Injury claim / admitted fully- help?

tankie

Last year in July a hammock I bought in B&Q collapsed on me hitting my shoulder very hard and cutting my arm (not bad) I then went on holiday to France for 2 weeks which required me to drive long distances. My arm keep going dead or with pins and needles. When I came home I found in the national paper that these hammocks were being recalled due to failure of wood.
B&Q admitted full liability and offered me £1000 i refused this offer explaining my arm was not right, I then had tendernitious of the shoulder keeping me off work for 1 week. I then had to see a specialist, once I saw him they uped the offer to £3000 I have now refused this because I can no longer play rugby union or coach it at local level as the specialist says this is a big NO NO.

The claims company have now wrote back after reviewing their files they are not prepared to increase their offer. They say that on the basis of medical evidence they will not increase.
Can I not claim for the ruined holiday or that I can't play rugby or coach very well and do they take that into consideration?

I have no idea because I have never claimed before or should I just get a company to deal with this?

cheers

dacouch

Have you spoken to a solicitor?

What has the specialist you saw said eg will it improve over time or get worse?

Are you still seeing a specialist?

tankie

dacouch wrote: »

Have you spoken to a solicitor?

What has the specialist you saw said eg will it improve over time or get worse?

Are you still seeing a specialist?

The specialist has informed me it should get better within 2 years and that its not worth and operation until then.

And no I have not spoke to a solicitor

dacouch

I'm not an expert on the legal side but £3000 sounds in the right region to me.

If you hang about on MSE either crazyjamie or solicitormidlands will come along and answer your question. They are involved in the legal side of injury claims so will be able to give you a more accurate answer.

It will be helpful for them if you could post answers to the following

a) Do you still experience pain / problems if so what sort
b) If you do not still experience pain / problems how long after the accident did they last
c) How much in wages have you lost

tankie

dacouch wrote: »

I'm not an expert on the legal side but £3000 sounds in the right region to me.

If you hang about on MSE either crazyjamie or solicitormidlands will come along and answer your question. They are involved in the legal side of injury claims so will be able to give you a more accurate answer.

It will be helpful for them if you could post answers to the following

a) Do you still experience pain / problems if so what sort
b) If you do not still experience pain / problems how long after the accident did they last
c) How much in wages have you lost

a yes my tendions feel like bones rubbing in my shoulder and it aches when i use my arm
b yes i experience pain
c i lost a weeks wages and then got made redundant (not due to injury)

and the PC is on )):T

dacouch

They are both on MSE a lot so should be along shortly to answer, unless they have gone away for the weekend. They always search out the injury threads to help out.

If you get any "trolls" coming along posting snide comments about people making injury claims ignore them, they do it to everyone, its not personal, they just like voicing their opinions on people making injury claims. The vast vast majority of people on MSE genuinely want to help other people.

P.S It will help if you post how much wages you lost as that will be part of the £3000 they have offered you so it may influence their answer to you

tankie

opps! sorry £250

geri1965_2

The ruined holiday etc. will come under "loss of amenity" and the offer is probably general damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenity.

Your best bet would be to get a copy of the medical evidence (if you don't have it already) and ask a solicitor for a second opinion.

It's hard for anyone on here to value the injury without seeing the medical report, although we could give you a rough idea. Here are some guidelines for shoulder injuries:

(C) Shoulder Injuries


(a) Severe

Often associated with neck injuries and involving damage to the brachial plexus resulting in significant disability £12,250 to £30,750


(b) Serious

Dislocation of the shoulder and damage to the lower part of the brachial plexus causing pain in shoulder and neck, aching in elbow, sensory symptoms in the forearm and hand, and weakness of grip or a fractured humerus leading to restricted shoulder movement. £8,100 to £12,250

(c) Moderate

Frozen shoulder with limitation of movement and discomfort with symptoms persisting for about two years. £5,000 to £8,100



(d) Minor


Soft tissue injury to shoulder with considerable pain but almost complete recovery:


(i) in less than two years; £2,750 to £5,000
(ii) within a year. Up to £2,750

SkintGypsy

tankie wrote: »

The specialist has informed me it should get better within 2 years and that its not worth and operation until then.

And no I have not spoke to a solicitor

I work in the claims industry (defending claims such as these ) however I would really suggest you seek legal advise before accepting any offer. £3K sounds low on a two year prognosis for any injury.

With reference to the above quote, is this specialist one you were referred to by your GP, or was it a medicolegal expert that examined you for the purposes of the claim? What is the reference to an operation? Has further investigation into the injury been recommended, or an MRI? The last thing you want to do is take the money and run only to find out later that the injury is more serious than first thought. If in doubt, wait out the prognosis to see if you recover in line with this, or at the very least take any offer of further investigations to be on the safe side.

I would get all your paperwork together and consult a solicitor who will act on a no win no fee basis.

It goes against the grain to help claimants, and I will probably hate myself for it later. :rotfl:

geri1965_2

SkintGypsy wrote: »

It goes against the grain to help claimants, and I will probably hate myself for it later. :rotfl:

Interesting that you say you work to defend claims. I work in the same industry, and I consider it my job to defend frivolous claims, sure, but if a claim is genuine I like to treat the claimant fairly. It definitely does not go against the grain to help people, for me.

SolicitorMidlands

Hi there,

Is there any reason you have not instructed a solicitor? How do you know whether any offer is enough?

My advice would be to instruct a solicitor ASAP.