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The Branch’s solicitors (McCool, Patterson, Hemsi & Co., formerly Leigh, Day and Co.) are one of the UK’s leading practices dealing with Personal Injury, Medical Negligence and Environmental claims and they offer members a first class service, as anyone who has used them will confirm.
Legal Advice: If you wish to see a solicitor regarding any issue in which you need to know your legal position - a consumer problem, a family matter, etc. - the Branch will arrange for you to visit our solicitors. The initial visit and advice is free to members. You may take advantage of this service as many times as you wish in a year, providing that it is on a different matter each time. Alternatively, telephone advice can also be arranged.
Accidents on/off duty: If you have suffered an accident either on or off duty, it may be possible for you to make a claim for Personal Injury which the CWU’s solicitors would pursue on your behalf. There are 3 criteria that must be met before any claim can be considered:
- You must be a member of the Union at the time of the accident
- You must have received medical attention either from your own GP or a hospital
- There must be a third party that you feel was responsible for your accident.
The Branch will then arrange for an appointment to be made for you to see the solicitor free of charge, who will be able to advise you of the possibility of a successful claim.
If it is found that there are good grounds to make a claim, the Union solicitor would take this on, again at no cost to yourself.
Accidents on duty: If you have an accident on duty, it is vital that you report it to your employer so that they can complete an accident report, no matter how minor the incident may seem. For more serious accidents, you may be entitled to claim an Industrial Injury benefit allowance from the Department of Works & Pensions (DWP). It is therefore important that you contact the Branch office to see whether or not you should register the accident with the DWP. The responsibility to advise the DWP is yours and failure to report an accident can affect your ability to make a claim in the future.
Accidents either on or off duty where no third party is involved: If you suffer any permanent disability you can claim compensation, even if there is no third party involvement, the claim being made by the Union against the Company’s insurers. It is very difficult to give a full list of these types of accidents but it might for example be slipping on ice on your own garden path and injuring your wrist or ankle, or cutting your hand on a tin and damaging a tendon. All you need do is ring the Branch office within a couple of weeks of the accident and we will register it. It is obviously preferable that you make a full recovery from any accident and there is then no need to continue with a claim, however we will keep the claim open until such time as it is known you have made a full recovery.
N.B. Legal cases, Insurance cases and Accident on duty cases are all subject to strict time scales. It is therefore important if you have had an accident and are unsure what you need to do that you contact the Branch office at your earliest opportunity for advice.
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