Compensation for personal injury claim

luaive

Had a car accident 2 weeks ago, got solicitor thru my union to claim for personal injury, they've had an offer of compensation back for 1,375 which is recovery 3-4 months away, ive refused this (with recomedation from my solicitor too, seeing as its still causing me aggro) and said i will go for a medical because im still not 100 per cent sure about my injury and read too many stories of ppl grabbing the cash then a year down the line still suffering But what im worried about is what if i go for the medical and its a little better, they say they think its not as bad as first thought and offer me less? I asked how much time it would take the solicitor says it could be 2 weeks or a month and that is time that i could start to feel better so would they disregard the pain ive been in before hand and say oh she's alot better now we are paying less because of this? Or does the initial offer stand so it wont be less than that?

InsideInsurance

Ultimately the medical expert will examine you and take a case history and off the back of it write her report. That report would then form the basis that the TPI makes an offer if it is released to them.

Of cause if it says your injury is non-existent and just faked then your solicitor isn't going to want to release it to the TPI but is unlikely to be willing to pay for another report either.

The challenges with negotiation is always going to be that there is a risk you reject an offer and the next one is lower. If your solicitor really doesn't think the offer is fair then follow their advice; its what they are being paid for after all.

luaive

No not faking atall wish i didnt have this pain, done the hoovering the other day nothing to strenous 1 room 5 mins later i could only move my arm a few inches from my side for the rest of the day without it hurting And i work on checkouts so that causes me pain
I asked the solicitor if doing this would cause me to have a lower offer and he said no, so im hoping he's right as this is a perlimary (sp?) offer and its always presumed they offer the lowest they can get away with at the start. Also does anyone know whether the compensation is taxed? Im in the uk.

lisyloo

Also does anyone know whether the compensation is taxed?

No it's not taxed it's not income, but if you are getting benefits you might want to put it into some sort of trust.
My MIL got a £4K payout last year. Her solicitor advised her to put it in trust so it didn't count against her benefits.
She spent it instead on things she needed for her flat (which is permissable as long as it's for your own benefit) and we kept the receipts to show the benefits people.

luaive

No benefits atall claimed here so no worries there, be glad when this is all done, have a m8 who took the first offer, suffered broken ribs from car accident and he's still suffering now and that was 3 years ago so maybe im right to have the medical.