whiplash case dilemma

Ttp608

i need some advice regarding a whiplash case.

I was involved in an accident were another driver hit my sons car. the driver has accepted liability for the crash but has now (nearly 3 years later) stated that he only believes 3 people were in the car when in actual fact there was 5 of us (including a 6month old baby). My solicitors have decided not to pursue my case as its a conflict of interest, seeing as they are also representing the other passengers. I have been left in a position were i have no solicitor to take on the case and now i am being informed i need to attend court to discuss the next step in the case and if i dont attend the judge may through out my case and order me to pay the defendants legal fees.

i have a strong case, the repair bill for the car was over £1300 and we have medical reports to prove i had whiplash at the time.

does anyone have any advice as to what i should do if i can not find a solicitor and if i have to pay for one how much is it likely to cost. The case is going to court in the next few months. All the other passengers have been able to find alternative representation on a no win no fee basis


many thanks

dacouch

Why does he say there is a conflict of interest in defending your and the other passengers? Is he worried that the other drivers Insurers will not pay the passengers claims and he will then have to sue you?

Ttp608

all i no is that, the defendant is claiming that i was not in the car. There is only 2 people in the car which he admits to. My solicitors are only continuing the claim for the front passenger in the car and not for anyone else due to a conflict of interest. I believe they said they can for the people that the defendant has claimed are fraudulent claims. He also states (defendant) that the impact of the collision was not sufficient to cause the injuries sustained.

we were all on no win no fee claims. I have also been sent a vat statement for the costs in the claim, am i expected to pay these? there is nothing on the paper asking me to pay but seems odd that they have sent this

dacouch

I'll let one of the solicitors or claims bods answer this as its sounds technical, you will find one will help you shortly.

It would prob help if you could post up what happend in the accident eg the other person reversed into your parker car. Why is he saying you were not in the car. How much damage was done to your car

Ttp608

the accident happened in june 2006 on a roundabout, we were on our way home from asda doing the family shop. Me, my daughter and her baby were in the back and my 2 sons in the front. As we turned off from the roundabout which is 2 lanes (we were in the outer lane) another driver hit our car as he thought the turning off was just one lane. He knocked us back into the roundabout and my son had to do some harsh braking before bringing us to a stop in the roundabout. The defendant accepted liability at the road side. my 2 sons left the car to exchange details and we stayed in the car calming the baby down. The defends female passenger acknowledged at the time we were in the car as she worked around it to examine the damage as did the defendant. It then transpirted the defendant was not insured to drive the car and it belonged to his female passenger, however her insurance company have taken on the case and will seek to recover there losses from the defendant at a later date.

we have all recieved 2 previous offers from the insurance company £500 and then £750. the claim slowly progressed and 3 months ago as were filed our claim papers in court the defendant claimed we were not in the car.

And that is were the conflict of interest began

shadsy

Hi

I'm not a solicitor but work for a PI firm. I don't understand how your solicitor can say there is a conflict of interest? There would only be a conflict if they were acting for the Defendant! Sounds to me like they don't want to risk taking it to Court in case they lose - the costs solicitors get in RTA claims is not normally huge!

I would try and get an appointment with another local solicitor. Personally I would avoid the claims firms you see advertised on tv! You should be able to get an appointment to discuss your case without incurring any costs.

As for the costs incurred by your current solicitor - if you do continue the case with a new solicitor their costs will be paid at the end of the claim by the Defendant (if you win!). I would have thought if your solicitor discontinues the claim and you can't find another to take it on they should stand the costs and you shouldn't have to pay them. The only time you would have to pay the costs is if you discontinue the claim.

As I said I am not a solicitor so don't know all the technical ins and outs but hope this helps a little bit?

Good luck with it all!

dacouch

Shadsy I agree with you its odd they are give conflict of interests as a reason, I reckon your right in that they have decided not to continue for commercial reasons or there is an outside chance they want the chance to be able be able to sue ttp608 (Although I think this is very unlikely).

You said you had two previous offers of £500 and £750, were these to you for your injuries? As if they were the other Insurers must have at some time thought you had some kind of case against them

SolicitorMidlands

Your previous firm should have been able to continue acting for all of you. If anything, they should have continued acting for the driver alone and dropped ALL of the passengers, not just the ones they consider they might not win.

This is potentially a breach of the conduct rules.

I do not hold out much hope of you finding an alternative solicitor without having to pay someone for it. I would attend the hearing yourself - the Judge will explain everything to you so there is no need to worry about it. Do not simply do nothing as your case will get struck out and you will have to apply to get it re-instated and that is by no means clear cut.

I would also perhaps approach the Defendant solicitors/insurers direct and see if you can accept the previous offers. Do you know if the offers have formally been withdrawn?

If you have concerns about your previous solicitor then I would put your comments in writing for the attention of the senior partner and await a response.