Disputing a personal injury claim

Nodding_Donkey

OP you seem to be under the mis-apprehension that the MIB are a soft touch.

They are not, if there was any possible way to get out of paying out they would have taken it.

Dr_Crypto

hannah214 wrote: »

She had a small lower back injury which did not require treatment; what I am saying is that when she stood up in court she was explicitly asked whether she had any serious injuries and she said no. He is not disputing that she was injured, he is merely disputing the EXTENT of the injuries since the amount she has received is what somebody would receive for permanent disability, and she has since had children, works out in the gym, works, drives, and goes on big nights out.

The main dispute is to do with the knowledge of lack of insurance, and the main point of the original question is how to prove that she was aware he was uninsured and which type of solicitor he should be using.

People, even with serious disabilities, can work/gym/go on nights out.

The extent of the injuries may not have been apparent at the time. before getting a pay out she would have had to supply expert medical evidence in support of her claim. Unless you have good reason to dispute this it will not be possible.

Surely the MIB would have disputed liability at the time if they thought they could avoid a pay out based on her knowledge of insurance.

debtdebt

Nodding_Donkey wrote: »

OP you seem to be under the mis-apprehension that the MIB are a soft touch.

They are not, if there was any possible way to get out of paying out they would have taken it.

Nodding Donkey is right. The MIB operate like any other motor insurer except they are funded differently.

When I was a trainee solicitor, I worked for a from which handled claims on behalf of the MIB. First of all, are you sure your partner wasn't contacted by the MIB when the claim was first intimated? Did he ignore the letter thinking the matter would go away? Well it doesn't. Usually, the MIB send out a few letters to the uninsured driver asking for them to contact the MIB to discuss the accident circumstances and also sign a form of assignment and agreement which allows the MIB to deal with the claim on behalf of the uninsured driver but still preserves their right of recovery against the driver. Consideration is made as to how much assistance the uninsured driver gives to the MIB when considering paying back of their outlay.

If your partner didn't respond to attempted contact by the MIB when they were dealing with the claim, it's a bit too late to try and dispute the amount of damages paid now. There is no argument now. The damages and costs have been paid out and the MIB now want their pound of flesh. They have the powers to seek a garnishing on wages, a charge on property and to make you bankrupt. Don't think I'm scaremongering because I'm not. They have different firms of solicitors on their panel to do different things. We used to handle their motor claims, they used to use different firms to take legal action to recover their outlays like in this situation.

Manxman_in_exile

OP - you ask how your partner can "prove" that his ex knew he was uninsured. Unless he has some kind of written waiver from her, it'll come down to his word against hers and whether the MIB (or a court) believes him or her on the balance of probabilities.


But as MIB has already paid out it's probably a bit late to try to dispute it. His ex must have provided convincing evidence that she suffered injury from your partner driving his car into a wall (how did that happen anyway?) and both of them being taken to hospital. I've been involved in a head on collision writing off both cars and neither of us needed hospital treatment. (Although I got endless 'phone calls from our insurer's "tame" claims company encouraging me to make a spurious whiplash claim).


I have a 40 year old back injury (my own fault - nobody else's) and it regularly incapacitates me. But when it's not a problem I can run, cycle, play golf, play tennis, go to the gym - and even go out and party! But I still suffer from a back injury.


As debtdebt implies, it seems strange to me that your partner has only just become aware of this. First, MIB must have made multiple attempts to get his point of view before agreeing to pay out. Even if he was working abroad, did he not have some arrangements in place to deal with important or urgent communications? Second, in your partner's situation, I'd have been waiting nervously for three years for a personal injury claim to land on my doormat. Especially if I'd had a car accident when uninsured and with only a provisional licence, and with my ex!

hannah214

debtdebt wrote: »

Nodding Donkey is right. The MIB operate like any other motor insurer except they are funded differently.

When I was a trainee solicitor, I worked for a from which handled claims on behalf of the MIB. First of all, are you sure your partner wasn't contacted by the MIB when the claim was first intimated? Did he ignore the letter thinking the matter would go away? Well it doesn't. Usually, the MIB send out a few letters to the uninsured driver asking for them to contact the MIB to discuss the accident circumstances and also sign a form of assignment and agreement which allows the MIB to deal with the claim on behalf of the uninsured driver but still preserves their right of recovery against the driver. Consideration is made as to how much assistance the uninsured driver gives to the MIB when considering paying back of their outlay.

If your partner didn't respond to attempted contact by the MIB when they were dealing with the claim, it's a bit too late to try and dispute the amount of damages paid now. There is no argument now. The damages and costs have been paid out and the MIB now want their pound of flesh. They have the powers to seek a garnishing on wages, a charge on property and to make you bankrupt. Don't think I'm scaremongering because I'm not. They have different firms of solicitors on their panel to do different things. We used to handle their motor claims, they used to use different firms to take legal action to recover their outlays like in this situation.

Thank you for your reply, as stated in my original post the MIB had been attempting to communicate with him but had been sending letters to his old address. He just returned home from 7 months of working abroad and found a letter from a company which we can only assume are the solicitors used by the MIB, and contacted the MIB right away and informed them of the circumstances which is why they have frozen the case for 28 days in order for him to be able to have his say. This is the first contact he has received from them, they said that they had paid her out because they never received a response from him but they have said now he is still well within his right to have his say, although as you say it will understandably be more difficult since she has already been paid out.