instead has to try and put the pieces of their life back together with no assistance or guidance.

For more information on how injury claims benefit injured people, their families and their lives take a look at the Rebuilding Shattered Lives campaign run by the Association of Injury Prevention Lawyers.

You can read more detail about misconceptions around personal injury claims on the Thatcher + Hallam website here.

If you've suffered a personal injury that wasn't your fault and want to chat with us about the potential to make a claim please get in touch. We don't charge for initial advice and all our personal injury claims are taken forward on a 'no win, no fee' basis. We explain this in more detail with you when you get in touch about making a claim.

You can contact us via our online form or by calling 01761 414646.

Next week, we'll talk about the process of making a personal injury claim. But if we can help you in the meantime, please get in touch.