Compensation claims and accepting responsibility for personal injury

For many people who pursue a personal injury claim, the financial award is not the ultimate goal in their compensation claim.

For some people, especially those who have lost loved ones to personal injury caused by the negligence of others, the largest amount of money would never be enough. You cannot replace a wife, a son, a sister or a lifelong partner with money.

A personal injury compensation claim is often the only way to get a company, hospital, local government, etc, to admit liability for a death or accident, and to accept responsibility. For the relatives of the injured person this can be the first psychological step on the road to recovery from the loss. Any compensation is merely a by-product or a means to get their lives financially back on track.

In 2008, a pensioner from Norfolk was awarded compensation after his wife died in a local hospital. She had been admitted with respiratory difficulties, but died a month later as a result of her contracting the hospital superbug clostridium difficile.

The pensioner and his family felt that in her final days the grandmother was neglected by the hospital.

He said: "On one occasion at night she had been calling for a bedpan and no one came so she tried to get up and go to the toilet. She could not get there in time and slipped on her own diarrhoea."

The personal injury solicitor handling the case said, "The hospital never admitted liability but they did apologise to [him] for what he and his family had been put through and what his wife had been through prior to her death. The fact that the hospital was prepared to make a substantial payment indicates that they do accept some responsibility for what happened."

The widowed man said, "At the end of the day I just wanted someone to say they were sorry for what happened and for someone to take responsibility and I want lessons to be learned from the poor standards of care."

YouClaim and personal injury compensation
If you feel the person responsible for the death or injury of your loved one has not taken responsibility, or if you feel your family has been badly treated, YouClaim could help you to make a personal injury claim.

We understand the pain and distress of losing a loved one to personal injury and our personal injury solicitors will handle your case with care, confidentiality and understanding. They are fully governed by the regulations of the Law Society.

Whilst the complexities of medical negligence claims prohibit us from stating that you will not be charged any legal fees, we assure you that we will advise you of any charges before you commit to them, and in a won case we will always reimburse you.

In a more straightforward personal injury case, we work on a no win, no fee basis which means you are protected from legal fees. You can be assured you will be advised of all circumstances relating to your case.

If you wish to discuss a personal injury compensation claim, please call our confidential helpline now on 0800 10 757 95 or you can request a more convenient time when we can call you back. Alternatively, fill in the online claim form and we will look into your compensation claim before we call you to discuss it further. Above all, at YouClaim we are here to help.