Below are some examples of our recent successful claims

1. Mrs. K.

Pinto Potts acted on behalf of Mrs. K from Southampton who sustained a serious head injury in an accident at work on the 4th of July 2001. Mrs. K. walked into an open window and sustained a serious blow to her head. She severed a nerve in her forehead and as a consequence suffered frighteningly severe migraine headaches on a frequent basis. As a result of those headaches she would often have no choice but to stay in bed for days on end and reduced her working hours in a Call Centre.

Her employers admitted responsibility for the accident but were not prepared to negotiate settlement of her claim. Her employers made her an offer of £9,500.00 in full and final satisfaction of her claim and then refused to negotiate thereafter. Acting under a No Win, No Fee Agreement Mrs. K took her case all the way to Trial in Southampton County Court in December 2005, where she was awarded compensation by the Court of £73,492.16.

Pinto Potts acted on behalf of Mrs. K. under a No Win, No Fee Agreement and she had no deductions whatsoever from her compensation and she received the full amount

2. Mr. B

Mr. B. of Epsom was an ambulance technician who was involved in an accident on the 9th of December 2001 when the motorcycle he was riding was involved in a collision with another car. Liability for the accident was admitted by the other drivers Insurance Company at an early stage. Mr. B. decided to represent himself and the other drivers Insurers who were Norwich Union helpfully arranged for him to have physiotherapy. However, when they started talking about settlement of his claim he decided to take independent legal advice and instructed Pinto Potts. We arranged for Mr. B. to see a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon who determined that he had suffered a short term injury to his shoulder from which he made a full recovery within 3 years but a long term injury to his right knee from which he would be likely to experience symptoms indefinitely.

Ultimately the parties were unable to reach an agreement as to the value of the claim and Mr. B. issued Court proceedings. Norwich Union Insurance on behalf of the other driver made an offer of compensation of £8,300.00, which Mr. B. rejected. Norwich Union decided they were not prepared to negotiate and allowed the matter to proceed to a Court hearing in December 2005. Pinto Potts represented Mr. B. at that Court hearing where he was awarded compensation of £10,791.00 plus his legal costs.

Pinto Potts acted on behalf of Mr. B. on a No Win, No Fee Agreement and, Mr. B. received the full amount of his compensation without any deductions.

3. Mr. P.

Mr. P. worked for ICI Chemicals in Liverpool between 1969 and 1990. During the course of that employment he was exposed to constant high levels of noise without any provision of hearing protection from his employers. Pinto Potts argued that ICI knew that exposure to noise levels in excess of 85 decibels for long periods of time was likely to cause permanent levels of hearing loss and this had been known to them since around 1963.

Pinto Potts pursued a claim on behalf of Mr. P., which resulted in Mr. P. accepting an offer of compensation of £9,000.00 in February 2006 plus his legal costs without the need to issue Court proceedings.

If you would like to speak to one of our personal injury Solicitors for free legal advice, call us now on Freephone: 0800 316 4434 or click here to make an online enquiry.

Anyone can make their own case and attempt to claim personal injury compensation through the courts. An individual undertaking this task would have to consider the cost involved in obtaining medical examinations and police reports, not to mention the up front payment of barristers fees. In addition there are complex negotiations and paperwork to be dealt with, if these aren’t handled correctly it could potentially jeapordise the entire case.

Deal directly with us instead and it won’t cost you a penny. In addition, we know and understand the personal injury claims process inside out, we are also regulated by the Law Society for your own peace of mind and protection. We have expert Personal Injury Lawyers with countless years of experience in dealing with Accident and Injury Claims who can negotiate and deal with the defendants on your behalf.

After an accident it is essential that you take the time to rehabilitate and recover properly, by using the services of a reputable personal injury solicitor you can let us take the burden on your behalf, leaving you free to concentrate on the road to recovery.

If you would like to speak to one of our personal injury Solicitors for free legal advice, call us now on:
Freephone: 0800 316 4434 or click here to make an online enquiry.

Absoloutly nothing, and that’s Guaranteed! And we promise that if you do win you will receive every single penny of your compensation award.

If you choose to put your claim through a Claims Management Company, be careful, some will charge you a percentage of your compensation as well as selling your claim onto a Solicitor you have never heard of and know nothing about. We always recommend you deal directly with a personal injury Solicitor who is regulated by the Law Society.

If you would like to speak to one of our personal injury Solicitors for free legal advice, call us now on Freephone: 0800 316 4434 or click here to make an online enquiry.

You are entitled by law to compensation in you have suffered an injury that was not your fault within the last three years.

Whether the injury was whiplash, bruising, minor cuts or burns or more serious long term injuries, we will help you claim compensation.

If you would like to receive immediate expert legal advice call us now on Freephone: 0800 316 4434 or click here to make an online enquiry.

Anyone can make their own case and attempt to claim personal injury compensation through the courts.

An individual undertaking this task would have to consider the cost involved in obtaining medical examinations and police reports, not to mention the up front payment of barristers fees. In addition there are complex negotiations and paperwork to be dealt with, if these aren’t handled correctly it could potentially jeapordise the entire case.

Deal directly with us instead and it won’t cost you a penny. In addition, we know and understand the personal injury claims process inside out, we are also regulated by the Law Society for your own peace of mind and protection. We have expert Personal Injury Lawyers with countless years of experience in dealing with Accident and Injury Claims who can negotiate and deal with the defendants on your behalf.

After an accident it is essential that you take the time to rehabilitate and recover properly, by using the services of a reputable personal injury solicitor you can let us take the burden on your behalf, leaving you free to concentrate on the road to recovery.

If you would like to speak to one of our personal injury Solicitors for free legal advice, call us now on:
Freephone: 0800 316 4434 or click here to make an online enquiry.

If, for whatever reason your claim is unsuccessful our costs will be written off, you will not have to pay a penny.

If you would like to speak to one of our personal injury Solicitors for free legal advice, call us now on Freephone: 0800 316 4434 or make an online enquiry.

You will receive 100% of the compensation award, without any deductions. All of our costs will be recovered from the responsible party or their insurance company.

Unlike many Claims Management Companies who often charge you a percentage of your compensation award, you will be dealing with us directly and as a result we won’t take any of your compensation if you win.

For immediate free legal advice, speak to one of our personal injury solicitors, call us on Freephone: 0800 316 4434 or click here to make an online enquiry.

Dealing with Solicitors and making a personal injury claim can be a daunting prospect for some people, leaving them with an uncertainty as to whether to claim or not.

We will never try and force or pressure you into making a claim.

If you do decide to claim we will make sure we take the worry and stress away from you by dealing with all of the paperwork and negotiations with the other party involved. We will communicate to you using plain English, not complicated legal jargon.

In addition, there is no financial risk to you at all, win or lose you won’t pay a penny.

If you have been injured through no fault of your own, you have a legal right to compensation, don’t pass it up.

If you would like to speak to one of our personal injury solicitors for immediate advice call now on Freephone: 0800 316 4434 or click here to make an online enquiry.

Initial Contact

When you contact us either by telephone or via the website all our advice is totally free. You will speak to an experienced member of our legal team who will ask you for brief details about your accident and the injuries you sustained.

We will then be in a position to make an assessment of your case and the liklehood of you making a successful claim.

Keep an Injury Diary

It is likely that we will advise you to keep a daily log of your injuries and how they effect your daily life, this can be important detailed evidence over the recovery period.

Assign Case

If you decide to proceed and make a personal injury claim your case will be assigned to one of our personal injury Solicitors who will handle the case personally from start to finish, you will be provided with their direct telephone number and e-mail address so you have access to them whenever you need it.

Write to other party

We will write to the other party (or their insurance company) advising or your intention to bring a claim and explaining why we are holding them responsible. This is called a Letter of Claim.

Gather Evidence

We will now also start to obtain all the evidence required to support the claim, this may include witness statements, police reports, photographs of injuries and receipts for any costs you have incurred.

Visit Medical Expert

Your appointed Solicitor will also arrange for you to see a locally based medical expert, we always make sure appointments are made at a time convenient to you. Once the medical expert has examined your injuries they will provide us with a report with details of your recovery and information about ongoing problems caused by the accident.

Once the medical report has been received we will be in a position to put together a list of everything you are claiming for, this is referred to as a ‘Schedule of Losses’, the schedule may include compensation for pain and suffering, reimbursement for loss of earnings through time off work, car hire charges, taxi/rail fares and compensation for any personal items or clothing damaged during the accident.

The ‘Schedule of Losses’ is sent to the other party along with a request for the claim to be settled for the amount specified.

Compensation Award

By this time we will normally have heard from the third party with their comments on liability (whether they agree that they are at fault or not). It is very unlikely that the claim will go to Court as most personal injury claims in the UK are resolved between the parties concerned. At this stage we hope to be able to provide you with either a full or interim (part) payment of compensation.

If agreement cannot be reached it could be necessary to pursue the claim to Court. Also, in serious personal injury cases that are likely to attract very large compensation awards, it is more likely that the case will be dealt with in Court, to ensure the highest possible compensation payout.

If you would like to speak to one of our personal injury solicitors for further details about the claims process call now on Freephone: 0800 316 4434 or click here to make an online enquiry.

You are entitled by law to compensation in you have suffered an injury that was not your fault within the last three years.

Whether the injury was whiplash, bruising, minor cuts or burns or more serious long term injuries, we will help you claim compensation.

If you would like to receive immediate expert legal advice call us now on Freephone: 0800 316 4434 or click here to make an online enquiry.

As personal injury experts with many years experience winning millions of pounds in compensation for thousands of injury victims in the UK you couldn’t be in safer hands, couple this with the fact that you will be dealing with us directly rather than through a third party such as a middleman or Claims Management Company who make money by selling your claim to a Solicitor you have never heard of and know nothing about, the choice couldn’t be easier!

When you call us you won’t be put through to a call centre, who then farm your claim out to the highest bidder. You can speak directly to one of our Personal Injury Solicitors who will understand your situation and will have considerable experience of dealing with cases similar to yours, you will immediately receive expert legal advice and assistance and we can usually get the claims process underway then and there.

When it comes to claiming Personal Injury Compensation, there is only one sensible choice.

If you would like to speak to one of our personal injury solicitors for free legal advice, call us now on Freephone: 0800 316 4434 or click here to make an online enquiry.

We Promise not to charge you a penny, Win or Lose.

Some companies take large chunks of your compensation if you win your claim, we never take anything from our customers, all our costs are met by the losing side’s insurance company. If, for whatever reason your personal injury claim is unsuccessful, you still pay nothing.

We also deal with your claim ourselves, directly. Your dedicated Solicitor will handle everything personally for you. We are not a claims management company and don’t sell your case onto a Solicitor you have never heard of and know nothing about.

Our promise to you:

• All advice we give you will be totally free and completely impartial
• You will not have to pay anything to anyone at any time, win or lose
• One of our own experienced personal injury solicitors will handle your claim
• Under no circumstances will we pressurise you into pursuing a claim
• We will do our utmost to get you the very best possible compensation award
• We talk in plain, simple English, you will not be bombarded with complex legal jargon

Every year we help many thousands of people make successful personal injury compensation claims, without putting themselves at any financial risk at all.

If you would like to speak to one of our personal injury Solicitors for free legal advice, call us now on Freephone: 0800 316 4434 or click here to make an online enquiry.

When you’re out and driving, there’s nothing worse than being involved in an accident. Whether it’s just a bump or a more serious accident, accidents are horrible things to witness and worse to experience.

If you’re on a motorcycle, accidents become even worse. More than two thousand motorcycle accidents resulted in death last year in the United Kingdom. With nothing between you and the other vehicle to absorb the impact, motorcycle accidents can cause far greater injuries than those sustained in a car or other road accident.

Motorcycle accidents are sometimes caused by poor maintenance, because a motorcycle only has two wheels, it is inherently more unstable than a car, and requires more careful maintenance to ensure safety out on the road. A slightly misaligned tyre can result in a fatal crash, as can an engine or brake failure, so always make sure your motorcycle is in top shape.

Also, check the tyres themselves. If you leave your tyres too long without getting them replaced, the treads can wear away. These bald tyres can lead to fatal motorcycle accidents, especially in snowy conditions or on wet roads where bald tyres are more likely to lose grip. Have your mechanic check your tyres and make sure they’re still good to ride on.

Bad roads can lead to fatal motorcycle accidents as well. The government can only repair so many roads at a time, and some roads go for years without ever seeing the attention of a road crew. These roads can be treacherous enough to normal cars, with loose gravel and big potholes that can swallow a tyre whole. If you’re on a motorcycle, that pothole can flip your motorcycle over and throw you onto the road, so you have to be a lot more careful. On bad roads, slow down and keep your eyes open, and avoid otherwise very painful motorcycle accidents.

There are plenty of other conditions which may lead to bad motorcycle accidents. Watch out for debris on the road, a nail in the tyre at sixty miles an hour could lead to a potentially fatal blow-out. Also, sometimes things get spilled on the road, oil for example, isn’t the most friction conducive material, driving over a patch could lead to a slide out and loss of control over your motorcycle. Watch for dark patches on the road that indicate spilled oil.

Then there’s ice. With as much rain as Britain gets, ice is fairly common whenever it gets cold, and when it’s present you have to be especially careful. In a car, a spinout could lead to ending up in a ditch. In a motorcycle, loss of control usually leads to a motorcycle accident, at best, bruises or broken bones, at the worst, death. The human body isn’t made to slam into asphalt at sixty miles an hour, and won’t react well if it does. If there is ice on the road, drive slowly and very carefully.

Alcohol and drugs, of course, are an obvious problem. They impair judgment and turn otherwise good drivers into dangerous ones, the only good part of driving a motorcycle drunk is that when you crash you probably won’t take anyone else with you. The bad news is, you’ll still be just as dead. Sleep deprivation is nearly as bad, so make sure you’re always well rested before driving. Remember, because of the small size and low profile of motorcycles, drivers of cars will have a harder time seeing you. The responsibility of safety is up to you, so take it seriously.

The news stories published on our website are done so for the interest of our visitors, stories we publish have been widely reported in the media. By us publishing a story on this website does not infer or suggest that Pinto Potts LLP Solicitors have any knowledge or involvement with cases or persons mentioned.

If you are injured whilst riding a motorcycle we can help, whether you were the driver or passenger, if the accident wasn’t your fault it is likely you will be due compensation for your injuries.

Motorcycle accident claims require considerable specialist legal knowledge. Pinto Potts have a dedicated team of Solicitors with many years experience of dealing with these types of claims and always ensure we get the best compensation offers for our clients. In addition, we provide our clients with access to our network of leading medical experts to ensure they receive the best treatment and rehabilitation available.

Claims will be handled on No Win, No Fee basis, and you will not be asked to pay a penny, win or lose.

If you would like to speak to one of our Solicitors about a Road Accident simply call us on Freephone: 0800 316 4434 or claim online.

Asbestos Claims – Asbestos was formally regarded as a wonder substance due to its heat resistant properties. Regrettably exposure to asbestos has also caused large numbers of people to suffer from disabling and life threatening medical conditions. Since the 1930s it has been recognised that asbestos was capable of causing disease, and you can claim compensation in some cases.

Despite this the wide spread use of asbestos did not cease until the 1980s and exposure to asbestos still continues whenever and wherever it is removed. Asbestos exposure causes five main medical conditions.

These are;

1. Pleural Plaques
2. Diffuse Pleural Thickening
3. Asbestosis
4. Lung Cancer
5. Mesothelioma

Some of these medical conditions cause breathlessness and disability. Others can be fatal. None of these conditions occur immediately. It usually takes at least fifteen years after exposure for the conditions to materialise and for symptoms to occur. It often takes a lot longer.

As a result the Health & Safety Executive predicts that people will still be suffering from and dieing as a result of asbestos related conditions after the year 2030. Asbestos related conditions are not reserved for people who are still alive and worked with asbestos. Successful claims have also been made by:-

• Employees who worked in the vicinity of other people using asbestos
• Family members who were exposed to dust brought home on relatives clothing
• Occupiers of premises where asbestos existed or was removed
• Relatives of family members who have died from Asbestos related disease

According to the British Lung Foundation, more than 2,000 people are diagnosed with mesothelioma every year in the UK and someone dies every five hours. The number of deaths increased from 153 in 1968 to 1,969 in 2004 and is expected to peak at 2,450 between 2011 and 2015. Since asbestos was effectively outlawed in the 80s, the number of cases in those aged under 45 has dropped three-fold while those above 85 have risen three-fold. Professor Peto said chemotherapy and immune therapy to tackle the disease were still in their experimental stages and the most vulnerable group in 10-15 years time will be over 75. Tests to diagnose the disease in its early stages are still imprecise, and there is a debate raging over whether victims should be identified when there is no effective treatment. Professor Peto said the dangers of exposure to asbestos had been known since the 1930s, yet few safeguards were enacted for decades. “Historically it is incomprehensible that this has happened. “That Britain should have made this extraordinary industrial error seems hard to understand,” he added. Dr Keith Prowse, chairman of the British Lung Foundation, said the shortest time for the disease to develop was 15 years while the average was 35. Sufferers show signs of breathlessness, pain in the lower back or chest and a persistent cough. Dr Prowse said extreme surgery was possible in the early stages, with the removal of an affected lung, and latest chemotherapy regimes gave some sufferers an extra three months of survival. He said: “It is a small gain but an important gain if you look at the current prognosis.”

Pinto Potts have a specialist team of dedicated Solicitors who are highly skilled in dealing with Asbestos compensation claims of this nature and cases are handled on a No Win, No Fee Claim basis.

If you would like to speak to one of our Solicitors about Asbestos and related diseases sustained in the workplace simply call us on Freephone: 0800 316 4434 to claim online for asbestos compensation.

By Nigel Cragg

I read with interest the article in the Post magazine February 2007 Nick Gunters article regarding Colossus.

Many of the uninitiated personal injury Claimants may not realise that insurance companies use a computer programme to calculate how much compensation to offer.

Not only this but the computer programme concerned “Colossus” is a system which can be tailored to the individual needs of the insurer concerned.

The programme can be calibrated to calculate damages dependent upon certain criteria. If the insurer decides not to include a particular criteria in its assessment then the computer will obey its master and this may lead to it coming to a calculation of compensation at a lower level than had that particular criteria have been counted.

For example if Colossus were to use as part of its criteria the number of days away from work as a result of the injury and the insurer were to decide not to include this then if a Claimant had had time off work as a result of his injuries he might receive the same offer of compensation as a Claimant who had had no time off work as a result of his injuries. Can this be right?

In my experience of handling personal injury litigation over the last 28 years I have come across the use of Colossus in the last 5 years. Many insurance companies do not like to publicise the fact that they use this system nor do they admit that they have used this system if they are challenged.

I handled one particular case recently in the County Court where an insurer had made an offer that it conceded was calculated by Colossus.

The handler at the insurance company, when asked whether they were prepared to negotiate simply responded by saying “I am afraid I am not permitted to offer anymore than Colossus has calculated”. I started Court proceedings on behalf of my client which were then heard by a Judge who awarded significantly more in compensation than Colossus had calculated.

As a consequence my client received his genuine award of compensation and penalty interest. The legal fees involved had already significantly increased by virtue of the extra work in taking the Court case to trial and therefore not only did the insurer have to pay more in compensation but also had to pay significantly more in legal fees.

All this when insurers are complaining that legal fees often exceed the value of the claim. If the insurance companies only looked at their own conduct they would realise why this might be the case!

It would always be wise when considering an offer from an insurance company for personal injury compensation to ask them whether they have calculated the offer using the computer system or whether it has been carefully considered by an experienced professional.

I have no doubt that many cases have been settled using the Colossus system. This is because Claimants may not realise that the offer has been calculated by a computer and may not believe it right to challenge the valuation or ask how it has been calculated. Sometimes Claimants accept less than the claim is actually worth simply to achieve an early settlement. Some lawyers promote this way of working because they to are acting on a fixed fee and therefore the quicker they settle the case the quicker they get paid. The amount of work they do on the case is no longer relevant to the amount they get paid.

This is not necessarily good news for the public. I would therefore recommend to any Claimant that they ensure that their claim has been properly assessed and valued by an experienced personal injury practitioner or a member of the association of personal injury lawyers before deciding to accept any settlement