Personal injury following an RTA

strawb_shortcake

Hi all, I'm finally coming to the  end of my case from a car accident I had over 2 years ago. I've still not been told what figure I am looking at and wondering if anyone can give an idea of ballpark figure - I don't think it's going to be that high, but I have;

permanent damage/scarring to my leg, muscle damage that causes intermittent pain when exercising or in cold weather. 

Permanent damage to my back, prolapse disc that affects my hip and causes intermittent moderate pain, but it causes pain about 50% of the time. This was asymptomatic before the accident and exacerbated by the accident.

Permanent damage to my neck, I don't notice this as much, occasional stiffness but have lost some movement in looking behind one shoulder.

It hasn't affected my work or earning capacity as I am in an office based career, but it has affected daily activities, limited me in other ways and disturbs my sleep usually a couple of times a week. 
As it hasn't affected my job I am not expecting a huge amount, my friend that has been through similar believes it'll be more substantial than I think. As I am really quite impatient and curious I thought I'd try here for some thoughts. 

I have looked at the guides but I find it difficult to try and gauge just where I fit and there are some huge ranges against each level.
Many thanks 

TELLIT01

Hasn't your solicitor given you any indication of the likely scale of any payout?  Every case will be treated on its own merits although I think there is a scale which is used for determining the payout.  As you suggest, when you mention occasional problems with your neck, it isn't a simple tick box exercise for any type of injury.  It's the severity and how much it affects the individual which determines where in the scale the claim would sit.

strawb_shortcake

TELLIT01 said:

Hasn't your solicitor given you any indication of the likely scale of any payout?  Every case will be treated on its own merits although I think there is a scale which is used for determining the payout.  As you suggest, when you mention occasional problems with your neck, it isn't a simple tick box exercise for any type of injury.  It's the severity and how much it affects the individual which determines where in the scale the claim would sit.

Not yet, they are meant to be calling me in the coming week as they want to discuss a few points before doing the valuation now they have my final medical report, it has been passed on the complex cases team. 
They have been far from great at times, and with hindsight signing up to them at the suggestion of our insurers a few hours after the accident wasn't our best move. 

I was looking forward to closing this off and moving on with my life, and then finding out it would be permanent has left me not sure how I really feel about it all. The money almost feels irrelevant as it's not going to make the pain stop.

TELLIT01

Just one piece of advice.  Be very careful about any claims your solicitor makes about being able to get you more than the initial offer.  A friend was injured at work, and the employer accepted liability.  My friend did allow herseflt to be persuaded to hold out for more than the initial offer, despite being happy enough with that amount.  A claim which had been settled in little over a year (long enough), then dragged on for several more years due to conflicting 'expert opinion' from the two sides.  My friend was close to mental collapse by the time things were brought to a close and got very little more out of it financially.

strawb_shortcake

Thank you, I was offered £4.5k but that was based on injuries lasting 6 months, which my solicitor said was too low given the time passed. 
Money is always nice to have but my aim is really to get this closed out sooner than later, as much as I'm tight fisted I'm not going to be money focussed on this, though having an idea will help me work out how much I want to spend on a much needed new to me car.

TELLIT01

You have to decide whether you are content, not necessarily happy, with the compensation on offer.  Please don't allow the solicitor to make you act against your own judgement.