Hit by a coach - how to go about a claim

rcm75

Hi

I was hit by a coach at the end of November, while trying to hail a cab.

Some points to note:
- I received various injuries to my nose / shoulders and ambulance was called.
- The drivers didn't stop but was later caught by police.
- I have a witness and I received a police report on the accident already.

I would like to claim for the injuries, loss of earning, distress and facial disfigurement this has caused me.

How do I go about it? Do I need to contact a "no-win no-fee solicitor"? I have seen an ad for a £1500 handshake with Hampson and Hughes solicitors, but that's all I know really.

Any other contact? Or any other suggestion about the process to follow in my case?

Many thanks
R

InsideInsurance

You can search for cashback solicitors and find ones that will effectively pay you an element of their fees. The one caveat is these are typically the production line solicitors firms who are about volume rather than customer care and possibly more likely to settle for early offers than keep fighting because the "return on investment" is better for them to get the case closed and the file handler starting a new case than fighting over a couple of hundred pound etc.

Whatever you do you must inform your insurers for information only purposes

rcm75

Thanks for the info.

I do care about my case not being a number, so I am ready to give up cash incentives. Do you have any suggestion for non-industrialised solicitors?

What insurer should I inform? I was not in my car when the accident happened, I was on foot.

Regards
R

CKhalvashi

rcm75 wrote: »

Thanks for the info.

I do care about my case not being a number, so I am ready to give up cash incentives. Do you have any suggestion for non-industrialised solicitors?

What insurer should I inform? I was not in my car when the accident happened, I was on foot.

Regards
R

The insurer of the coach

CK

McKneff

Deal directly with the Coach company insurance company.

Contact them, keep copies of any correspondence.

vaio

McKneff wrote: »

Deal directly with the Coach company insurance company.

Contact them, keep copies of any correspondence.

For damage only I'd agree, when personal injury is involved I'd want a solicitor looking after my interests and, as the Op has done, if I could find a solicitor that would give me £1500 of their fees just for letting them take my case, that's the way I would go.

hcb42

Have you got any legal protection with your home insurance?

vaio

wouldn't most legal protection firms just hand you over to a specialist PI firm and pocket the £1500 referral fee the OP can get by going direct?

dacouch

If you're a union member they may well handle the claim for you

vaio

dacouch wrote: »

If you're a union member they may well handle the claim for you

would that be better than a £1.5k golden hello from a dedicated PI firm?

rcm75

Thanks everybody for the replies.

Vaio, as a keen moneysaver, that was my reasoning as well i.e. the 1500 cash advance.

BUT, after the first reply, maybe I should be more careful with selecting who is going to represent me - i.e. ending up being just a number in a high-volume firm.

But the thing is - I don't have the faintest idea on how to go about selecting reputable solicitors. So everything else being equal I would rather go for the one that offers some cash?

Any good names?

R