If you unlucky enough to have an accident abroad which was not your fault and you are able to claim compensation for the injuries you sustain one of the key aspects regarding the level of compensation due to you is the severity of the injury and the ongoing consequences and impact on your lifestyle and possibly your earning capacity in the future. In the case of a severe injury, the courts will require expert medical to make an assessment. However, in the event of what appears to be a minor incident often the victim does not recognise the seriousness of the accident. What appears to be a minor accident can have serious repercussions in the future which may not be apparent initially. There is usually a time limit with regard to how long after the event you can start a claim for compensation.

The laws around making compensation claims can differ from country to country; very often you can still make a claim from the time you discover that your injury, such as a spinal injury, is far from trivial as was initially thought but is having a considerable effect on your life with the possibility of on-going deterioration. If you find yourself in this position it is imperative that you seek advice from legal experts, particularly as your claim may require expert witness opinion, tracing witness for supporting evidence and obtaining medical reports from the time of the accident all of which will take time. Liability for an accident can be surprisingly complicated in some instances, what appears to be a straightforward matter can sometimes turn into a convoluted muddle of blame, negligence and vicarious liability. Frequently there is more than one person or organisation culpable in an accident and unravelling the responsibility requires specialist knowledge and experience. If an accident is due to another party’s negligence, evidence must be presented to demonstrate liability, this is fairly obvious to most people. If there has been a passage of time before the severity of the injuries was properly understood, this may be a greater challenge.

Liability for an accident is subject to what is often known as the “but for” test – “but for the other party or organisations conduct or negligence the accident would not have happened”. Establishing such liability at a distance of time requires legal expertise and experience to navigate through the excuses and spurious arguments that will doubtless be presented.

Legal Law Limited’s excellent team of personal injury lawyers can negotiate your settlement whilst ensuring that you fully understand the implications, risks and consequences of accepting out-of-court offers as opposed to going the distance and embarking on court action in a foreign jurisdiction. Our lawyers will assist and support you to obtain a fair and just settlement; we are experienced in getting the best out of a bad situation and have an excellent track record of success for our injured clients.