Part 36 settlement for personal injury?

45012168

Hi just need some advice on this matter.

I had a car accident last year in July and the case is still open. It's been disputed by third party.

My car was hit from behind by a van basically. Luckily I took pics of the incident. I provided all these to my solicitor alongside witness statements from 2 people who stopped to help. Third party have claimed all sorts of nonsense that I wasn't the driver and a male was driving and also there was adults in the back of the car. Photo evidence clearly shows the children sat in the back and the car seats. Also witness statements also confirm this is true.

I've done everything I could to provide evidence etc and 100% believe I have a strong case. It's just dragging on and I don't know why! It's even had a preliminary hearing (I don't know what that really is) and I've provided my insurance details, v5 etc that was requested recently.

Now my solicitor has sent a letter saying if I agree to offering a settlement of £2500 (part 36). I'm not sure if I should accept it or not and if I don't accept it then what happens next? third party has provided no evidence to back der claims, they are just making up stories to prolong it or something. Why do they waste so much time when one party has clear evidence against the other?

Just to mention I was 8 months pregnant at the time and did suffer trauma/shock and had to attend numerous scans/physio as I had pain/bruising around my lower stomach for some months. I was told my maximum payout would be up to £5000.

Should I accept this settlement offer of £2500 (minus 25% fees) or take it to court in hope I should get more as I have a strong case?

I'm not sure

Thank you

DUTR

Only you can decide, you won't be getting millions if that is what you are hoping.

maninthestreet

So where are your insurance company in all this? Given the thousands of pounds handed out just for whiplash injuries, £2500 seems rather low.

DUTR

maninthestreet wrote: »

So where are your insurance company in all this? Given the thousands of pounds handed out just for whiplash injuries, £2500 seems rather low.

I'd say the offer is a good one, usual figure was around 1600.

45012168

DUTR wrote: »

Only you can decide, you won't be getting millions if that is what you are hoping.

Well no I'm clearly not hoping for millions as I've already mentioned the max is around £5000!

45012168

maninthestreet wrote: »

So where are your insurance company in all this? Given the thousands of pounds handed out just for whiplash injuries, £2500 seems rather low.

That's what I don't understand. I've contacted my solicitor for his opinion but he is the one who reckons it's a figure which is more likely to be accepted as it's not too high.

DUTR

45012168 wrote: »

Well no I'm clearly not hoping for millions as I've already mentioned the max is around £5000!

Why do you feel you are due the maximum?
In effect it's money for 'nothing', the solicitor usually sends what the offer is and if it should be accepted or not, did the letter recommend you accept the figure?

straighttalker

I'm not sure how others on this thread feel qualified to say whether £2500 is reasonable or not for your personal injury given that they haven't had sight of the medical report nor have had a detailed description of your injury.

Furthermore, your insurers won't have any role to play in this matter given that you are seeking to recover an uninsured loss from the third party.

I presume you went for a medical examination and have seen the report couple with recommendations from your own solicitor regarding the value of the claim.

Your solicitor hasn't received an offer to settle your claim in the sum of £2500. He's seeking your permission to make the offer to the third party which the MAY choose to accept. Is liability still being disputed?

45012168

straighttalker wrote: »

I'm not sure how others on this thread feel qualified to say whether £2500 is reasonable or not for your personal injury given that they haven't had sight of the medical report nor have had a detailed description of your injury.

Furthermore, your insurers won't have any role to play in this matter given that you are seeking to recover an uninsured loss from the third party.

I presume you went for a medical examination and have seen the report couple with recommendations from your own solicitor regarding the value of the claim.

Your solicitor hasn't received an offer to settle your claim in the sum of £2500. He's seeking your permission to make the offer to the third party which the MAY choose to accept. Is liability still being disputed?

Thank you

And I know I was quite unwell coming up to the last few weeks of my pregnancy. I had a scan few days before n everything was fine but straight after the accident I went for a scan and they were concerned about the baby so they scheduled me for an early delivery. I'm not sure if it was a coincidence or as a result of the accident. However, they took a note of this aswell as my continuous aches/pains around my abdomen even after delivery and valued my claim upto £5000. I'm not trying to get maximum. In fact the money isn't really my concern more than I want the case to settle as I've struggled to finance my insurance. It went up from around £50 a month to £130. I even had to sell my voyager as I couldn't afford to keep up with payments so I purchased a smaller car.

The question u asked -
The other party haven't accepted liability. They have been very difficult from the start. I have enough evidence against them to take it court but I'm thinking of just getting this settled so I can get my 4 years no claims back and hopefully see a reduction in my insurance again.

gilbert_and_sullivan

They're pressurising you to accept a low payout, these sharks always do, invariably people will have lost money maybe due to an injury putting them off work and they know that most people will be struggling to make ends meet and need that payout to clear their finances which may well have taken a battering during convalescence.

You do not have to justify why you are entitled to compensation to anyone here.

They tried all sorts of tricks to short change my friend after his work injury which (genuinely he is no shirker) put him off work for over 12 months, no interim payment forthcoming SSP only at first then nothing, no they hoped he'd be like most working class people and be stony broke by three months and desperate to settle on the cheap, as it was he had no debts and had savings enough to keep him going for all that time.
Far as he was concerned he could outwait them, stubborn as a mule he is...result being one very large cheque many times their previous offers just before it went to court.

Assuming you don't need the money quickly for some reason stick to your principles, closer it gets to court the more likely they are to cough up properly.

straighttalker

Liability is still disputed. There is no possibility of a cheque whether fat or skinny until the other side have admitted liability. If they continue to dispute liability, the OP will be forced to go to Court to prove her case. There is nothing she can do to force the case to settle if the third party don't concede liability.

Once again for the benefit of subesequent posters, the third party haven't made that offer to settle, it is the OP's solicitor who is seeking her permission to put the offer forward which says that she will settle for this amount.