What Will Happen When I Make A Claim?
When you contact us, you'll speak to one of our friendly team members, who will talk to you about your illness. This initial consultation is free and from there, we'll advise you on the best way to take your claim forward.
Contacting Those Responsible For Your Illness
We'll help you work out who is responsible for your illness and get in touch with them at an early stage to see if they accept the blame for what happened. If they accept responsibility, we'll try to secure some of your compensation up-front, which can fund private medical care and expenses while your claim is ongoing. These payments are known as interim payments, and will be taken out of your final compensation award.
Gathering Evidence
Our experts will look into your case in detail, gathering evidence and enquiring to see if anyone else has been affected. We'll employ medical professionals to find out how your illness impacted your health and recommend the care you'll need in the future in order to make the best recovery possible.
Final Settlement & Compensation Awarded
We'll always try and negotiate claims out of court, keeping the claim process as short as we can. However, if your opponent doesn't accept responsibility or doesn't agree with the amount of compensation we feel you need, we'll start court proceedings.
Even when trial dates have been set, claims are still often settled before reaching court. If your claim needs to be decided at court, we'll be there to help you every step of the way, talking you through what will happen so you feel as comfortable as possible.
Read more about what happens if your case goes to court.
What Can Compensation Pay For?
By making a Legionnaires' disease compensation claim, you can access funds to help cover expenses and any medical treatment you may need.
Every case is different, so there's no set amount of compensation you'll receive. The amount of compensation you'll get will depend on your circumstances, the severity of your illness and your chances of making a full recovery.
To work out how much compensation you're entitled to, we'll take into account factors such as:
Expenses - including travel expenses to medical appointments, prescriptions and things that help with daily living.Loss of earnings - to cover any time you've had off work and time off you may need in the future. This figure can also cover matters such as not returning to the same role or not being able to return to work.Pain and suffering - caused by your illness.Further treatments - to pay for any further medical procedures you may need
If you'd like to make a compensation claim, contact us to set up a free initial consultation on 0800 056 4110 .
How Long Do I Have To Make A Claim?
You normally have to make a personal injury claim within three years of your illness so you should contact us as soon as possible. Getting in touch with us shortly after your illness makes collecting evidence easier and helps get you the compensation you need as soon as possible. It can also help us find other people who have got food poisoning from the same place and file a stronger group claim.
There are some exceptions to the three year time limit, including:
Claims on behalf of children - these can be made at any point before their 18th birthday. When the child reaches 18, they can make their own claim at any stage up until they turn 21.Mental capacity - there are no time limits to make a claim on behalf of someone who doesn't have the ability to handle their own case.Fatal claims - fatal cases of food poisoning can happen to people with underlying illnesses, people with weakened immune systems and other vulnerable individuals. To make a claim on behalf of your loved one, you'll have three years from the date they died to make a claim. If a post-mortem found that the death was caused by food poisoning, you have three years from the point where you discovered these findings.International claims - If you have developed Legionnaires' disease while abroad, the time limits affecting your claim will be different. For more information, please see our accidents and illness abroad section.
If you would like to make a personal injury claim, we urge you to contact us as soon as possible so we can start work on your case. Call us today on 0800 056 4110 for a free initial consultation to discuss your situation.
Can I Make A No Win No Fee Claim?
Many of our cases are funded with a No Win No Fee agreement. This means that there's no financial risk* to you when making a compensation claim.
At the start of your case we'll discuss funding options with you, advising you which we think is most suitable. If you have legal expenses insurance (LEI) or are covered by a trade union policy, these may be better options to fund your claim. Legal expenses insurance is included in many household insurance policies, so it's always worth checking whether you're already covered.
If we think you're best supported by a No Win No Fee agreement, we'll explain the process clearly. This involves setting up an insurance policy that will protect you, at no cost to you. You'll only have to pay anything when your claim is successful - your opponent will pay most of our fees.
Please visit our No Win No Fee page for more information on how it works.
Meet The Team
Our personal injury experts are based across the country so are never too far away from you. We'll always take the time to get to know you and will make sure we understand what happened in your illness and the effect it's had on your life.
Your lawyer will run your case as efficiently as possible and will start investigating your claim as soon as possible. We always provide clear advice on what's happening and can advise you on a number of issues including financial planning and state benefit entitlement.
Our lawyers are highly ranked in leading legal guides the Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners.
In 2022, the Legal 500 described us as "a market leader in claimant personal injury work. IM stands out within the field for the specialism within its teams and the excellence of its lawyers throughout."
Chambers & Partners (2022) said: “Irwin Mitchell is truly standout in this area, with quality and depth right across the board."
We're also proud to have won the Claimant Solicitor of the Year prize at the Rehabilitation First Awards on seven different occasions. This award recognises our key focus on rehabilitation, making sure that our clients can access the care and support they need.
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