Car Accident settlement - what to expect

britoonz

Hi all,

Not sure if this is the best place to ask this question, I was involved in a car accident a couple of years ago. I was sat stationary when the car hit me. I have been through so many tests and seen may different professionals.

It has been concluded that I have suffered soft tissue damage to my shoulder, cervical spine, lumbar spine and my right arm. I also suffer from phycological damage due to the way the accident happened. 

If the 3rd party agree to settle out of court, what will the predicted compensation be for this type of case?

Many thanks,

B

bluelad1927

Nobody here could give you an accurate estimate. I'm assuming that you have a legal representative  that knows all the facts and together with their experience could provide you with what you are asking

DullGreyGuy

When was the accident? Before or after 31 May 2021?

What is the prognosis?

Are you managing the claim yourself or using a solicitor? Assuming the later, they are the ones to advise as they've seen your medical report etc and can advise on both general and special damages. 

britoonz

DullGreyGuy said:

When was the accident? Before or after 31 May 2021?

What is the prognosis?

Are you managing the claim yourself or using a solicitor? Assuming the later, they are the ones to advise as they've seen your medical report etc and can advise on both general and special damages. 

Hi there,

It happened in 2022.

I have a solicitor who is currently managing the case for me. 

It has been proven that I did suffer moderate to severe damage due to the impact. Would it be ok to ask my solicitor of how much compensation will be for such a case? 

Thank you for replying to my message.

B

DullGreyGuy

britoonz said:

DullGreyGuy said:

When was the accident? Before or after 31 May 2021?

What is the prognosis?

Are you managing the claim yourself or using a solicitor? Assuming the later, they are the ones to advise as they've seen your medical report etc and can advise on both general and special damages. 

Hi there,

It happened in 2022.

I have a solicitor who is currently managing the case for me. 

It has been proven that I did suffer moderate to severe damage due to the impact. Would it be ok to ask my solicitor of how much compensation will be for such a case? 

Thank you for replying to my message.

Since the Whiplash Reforms any soft tissue (with or without psych) injury with under 2 years duration has become a fixed settlement unless lawyers can argue there is a strong reason why its inappropriate in a particular case. So 18 -24 months with psych for example is £4,345 for general damages... any loss of earnings, excess or other special damages would be on top of this. 

Yes, it's perfectly acceptable and normal to ask your lawyer what is their current view on probable settlement will be however until you've a final prognosis it will be very difficult. 

britoonz

DullGreyGuy said:

britoonz said:

DullGreyGuy said:

When was the accident? Before or after 31 May 2021?

What is the prognosis?

Are you managing the claim yourself or using a solicitor? Assuming the later, they are the ones to advise as they've seen your medical report etc and can advise on both general and special damages. 

Hi there,

It happened in 2022.

I have a solicitor who is currently managing the case for me. 

It has been proven that I did suffer moderate to severe damage due to the impact. Would it be ok to ask my solicitor of how much compensation will be for such a case? 

Thank you for replying to my message.

Since the Whiplash Reforms any soft tissue (with or without psych) injury with under 2 years duration has become a fixed settlement unless lawyers can argue there is a strong reason why its inappropriate in a particular case. So 18 -24 months with psych for example is £4,345 for general damages... any loss of earnings, excess or other special damages would be on top of this. 

Yes, it's perfectly acceptable and normal to ask your lawyer what is their current view on probable settlement will be however until you've a final prognosis it will be very difficult. 

Thank you for getting back to me and apologies for my delay in response. I did ask my solicitor about the compensation and she did state up to £4K - I have now been assigned to speak with a Phycologist to speak about the accident. 

I received a copy of the Addendum and the specialist states the following:

"On the balance of probability, in my opinion, the index event has caused soft tissue injury affecting the cervical spine, lumbar spine, right shoulder and right upper limb. Based upon the mechanism of injury, and the investigation results detailed above, I would attribute the initial 12 months of symptoms to the incident described at the time of the index event. Any persistent symptoms beyond that time are, in my opinion, likely to be constitutional in nature.

On the balance of probability, the claimant is unlikely to be left with any permanent symptoms as a consequence of the index event."


I unfortunately have been left in a worst state now physically and mentally, should this be taken into consideration now and part of my claim? Does the court consider all 4 injuries as one or separately? I did not have any physical issues until the accident. 

thanks again,

B

DullGreyGuy

Under the whiplash reforms all soft tissue injuries are considered as one, psych injuries are a complication and adds a small amount extra. 

The specialist is stating it was a 12 month injury with no lasting impacts and so the values are as below, with psych if the specialist confirms that you use the last column...



As mentioned before, these are the general damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenities. Any claims for loss of earnings, physio, medications etc will be a separate special damages value. 

britoonz

Thank you for the above. I really appreciate you taking the time to look into this. 

[Deleted User]

The moral of the story seems to be that if you get any injury in an accident, get as much physio and mental health support as possible, take all the time you need off work, don't push yourself at all. Keep a record and claim for all of it.

Do everything you can to recover quickly and completely.

DullGreyGuy

[Deleted User] said:

The moral of the story seems to be that if you get any injury in an accident, get as much physio and mental health support as possible, take all the time you need off work, don't push yourself at all. Keep a record and claim for all of it.

Do everything you can to recover quickly and completely.

Not sure the motivation for the statement @[Deleted User]? You'll potentially get less compensation if you have more physio because you recover quicker (though that is presumably preferable) and you'll only be indemnified for the physio 

Maybe being too cynical, most here seem to prefer to maximise compensation rather than avoid needing it in the first place.

[Deleted User]

I'd rather get better than get more compensation. Best to take time off work and get all available help, and then have the at fault party pay for it.