QUESTION: I am a self-employed person and have been injured in an accident which was not my fault. I’m desperate to get back to work as soon as possible, and am finding it difficult to cope financially. Can you advise me on the best course of action, and what compensation would be available to me?

The starting point would be to contact a local solicitor who specialises in dealing with personal injury claims.

The solicitor will be able to liaise swiftly with the responsible party, and their insurers, to confirm that they will deal with your claim. Using a specialist, experienced personal injury solicitor local to you will bring about a swifter resolution of a claim, rather than attempting to deal direct with an insurance company yourself which is never a recommended course of action.

If you need to get back to work quickly, your solicitor will be able to arrange for an early assessment of your rehabilitation needs. This could take the form of physiotherapy or chiropractic treatments, or in the most serious of cases, retraining for alternative employment, to ensure that you are back working as soon as reasonably possible.

In the event that you are unable to work and therefore earn money, because of the accident, it is possible for your solicitor to obtain an interim payment from the insurers of the party responsible for the accident, before your claim is concluded, to help with cash flow.

In terms of making a claim for your losses, and compensation for injuries, most solicitors who specialise in personal injury work will be happy to discuss the various funding options available and most will be able to deal with your claim on a ‘no win no fee’ basis. Essentially this means that you do not pay any of your legal fees, and these would be recovered by your solicitor from the insurers of the party who was responsible for the accident.