Injury Claim - please can someone help me!

nipinuk

Solicitor just called me to explain. He said that the insurance premium is a deferred payment only on a successful claim. I told him that I still didn't understand. He said it was a disbursement - I asked him to explain what that meant! It's basically expenses which he said would be sorted out on a successful claim (it made me wonder how much I'd actually end up with if it was successful) . He said if the claim is unsuccessful I would not have to pay anything. He basically said that this is standard for any claim. I told him that this is new to me and that I don't know the process.

I asked him to send me an email saying that so will keep you updated.

He asked if I was reassured and I told him that I'll need to read everything again and that I was still unsure. He said he'll email me with the information I asked for (ie. that I won't have to pay anything). I told him that I had expected him to send me a copy of the letter he sent to the council. I mean, if they're going to act on my behalf surely I have the right to know what is being communicated! He didn't really say anything about that I got distracted about something else.

I know what you mean about getting mild whiplash from falling forward and cutting my knee. I thought the nurse was joking. My whole body was thrown forward when I fell on my knee. I used my hands to stop myself falling flat on my face and I think my head must have jerked forwards and backwards in the process.

You know, I think I should not proceed with the solicitor and if I wanted to claim for treatment (the chiropractor charges £30 each time and I've stopped going for over a month due to cost so the last two weeks have been awful with the ache and pain - I have made app. with my gp to see if I can get a referral for physio) I should just do it myself on the small claims court.

I'd like to summarise my experience after all this - I tried searching for information and couldn't find suficient explanation about the process. I've got a degree in electrical & electronic engineering (self employed now doing something totally different. Doing less hours to fit round kids) and still feel as thick as two planks with this!! I'm based in Hampshire. The local solicitor firm is actually quite well known which gave me the confidence to try them out in the first place.

I'm loathed to signed any more documents!

bris

Whiplash? Is that one you just threw in because everyone else does, those are for car accidents.

nipinuk

Why would I do that? It was the nurse who said I had mild whiplash. It did not even occur to me at the time. I just told her that my neck hurt. What I have now is pain along one side of my body, from one side of my neck down to my leg.

Equaliser123

The after the event insurance policy will be (or at least should be) on a deferred premium basis.

In other words - if you win, the other side pay the cost.

If you lose, the insurance policy pays out for its own premium.

You shouldn't have to pay but the solicitors are probably simply telling you (as they are required to) what the premium is.

InsideInsurance

The insurance is an "after the event" policy to cover the costs involved in the case should you not win the case.

Very strangely, for this type of insurance the premiums are only payable if you dont need to claim on it, if you do need to claim on it (ie you lose) then it basically self refunds itself. If you do win then the premiums are payable but it forms part of your solicitors disbursements and so your solicitor pays the insurance and the defendant pays your solicitor.


The small track (aka small claims court) has a limit of only a grand for claims involving personal injury. If your claim exceeds this you will be put into the fast track and solicitors fees can be paid which would mean you'd be liable for paying the councils costs should you be unsuccessful in the claim.

George_Michael

Edited to make it correct.

bris wrote: »

Whiplash? Is that one you just threw in because everyone else does, those are often for but not exclusive to car accidents

Unless of course, your medical qualifications will allow you to disprove this.

dacouch

Techhead wrote: »

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?

The answer is that whiplash cannot be definatively diagnosed as it's soft tissue damage so there is no evidence of whiplash to a doctor, they have to rely on what the patient tells them.

In addition, telling someone they have whiplash, keeps the patient happy and the doctor can send them away with some pain killers and instructions to take it easy.

Anyone could go into a hospital and say they have been in an accident and have a sore neck and would be diagnosed with whiplash.

Interestingly whiplash symptoms generally do not appear until the following day.

nipinuk

Equaliser123 and InsideInsurance, I am grateful for your explanations. I understood all that you've written and found them helpful. My dilemma now is whether I should go ahead with the claim.

I just want that paving to be fixed and to be sorted healthwise to the state I was in before the accident without having to incur significant cost.

Dacouch, I completely agree with you and I've always thought symptoms appear the next day or so too. I think the nurse just said it.

I'm still waiting for the email from the solicitor and will update you. Meanwhile thank you for your time and help which is very much appreciated.

I'll go through the documents and solicitor's email when it arrives before I decide whether to cancel.

Please excuse me if at times I don't seem to articulate myself better - been living here for nearly 15 years and still learning!

arcon5

Hold on.... there's still nothing to say the pavement, despite being uneven is still not considered safe and/or the council have been negligent in any way... rather than being an accident by a person carrying a lot of shopping and not looking where she is going...


Do you have any pictures?

shaun_from_Africa

there's still nothing to say the pavement, despite being uneven is still not considered safe

And even if the pavement wasn't safe, this isn't always enough for a claim to be successful.
For the council to be negligent, you will probably have to show that they were aware of the problem and then failed to rectify it.

I had a motorcycle accident a while back which was due to badly finished road repairs.
The repairs being the cause of the accident was never in doubt (nor was it denied by the council), but they simply stated that they were unaware of the problem and so had no chance to fix it.

My problem was solved when another motorcyclist who had an accident at exactly the same place a week before mine, read about me in the local paper and contacted me.
He had written to the council and informed them of the bad repair, and had received a reply back from them.