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Thompsons Solicitors
Multi-Party Actions – Can You Make a Claim?
If you or a member of your family is suffering from a personal injury or industrial disease caused by someone else’s negligence, our specialist personal injury lawyers may be able to help you claim compensation. Contact us today on 0800 032 8511 for claim advice, or by completing a claim enquiry form.
What is a Multi-Party Action?
How Does a Multi-Party Action Work?
Personal Injury Compensation
Specialist Personal Injury Lawyers
What is a Multi-Party Action?
There are some situations under which an incident will cause not just one or two people to be injured, but many. For example if a defective product is distributed, a water supply is contaminated, an outbreak of food poisoning occurs or a disaster takes place in which lots of people are involved.
Anyone unfortunate enough to suffer a personal injury or illness under such circumstances may be able to enter into a multi-party action, sometimes known as a group claim or class action. This is where a group of claimants bring a claim against a common defendant.
It is not only the victims of accidents that are able to make a group claim, but also the victims of clinical negligence or harm caused by unsafe medical products.
How Does a Multi-Party Action Work?
Most often, the courts will take into account the details of a case and co-ordinate matters accordingly. A date will usually be set by which all claims should be submitted and lead solicitors will be appointed to act on behalf of the claimants.
Therefore with such cases, it is important to seek legal advice on your claim as early as possible. As multi-party actions can be complicated, it is always advisable to involve a specialist lawyer.
As in any personal injury claim it is necessary to show that the person you are making a claim against owed you a duty of care, that they breached that duty of care (were negligent), and that the injury you sustained was a reasonably foreseeable consequence of that negligence. Detailed medical evidence will also be required.
When the claim has been entered, the insurers will either agree a suitable settlement or the case will proceed to court.
Personal Injury Compensation
There are two elements to a compensation award. The first is for the pain and suffering you may have gone through and what is known as loss of amenity. This is called general damages and can include an award for your inability to do things after the accident that you used to be able to do before (eg wash your car, look after your garden, walk the dog, etc). The award for loss of amenity can be for a short period after an accident or for ever if that is what the medical evidence supports.
The second element of a compensation award is for your losses and expenses and is known as special damages. It is important to keep receipts for any expenditure you have related to the accident, so that these can be reclaimed. The aim is to put you back in a position financially as if the accident or illness had never occurred.
Specialist Personal Injury Lawyers
The Legal Line lawyers are experts in all types of personal injury compensation claim, with extensive experience in multi-party actions and medical negligence multi-party claims, including the following:
Outbreak of Q Fever Caused by Unsafe Workplace Renovations
Group Claim for Employees With Work-Related Respiratory Illness
They can provide legal advice to anyone suffering from an injury caused by another party and assist in pursuing a compensation claim to the best possible outcome.
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