Ambulance chasers!

chickpea

This may or may not be the right place for this post, but...

My sister was in a road traffic accident a month ago. She was driving a car and collided with a motorcyclist, who was speeding. He was overtaking on the wrong side of the road - but she was doing a Uturn she shouldn't have done..so fault is a little mixed up.

NOW - no-one was hurt. Motorcyclist was back on his feet with a couple of days and my sister had very mild whiplash, nothing else. She was stressed though, and was prescribed anti-anxiety medication.

Yesterday, AT RANDOM (she believes) a lawyer knocked on her door and asked, if by any chance, she's been in an accident recently. He promised her £1500 on a no win, no fee basis.

Obviously, this is ambulance-chasing - but what should I recommend? She hasn't got a lot of money, and no experience in this area.

Broken_hearted

They have a cheek, but I bet they make a fortune out of it. Try being disabled and walking through town with nhs walking sticks they jump out at you and you can't run away. :rotfl:

Poor OH I shouldn't laugh.

mountainofdebt

to one of these people was yes, 18 months ago and she's asleep in the pushchair.

southernscouser

Well ask yourself this? We you like to be on the receiving end of a claim where no-one was hurt?

I don't mean to offend anyone but I hate the people who offer these services and the people who take them up. If you have got a genuine claim fair enough but I can't stand leeches. :mad:

On a lighter note! I was once approached by someone asking me whether I had been in an accident in the last 2 years or whatever and as I hadn't I said no. He then said to me "well you look like you have"! :eek: :mad:

He very nearly had an "accident" at that point! :rotfl:

chickpea

and I think you're right, SS.

My sister has been on anti-anxiety medication since the accident though, so that's a 'form' of hurt I suppose..but not the same as broken bones, I agree.

I'm going to tell her to talk to another lawyer first..we get a free consultation with a lawyer through our union, and her husband is in the same union as me, so I'll suggest that.

homersimpson_3

there is a similiar firm who have a stall in our city centre & try to get people to sign up! when they're out shopping. if a firm is that desperate for business I would personally avoid them like the plague!
If your sister sued the motor cyclist she would have to prove he caused the accident & damages can be reduced if there is contributory negligence. Motor cyclist could bring counter claim and sue her.
If your sister is seriously considering suing I would suggest she seeks independent legal advice from cab or local law centre (a representative she chooses not one that just knocks on the door). If member of union most have free legal helplines & some household insurance policies provide a free 24 helpline. you get 30 mins free legal advice with some firms.

CLAPTON

but maybe ...from what you say, maybe she was in the wrong ...doing a u-turn....smart solicitor may make her pay instead...just a thought.

chickpea

what if the motorcyclist was willing to drop it, but gets this suit and decides to counter-sue? And wins against her..instead of winning a successful claim, she could end up on the losing end.

And the ambulance chasers presumably can back off, leaving her to pay. So while it (LOOKS) like a win-win (no win, no fee!) for HER it's actually a win-win for them.

I've already told my mum to warn her off a little!

Like I said, she doesn't have much money..and I'm sure they didn't target her part of town (and indeed her) by accident.

Mrs_Optimist

I work for a firm of solicitors who deal mainly with road traffic accident claims and we do not have to knock on any doors to get referrals - they are done through word of mouth, although we are on the RAC panel. It doesnt sound like your sister has a claim worth more than a grand, even taking into account the contributory negligence aspect. If a Personal Injury claim is not worth more than a grand the solicitor will not get paid, simple as that. If she wants to make a claim, tell her to check with her motor insurance policy, most have Legal Expense Insurance cover, which means that there are selected firms of solicitors on her Insurers panel who deal solely with PI claims, and since she would have LEI, she would not have to sign up to a Conditional Fee Agreement (otherwise known as a No Win No Fee Claim). I personally would not touch a firm who knock on the door at random scouting for work, with a 10 foot bargepole.

Emmzi

Door to door lawyers??

I head it all now!!

Thriftylady

I'm all for compensation when someone is seriously injured through another party's negligence, but.........the thing about these firms who encourage people to claim for everything is that ultimately we all lose out. The money doesn't come from thin air, it comes from increased insurance premiums. So anyone who owns a car, owns a house, owns a business pays extra. And even if you don't own any of these things, you pay extra anyway, because the people who do own a business have no choice but to charge you extra for their service or product, because they have to cover their increased charges......you can see where this is going.

If anyone is in any doubt, try getting a car insurance quote online using a Northern Ireland postcode. Personal injury claims in NI can be huge, with the result that you frequently hear of 20 year olds trying to insure their first car and being quoted maybe £6k a year in premiums to insure a car worth £900. Would be funny if it wasn't also true....