| Personal Injury Solicitors |
AA Claims work with a selected team of legal professionals who will ensure you receive the maximum compensation for each claim. Our solicitors are selected carefully due to their experience, skill and customer service standards. Each solicitor is an expert in their area of personal injury case law. |
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Six Secrets Insurance Companies Don't Want Accident Victims to Know |
Secret One: Rigid legal timelines can prevent a victim from going to court. The insurance companies count on these time deadlines, known as statutes of limitations. The failure to act in a timely manner may be a complete barrier to your right to recover compensation for injuries suffered as a result of the negligent actions of another.
A special claim must be filed against government entities within 180 days, or else the victim may be precluded from even filing a lawsuit. There are many entities, such as hospitals, and recreation facilities that may not appear to be associated with the government. However, if they are owned or operated by a government entity, a victim only has 180 days from the date of injury to file a claim.
Secret Two: Immediately after the insurance company is contacted about an accident, it will assign an experienced adjuster to investigate the accident and gather evidence that will provide the insurance company with grounds to dispute your claim and to minimize your money damages.
Secret Three: If you were injured by an uninsured motorist your own insurance company will be your opponent even though your policy requires you to cooperate with the insurance company.
Secret Four: Many auto insurance companies now use the computer program to evaluate the claims of accident victims. Software used by insurance companies to aid in predicting the settlement value of injury claims. According to the program's designer, Computer Science Corporation, it is used by more than 50 percent of the nation's claim adjusters and by more than 300 insurance companies.
The insurance industry maintains it is a useful tool. Personal injury attorneys know the software favors the insurance companies. First, the values one receives are by definition a function of the data input. One never knows what data the adjuster has input. Also, the program does not consider subjective elements of the case that are impossible to quantify such as the interference with normal life activities which results from an injury. At trial these indications of pain and suffering are proven through the testimony of the injured parties and witnesses. A computer program cannot quantify emotional distress or the loss of enjoyment of life?
Secret Five: Insurance companies have enormous legal advantages over the average person: great wealth, thousands of trained adjusters, sharp lawyers and experts, and more than 20 legal defenses which they use to minimize or deny victim's compensation. Insurance companies are profit driven corporations. The goal is to make money. Insurance companies do everything they can to minimize claim payments.
Secret Six: The insurance companies do not want you to hire a lawyer. The reason is simple. Except for minor cases, victims are consistently awarded more compensation when they are represented by counsel. Auto insurance giant Allstate's own documents show that accident victims who retained attorneys received 2 to 3 times more than victims that were not represented |
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| Top 5 Worst Personal Injury Claims |
Think you've been hit by the worst personal injury? Just to put a little perspective on the matter, here are the top 5 worst personal injury claims recorded in South Africa to date. Thankfully there are determined personal injury lawyers out there who are prepared to fight for compensation on our behalf. |
| Asbestos companies forced to take responsibility |
South African asbestos companies were coerced by British lawyers to set up a trust for their former employees (miners) who for years had sucked up asbestos dust and were now vulnerable to lung cancer and other deadly respiratory diseases.
Over R490 million, as compensation to the victims, was ploughed into the Asbestos relief fund and although many of the victims will still die and others will become seriously ill, their dependents will at least be taken care of for the next twenty-five years. |
| Police botch gang-rape investigation - woman sues |
A Tembisa woman is suing the minister of police after a botched investigation into an horrific attack on her life that included a particularly brutal beating and gang rape. She was attacked in her home by a group of youths, many of whom she knew, and beaten within inches of her life. She was then gang-raped by eight of her attackers.
What is frightening is that her case was tossed out of court and all the accused released. This was after her court case was postponed time after time because police couldn't find the docket and all the forensic evidence was missing. She is currently awaiting the outcome of her claim. |
| Dog owner coughs up R1 million after vicious attack |
| A South African judge ruled in favour of a complainant who sued a dog owner for R1 million. The dog allegedly attacked the woman so viciously that it nearly ripped her nose clean off her face. She had to have over 500 stitches and is due to have plastic surgery once her wounds have healed sufficiently. |
| Boy electrocuted - power utility has to pay |
| Power giant, Eskom, had to fork out R2.8 million in damages for a young boy who sustained critical injuries when he climbed over a pylon barrier and was electrocuted. The boy has third degree burns over most of his body and will probably never be able to work. |
| Leading retailer pays out |
| In 2006, a leading retailer agreed to accept liability for a claim of nearly R350 000 for personal injuries suffered by a client when an enormous advertising board crashed down on her head. Initially, the retailer claimed they were not responsible as she had not kept a good look out! |
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| Do Child Accidents While at School Warrant Compensation? |
The number of children injuring themselves during break time activities may not be on the increase, but it certainly seems that the number of compensation claims arising from these injuries are rising. A survey of 150 school authorities across England showed that many children have successfully claimed compensation for injuries sustained on the school premises.
131 of the 150 school authorities completed the survey which detailed that over £1.7 million had been paid out for child accidents in 2007/8 for a total of 399 claims. There are many critics of these compensation payments with many blaming a "compensation culture" on all of these claims.
The former chief inspector of schools Chris Woodhead believes that many people are quick to make money out of the "slightest misfortune". He believes people do not consider that for every successful claim made someone has to pay the compensation, and that usually comes from higher taxes to pay for higher insurance premiums. |
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Some of the successful child accident claims include: |
• £21,000 for a child who fell from a climbing frame.
• £5,000 for a child who slipped on wet leaves.
• £4,000 for a child who broke their wrist when they were pushed out of a toy car by another .. ..child. |
Children can bring a claim for compensation anytime up to their 21st birthday, so the concern is that we will continue to see a rise in child accident compensation claims.
The question many people ask is whether people should make these claims? This very much depends on the circumstances of the accident and the injury sustained. Minor injuries can normally be excused and everyone get back to the pre-accident position very quickly. However, if a child sustains a serious injury there are two good reasons why they should make a claim for compensation: |
1. They may need private medical treatment for the injuries sustained to ensure the best chances of a full recovery; and
2. If they take no action the same accident might happen again and again to other children. |
Making a claim will ensure that the school reviews their safety procedures and may prevent other accidents.
Ultimately each child accident should be assessed on its own merits. |
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