Back injury as result of car crash - settlement?

hieveryone

Hi everyone,

Just after some advice - the story is a bit long so will cut it down!

- April 2012 partner was crashed into whilst driving in his works car.
- Visited doctor regarding severe pain, prescribed painkillers.
- Awoke one night in severe pain, back was 'twisted', visited A&E, prescribed more painkillers.
- Was awarded physiotherapy sessions x 10 through insurance company.
- Attended specialist medical examination on request of insurance company - consultant estimated 12 month recovery time.
- Physiotherapy finished.
- Diagnosed with 'bulging disc' in lower back, which is pressing on nearby nerves and causing muscles to spasm.
- Two more 'flare ups' since physiotherapy finished - partner now paying for private physiotherapy as insurance company have refused further sessions.
- Visited doctor again as pain very severe - referred for MRI scan.
- Since accident, had periods off from work as work involves long travel and lifting.

Throughout all this, the solicitor assigned to partner through his work have been in contact with updates. The other insurance company have offered £2400 and now £2800 as a settlement figure.

We have refused these offers but feel that the solicitors are pushing for us to settle. Has anyone else had any experience with this sort of claim and what was the outcome? We are not being greedy but feel that for nearly a year of severe pain so far that £2800 is not a reasonable offer.

VK-2008

well i was in a bad car accident broke arm, dislocated shoulder, whiplash and strain to hips, knees and ankles
3 years ago!
i am still waiting for my payout
however my lawyer states we will get between 4-5 k in her estimation
other person was at fault in mine
plus all my wages i lost out on are getting replaced and i had to have op on my arm leaving 6 scars
i think thats a fair amount for what you have been through

hieveryone

VK-2008 wrote: »

well i was in a bad car accident broke arm, dislocated shoulder, whiplash and strain to hips, knees and ankles
3 years ago!
i am still waiting for my payout
however my lawyer states we will get between 4-5 k in her estimation
other person was at fault in mine
plus all my wages i lost out on are getting replaced and i had to have op on my arm leaving 6 scars
i think thats a fair amount for what you have been through

My goodness, sorry to hear about what you went through, that sounds terrible.

Maybe we have been 'brainwashed' through all the adverts on TV and radio! Part of me hopes it's more so that I can go on a nice holiday on my own to get over the stress of the moans from him... :rotfl:

VK-2008

the tv adverts and online stuff are very misleading, they are more like the extremes but in reality its not like that
they miss out a lot of info
i would speak to your own lawyer if they seem sure that is a reasonable amount for your case if they seem fine then settle if they think for more then try again

tanith

I was in a no fault crash, in hospital for 2days with severe bruising pins and needles in legs and feet , ribs cracked and seat belt burns, my claim took 4yrs to settle and I ended up with £3K, eventually had to give up my job due to back/shoulder pain, because my job also involved driving and heavy lifting I couldn't prove the whole thing was caused by the accident.. I just got fed up arguing in the end and settled for less than I felt was fair. My lawyer actually left the practice halfway through the case and the new lawyer was also pressing me to settle..

hieveryone

VK-2008 wrote: »

the tv adverts and online stuff are very misleading, they are more like the extremes but in reality its not like that
they miss out a lot of info
i would speak to your own lawyer if they seem sure that is a reasonable amount for your case if they seem fine then settle if they think for more then try again

Thank you. We are not using our own lawyers, as my partners work assigned him a solicitors through their own insurance (as it was a works vehicle).
Thanks again.

hieveryone

tanith wrote: »

I was in a no fault crash, in hospital for 2days with severe bruising pins and needles in legs and feet , ribs cracked and seat belt burns, my claim took 4yrs to settle and I ended up with £3K, eventually had to give up my job due to back/shoulder pain, because my job also involved driving and heavy lifting I couldn't prove the whole thing was caused by the accident.. I just got fed up arguing in the end and settled for less than I felt was fair. My lawyer actually left the practice halfway through the case and the new lawyer was also pressing me to settle..

Sorry to hear about your accident also and thank you for your answer.

It is looking like the settlement figure is actually quite reasonable, thanks for your input.

zzzLazyDaisy

hieveryone wrote: »

- Diagnosed with 'bulging disc' in lower back, which is pressing on nearby nerves and causing muscles to spasm..

Just a note of caution. There are lots of reasons why this can happen including spondylosis or degenerative disc disease (there may be other reasons, I am not a doctor). But the point is that an accident can result investigations that reveal an underlying medical condition that was not caused by the accident, but was already there, not noticed, but silently getting worse, and would have caused problems anyway, further down the line.

If this is the case, the potential payout can be reduced considerably on the grounds that these problems would have happened anyway, sooner or later.

I am not saying this is the case, but it is something that may be argued if this were to go to court.

The other thing to be aware of is that the insurer may make a final offer, which (known as a part 36 offer). If you refuse this offer and go to court and win your case but the compensation awarded is less than the offer that was made, you are likely to be ordered to pay their legal costs.

So you really need to go back to the solicitor and get them to spell out to you where you are up to, what is happening, why they are advising you to settle, and what are the potential consequences if you refuse the offer.

Dx

momoyama

I would question how you get a lower spine injury from an RTC. Furthermore, I question how you get a prolapsed disc anywhere from an RTC.

These things are nearly always long standing. I think you'll have a very hard proving that it's all related and that you aren't just out for undue compensation (no offence, but that's how I read it.)

hieveryone

zzzLazyDaisy wrote: »

Just a note of caution. There are lots of reasons why this can happen including spondylosis or degenerative disc disease (there may be other reasons, I am not a doctor). But the point is that an accident can result investigations that reveal an underlying medical condition that was not caused by the accident, but was already there, not noticed, but silently getting worse, and would have caused problems anyway, further down the line.

If this is the case, the potential payout can be reduced considerably on the grounds that these problems would have happened anyway, sooner or later.

I am not saying this is the case, but it is something that may be argued if this were to go to court.

The other thing to be aware of is that the insurer may make a final offer, which (known as a part 36 offer). If you refuse this offer and go to court and win your case but the compensation awarded is less than the offer that was made, you are likely to be ordered to pay their legal costs.

So you really need to go back to the solicitor and get them to spell out to you where you are up to, what is happening, why they are advising you to settle, and what are the potential consequences if you refuse the offer.

Dx

Thank you - I suppose there is that possibility, yes.

We wouldn't allow it to go to court as we understand it can be a long, drawn out process and not something we would want to undertake.

Thanks for your reply.

hieveryone

momoyama wrote: »

I would question how you get a lower spine injury from an RTC. Furthermore, I question how you get a prolapsed disc anywhere from an RTC.

These things are nearly always long standing. I think you'll have a very hard proving that it's all related and that you aren't just out for undue compensation (no offence, but that's how I read it.)

The car crashed into the drivers side of my partners car, so impacted him on his right side, and he was shunted across his seat by the impact.

The physiotherapist advised him that this can be common in a side-on collision.

Thanks for your reply.