RTA Offer Settlement - Should I be entitled to a breakdown?

J3OEF

Good Morning,

I am wondering if anyone can offer insight.

My wife gave birth in June 2022 and we were then both involved in a RTA, one Friday of Aug 2022 where a 4x4 ploughed into the back of us while stationary. We both suffered as a result of this and thank fully at the time, the little one was not present.

We visited hospital the day after as we had no one to look after our son on the day it happened and A&E times were horrendous. We also visited the doctor at the first opportunity which was Monday.

To cut a long story short, my injuries were 

1.Neck

2.Shoulders

3.Lower Back

4.Left Knee

5.Psychological Shock

I've received 3 offers via my no win no fee solicitor. First one was £900, second was £1400 and the 3rd was £1500.

Now, What I am intrigued by is how that solicitor has conveyed the offer settlement to me as it just states you have been offered £1500 to settle. 

Correct me If I am wrong, but am I not entitled to see a full break down of the offer in full from 3rd part insurer to solicitor to show all costs incurred from MRI scans to physiotherapy and then solicitors fees taken off to then show the final amount I would receive?

I don't know why, but I just feel this way leaves it open to abuse and for all I know, solicitor could be pocketing double what I receive rather than 25%.

My wife's claim is still ongoing as she suffered herniated discs and suffered mentally as her father was ill with cancer at the time of the accident and she had only given birth 6 weeks prior so she was struggling. Her father not long after passed away and she was unable to carry out various duties that new mums should enjoy due to the pain of her injuries. 

She also once maternity finished had to take 3 months unpaid off work as she could not return as her job involves lots of driving which she could not do.

Thanks

Mildly_Miffed

No. It's an offer to settle. They pay you £1,500 in full and final settlement for <list of five items>. How it breaks down is both irrelevant and academic.

I presume that's just for your situation, since your wife's injuries are still ongoing.

What does your contract with the solicitor say about their fees?

I would suggest that the coincidence of timing regarding her father's illness and death is likely to reduce any entitlement for shock arising from the collision - as much of the difficulty she's experienced with daily life since could easily be attributed to that, rather than the collision.

Okell

As per mildly miffed.

The other side are simply offering an overall global amount (£1500) to settle the claim.  They aren't obliged to break it down into detail.  It's up to you if you accept it or not.

I see no reason why you shouldn't go back to your own NWNF solicitor and ask (a) whether the £1500 is gross or nett of their 25% cut, and (b) to see the original offer letter from the other side's solicitors.

I see no reason at all why you shouldn't see a copy of the other side's offer.  If your solicitors refuse you can always compalin and if that gives you no satisfaction complain to the SRA | Problems with law firms and individuals | Solicitors Regulation Authority.


(NB - a word of caution.  You need to fully understand the T&Cs of the NWNF agreement that you signed up to.  It's sometimes the case that if you go against the recommendations of your NWNF firm, you may end up being liable for their expenses.  If you break the terms of the agreement, NWNF doesn't mean that you aren't liable for any expenses they have incurred to date.)

J3OEF

Mildly_Miffed said:

No. It's an offer to settle. They pay you £1,500 in full and final settlement for <list of five items>. How it breaks down is both irrelevant and academic.

I presume that's just for your situation, since your wife's injuries are still ongoing.

What does your contract with the solicitor say about their fees?

I would suggest that the coincidence of timing regarding her father's illness and death is likely to reduce any entitlement for shock arising from the collision - as much of the difficulty she's experienced with daily life since could easily be attributed to that, rather than the collision.

Hi, Yes this is just for my situation.

My wife's is still on going as she has been referred to an orthopedic for assessment. The solicitor contract states they will take 25% plus tax.

I understand your point regarding the timing of events!

J3OEF

Okell said:

As per mildly miffed.

The other side are simply offering an overall global amount (£1500) to settle the claim.  They aren't obliged to break it down into detail.  It's up to you if you accept it or not.

I see no reason why you shouldn't go back to your own NWNF solicitor and ask (a) whether the £1500 is gross or nett of their 25% cut, and (b) to see the original offer letter from the other side's solicitors.

I see no reason at all why you shouldn't see a copy of the other side's offer.  If your solicitors refuse you can always compalin and if that gives you no satisfaction complain to the SRA | Problems with law firms and individuals | Solicitors Regulation Authority.


(NB - a word of caution.  You need to fully understand the T&Cs of the NWNF agreement that you signed up to.  It's sometimes the case that if you go against the recommendations of your NWNF firm, you may end up being liable for their expenses.  If you break the terms of the agreement, NWNF doesn't mean that you aren't liable for any expenses they have incurred to date.)

The amount is definitely nett as I have already asked this.

I will ask for the original offer letter from the other sides solicitor to see what the response is. Maybe I am just being cynical and thinking they are taking more then they should be not disclosing the full amounts from other sides solicitor.

Mildly_Miffed

You realise it's not just cynicism - but you'd be accusing them of theft, criminal fraud, professional malpractice...?

If you trust that solicitor so little, why did you hire them?

J3OEF

Mildly_Miffed said:

You realise it's not just cynicism - but you'd be accusing them of theft, criminal fraud, professional malpractice...?

If you trust that solicitor so little, why did you hire them?

They come via recommendation of someone else. At the time, seemed like the easy option. 

In hindsight, communication has been poor, updates have been non existent and even little things such as details wrong, ie address, postcode etc. 

Just does not fill me with confidence.

DullGreyGuy

J3OEF said:

Good Morning,

I am wondering if anyone can offer insight.

My wife gave birth in June 2022 and we were then both involved in a RTA, one Friday of Aug 2022 where a 4x4 ploughed into the back of us while stationary. We both suffered as a result of this and thank fully at the time, the little one was not present.

We visited hospital the day after as we had no one to look after our son on the day it happened and A&E times were horrendous. We also visited the doctor at the first opportunity which was Monday.

To cut a long story short, my injuries were 

1.Neck

2.Shoulders

3.Lower Back

4.Left Knee

5.Psychological Shock

I've received 3 offers via my no win no fee solicitor. First one was £900, second was £1400 and the 3rd was £1500.

Now, What I am intrigued by is how that solicitor has conveyed the offer settlement to me as it just states you have been offered £1500 to settle. 

Correct me If I am wrong, but am I not entitled to see a full break down of the offer in full from 3rd part insurer to solicitor to show all costs incurred from MRI scans to physiotherapy and then solicitors fees taken off to then show the final amount I would receive?

I don't know why, but I just feel this way leaves it open to abuse and for all I know, solicitor could be pocketing double what I receive rather than 25%.

My wife's claim is still ongoing as she suffered herniated discs and suffered mentally as her father was ill with cancer at the time of the accident and she had only given birth 6 weeks prior so she was struggling. Her father not long after passed away and she was unable to carry out various duties that new mums should enjoy due to the pain of her injuries. 

She also once maternity finished had to take 3 months unpaid off work as she could not return as her job involves lots of driving which she could not do.

Thanks

It depends on how much backwards and forwards there's been, the mood of the claims handlers, if they are paying everything in full, part or have struck out some heads of claim. 

As a former handler of defence cases we would sometimes give a break down sometimes not. The break down may be just Special and General Damages or the Special may be further broken down. It's clearly a lot easier/quicker to type up a global offer letter. 

You won't get a breakdown of general damages by injury as it doesn't really work like that... if you had a broken arm and a cut that required stitches on your face you dont get the sum of what someone who had had each of these individually would have gotten, there is a discount applied because the pain/loss of amenities were overlapping. 

Echo others questions, if you dont trust your solicitors why the hell did you appoint them?

J3OEF

DullGreyGuy said:

J3OEF said:

Good Morning,

I am wondering if anyone can offer insight.

My wife gave birth in June 2022 and we were then both involved in a RTA, one Friday of Aug 2022 where a 4x4 ploughed into the back of us while stationary. We both suffered as a result of this and thank fully at the time, the little one was not present.

We visited hospital the day after as we had no one to look after our son on the day it happened and A&E times were horrendous. We also visited the doctor at the first opportunity which was Monday.

To cut a long story short, my injuries were 

1.Neck

2.Shoulders

3.Lower Back

4.Left Knee

5.Psychological Shock

I've received 3 offers via my no win no fee solicitor. First one was £900, second was £1400 and the 3rd was £1500.

Now, What I am intrigued by is how that solicitor has conveyed the offer settlement to me as it just states you have been offered £1500 to settle. 

Correct me If I am wrong, but am I not entitled to see a full break down of the offer in full from 3rd part insurer to solicitor to show all costs incurred from MRI scans to physiotherapy and then solicitors fees taken off to then show the final amount I would receive?

I don't know why, but I just feel this way leaves it open to abuse and for all I know, solicitor could be pocketing double what I receive rather than 25%.

My wife's claim is still ongoing as she suffered herniated discs and suffered mentally as her father was ill with cancer at the time of the accident and she had only given birth 6 weeks prior so she was struggling. Her father not long after passed away and she was unable to carry out various duties that new mums should enjoy due to the pain of her injuries. 

She also once maternity finished had to take 3 months unpaid off work as she could not return as her job involves lots of driving which she could not do.

Thanks

It depends on how much backwards and forwards there's been, the mood of the claims handlers, if they are paying everything in full, part or have struck out some heads of claim. 

As a former handler of defence cases we would sometimes give a break down sometimes not. The break down may be just Special and General Damages or the Special may be further broken down. It's clearly a lot easier/quicker to type up a global offer letter. 

You won't get a breakdown of general damages by injury as it doesn't really work like that... if you had a broken arm and a cut that required stitches on your face you dont get the sum of what someone who had had each of these individually would have gotten, there is a discount applied because the pain/loss of amenities were overlapping. 

Echo others questions, if you dont trust your solicitors why the hell did you appoint them?

Thanks for the insight.

It's no so much that I do not trust them, It was more the fact of them just sending me a nett offer. For some reason I thought for transparency and so everything aligns, it would be a breakdown of all associated costs (didn't mean split into amounts per injury, just a brief line of costs for MRI as an example, physio, travel, solicitor costs) and then the figure left is my amount. If this is not common practice and something that isn't usually given then fair enough. 

It's the first time I've had anything like this so was unsure if they should or should not be providing it.

Bluebell1000

When I was made an offer after RTA, I was told 'they have made an offer of X, from this you will receive Y'. The solicitors then provided some advice on  whether they thought that level of offer was reasonable based on my injuries.

DullGreyGuy

J3OEF said:

DullGreyGuy said:

J3OEF said:

Good Morning,

I am wondering if anyone can offer insight.

My wife gave birth in June 2022 and we were then both involved in a RTA, one Friday of Aug 2022 where a 4x4 ploughed into the back of us while stationary. We both suffered as a result of this and thank fully at the time, the little one was not present.

We visited hospital the day after as we had no one to look after our son on the day it happened and A&E times were horrendous. We also visited the doctor at the first opportunity which was Monday.

To cut a long story short, my injuries were 

1.Neck

2.Shoulders

3.Lower Back

4.Left Knee

5.Psychological Shock

I've received 3 offers via my no win no fee solicitor. First one was £900, second was £1400 and the 3rd was £1500.

Now, What I am intrigued by is how that solicitor has conveyed the offer settlement to me as it just states you have been offered £1500 to settle. 

Correct me If I am wrong, but am I not entitled to see a full break down of the offer in full from 3rd part insurer to solicitor to show all costs incurred from MRI scans to physiotherapy and then solicitors fees taken off to then show the final amount I would receive?

I don't know why, but I just feel this way leaves it open to abuse and for all I know, solicitor could be pocketing double what I receive rather than 25%.

My wife's claim is still ongoing as she suffered herniated discs and suffered mentally as her father was ill with cancer at the time of the accident and she had only given birth 6 weeks prior so she was struggling. Her father not long after passed away and she was unable to carry out various duties that new mums should enjoy due to the pain of her injuries. 

She also once maternity finished had to take 3 months unpaid off work as she could not return as her job involves lots of driving which she could not do.

Thanks

It depends on how much backwards and forwards there's been, the mood of the claims handlers, if they are paying everything in full, part or have struck out some heads of claim. 

As a former handler of defence cases we would sometimes give a break down sometimes not. The break down may be just Special and General Damages or the Special may be further broken down. It's clearly a lot easier/quicker to type up a global offer letter. 

You won't get a breakdown of general damages by injury as it doesn't really work like that... if you had a broken arm and a cut that required stitches on your face you dont get the sum of what someone who had had each of these individually would have gotten, there is a discount applied because the pain/loss of amenities were overlapping. 

Echo others questions, if you dont trust your solicitors why the hell did you appoint them?

Thanks for the insight.

It's no so much that I do not trust them, It was more the fact of them just sending me a nett offer. For some reason I thought for transparency and so everything aligns, it would be a breakdown of all associated costs (didn't mean split into amounts per injury, just a brief line of costs for MRI as an example, physio, travel, solicitor costs) and then the figure left is my amount. If this is not common practice and something that isn't usually given then fair enough. 

It's the first time I've had anything like this so was unsure if they should or should not be providing it.

You claim for £2,000 they offer you £1,500 you can decide to take it or leave it, you probably think they've just edged you down across the board.

You claim for £2,000 they offer you £1,500 saying they'll pay all the items you were claiming for other than the £500 for a private MRI as they dont feel it was reasonable thing to do... you then can start arguing why the MRI was necessary etc

Global offers are harder to argue against than line by line. 

Your solicitor maybe should show you the gross number, remind you of their margin and then the net amount to be paid... a lot simply show the gross number and then people get annoyed when the cheque is less than that because of the success fee.