Injury Claim - please can someone help me!

nipinuk

I fell on a pavement 3 months ago and continue to suffer with pains. Please don't think badly of me for taking out an injury claim. I have never done this before the pain is constant since the accident. I have had to pay for treatment to ease the pain.

To cut the long story short, 10 days ago, I signed and sent a form to a solicitor's firm on a no claim no fee basis. My annual income is below 8K so I cannot afford any extras.

I have just received a letter from the solicitors asking for nearly £1800 to take out an insurance policy which came as a complete shock. I spoke to the solicitor a few days ago and he never said anything.

How can I get out of this? This has completely ruined my weekend.

Take_it_like_a_man,_sonny

Ask yourself one question.

Why are trhey asking for money?

nipinuk

I'm sorry I don't understand what you mean. I would appreciate any help. Would you know how I can cancel?

Hintza

You have not mentioned anything in your opening post to suggest any negligence by the council (or others) that would suggest you have a claim.

You can't make claims if you just fall over or trip over the kerb, there would need to be a pot hole or broken/raised flagstone etc .

The solicitor is also not keen and has asked you to buy insurance to cover his fees if you lose.

nipinuk

Thank you for your reply. Sorry, I should have explained more. I stepped into uneven paving (about an inch deep) and feel heavily affecting one side of my body. I called a freephone number for advice. After assessment (and I left it for at least 2 months to make sure that it was a longer term injury rather than one that healed quickly) the solicitor was confident that I had a case which was why he agreed to take it on. They sent me the forms and proceeded to call me every week and sometimes twice a week to check if I'd filled it and sent it. Yes, I did feel harassed but thought stupidly that they actually cared about my well-being. It took about a month before I filled it in and sent it.

Also, in their letter, they highted in bold "If you lose your case you will not (they underlined "not") have to pay any fees whatsoever."

I was given the impression that I had nothing to lose. I did try finding out the owner immediately after the fall as I wanted it fixing so no one else would fall but no joy. It's not the council and I told the solicitor this.

After I signed, they sent the claim (probably with a standard cover letter) to the council anyway - by doing this I am now realising that they're after the easiest route, i.e. let the council tell them who's responsible. And then proceed to slap this huge insurance premium on me. If I had known this, I would never have signed the form. I feel that I've been totally misled.

I'm just terribly worried that I can't cancel at this stage. I tried calling them but they don't work weekends.

pinkshoes

If they want you to pay £1800 insurance policy, then I'd say they've probabvly reviewed the information and decided it's quite likely you'll loose the case, so are not worth the risk.

Optimist

Taking out a insurance policy is pretty standard procedure with conditional fee agreement. Someone has to pay the costs of the opposing party if you lose.

That said solicitors tend not to take a case on a CFA unless they think you have a pretty reasonable case, but that doesn't mean you are guaranteed to win.

As to cancelling, there should be something in your agreement that mentions cancellation but as you signed 10 days ago you might find they will expect paying for work done to date.

arcon5

Not sure the fact the pavement was uneven on its own is cause for sue them... what are the full circumstances surrounding it...

nipinuk

Thank you so much for all your responses.

I'll try to explain the circumstances - I had nipped into a local grocery store and was carrying a bag of shopping in each hand. I then made my way to my car. About 3 steps away from my car door, I stepped into the uneven paving and fell heavily. It took me a while to recover enough to walk. I limped back to the grocery store to check if they knew who owned the car park as I wanted the paving fixed so others won't suffer the same fate and they didn't know. I then went to the local walk in centre to check my bleeding knee and neck pain and they said that I had mild whip lash (I know it sounds ridiculous but I am now having trouble sleeping due to pain on the side I fell on, from the neck all the way down to my leg) and that other symptoms may develop later. I was worried about affording treatment which was why I contacted the personal injury advert I'd seen to find out if it was worth pursuing.

I really wish now that I had not signed and gone ahead with it. If I cancelled, would I still have to pay them to send out that standard letter as I felt misled to think that there would be no cost to me? Their letter actually states "If you lose your case you will not (they underlined "not") have to pay any fees whatsoever."

Is there like an OFCOM equivalent for solicitors? I wonder if I'm only the only gullible fool to have fallen for this.

Colin297

You owe them nothing.

Move solicitors.


Where are you based?

Techhead_2

Incidentally, why are you having to pay for treatment? On a medical note, I'm interested in how you get whiplash from falling forward and cutting your knee?