Advice on settlement for injury please

asea

Hi

I'm just wondering whether anybody can advise me whether an offer I have been made in respect of an injury I suffered at the hands of an idiot who should never have been allowed to drive. Apologies for the length of my post.

I was hit by a car whilst in a cycling lane. The driver was looking the other way & swerved into the cycling lane, hitting me quite hard. He then drove off but was chased by other motorists who stopped him & called the police (also restoring my faith in mankind a little) I suffered whiplash, one massive bruise which extended from the back of my neck down to my knee on one side of my body. My shoulder was completely pulled out of it's socket. My shoulder never properly healed (thanks NHS!) and I now have a shoulder which still comes out of it's socket as well as terrible pain in my neck,shoulder & trapezium. The muscles on one side of my neck, shoulder & chest have become overdeveloped, meaning that I am now a little lopsided. I have to take painkillers nearly every day I also had to give up playing netball which I have played for years, kickboxing which I had at the time been playing for 2 years & cycling medium to long distances I can't lift heavy things or strain my arm/neck/shoulder and I have problems finding a comfortable position to sleep in.

I will probably have to have major surgery to my shoulder if the current treatments (physio, bio-feedback approach) do not work. I refuse to do this until after I get married as I will be left with 3 eight inch scars across my shoulders, chest & back. The surgery only has a 60% chance of success.

I've been offered a settlement of approximately eleven thousand pounds. The accident was 3 years ago so apparantly we have to settle now even though we do not know how this will all pan out. My solicitor is seeking advice from a barrister as he believes this offer is far too low.

Does anyone with knowledge & experience know if this is a fair offer & what I should expect?

Thanks

Quentin

asea wrote: »

The accident was 3 years ago so apparantly we have to settle now even though we do not know how this will all pan out.

Who is telling you this? (It's wrong).

You don't want to be settling until after you know the final outcome of your surgery, and your long term prognosis etc.

mattymoo

To clarify, they need to issue legal proceding on or before the 3rd anniversary of the accident (unless you were under 18 when it happened) to protect your position. Failure to do this precludes you from claiming from the motorist but you can still sue the solictor for mucking things up.

Settlement itself (agreeing the quantum of the claim) can take place at a later date - months or years later.

Has this affected your job prospects at all? I suspect all manual work will be pretty much out the quesiton. Do you have the intelligence to undertake office type work? If not, the you could be looking at a major future loss of earnings claim plus a Smith v Manchester award for disadvantage on the labour market. (Smith Manchester awards reflect the fact a prospective employer with 2 clients of equal ability will select the more able bodied person).

£11k certainly seems on the low side given your sporting nature, potential scarring and long term affects of the injury. Will certainly be worth seeing what the barrister has to say.

asea

Thank you both for the replies.

Quentin it was my solicitor that told me that we needed to go ahead as 3 years have elapsed.

To be completely honest, I would like to settle now rather than have this hanging over me for years to come. I'm emigrating next month, I'm getting married soon & I would like to put it all behind me & move on, even if it means getting less than I would if I waited - but I do want a fair settlement of my suffering at least thus far & for what they know is inevitable (further treatments, operation etc)

The independent orthopaedic surgeon has said in his last couple of reports that I will be at a disadvantage in the job market. I gave up my job (in insurance!) a couple of weeks ago - my injury was one factor (out of many). I develop bad strains & pain in my shoulder if I sit at a desk & type for more than half an hour or so. I was working as a project manager, so desk based. Does that make any difference?

mattymoo

Well the Smith / Manchester award alone can be worth up to 2 years earnings. This is based on cases I was handling 14 years ago so might have changed since.

What about the surgery costs. Presumably this would have been on the NHS but since you are emigrating, you will probably have to pay for it. That could add another £20k.

If your solicitor is suggesting you settle the whole thing for £11k then I think you are being misadvised.

geri1965_2

Is £11,000 for everything or just the injury (general damages) with other losses (e.g. the disadvantage on the labour maket) on top? If it's a total settlement then I'd say it's way too low.

For a "serious" shoulder injury you would be looking at £7,375 - £11,200 for the injury alone - if it's classed as "severe" (resulting in a significant disability) then the figure ranges from £11,200 - £28,000.

It's hard to be more specific without seeing the medical evidence.

The fact that you are female and will be left with scarring will make it worth more as well.

I'd recommend waiting to see what the barrister has to say before agreeing to anything. They are usually a bit more on the ball than (some) solicitors. If you have to issue proceedings, then so be it - you can settle anytime after proceedings are issued, but you musn't let the three years go past, that's very important.

mattymoo

Do you know, I saw the kick boxing and assumed male poster but totally missed the netball. Geri is right -damages for scarring on females of marrying age or younger is significant.

The fact that you had to give up desk based work is also significant since it presumably also precludes you doing anything physical or involving standing for long periods such as shop work.

Without wishing to pry too much, what do you think the future holds work wise?

Carmex_Fan

You need to claim for more, without a shadow of a doubt. Perhaps try asking a no win no fee company for advice- try accidents direct. My mum got £3500 when a man hit her car going through them. Just enquire first so at least you know your options. Good luck love.

mattymoo

Sorry Carmex but things are already too far advanced for that advice to work. The op already has a solicitor and barrister working on the case. To get a claims farming company involved now will just muddy the waters.

Carmex_Fan

Okay, but I was thinking maybe they could give a rough estimate as to how much she should be getting?