Whiplash? in car accident

Katie-Kat-Kins

hwalkerh wrote: »

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?

Nooooooooo don't do this, you could well find that the payment is made "in full and final settlement" and bars you from claiming anything more in future. It is a known tactic of some insurers to offer lowish settlements really early in full & final settlement to buy off the claim. For every one they pay that they have overpaid there are a great many that they underpay on so it is well worthwhile for them. Unless you are sure he has recovered and the losses are minimal he is likely to do better making a formal claim.

Go and see a solicitor, not a claims management company and get proper advice. Certainly not anyone who uses hotmail for their business dealings!!! :eek:

If you want a recommendation for an independant solicitor google Legal 500, then click on Uk; then your region; insurance; personal injury and clinical negligence. That is entirely independant.

TheRedAdmiral

I agree with the above poster and recommend that you seek best advice.

A normal procedure would be for a solicitor set you up on a "No Win No Fee" basis (after exploring alternative funding options) which ultimately means that there is no financial risk to yourself.

You should also seek an assurance that when the claim is settled you will receive the full 100% settlement and have nothing deducted from your settlement.

The solicitor will sort out all the legal paperwork and send a "Letter of Claim" to the responsible party. They will also organise a suitable medical examination for you.

The medical report will be the crux of your claim. In my experience most medical reports indicate somewhere betweeen a 6-12mth injury which would suggest an aware of between £1700-2750 in my opinion.

This report is then sent to the other sides insurers and an appropriate settlement obtained.

The cost of the medical report is normally borne by the solicitor and claimed back from the responsible insurers with their costs.

Quentin

Katie-Kat-Kins wrote: »

Go and see a solicitor, not a claims management company and get proper advice.

Of course if you want a specialist solicitor, then your best advice would be to use a claims management solicitor!

(Google "claims management solicitors")

hwalkerh

I defiantly see it it easy to get caught out with the offer of 1k now but then in 3 months time find out that it might be restricting his work and loosing him money only to find that he can't then claim for that. I think that it will be better to wait and see, maybe advise the insurance company that they have had an injury but until time has passed and we know to what extent the injury and how long recovery might take then not to pursue and claim.

Hopefully the whiplash will go and that will be the end of it

Crazy_Jamie

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!

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.

With respect, I think you have your wires crossed slightly here. It is correct that taking out ATE insurance when you have BTE insurance in place can lead to ATE insurance costs not being recoverable. However, the right for a person to choose their own legal representation is fully enshrined in European case law (Case C-199/08, Eschig, if you want the citation). The principle here is essentially that if you have BTE insurance it is not for the insurer to choose who represents you if you need to claim; you have that free choice.

The consequences in this type of claim are quite straightforward. I do not believe in the first instance that the what is being offered here is essentially third party insurer funded legal representation; it is significantly more likely to simply be a referral to a solicitor who will take the case on a CFA. However, even if it is there is no obligation to be represented by a solicitor of the driver's insurer's choosing. Even if they fund it that does not override the established right to choose your own legal representation. To use a simple example, if you are injured and I offer you completely free legal representation, you do not have to take it, and the fact that it would be free does not stop you recovering the costs from any subsequent representation. Mitigation of loss in relation to costs does not override the free choice of legal representation generally speaking. The BTE against ATE point is correct, but does not override the choice of legal representation. That specific point was decided and established in the case that I cited above.

The only consequence I can see in this area is essentially if the OP's partner and his friend both brought claims represented by two different solicitors with two separate claims issued and a judge decided that there was no conflict. In such a case the two claims could (and probably should) be merged, and potentially one firm may be asked to step back and allow the other firm to take both claims to minimise costs. But there would be no penalty to the OP for such a case management decision.

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

DO NOT E-MAIL THIS ADDRESS.

I bold and underline that statement because that hotmail address is a known perpetrator of a 419 scam. In other words, it will act for all intents and purposes like it is a claims management company or solicitor's firm, then ask for a fee upfront. You will pay the fee and never hear from them again. There are many ways to find a decent solicitor, including personal recommendations and browsing online in the manner that Katie suggested. But e-mailing suspicious hotmail addresses is not one of them.

VK-2008

go to doctors and get checked out
its the safest thing to do
and yes you can claim
you have 3 years from date of accident occuring to do so

if they are in pain or discomfort they canclaim a lawyer will tell you if worthwhile or not to go ahead with