Belfast- and Newry-based JMK Solicitors handled 1,240 road traffic personal injury cases last year, making them Northern Ireland’s leading road traffic special injury claims specialist for a second year.

More than 19,000 personal injury claims relating to road traffic incidents were registered in 2015, according to the Compensation Recovery Unit, a division of the Department for Social Development, which disclosed the figures to JMK Solicitors.

Nearly one in four claims registered in 2015 had no legal representation behind them.

Maurece Hutchinson, managing director at JMK Solicitors, said: “In recent years, insurance companies will contact those involved in road traffic collisions and offer to settle their injury claim at a reduced amount without the benefit of a medical report.

“In our experience, I would urge those affected to exercise caution in this regard. It is right that everyone should have access to independent, impartial advice following a collision and they should not feel obliged to take what might, on the surface, appear to be an easier option. This is particularly so where the insurance company is paying a parent the compensation that is due to a child.

“Although personal injury law is complicated, with the help of an experienced solicitor the process of making a claim can be quite straightforward.”