I had an accident in the UK but live abroad, can I bring a claim?
The answer to this question may be obvious to some people, but there a lot of people who don’t know that they can. This is especially true of people who may be visiting England for the first time and who have had the misfortune to be involved and injured in an accident. They may not know that they have the right bring a claim for personal injury sustained through someone else’s fault, let alone bring a claim from another part of the world.
Understandably those who are away from their homeland may be frightened to find themselves in hospital in a foreign country with little or no support. For them the most important thing is to get better as quickly as possible and return home. That is not always possible for those who suffer severe injuries. The last thing they may be thinking about is bringing an injury claim. Yet that could be one of the most important decisions they can make. Getting the claim started sooner rather than later may mean they get help with funding treatment if the person at fault can be identified and has insurance. Also, it is easier to investigate the claim as vital evidence such as CCVT footage and witness details are more likely to be available and accessible.
At Anthony Gold, we represent clients from all over the world. As long as we are able to take instructions from our clients, there are generally no problems. With advancement of technology, instructions can be received by email, Skype and video conferencing and, of course, by telephone. In cases of very serious injury, we can and often do visit our clients abroad to take instructions, sort out medical evidence and ensure they are receiving adequate care and assistance as well as treatment to improve their quality of life. In cases where the insurers of the person at fault have admitted liability we can obtain interim payments to fund these aspects of the claim.
Where there are language barriers, we engage the services of professional interpreters.