 Please select a FAQ from the list below:
Why should I use Levenes?
We are very experienced personal injury lawyers. As a firm of solicitors we are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and a number of our personal injury specialists are members of The Law Society's Personal Injury Panel.
Unlike some 'claims companies', we offer a genuine 'no win, no fee' service, taking nothing from our client's compensation and making no charges for our services, insurance, loans or credit agreements.*
With a nationwide service, we can visit you at home, work or in hospital. We successfully conclude thousands of cases each year, securing compensation for our clients from £1,000 to over £1,000,000.
If you are not fluent in English we may be able to allocate a lawyer to your case who speaks your language - our services are offered in over 25 languages - please see the links on the right hand side for details.
| To start your claim now please call us FREE on 0800 11 88 99 or complete the online form with a brief description of your accident and we will contact you shortly. |
What will it cost me to pursue my claim?
It will not normally cost you anything to pursue your claim as we are usually able to act on a 'no win, no fee' basis which will involve signing a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). We will then, as a term of the settlement, recover our fees in full at the conclusion of the claim from the insurance company that pays your compensation. In other cases clients may have the benefit of a legal expenses insurance policy which can be used to cover costs. We will always advise you on what options you have to cover your costs because we have an obligation to you to consider how best to protect your interests.
Provided that we receive your full co-operation throughout the claim, and that you are not awarded less at a court hearing than the insurers had offered to settle, you will receive your compensation in full with no deductions for our services, insurance, loans or credit agreements. Please note that in Motor Insurers Bureau (MIB) claims against Untraced Drivers not all costs can be recovered from the MIB so a fee may be charged if the claim succeeds.
We have helped thousands of clients to recover compensation without any cost to them. If you have any concerns about legal costs please give us a call.
| To start your claim now please call us FREE on 0800 11 88 99 or complete the online form with a brief description of your accident and we will contact you shortly. |
What type of injury claims does Levenes undertake?
We undertake all types of claims, including those arising from
- Road traffic accidents (drivers, passengers, pedestrians - car accidents, cycling accidents and motorcycling accidents)
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MIB claims (where the driver at fault cannot be traced or does not have insurance)
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Our team successfully concludes thousands of cases each year on a 'no win, no fee' basis.
We have dedicated teams to assist cyclists, those with serious spinal injuries and those for whom English is not a first language.
| To start your claim now please call us FREE on 0800 11 88 99 or complete the online form with a brief description of your accident and we will contact you shortly. |
Is there a time limit for making a claim?
Yes, it is important that you make a claim to the court within 3 years of the accident. If you were under 18 years old when the accident happened then you have until you turn 21 years of age. The courts can extend this time limit in exceptional cases. Claimants who are over 18 but do not have mental capacity to give instructions can make a claim after their 21st birthday.
In claims involving an industrial/occupational disease the 3 year time limit begins when you become aware, or should have become aware, that your illness was caused by your work.
If your accident happens on a ferry or aircraft, or 'air-side' after checking into an airport, the time limit for making a claim is 2 years.
Whatever the time limit for your claim, remember that the sooner you instruct us to proceed with the case the sooner we can obtain the evidence we will need to prove your case.
In some cases the court has a discretion to allow a claim to proceed 'out of time'.
| To start your claim now please call us FREE on 0800 11 88 99 or complete the online form with a brief description of your accident and we will contact you shortly. |
How do I make a claim?
1. Call FREE on 0800 11 88 99 to speak to a member of our team between 8 am and 6 pm Monday to Friday. Alternatively complete the Online Enquiry Form with a brief description of your accident and we will telephone you within 2 hours if received up to 4 pm Monday to Friday, or by 11 am the next working day if received after 4 pm or on a weekend or bank holiday.
2. We will allocate an experienced lawyer to handle your case. We may arrange to meet with you, either at our offices, or if it is more convenient for you, at your home, workplace or in hospital.
3. We will advise you on the options for funding your case.
4. We will set to work as quickly as possible, contacting witnesses, writing to the party at fault (or their insurers), obtaining medical records and reports and much more.
5. We will keep you informed on a regular basis of the progress of your case.
6. Rest assured - we are very experienced in this specialist area of law and our team are successfully concluding cases similar to yours every day.
It is difficult to value a case until medical evidence has been obtained. The same type of injury may attract different levels of compensation depending on, for example, the severity of the injury, the recovery period, the treatment required, the impact on ability to work and whether there are any pre-exisiting injuries or complications. We select the most suitable medical expert/s for each case and consider every client's circumstances individually when advising on the value of a claim.
Awards can be made for:
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Pain Suffering and Loss of Amenity,
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Loss of Earnings - past and future, including losses of family members who take time off work to care for you.
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Travel Expenses - past and future, including losses suffered by family members who travel to care for you.
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Medical Expenses - past and future - you can claim private treatment even if you could have obtained the treatment free on the NHS.
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Care (paid for care or care provided free of charge by family or friends) - past and future
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Miscellaneous expenses such as care hire, vehicle repair costs, recovery, storage, insurance excess
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Loss of Use of a motor vehicle, cycle or motorcycle
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Other uninsured losses, such as insurance excess on a cancelled holiday claim
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Loss of Congenial Employment - where you cannot return to your chosen career.
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Disadvantage in the Labour Market - whether or not you have returned to work.
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Special Equipment for the disabled (adaptions of vehicles, mobility scooters, lifts, hoists, special beds or chairs etc)
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Extra fuel costs e.g extra heating of the home, extra wear and tear on bedding etc
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Special cosmetics to cover unsightly scarring.
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Accomodation Costs - removal costs, legal costs associated with moving, alterations to your house e.g. to create a shower room, to widen doorways etc - where due to serious disabilty you have to move and/or money has to be spent adapting your home.
In Fatal Accident claims the claims that can be made include:
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Statutory bereavement damages
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Funeral expenses
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Loss of the deceaseds property, car, clothing, etc
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Personal injury if the deceased was concious for a period of time between the accident and his or her death
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Loss of Dependency. This is an award of compensation to reflect the loss of the support, both financial and non-financial which the deceased gave to his or her dependents, spouse, children or other family members. This is likely to be the highest part of the claim where the deceased was a breadwinner, but is a claim that should be considered in all cases if there is evidence of some support to the family given by the deceased prior to his or her death.
The person handling your claim will advise you on what you can claim and will advise you as to what evidence will be needed to prove your losses. If you think you have a loss that you wish to claim, just ask.
Remember that you have a duty to mitigate your loss, which means acting reasonably to limit the extent of the loss. If you are not sure whether you can claim, we will be happy to advise you.
| To start your claim now please call us FREE on 0800 11 88 99 or complete the online form with a brief description of your accident and we will contact you shortly. |
Will my case go to Court?
Over 95% of cases settle without the need for a trial. We have a duty to try to settle your claim without going to court wherever possible. Sometimes it is not possible to settle a claim. Where necessary we will pursue your case vigorously to trial in order to secure the compensation which you deserve. If there is a trial in your case we will carry out all the preparation and instruct a barrister to represent you on the day. We will also explain the process to you so that you know what to expect.
*Except in Motor Insurers Bureau (MIB) claims against untraced drivers where an agreed amount is deducted from compensation as legal costs cannot be recovered from the MIB.
| To start your claim now please call us FREE on 0800 11 88 99 or complete the online form with a brief description of your accident and we will contact you shortly. |
I am self-employed. I had an accident at work. Can I make a Claim?
If you are self-employed and have an accident you should not assume that the accident is your fault, or that you cannot make a claim. Many people in industries such as construction or farming are 'self-employed' but that just means that they do not have a payslip from the company they work for. We have succeeded with many cases for people who were 'self-employed.Whilst it is true to say that you should take care for your own safety, the company you work for are likely to be liable in many cases. For example, if you only work for them, when they tell you to and where they tell you, you are in reality an employee. They must take care for your safety. You many be using their tools or equipment or normally work on their premises. If the equipment you are given is defective, or the place where you work unsafe your 'employer' will be to blame.
On construction sites there are often many different parties working at the same time - the main contractor, sub contractors, plumbers, electricians, roofers, groundworkers, joiners, scaffolding contractors and so on. It may be that your accident was caused by any number of different parties. We can advise you on whether or not you have a claim.
If you are self-employed and not sure if you can make a claim, just ask. We will be happy to advise you.
| To start your claim now please call us FREE on 0800 11 88 99 or complete the online form with a brief description of your accident and we will contact you shortly. |
I have legal expenses insurance. My insurance company tell me I must use their panel solicitor. Are they right?
No, not at all. Some insurance companies say that it is a condition of the insurance policy that they have the right to appoint a solicitor to act for you of their choice, but under the Insurance Companies (Legal Expenses Insurance) Regulations 1990 you have the right to choose which lawyer will be appointed in respect of any proceedings. This has been interpreted by the Insurance Ombudsman to mean court proceedings meaning that the insurance company does not have to agree to your choice of solicitor before proceedings become necessary. Some, though not all, have used this to argue that you must accept the panel solicitor before proceedings are issued. At Levenes we have never found this to be a problem. After all, many cases settle before court proceedings are issued anyway. If court proceedings are necessary then provided you have a good case, your legal expenses insurance should cover you with any solicitor you choose.
We feel that it is important that you exercise your free choice of legal representation , should you wish, without influence by your insurance company, who, it has to be said may have a financial interest in pushing you to their panel firm because of referral fees they may receive from panel law firms.
The truth of the matter is that you have the right to choose which law firm represents you. If you are happy with the choice of your insurance company then that's fine. Whoever acts for you, you should be fully confident that they are going to represent your best interests. If you prefer to choose your own solicitor for whatever reason, then you should not allow your insurance company to tell you that you must accept their choice.
| To start your claim now please call us FREE on 0800 11 88 99 or complete the online form with a brief description of your accident and we will contact you shortly. |
How long will my case take?
Cases are not won overnight. There is a certain amount of work that has to be done to win your case. There are stages of your case which each take time and often there are delays over which we have no control. For example, in a road accident case where the police attended the accident we will wish to obtain a police report. The police report will contain important information about the accident. There may be details of witnesses, a plan and othe useful information. The police often take several weeks if not months to complete their report. If they prosecute the other driver they will not release the report to us until that prosecution has been completed. Even in cases which appear to be straightforward, where the police were involved the other driver's insurers will often refuse to discuss the claim until the police report is available. In contrast there are many cases where liability is not in dispute where settlement can be pursued relatively quickly.
We will do our best to give you an honest and realistic view of your case. However long your case takes, you should be given a regular update on progress. If you feel that progress with your case is slow, please call and we will be happy to explain to you what is happening and discuss with you any ways there might be of making more progress with your case.
There are things which you can do to minimize delays. If you receive a letter or a call from us asking us to provide information or documents please try to get those documents to us as quickly as you can. Keep a diary of important events like medical appointments so that you can provide us with that information quickly and easily. Keep receipts for any expenses or losses you have suffered and send those to us promptly. Always keep copies of any documents you send to us.
It is difficult to give guidelines on how long cases generally take. If liability is admitted and your injuries were not too serious your claim should be concluded within a few months. Your case will take longer the more seriously you were injured and if liablity is disputed or we cannot agree a settlement of your case for any reason, we may have to take your case to court., which will often cause a delay. Remember that in some cases, it may not be in your best interests to settle your claim too quickly.
In some cases, where it is going to take a while to get a final settlement agreed, it may be possible to obtain an interim payment. This is not always possible to achieve. Speak to the person handling your claim, because we will try to obtain an interim payment whenever we can.
| To start your claim now please call us FREE on 0800 11 88 99 or complete the online form with a brief description of your accident and we will contact you shortly. |
I need treatment for the injuries I suffered in the accident. Can you help with that?
We are not doctors. We cannot tell you to have medical treatment or tell you what treatment you need. That is for the hospital or your doctor to advise. However, there are things we can do to try to help you get the treatment you need. Your first port of call should be your own doctor. If your doctor is recommending that you have treatment, you should let us know. For example, if you have suffered a whiplash type injury and liabilty is not in dispute you will normally be able to have physiotherapy treatment privately rather than having to wait on the NHS. Many insurers will be pleased to refer you on to a private healthcare provider to provide this treatment at their expense. If you prefer to use a particular physiotherapist recommended to you, you are free to do so. You should make sure that you keep receipts. If liability is admitted and you needed treatment for your injuries then provided the cost is reasonable there should be little difficulty recovering the cost of treatment. Speak to the person handling your case if you would like to discuss any of these issues.
As well as treatment, there are some cases where X-rays, scans or other tests need to be done. Again, we cannot tell you if you need these, and your first port of call should always be your doctor. However, you should always tell us if you have been told that you need any tests like this done. Although it is not always possible, there are occasions when we can arrange for scans and X-rays to be done with the cost claimed later from the other party. It is worth discussing these points with us to see if there is anything we can do to help.
In more serious injuries for example where your abilty to return to work is at risk and cases of utmost severity such as spinal cord injuries and serious head injuries, the other party may be willing to appoint an independent company jointly with us to assess your rehabilitation needs. This is known as an Immediate Needs Assessment and is undertaken under the Rehabilitation Code. A Case Manager may be appointed to oversee your case. Practical help, advice and assistance beyond that available on the NHS or from the local authority may be available. In many cases, working with the insurers to assess your needs enables clients to receive help far beyond compensation.
Finally, please always bear in mind that if medical treatment is recommended to you, questions will be asked if you opt not to have that treatment. In some cases there will be no criticism of a claimant who does not have treatment. For example the treatment may be invasive, like surgery; carry some risk itself or be far from guaranteed to be successful. At the other end of the scale, a person who was recommended to have physiotherapy treatment a few months after a whiplash injury can expect to be asked to explain why he did not have that treatment if he still has whiplash symptoms two years later.
Useful Links
We have worked with the following Physiotherapy firms in the West Midlands who we are happy to recommend
| To start your claim now please call us FREE on 0800 11 88 99 or complete the online form with a brief description of your accident and we will contact you shortly. |
Yes. The first question to ask is who was to blame for the accident? If another driver was to blame for the collision then you can claim against the other driver. The fact that you were not wearing a seatbelt does not change that. Of course, unless you are exempt you should have been wearing a seatbelt, but failing to wear a seatbelt can never defeat a good claim. It can be 'contributory negligence' resultilng in a deduction from your claim. The deduction is never higher than 25% and in some cases there is no deduction at all. The law has been settled for more than 20 years as a result of a case called Froom v Butcher.
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If you would have escaped the collision with no injuries if you had been wearing a seatbelt then you lose 25% of the value of your award.
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If you would have been injured even if you were wearing a seatbelt but your injuries would not have been severe you lose 15% of the value of your claim.
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If failing to wear a seatbelt has made no difference to the injuries you suffered, then there is no deduction from your compensation.
It is for the Defendant to prove that there should be a deduction. If you were not wearing a seatbelt ask us what the effect might be on your claim.
| To start your claim now please call us FREE on 0800 11 88 99 or complete the online form with a brief description of your accident and we will contact you shortly. |
The car driver who hit me was not insured. Who do I make my accident claim against?
Yes. You can make your accident claim against the car driver who hit you because even though he or she was not insured there is an organisation called the Motor Insurers Bureau (MIB) who will pay compensation for your injuries. We can help you make an accident claim to recover compensation for your injuries and other losses from the MIB.
To start your claim now please call us FREE on 0800 11 88 99 or complete the online form with a brief description of your accident and we will contact you shortly. |
The car driver who hit me failed to stop. The police could not trace him. Can I still make an accident claim?
Yes. You can make a claim - known as an 'Untraced Driver' claim - against the Motor Insurers Bureau (MIB). There are some special rules about these claims that we will advise you about. It is important that you act quickly so that we can give you the correct advice. Please therefore call us and we will be happy to advise you.
To start your claim now please call us FREE on 0800 11 88 99 or complete the online form with a brief description of your accident and we will contact you shortly. |
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