Car Accident -Injury

the_greed

I was involved in a car accident in January when the other party drove into the back of me at a roundabout. I was not injured but my husband, who was a passenger suffered a whiplash injury. The other driver accepted responsibility and my car was fixed. I did not have to pay any excess and my no claims bonus was unaffected. My insurance company advised me that my husband should make a claim for my his injury which he did. He received a letter this morning offering him £1200 without the need for medical evidence. The solicitor dealing with this also said that they were unable to make any recommendations about the offer without sight of medical evidence. Bearing in mind that my husband has back and leg problems we are wondering whether or not to accept the offer. If he does decide to reject the offer and goes for a medical can it be possible that the offer might be less than £1200? I know that he can maybe be offered more but his medical background will confirm problems with his back previous to the accident. Any advice would be gratefully received.

mattymoo

It would be very unlikely to go down. Med report would give you a prognosis indicating how long it is likely to be a problem and whether or not it has exacerbated his pre-existing medical conditions.

The existing conditions will not reduce the offer because you "take your victim as you find them".

The other persons insurers are hoping for a quick settlement, hence the offer without the need for reports.

Search whiplash on this board and you'll see a few other cases where values / offers were discussed. Whiplash awards tend not to be high, typically £2500 for a years pain and suffering IIRC. £1200 isn't too bad for 2 months pain but you need to know the long term picture. If you settle now, you cannot go back for more later if the condition does not improve.

the_greed

We thought that £1200 was a good offer as quite frankly we did not expect to get anything. Also, my husband has been in pain for a long time, long before the accident. Quite frankly it is found money and I don't know if my husband can be bothered with the hassle of travelling thirty miles to see an independent Dr.

the_greed

Waiting for a phone call from my husband's solicitor regarding the offer made. We really do not know what to do. My husband has been at his own GP yesterday and she has written down that the pain he suffered previously has been excacerbated (I think that is the right word) by the accident. Can we tell my husband's solicitor this so that another offer may be made, without my husband having to go through a medical examination? We are tempted with the £1200 but somebody has told us. NEVER ACCEPT THE FIRST OFFER. We do not want this dragging on for months and months, we really just want to put it behind us and move on.

tanith

Hi I have just this week settled my claim for an accident . Its a long drawn out affair and in the end I received £2500 but its taken nearly 3yrs to get there,.. involving my GP a private medical and report and many many phone calls and letters... so if you can bear the wait and hassle you may get more.

If you are pretty satisfied with what they offered you can either accept it as it stand or make a counter claim of maybe £1500 and see what they say.. but you do risk them withdrawing the offer and having to go through all the hassles...

the_greed

My husband had a phone call this afternoon from his solicitor telling him to reject the claim. They are sending him for a medical sometime next week, date to be arranged. As I understand it, they then receive the medical report and then advise my husband what to do. The solicitor said it should take about six weeks. So here's hoping that he has done the right thing.

mattymoo

the_greed wrote: »

My husband has been at his own GP yesterday and she has written down that the pain he suffered previously has been excacerbated (I think that is the right word) by the accident. Can we tell my husband's solicitor this so that another offer may be made, without my husband having to go through a medical examination?

Insurers have realised that the only people to win in these claims is the lawyers. The other poster who recently settled for £2500 after 3 years - it is a pretty safe bet that their solicitor will have trousered £5000.

For this reason, insurers are trying to make early offers like the £1200 here to settle early and avoid racking up the fees. If I had up to 2 months of pain and suffering but knew there was no long term issues, I would be inclined to accept.

However, what worries me in your husband's case is the exacerbation of existing problems. Everybodies body deteriorates over time but accidents can accelerate that change, leading to earlier onset of problems like arthritis and disc degenaration.

The degree of change is something that would need to be considered by a specialist. Ideally an orthopeadic consultant but sometimes, osteopaths are used. They would give a considered opinion on the prognosis and likely long term effects and a new offer would be based on this.

This may mean travelling as you say but any expenses associated with this can be claimed back. Just keep receipts.

the_greed

Well we will just have to see how it goes. Hopefully it will be settled soon. My hubby was going to accept the £1200 before the solicitor phoned, the fact that the solicitor suggested to my hubby to go for a medical seems, in my view, to be encouraging. I just hope it does not go on and on.

choccybikkie_2

Hi,
Just to give you a little idea, I had an accident in December and the other driver admitted full liability etc etc.
I suffered whiplash and the other drivers insurance first offered me £950 (that offer was made the day after the accident so I obviously said no as I had no idea what the extent of the injury was)
Then they offered me £1200 again I said no, then £1500- each time they said it was the most they could offer without a medical.
They finally offered me £1800 and as I was fully recovered by this point I accepted and the money was recieved straight away.
SO, don't accept the first offer you can get more before medical assessments etc.
Good luck.;)

the_greed

dandsknowles wrote: »

Hi,
Just to give you a little idea, I had an accident in December and the other driver admitted full liability etc etc.
I suffered whiplash and the other drivers insurance first offered me £950 (that offer was made the day after the accident so I obviously said no as I had no idea what the extent of the injury was)
Then they offered me £1200 again I said no, then £1500- each time they said it was the most they could offer without a medical.
They finally offered me £1800 and as I was fully recovered by this point I accepted and the money was recieved straight away.
SO, don't accept the first offer you can get more before medical assessments etc.
Good luck.;)[/quote

Thanks for that, I did not know whether or not they might come back with another offer without a medical. I think my husband should maybe have taken the £1200 and that would have been the end of it. However, the decision was entirely his and although his solicitor could not make any recommendations without medical evidence, he suggested to await medical evidence before advising my husband about the offer. That is what it said in the letter. When the solicitor phoned this afternoon he basically told my husband to reject the offer. My husband has done this so we will just have to wait and see. I was just thinking that if he does have a medical he might get less than the £1200 offered.