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Severe head-on collision - help required please

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  • I'd just like to warn you of timescales of this,

    My boyfriend was hit by someone on drugs at combined speed 120mph on the wrong side of the road. he was in a coma and then had to learn to walk again. The driver went to prison, thank god

    It has taken over 4 years to claim money - they had to assess everything to do with loss of earnings and claim it from the othersides insurance company. he managed to get approx £600k (can't work full time)- but this has to last him his life. problem is solicitors want about £100k. It can take longer if going to court
  • Few people killed early this morning by a drink driver going down the wrong side of the motorway after a short police chase. Get well son Ember. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/6998191.stm)
  • Ember999
    Ember999 Posts: 1,022 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Few people killed early this morning by a drink driver going down the wrong side of the motorway after a short police chase. Get well son Ember. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/6998191.stm)

    I watched this on the news and I cried and cried. Since then there has been several more in the media. I am lucky to be alive, rarely do people survive head-on collisions. Sometimes it's hard to appreciate that I am lucky. I am bed-bound, in extreme pain, have lost my car and have no life to speak of at the moment. I exist in a bedroom. I am told I will recover in the future but that doesn't stop me wishing I could just be someone else, somewhere else most of the time.

    The terror as you see the car head-lights in front of me will stay with me for life. The pain you feel on 'impact' cannot be described.

    Thank You for your 'get well wishes' :D

    Ember xx
    ~What you send out comes back to thee thricefold!~
    ~
  • Horace
    Horace Posts: 14,426 Forumite
    Ember - I hope you feel better soon. I had an accident in 1995 - some silly twit pulled out of a side road and hit the side of my car as I was driving along minding my own business. As a result, I had severe whiplash (no ambulance came out for me and the police weren't interested because I wasn't lying in the road but hey ho). I contacted the RAC who appointed a solicitor for me - I was temping at the time and this wasn't considered to be a serious job until I produced three years' worth of payslips! I got £1000 interim payment and eventually got £7500 - how I wish that I had hung out for more money as I am still suffering the after effects (I get a stiff back and neck) but can't go back for more money.

    Make sure you claim for loss of earnings, also loss of enjoyment especially if there is a particular activity you like to do but can no longer do (I used to ride a motorbike but after the accident wasn't able to do so). Claim for everything, I know it is difficult to not feel for the boyfriend but he should have realised that his g/f had a drink problem and therefore shouldn't have allowed her access to his car. He can personally sue her. Concentrate and you and your husband and my thoughts are with you - get well soon.
  • welshdeedee
    welshdeedee Posts: 27,496 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Thoughts are with you Ember!!
    [STRIKE]30:22[/STRIKE]
    [STRIKE]30:07[/STRIKE]
    29:07
  • Nenen
    Nenen Posts: 2,379 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    Ember999 wrote: »
    Thank You for your kind wishes, I appreciate it. I do worry about the justice that will be brought upon this person. We could have died and I don't think a 3 year ban and a few thousand pounds fine is what is deserved in these situations. I do think a custodial sentence is what should be the case but like you say, I also think it unlikely. Sad but probable.
    I also feel sorry for her boyfriend. He has lost his car, his no claims bonus and there will be repercussions for him and it wasn't even his fault. I hope he decides that maybe he would be better off with a different girlfriend.


    Ember xx

    Do you know for certain that her boyfriend didn't know she was drunk when he lent her his car? If, for example, he was with her when she was drinking and still let her borrow the car then IMHO he is as culpable as her!

    One of the saddest cases of drink driving I've heard of happened in our village last year when, on the day of his grandad's funeral, following a great deal of drink at the wake, an uncle lent the gradson his car, knowing he was well over the limit. I guess neither of them were thinking straight at the time. The young man (in his early 20s) offered a lift to another young man and proceeded to drive away, then come off the road at high speed killing them both. It was such a needless tragedy and the families have been devastated. The Uncle who lent his car has since tried to commit suicide due to his guilt... and he is married with small children... and all because no one thought it could happen to them!
    “A journey is best measured in friends, not in miles.”
    (Tim Cahill)
  • Ember999
    Ember999 Posts: 1,022 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Nenen wrote: »
    Do you know for certain that her boyfriend didn't know she was drunk when he lent her his car? If, for example, he was with her when she was drinking and still let her borrow the car then IMHO he is as culpable as her!

    One of the saddest cases of drink driving I've heard of happened in our village last year when, on the day of his grandad's funeral, following a great deal of drink at the wake, an uncle lent the gradson his car, knowing he was well over the limit. I guess neither of them were thinking straight at the time. The young man (in his early 20s) offered a lift to another young man and proceeded to drive away, then come off the road at high speed killing them both. It was such a needless tragedy and the families have been devastated. The Uncle who lent his car has since tried to commit suicide due to his guilt... and he is married with small children... and all because no one thought it could happen to them!

    It's funny you should bring that point up. My husband who was a passenger in our stricken vehicle said that she must have been out for a drink with him as she told the Police that she had just had a fight with her boyfriend and stormed off to drive home after the argument. My husband said like you, that he will have known she was over the limit and in no way should he have let her get into any car, never mind his own.

    Thank You for your comments. Talking about all this and hearing other people's perspectives helps keep me sane in a situation that I still have difficulty accepting even happened! It's hard to get your head around it.

    Ember xx
    ~What you send out comes back to thee thricefold!~
    ~
  • Ember999
    Ember999 Posts: 1,022 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    The other parties insurer's and my own legal representation (provided under my legal expenses insurance policy) are trying to force/blackmail me into signing a 'Assignment & Agreement' form as the the driver who crashed into us was drunk, therefore in their opinion 'invalidating' their insurance.

    I need some help and advice about this form as I am convinced they are trying to make me sign something very detrimental to me and my claim for injury and damages etc...

    Anyone out there prepared to help me (off the record) and tell me what is really going on? (like i suspect?)

    Ember xx
    ~What you send out comes back to thee thricefold!~
    ~
  • Ember999
    Ember999 Posts: 1,022 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Ember999 wrote: »
    The other parties insurer's and my own legal representation (provided under my legal expenses insurance policy) are trying to force/blackmail me into signing a 'Assignment & Agreement' form as the the driver who crashed into us was drunk, therefore in their opinion 'invalidating' their insurance.

    I need some help and advice about this form as I am convinced they are trying to make me sign something very detrimental to me and my claim for injury and damages etc...

    Anyone out there prepared to help me (off the record) and tell me what is really going on? (like i suspect?)

    Ember xx

    Can anyone help? I need advice please :(
    ~What you send out comes back to thee thricefold!~
    ~
  • well it depends hat exactly it says

    i deal with pi cases at moment - have done for 10 years or so

    I may be able to help?

    Hope you recover soon & Fully!
    Head of Personal Injury for a Law Firm In Manchester
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