Whiplash? in car accident

Katie-Kat-Kins

Quentin wrote: »

Ignore this advice. Just nonsense! As already posted, we all have the right to use whoever we want to act for us in a PI matter.

All the insurer wants to do is get their "introducer" fee off a PI solicitor for presenting them with a case!

And all solicitors won't be "free" as far as the liable insurer is concerned, as they will be paying the solicitor on top of the injured parties.

It isn't nonsense.

I work in this field. Whilst you do have the right to choose your solicitor there are certain rules relating to funding.

If you take out an after the event insurance policy your costs will only be recoverable if you have made investigations and established that you had no before the event insurance which could have been utilised. This is part of your general duty to mitigate your loss.

If you are being offered representation by the solicitors used by the driver of the car that was not at fault on the basis that this is not at your expense and no insurance policy has to be entered into then if you turn it down and enter into an after the event insurance policy you have failed to mitigate your losses. The judge at assessment would be entitled to refuse to allow you to recover the additional costs incurred as a result of that decision.

You have ultimite choice if you wish to pay for your legal services in advance, if you want to take advantage of alternative funding methods it *can* compromise that choice. But solicitors all have professional duties, and first and foremost that duty is to the court and the best interests of their client - NOT whoever pays a referral fee!

At the end of the day referral fees are common place in the world of PI, I'm not sure it would be possible to see a claim through to trial without there being a referral fee involved somewhere along the line unless you were able to fund it all 100% yourself. In fact in my experience, firms that do before the event work tend to do a better job than the no win no fee guys that advertise on TV.

Rainbow_Liberty

Whiplash can take up to 3 months to show itself after an accident so it isn't necessarily instant discomfort or pain.

Also take notice of thing like problems with hearing as Tinnitus is a lesser known symptom of whiplash, can't be proven to exist and can't be cured - I've had problems with my ears since a rear end accident in 1989 but it wasn't known about then and too late for me to claim against anyone now. Wouldn't make the same mistake twice though!!!!!!

foggytown

Katie-Kat-Kins wrote: »

It isn't nonsense.

I work in this field. Whilst you do have the right to choose your solicitor there are certain rules relating to funding.

If you take out an after the event insurance policy your costs will only be recoverable if you have made investigations and established that you had no before the event insurance which could have been utilised. This is part of your general duty to mitigate your loss.

If you are being offered representation by the solicitors used by the driver of the car that was not at fault on the basis that this is not at your expense and no insurance policy has to be entered into then if you turn it down and enter into an after the event insurance policy you have failed to mitigate your losses. The judge at assessment would be entitled to refuse to allow you to recover the additional costs incurred as a result of that decision.

You have ultimite choice if you wish to pay for your legal services in advance, if you want to take advantage of alternative funding methods it *can* compromise that choice. But solicitors all have professional duties, and first and foremost that duty is to the court and the best interests of their client - NOT whoever pays a referral fee!

What you are forgetting is that, between a passenger and a driver, there is ALWAYS the possibility (however slight) of a conflict of interest if the same lawyer represents both.

Katie-Kat-Kins

I'm not saying they should be represented by the same firm, if liability is accepted at an early stage then it might be possible but most insurers have a panel of five or more firms that they refer to.

msrt5yi22

I had a very similar accident 6 months ago and thought that I was not injured but I still had pains every now and then. 'hwalkerh' your case seems to be a very straightforward case and should be settled in a couple of months (if not less).

Anyway I put a Personal Injury claim and got £1500 after seeing a medical expert.

Furthermore, I also got £200 for referring my case to a solicitor I found on the web. Plus I also got £200 extra for reffering my friend who was a passenger.

I've not got there details but will post it here when I find there letter.

Quentin

msrt5yi22 wrote: »

Furthermore, I also got £200 for referring my case to a solicitor I found on the web. Plus I also got £200 extra for reffering my friend who was a passenger.

Getting this type of "cashback" when instructing solicitors for PI claims is widespread. (£500 isn't unusual).

The solicitors usually pay far more to insurers for providing leads, so are happy to cut out the "middle man" insurer and make a payment to the client for going direct.

msrt5yi22

can't find address but their email address is claims1@hotmail.co.uk

MacsReturns

msrt5yi22 wrote: »

can't find address but their email address is [EMAIL="claims1@hotmail.co.uk"]claims1@hotmail.co.uk[/EMAIL]

'Scuse my cynicism, but I wouldn't trust a 'solicitor' using a hotmail account, recommended by a brand-new anonymous poster on teh interwebs. And I do hope no-one else here would, either.

hwalkerh

Thanks everyone. One more question.

If my partner gets a payout from the drivers insurance company now for the general disruption cause (which is a lot as he can't carry on with room we are renovating which is really annoying!) then if in 3-6 months it develops into something worse and prevents him from working as self employed will he then be able to put in another claim?

i would want a pay out of 1k now to find out that if it gets worse he can't claim for a lot more when he can't work and has no income?

PNPSUKNET

you can only claim once, however also been self employed he will be asked for accounts proving his loss.