Personal injury on commercial property - need a solicitor

chili_pea

Hi

I'm not sure if this is the right place. Please direct me if it is.

I'm very nieve and new to claiming for a personal injury but this incident has been the worst experience of my life...
I have been diagnosed with a permanent disability caused from an accident on a commercial property.
I contacted the property and expressed my concerns and advised I would be seeking damages from them for the impact the injury has caused and I believe the company was at fault etc.
I received a very positive response from their insurance company where they accepted full liability and were very happy to get this settled in my interest.

My dilemma is that I'm savage about the whole thing so I don't want to share the baseline of 25% with the majority of industry solicitors.
I want to do this by myself or find a private solicitor that won't charge the standard rates.
Has anyone got any experience like this or know of a reasonable solicitor that could handle this?

Socajam

How much do you think your injury is worth.
Why not do some serious research to give you some idea what you are up against?
I totally agree with you and would do the same and leave the solicitors out
If and when you finally decide to claim, I would aim higher than what you have in mind.
Say for example you think your injury is worth 1,000 pounds, I would go for 2,500 pounds, that way you come out on top. It does not make sense aim low, then they return with a lower figure
Bear in mind that you will need medical information etc to back up your claim.
Good luck.

boo_star

I suspect that if they realise that you're going it alone they'll completely take advantage of you.

I don't see why you would need to hand over 25% of your payout, having the losing side pay (reasonable) legal fees would be fairly normal, wouldn't it?

FutureGirl

Do you have legal cover with your home insurance? If so see if they can help.

There are firms that won't charge 25%, but instead charge an hourly rate... but you could end up paying more in fees / costs to them in the long run.

MEM62

chili_pea wrote: »

My dilemma is that I'm savage about the whole thing so I don't want to share the baseline of 25% with the majority of industry solicitors.

If you are being charged 25% I am going to hazard a guess that you have gone to a no-win-no-fee company. You will find that proper solicitors charge by the hour and may be a better option.

Jlo31

The one thing is to be be careful that you get the correct amount for your permanent injury.

Eg third party insurer offers £5k but maybe a solicitor might value the case at £20k so even with a 25% cost you may be better off with a solicitor.

As others said see if you have legal cover with your house insurance.

OnanTheBarbarian

I have a lot of experence in this area, but am just on my way out to the pub, so will respond tomorrow

chili_pea

Hi all,

Thank you very much for your responses. They're very helpful.
I see the benefit of using the solicitors so I don't get taken advantage of.
I have found a solicitor that will work on a no win no fee and any shortfall that is not covered by the third party at the end of matter under the 25%, they agree to limit their legal costs too, they will take another 15% off of this.

Forgive my ignorance, but if I did have legal cover with my home insurance, would this potentially pay for my shortfall??

Socajam

chili_pea wrote: »

Hi all,

Thank you very much for your responses. They're very helpful.
I see the benefit of using the solicitors so I don't get taken advantage of.
I have found a solicitor that will work on a no win no fee and any shortfall that is not covered by the third party at the end of matter under the 25%, they agree to limit their legal costs too, they will take another 15% off of this.

Forgive my ignorance, but if I did have legal cover with my home insurance, would this potentially pay for my shortfall??

I am glad that you found a solicitor
As I said make sure to aim high, because you have more to lose than them.
Also bear in mind that you may be ok in some aspects now, but as we age, other things pop up that we do not think about.
I am not saying to take them to the bank, but say in 20 years time you are in chronic pain from this injury, it's too late to do anything about it.
Just think long term about what kind of compensation you really want. Make sure that the solicitor is working for you and if you make up your mind about a figure, do not come down.
All the company will do is return with a counter offer.

Jlo31

If you had legal cover on your house insurance them the policy would mean you would have no commission to pay at all (but you may be restricted in using one of their panel solicitors rather than your own)

OnanTheBarbarian

Any solicitor you appoint has a duty to act in your best interests.

They should ask you to enquire as to whether you have any legal protetion insurance, such as with household insurance, or if you have any union membership. If you have legal cover then the solicitors should enquire with the insurers of such policies if they will cover you for using your own appointed solicitor. Most insurers are difficult with this and can insist you use their panel solicitors.If any solicitor acts for you under the terms of the legal expenses policy, you do not need to be agreeing to any "success fee" dedution of 25% etc.

If the matter is run under a Conditional Fee Agreement (no win no fee) the solicitor should also risk assess the case as the level of success fee should be in line with the risks of the case. If liability has been accepted, that is a massive risk element gone, meaning all the soliciors are going to need to do is obtain expert medical evidence and any other reports from specialists to determine what effect the injuries sustained as a result of the incident are going to have on your life and any futurer treatment & care needs as well as future financial losses.

Without knowing the specifics of your case it is difficult to be more precise.

Ignore posts about a figure you are happy with or inventing your own figure to kick off negotiations. The value a claimant has on their claim and the actual value of the claim can often be worlds apart and this is what you have a solicitor for.

I would certatinly not recommend dealing with the third party insurers as an individual as they do not have any duty to consider your best interests.