Personal injury claim - help!

questiontime123

Hello. I hope someone can help me!

I was knocked into last week by a courier man with crates stacked above his head so he couldn't see where he was going. I fell on to the floor and was in shock for a few minutes. A week later and both my ankles are really swollen, bruised and cut. The doctor has said it's bad swelling and to come back if it gets worse for an x-ray. He said not to exercise for 6 weeks - I have children to look after!

I wondered if anyone had any legal experience of if I can get compensation and how much this is likely to be? I'd like to settle this out of court if possible - the guy worked for a major logistics company so I'm hoping they'll settle.
Any advice would be much appreciated!

paddyandstumpy

I'll probably get called a pulpit thumper for this... but "where there's blame there's a claim"...

I think you're better off living in the US, you've got their mentality already. I'm not sure how being knocked over can cause a genuine case of stress or a bruised ankle?!

But go ahead... this is MSE...

Anyway, back to your question. Compensation is loosely based on loss, so the more you big up being bumped into, the more you're likely to get.

csgohan4

What loss did you suffer? do you get paid for looking after your children?

If you exaggerate your injuries you could be under surveillance and be done for fraud


http://www.channel5.com/show/undercover-nailing-the-fraudsters

Quentin

csgohan4 wrote: »

Comp compo compo,



What loss did you suffer? do you get paid for looking after your children?

If you exaggerate your injuries you could be under surveillance and be done for fraud


http://www.channel5.com/show/undercover-nailing-the-fraudsters

Ignore this op.

When you make a claim for injury compensation you do not need to have made any financial loss at all.

You get compensation for the pain and suffering you have had etc.

Speak to an injury compensation solicitors to get proper advice on this.

questiontime123

paddyandstumpy wrote: »

I'm not sure how being knocked over can cause a genuine case of stress or a bruised ankle?!

I didn't actually mention stress in my post but I think its obvious how much stress im in- I have children to look after and I can hardly walk. I rely on regular excercise to keep my anxiety down so this is going to have a massive effect on me.

I dont know why youre unsure how my ankles can be bruised.. i dont know exactly how heavy the crates were but my ankles took the full force and they are still purple and about double their normal size!

Thank you everyone for the comments - im aware that compensation is awarded for pain and suffering but just wondered what kind of figure i should expect

paddyandstumpy

As per Quentin's post, speak to a PI solicitor.

FutureGirl

It depends on what the injury is, and how long it lasts. You'd need to see a solicitor and get sent for a medical (by the solicitor) before they could advise on an amount.

Crazy_Jamie

questiontime123 wrote: »

Hello. I hope someone can help me!

I was knocked into last week by a courier man with crates stacked above his head so he couldn't see where he was going. I fell on to the floor and was in shock for a few minutes. A week later and both my ankles are really swollen, bruised and cut. The doctor has said it's bad swelling and to come back if it gets worse for an x-ray. He said not to exercise for 6 weeks - I have children to look after!

I wondered if anyone had any legal experience of if I can get compensation and how much this is likely to be? I'd like to settle this out of court if possible - the guy worked for a major logistics company so I'm hoping they'll settle.
Any advice would be much appreciated!

The fact that you've been told not to exercise for six weeks would suggest that this injury is significant enough to warrant an action for personal injury, at least as regards severity. No one can provide you with a ball park figure for damages without having some idea as to the prognosis of your injury.

Your bigger problem is establishing liability. It is not the case that you are entitled to compensation simply because you have suffered injury as a result of an accident. Contrary to what you may believe, the third party will not settle solely because they are a major logistics company. You need to establish that the third party owed you a duty of care and that they breached that duty. The factual background to your accident is unusual, and you would need to provide more details for anyone to give you advice as to your prospects. You should, however, be providing those details to a personal injury solicitor, who will be able to advise you further, and not on the internet.

mattk_180

questiontime123 wrote: »

I didn't actually mention stress in my post but I think its obvious how much stress im in- I have children to look after and I can hardly walk. I rely on regular excercise to keep my anxiety down so this is going to have a massive effect on me.

I dont know why youre unsure how my ankles can be bruised.. i dont know exactly how heavy the crates were but my ankles took the full force and they are still purple and about double their normal size!

Thank you everyone for the comments - im aware that compensation is awarded for pain and suffering but just wondered what kind of figure i should expect

It might just be me but you need to be a bit clearer on what happened to avoid negative feedback.


You're original post implied simply that you were bumped in to whereas now it sounds like the crates landed on you. There's quite a difference so depending which it is could determine how successful your claim would be and therefore people on here can help you better.


In either case the best bet would be to speak to a professional who can give you the best advice.

Manxman_in_exile

I agree with Mattk_180 that your OP doesn't make it clear that the crates fell on you.


I assume that you were aware of the approach of the courier as you observed that they had crates "stacked above his head". Were the circumstances such that you were unable to get out of their way or otherwise avoid a collision? (eg shouting "Look out!"). This may have an effect on whether or how much you may be able to claim.


In my experience, when people bump into each other on the street it's usually because neither of them are paying attention to what's going on around them.