Possible personal accident claim. Don't know what to do??

bobsa1

Last week DH, kids and I went to collect my car from main dealer after car had been serviced (lease car so I don't have to pay, hence main dealer!!)

DH walked in behind me and slipped on some massive display posters which had been left on the floor.

He fell over and was really dazed, hurt his back and arm but thought he was okay.

The manager came out, apologised and cleared up the posters.

As far as we were concerned this was the end of the matter, however DH can hardly move his elbow now & he is having it x rayed tomorrow. It is currently bright purple and swollen to twice it's size. His back is also painful but okay.

We really aren't into the claim culture which is emerging in Britain and to be honest I feel bad even posting this.

Problem is DH is self employed, hasn't been able to use his arm for the past few days ( not a major issue workwise as he wouldn't have been working anyway) however if there is a problem and it takes anytime to heal we will need compensating.

Any advice gratefully received.

---lee---

The garage should have public liability insurance which will cover this sort of thing. How they go about deciding who's at fault, I really don't know.

The manager should have detailed the accident in the accident book.

How you would proceed with making a claim, I have no idea but it would be helpful to keep notes of exactly what happend, who was around. What treatment has been required, where, when who did it etc. Anything you can think of.

I don't see why you should feel bad about posting this. This is exactly what these insurance policies are paid for. If DH can’t work effectively (and this could go on for some time) then some form of compensation would seem appropriate.

There will probably be a time limit involved (28 days or similar) in which the garage have to notify their insurance company of a potential claim. My suggestion would be to seek help from CAB who may be able to point you in the right direction. Keeping in mind that their may be a time limit, it’s probably worth moving quickly. Failing that, you could see a solicitor and get 15 mins of free advice.

Bossyboots

If you decide to make a claim, you simply need to contact a personal injury solicitor (or a claims farmer if you wish) and they will start things off. Don't necessarily expect to get a free interview, virtually every day on these boards someone says you can get x amount of minutes of free advice. Certainly where I live, there is no such thing in a 30 mile radius.

There is a member here called andyd who is a personal injury lawyer and very, very, helpful to other other members. If you send him a private message he will be able to tell you the best thing to do.

Dora_the_Explorer_5

Just a thought - Did he go to A&E, NHS Direct walk in centre or his gp the day or the day after it happened? If the petrol station hasn't written up all your DH's injuries in their accident book I can't see how any claim could be made as the injuries could have been caused by something else happening.

YorkshireBoy

---lee--- wrote:

There will probably be a time limit involved (28 days or similar) in which the garage have to notify their insurance company of a potential claim......Keeping in mind that their may be a time limit, it’s probably worth moving quickly.

If the claim is for negligence (as would seem to be the case from the OP's post), then the time limit is 3 years.

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/index/your_rights/legal_system/personal_injuries.htm#PersonalInjuryTakinglegalaction

---lee---

Bossyboots wrote:

Don't necessarily expect to get a free interview, virtually every day on these boards someone says you can get x amount of minutes of free advice. Certainly where I live, there is no such thing in a 30 mile radius.

You can where I live, or at least you could several years ago when I did

Bossyboots

---lee--- wrote:

You can where I live, or at least you could several years ago when I did

Things have moved on somewhat from then. Many firms are now even dropping the reduced fee first interview as well.

The OP should also look at whether her home insurance will cover an initial interview with a solicitor.

bobsa1

Thanks for all of the advice. I hadn't even thought of using a solicitor. No we didn't go to the GP etc. as DH thought arm would be okay and we didn't realise that this could be serious.

I'll look at house insurance and see if it has free legal advice. I think bank account does if not.

Any further advice appreciated

---lee---

Rather than paste it in, you can read it here:

http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/winnn6/index/campaigns/social_policy/consultation_responses/cr_legalaffairs/the_courts__small_claims_inquiry

Search the above page for Personal Injury Cases (section 8).

Couple of interesting quotes (there are many more and links to further interesting documents):

'Far from there having been a recent (‘compensation culture’) boom in consumers claiming compensation for injuries, only 31 per cent of accident victims actually claim compensation using legal processes.'

'CABx report cases where all the money consumers might gain is swallowed up by the intermediaries.'

'It is extremely complex for an unrepresented individual to pursue a claim for compensation...'

Bossyboots, Apparently things have not changed too drastically. Free advice is still available in my area :cool:

http://www.sunderland.gov.uk/Public/Editable/Life-Episodes/LS/clsp/freeandlowcosthelp.asp

Bossyboots

---lee--- wrote:

Bossyboots, Apparently things have not changed too drastically. Free advice is still available in my area :cool:

http://www.sunderland.gov.uk/Public/Editable/Life-Episodes/LS/clsp/freeandlowcosthelp.asp

Firstly, that website has not been updated for almost 18 months.

Secondly, the reality is that the council mentioned will actually have no idea of whether local firms are offering free interviews or even if they ever did. People just assume it is still available and it is when they try to seek help they find that it is not for most areas of law work. There are still companies doing free interviews but they are decreasing in number.

Lastly, in respect of legal aid, this is not available for personal injury work so an interview under that scheme is not possible. Even it it were, the legal aid fund would have to be repaid out of any damages received at the end of the case.

---lee---

Bossyboots wrote:

Firstly, that website has not been updated for almost 18 months.

The page has not been updated in 18 months. The site is updated almost every day. I fail to see how this is relevant. The implication is that as the info is not updated on a daily basis, it’s somehow irrelevant – it’s not.

Bossyboots wrote:

Secondly, the reality is that the council mentioned will actually have no idea of whether local firms are offering free interviews or even if they ever did. People just assume it is still available and it is when they try to seek help they find that it is not for most areas of law work. There are still companies doing free interviews but they are decreasing in number.

They still exist and so the advice should not be dismissed out of hand.

Bossyboots wrote:

Lastly, in respect of legal aid, this is not available for personal injury work so an interview under that scheme is not possible. Even it it were, the legal aid fund would have to be repaid out of any damages received at the end of the case.

Earlier, you said 'virtually every day on these boards someone says you can get x amount of minutes of free advice.'. Clearly you still can - Whether you can for personal injury or not, I don’t know, but obviously the service still exists.

I have used it in the past and my father also benefited from 30 minutes of free advice from a barrister via CAB relating to employment issues which was very helpful.

Clearly these services are in great demand and are hard to get, but it would depend very much on the nature, urgency and other factors relating to the situation.

Finally, rather than keep attempting to tear my posts apart and making me feel compelled to waste my time answering, why not add constructive comments – Christ, I feel like I’m under attack. I don’t think any of the advice I’ve offered is bad – it’s all food for thought. Obviously, I’m not a solicitor, just trying to be helpful