Car Accident - Compensation Claim Help Required!

mitch8810

Hello

2 months ago my wife was a passenger in a car that was hit from behind by another car. The driver of the car that hit has accepted full responsibility. Immediately after the accident my wife didnt feel any pain or discomfort as her adrenalin was high and all her concerns were with our 4 month old baby securely strapped into her car seat on the back seat.

The following day she went to see our GP for a check over for both her and baby. By this stage her back had began to cause her some pain so the doctor examined and suggested it was whiplash. She also checked over baby who hadnt shown any signs of physical discomfort and diagnosed good health. Baby had been sleeping through each night prior to the accident but in the days following began waking screeming in the night. But as she is only 4 months old obviously isnt able to tell us what the problem is? I feel like it may seem we are exagerating the injuries....

As my wife is on maternity leave so there has been no loss of earnings. Although she has continued to be a full time mum, she has struggled to carry baby for long periods and "play" on the floor due to back pains.

The initial claim for car damage and replacement baby seats has been made via my wifes friends insurance as she was the one driving. Is it in our best interests to appoint a seperate solicitor to deal with the injury side of the claim? And how does this work with regards to having the damage to the car claim seperate from the personal injury from the same accident?

Any help / opinions would be grately received. Thanks in advance.

SallyUK

Hi Mitch

I can help you with this as I'm a PI specialist. PM me if you'd like some more help.

Sal

mattymoo

Re appointment of separate solicitors. Things to consider as follows:-

1) If there is any suggestion your wife's friend was partly to blame then she will need to use a separate firm to avoid a conflict of interest. The legal expenses cover may well provide for this.

2) Your wife was not the policyholder. If things go pear shaped with regards to funding the legal expenses claim then she will have less clout than her friend.

3) If you have legal expenses cover on your own motor policy then she could use this. Does not matter that it was not the insured car she was travelling in.

4) You may also have legal expenses cover with some household legal cover (but not all permit motor related claims), trade union membership and some premium bank accounts.

5) Your baby has until the age of 21 to pursue a claim. Plenty of time to see how things pan out but in my experience (involved in claim with children aged 1 and 3 in back of my car) children are pretty resilient and there should be long term effects.

Finally, I know it sounds like milking the claim but your wife must mention her inability to interact with her child in terms of lifting / playtime fun. This is taken into account with the level of damages.

Hope everyone is feeling better soon.