A word from one of our own Road Safety Heroes this Road Safety Week

This Road Safety Week we are thanking the road safety heroes who are there to help when a horrible accident occurs on our roads, but it would be amiss of us to not give a special thanks to our own colleagues. Our Serious Injury department is one of the largest in the UK and every day our team of associates, solicitors, paralegals, admin staff and beyond work to help those who have suffered from life changing injuries.

We spoke with Lee Elmore, Chartered Legal Executive, about how we deliver the best client care we can following an accident and some of the organisations he’s had the privilege of working with.

How do you personally provide the best client care you can following an accident?

As a biker, my particular passion is for helping injured bikers in particular but that extends to all my clients.  It’s important for the injured person and/or their authorised person to know I have 25+ years of experience in personal injury claims and have been dealing with serious and complex injury cases for around 20 of those years, both as a claimant and defendant. 

Early and comprehensive rehabilitation is my major focus from the outset.  I make the client aware the defendants do have an obligation to consider privately funded rehabilitation at the earliest possible stage to help them get back to work at the appropriate time.  In addition, I seek interim payments to help the client through the tough times which come from being off work and possibly needing specialist equipment or help that the NHS can’t provide.

It is essential to provide regular updates on what’s happening for the client to have complete peace of mind and confidence that their claim is being handled properly.  Clients should not have to chase to find out what the current situation might be, particularly in the early stages when the heightened anxiety about the future and their finances, following serious injury, is at its peak.

I find signposting from the early stages, setting realistic expectations about liability issues, timescales for obtaining evidence, rehabilitation needs, interim payments and eventual settlement of the claim is another important tool. The injured person needs to have a good view of the road ahead of them and be aware of the likely time involved.

The injured person and their family benefit from knowing they’re in the hands of an established and reputable firm, such as Minster Law, who have a long and ongoing relationship with leading bike brokers and organisations such as the Spinal Injuries Association and Headway.

What single piece of advice would you offer injured clients or their families to maximise their chances of recovery and justice?

Post-accident, the single piece of advice I would give is to select your legal representatives carefully, based on industry reputation and the experience of their case handlers.  We are here to fight your corner and to provide you with support throughout your recovery. Don’t simply base your choice on what firms might promise at the outset but speak with motorist groups, associations such as those mentioned above and find out which one you can trust to do the job you expect.

Which organisations out there would you like to mention and thank for the work they do for road users and road traffic victims?

Organisations like Brake, the Police and independent motoring groups such as the Motorcycle Action Group, the Institute of Advanced Motorists, RoSPA, to name but a few are doing sterling work in promoting road safety to both car drivers and bikers to ensure that our roads are a safer place to be. 

I recently attended a Bikesafe course with North Yorkshire Police, a paid-for and voluntary course which offers riders of all ages and experiences the chance to be coached by Police motorcyclists, learn how to ride and react on the roads to hazards in the way that the professionals do.  I’d strongly recommend this to any rider.

In the event that the unimaginable does happen, there are associations such as Headway who are there to help the injured person and their families through the tough times ahead.

To find out more about the work Lee does for bikers click here.

To make a match funded donation to our charity partners click here.