Free Information About Health and Wellness! Being involved in a car accident – one persons’ account of m By: Sophie Evans Site: www.youclaim.co.uk Article Release details: Immediate Date: 29 July 2005 Being involved in a car accident – one persons’ account of making a personal injury claim Katherine Greenhouse describes her experience and looks at the service she received from YouClaim, www.youclaim.co.uk: “My name is Katherine Greenhouse and I work as an Account Manager for a large training company. I drive thirty miles to work every day and also visit clients quite a bit so I’m on the road much of the time. Six months ago I was involved in a road traffic accident with another car whilst driving home from work. It was a cold, drizzly evening and I was driving really carefully on the wet roads. Most people were doing the same as conditions were pretty poor, so I didn’t feel worried. Perhaps I should have been though because when I was creeping round a bend in a country lane, another car hit the front of my vehicle spinning me round and into the ditch at the side of the road. It happened so quickly and before I had the chance to brake. Before I knew what had happened I was facing the way I had just come and my car was a total wreck. At first I was in shock and found the whole experience surreal. I was sitting in my car still but was at a very strange angle, I was looking up the bank of the ditch, which wasn’t particularly steep but all the same I was worried because I didn’t know how far it went back. It was then that I realised my head was throbbing and that my right arm was incredibly painful. I didn’t want to move too much but knew I had to get out of the car in case other cars came speeding along the road and I knew we had to call the emergency services. By the time I had climbed out of my car and realised how badly my car had been damaged the other lady was out of her car and was coming towards me looking very shocked but thankfully not injured, unlike me. I didn’t feel at all cross with her but knew that her dangerous driving in such bad conditions had put both our lives at risk. There were a couple of other motorists who had stopped to help and they had already called an ambulance, so within minutes I was being taken to hospital. I spent two days in hospital with a broken arm and whiplash. I had cuts and bruises which were more painful than the broken arm and all I could think about was that I would have to stop working while I recovered. I was so confused because my car was a write off and I just couldn’t imagine how I was going to get back to how I was before. It was going to cost me a fortune to be out of my commission based job for the two months predicted by the doctors. I spoke to my car insurance company and they agreed to pay for my car to be repaired which was fine, but where did that leave me? A friend came to visit me a week after the accident, while I was feeling quite sorry for myself. He suggested that I should make a personal injury claim to get back my loss of earnings and to pay for my treatment. I hadn’t really thought about personal injury compensation but seeing as the other driver had caused my injuries I thought it only right that she should compensate me. My friend suggested I speak to YouClaim because they deal with everything from providing a replacement vehicle and getting your car fixed, to putting you in touch with a personal injury solicitor who will help you to get back medical costs and loss of earnings, plus compensation for your injuries. I had a look on the Internet to get an idea about personal injury and the different companies out there. Upon my friends recommendation I looked at www.youclaim.co.uk and was impressed with what I saw. It sounded as if they took care of everything. I rang them that day and was really impressed with their professional approach. They knew I was upset about my accident and only wanted to know the date, time and place the car crash took place, and some details about how the crash happened. They also needed the name, address, registration number and insurance company of the other driver. They told me that my compensation claim was viable and that it wouldn’t cost me anything to make a claim for personal injury. They wouldn’t make any deductions from the compensation I received and if I lost my case I would be protected from all costs, as they work on a no win no fee basis. It sounded too good to be true and just the help I needed if I was going to be off work for two months. Charlotte at YouClaim was wonderful and once I had spoken to her I knew I could relax and concentrate on getting better. I knew that while I was recovering, a specialist personal injury solicitor was working on my claim. They would prepare a letter to send to the other driver’s insurance company to inform them that I wanted to make a claim. Then evidence would be collected, including medical reports. All I needed to do was fill out a questionnaire about the accident, keep a diary of my injury and recovery and attend an appointment with a medical expert at a local clinic who would determine how much the accident had affected me. I was surprised when my solicitor called to say that the other driver was claiming that I had been over the white line when she came round the corner. This was not the case as I was driving particularly carefully that evening. I was consciously trying to avoid the accident when it happened so was quite annoyed that the other lady did not accept that she was liable. My solicitor managed to trace an independent witness. This turned out to be the man who was in the car behind me at the time of the accident. He backed up my account of the accident and reiterated the fact that I had been driving slowly and carefully. I am very grateful to this man for speaking up and providing that vital piece of evidence, without him I may not have had such a good result. After eight months of medical investigations into my whiplash injury and various negotiations I received £8,000 compensation. This was £3,000 for my arm, £2,000 for my whiplash and £3,000 for loss of earnings. I was delighted as in the end I was signed off work for three months and had therefore lost a lot of money. The solicitor worked really hard to get me my compensation. They kept me informed throughout and explained all the technicalities in great detail. The service I received was exemplary. YouClaim made the whole experience as stress free as possible. I would recommend making a personal injury claim to anyone who has been involved in a road accident that was not their fault. You will not have to pay anything to make a claim and will be able to get your life back on track, just as I did.” -ENDS- YouClaim provides help to hundreds of people who have been involved in a non fault accident. They can help you to organise a compensation claim. Visit www.youclaim.co.uk, or call 0800 10 757 95 Editorial notes: YouClaim www.youclaim.co.uk provides compensation to people who have been involved in an accident that was not their fault. About the Author Author: Sophie Evans – www.youclaim.co.uk Call 0800 10 757 95 for more details