injury claim advice

[les.a]

Hello
Having looked around various uk web forums, it appears that most frown upon claiming for injuries, usually accusing them of fraud.

I was in an minor RTA 3 months ago, I was hit from behind whilst stood in a queue but was pushed forward with what seemed like a truck had hit me, though it was only a small car.

My lower back (coccyx) hurt immediately, which was off and on for at least a month, my neck tightened up that evening, again off and on for a couple of weeks.
the worst was my elbow, it was pushed into the door panel thing, that bit where you can rest your arm on, it still gives me some pain now.

I saw a doctor about it and said once the bruising went it should be ok,
went back a month later with the pain not much better,
a different doctor says it is tennis elbow and more likely nothing to do with the bump?

though my job does require repetitive elbow movement it was fine prior to the accident, and my job does involve the occasional aching back too.
I didn't take any time off work has I pride myself on my attendance, even though i'd get full pay whilst off.
i've hardly had a full nights undisturbed sleep since due to me probably laying on my elbow

The advice i'm after is my own insurers/solicitors have written to me saying they estimate my damages at between £1800-£2300
now I know this isn't to be sniffed at, but a very close friend recently was also in an RTA and received £2700 for just the whiplash, no arguing with the other insurers, even though he admitted nothing really wrong bar a week or so stiffness!

Do I take their advice and try to claim that amount or is it the done thing to get them to look at the medical report again?
they must know better than me,
also are they taking my 2nd visit to the doctors advice and discounting my elbow injury has he said its nothing to do with it?

 

[Witch consumer]

Solicitors love this sort of thing because they earn mega money out of these claims, personally I hate these 'ambulance chasers' but if you have been injured in a road traffic accident, you have the right to compensation........obviously I watch too much daytime telly, I'm even beginning to sound like them!

The choice is yours but I do think no time off work plus your docs diagnosis will not work in your favour, sometimes it is more expensive to fight claims than to just pay out, so you may be paid out with little fuss.

 

[les.a]

Solicitors love this sort of thing because they earn mega money out of these claims, personally I hate these 'ambulance chasers' but if you have been injured in a road traffic accident, you have the right to compensation........obviously I watch too much daytime telly, I'm even beginning to sound like them!

The choice is yours but I do think no time off work plus your docs diagnosis will not work in your favour, sometimes it is more expensive to fight claims than to just pay out, so you may be paid out with little fuss.

It basically sounds like I probably would have been better off taking time off work, I guess the days of soldiering on are gone.

I was really after "pushing" for a few more quid as my premiums will shoot up, 2k now will be eaten away over the next few years.
could it be worth a call?
the 1st doctor did note the bruising, so could this go against the 2nd diagnosis of tennis elbow when bruise had gone?

 

[Witch consumer]

They may just pay out anyway, my son had an accident recently and I was surprised when he got a letter saying it was from a solicitor aappointed by his insurance company and was being paid £700 to deal with it on behalf of the insurers, thats why premiums are going up!

If you claim through the insurers and don't get anything, it won't cost you anything so you have nothing to lose.

 

[T.C]

When it comes to a case being valued with a view to compensation, there are a number of things that have to be taken into consideration.

Firstly, a personal injury claim has 2 parts.

General damages - This is the payment for the actual injuries sustained and also includes a payment for pain and suffering.

Each injury has its own value as laid down by the Judicial Services Review Board and each injury is then valued depending on whether it is minor, moderate or serious/catastrophic. The highest award that can be made is about £275,000 for a serious brain injury or paraplegia whilst at the opposite end of the scale, a broken tooth is worth about £600

Special Damages - This payment takes into account any out of pocket expenses, loss of earnings, ongoing treatment and so on. When you read of stories of multi million pound settlements, it is the special damages that accounts for these high values as it will be in a catastrophic case where there is ongoing care and special needs.

So, a value placed on an injury is going to vary depending on the severity and any subsequent ongoing problems, but until the independent medical examination has been completed it is difficult to give an exact value as a long term prognosis is as yet unknown.

Then there are the recent changes in how cases are run that have to be taken into consideration.

Claims are placed into one of 2 tracks. Fast track injuries are for claims with a value of £25,000 or less. The main issue here is that now fast track claims are dealt with on a portal scheme and have fixed fees of £800 (unless it goes to trial when the fees increase to £1400) and for cases over £25,000 it goes onto the multi track scheme where there is no capping of fees but the success fee has been removed.

Firms who run fast track schemes have in most cases taken on paralegals or legal execs to handle these matters, and so the cases are placed on a conveyor belt and the claimant simply becomes a number as the firm want you through the system as quickly as possible and really have no interest in obtaining the maximum amount of compensation because once liability is agreed, with fixed fees they will get paid their £800 regardless of the value.

However, if the problem is ongoing, then the case can be switched to a multi track and this is where if you are still suffering, then you would be well advised to get a second opinion as many of the conveyor belt firms tend to only look at the physical injury not the longer term problems that may arise.

If you are being funded under legal expenses insurance, then your insurance company cannot insist that you use their tame panel firms, you can insist that you go to a solicitor of your choosing, but to be honest, the best way to fund a case is under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) which is the official name for a no win no fee agreement, and they are not used just by the Ambulance chasing firms, but by all reputable law firms as it replaced legal aid which was removed from personal injury cases in 2001 and was means tested, a CFA means that legal representation is available to all and under a CFA apart from the fact that it does exactly what it says on the tin, if a firm working under a CFA do not win the case it means they get paid nothing (unlike under LEI) and so it is in their interest to fight your corner.

Most firms under a CFA will also guarantee the claimant keeps 100% of their compensation as their fees are claimed from the third party on completion of the case, but this is a subject for another day.

So the bottom line is that without having access to your medical records or the independent medical report it is difficult (and unprofessional) to say whether the offer is reasonable or not.

If the injury occurred less than a year ago and you are still experiencing problems, then yes it is under valued, if you have made a full recovery, then again it is impossible to give a valuation.

Pop into a local personal injury specialist and ask for a second opinion, (it will not cost you anything for a consultation) and solicitors can be sacked and cases transferred to another firm without cost to you.

But remember, a solicitor cannot accept an offer on your behalf without first consulting and advising you.

 

[Direct2Compensation]

You raise an important question with regards to settling any claim for compensation and whether you instruct and use the services of a specialist injury compensation Solicitor or deal directly with an insurer.

As a personal injury specialist with over 20 years experience in the claimant sector, it will not surprise you to hear that I would strongly advocate you instructing a specialist personal injury solicitor act for you and take this matter over.

Whilst dealing with an insurer directly will likely see you receive a compensation settlement more quickly than if you instruct a specialist Solicitor, it is likely that the outcome of your claim will be a lower settlement and one that may well not fully take in to account your injuries and losses.

Our experience and that of people who have come to us after liaising directly with an insurer, particularly after a Road Traffic Accident is that they have received an offer of compensation at an early stage, but that the offers made tend to be extremely low and made in an effort to force a cheaper settlement for the insurer, rather than ensuring a fair and full settlement for the injured party.

When instructing a specialist injury compensation Solicitor to act for you, you can be certain that they will place the correct and fair valuation on any injury element of your claim. To ensure this, a specialist Solicitor will instruct a medical assessment of your injuries by a specialist Medical Professional and then seek advice from a Barrister to place a valuation on the injury element of your claim. They will then also ensure that ANY losses and costs incurred by you will be recovered in the special damages compensation claimed for you.

Insurers will wish to settle any accepted claim at the lowest amount possible. That is completely reasonable and as anyone would expect. Without having a specialist Solicitor acting for you, how would you know if any offer is reasonable or fair? Therefore, having a specialist injury compensation solicitor with genuine knowledge, legal expertise and with the access to expert opinion to advocate for you and act on your behalf will ensure that you receive advice as to whether any offer made is one that should be accepted or rejected. This would give you the peace of mind needed to make sure you settle your claim and are happy with the outcome.

Again, you don't have to instruct a specialist Solicitor to act for you, but it is something I would strongly recommend. You can read further about our thoughts on this here:
https://direct2compensation.co.uk/articles/solicitors/claiming-without-a-solicitor-should-you-accept-an-insurers-offer

If you would like any further advice please visit our website and make contact. Best of luck with your claim!

 

[Pearcie26]

Hi I am currently undergoing a personal injury claim from an accident at work and am looming for some advice on how serious it is and how much it is worth as my solicitor is not letting on. I had a winch fall on my head millimetres from the soft part from 12 foot in the air, it caused a laceration about 3 inches long and an inch wide right down to the skull it's chipped 2 of my teeth and has left some damage still now. I'm having a ct scan and hopefully that will get to the bottom of it I keep dropping things and am suffering headaches 10 weeks down the line.

 

[Direct2Compensation]

The fact that your Solicitor is not yet willing to discuss a valuation in your claim is not a surprise to me. The reason for this is that it is probably not yet possible to say as the full extent of the injury and long term prognosis is not known.

Hopefully, your CT scan will not reveal anything of concern, but there is a possibility that it could. As you will appreciate, the level of damages that can be awarded in a claim for compensation will depend on the extent of the injuries, what level of recovery is made and how long that recovery period takes. (not to mention the special damages element of your claim)

With this in mind, your Solicitor is likely to want to be fully aware of the contents of any CT scan report, to know what the Consultant has to say and how your symptoms are in a few months time before getting to the point where they can provide an accurate estimate of the likely sum of compensation you will receive.

You may find it useful to read this article on my website that gives further explanations as to how a claim settlement award value is reached.

I would have thought that your level of damages for the laceration and scarring alone could be quite substantial though.

I wish you the very best of luck both with your recovery and ongoing claim.

 

[Pearcie26]

Thankyou for your kind words. I hope nothing else shows up also. You couldn't define substantial could you the reason for my thoughts are, if it had of hit me anywhere other than were it did on my head I could possibly not be here and my 4 kids wouldn't have nothing. It was also a homemade piece of equipment that my enter had fitted and wasn't up to safety regulations.

 

[Colborn45]

Something similar happened with my friend too and he too had something which didn’t passed the safety regulations. Moreover, he was bit drunk and had to hire Los Angeles DUI lawyer to defend himself. So, let’s see what happens!