car accident compensation.

[janey.smithy]

I had an accident in April 2017 and I have recently been diagnosed with a pain condition, which affects my mood, memory and everyday life, I rely on my family to help me keep on top of thing, bathe me and cook. I am struggling to adjust to the fact that I will be disabled for the rest of my life and my self esteem has plummeted and I have ballooned in size, nothing fits me really and I have no funds to replace clothing, because I am having a battle with the government agencies with my claim for PIP and UC.

Now I know my claim is going to go through the multi track system altough I have to get a report drawn up by the appointed medical professional because I was diagnosed by the NHS (my previous solictors was bad, did not follow my instructions or listened to me regarding my continous pain, just a shark that wanted to make money at my expense, well my legal expenses insurance, expense).

No I wanted to ask a few questions, so I am hoping if you guys & gals could help me.

Firstly now I am registered disabled and I have been off work since early June last year, they are constantly contacting me and essessially cause me stress, which inturn cause my symptom to intensify. They have pretty much told me that they will be looking at terminating my contract, which I don't know the legality of because I also have depression with my pain syndrome. I have a meeting next week to discuss my absence from work. The job I am currently doin in the organisation will have adverse affects on my health, if they only offer me a position with a different campaign (call centre), that could not be a reasonable adjust because it will have the same detrimental affects on my health.

Is it reasonable to ask them to find a completely different role within their organisation that does not involve call handling?

What if they are unable to provide me with an alternative role, are they allowed to terminate my contract, would this be discriminatory?

I also wanted to know if the medical expert views were that my pain condition and depression was caused by the accident (I had no pre-existing conditions), I know that I have until April 2020 to issue court proceedings, I want to get a better picture of how long it usually takes for a case to get through the multi track system?

Lastly, I was in the planning stages of starting my own business and infact I hoped to be fully operational by September 2018, however I am unable to pursue this line of business due to my ill health, would it be ok, if I informed my solicitor of this so he can seek damages based on my plans to start my own business. Is this something that you have every seen before?

Thanks for reading, hopefully I can get a clearer picture.

[MIKE770]

unfortunately this type claim can go on for years before settled usually via court, makes me think limitation of losses exercise bu companies, know we went thru it with a brother and took 6 years, still did him no good as eventually the final outcome he passed away due to part injuries within the court case

[janey.smithy]

Thanks mike770, for your help.

Can anyone else offer me any advice please?

[Jinxer]

The only advice I can offer is to use a specialist Solicitor who deals with your condition. I had as much a similar claim to you and used Brian Barr Solicitors (google them for website). The other thing to be careful of is not to exaggerate your condition by saying you can't do something if you can, much better to be totally honest as their will be a real good chance you get followed by specialist surveillance teams.

[janey.smithy]

Thanks mike770, for your help.

Can anyone else offer me any advice please?

Hi Jinxer, thanks for your response.

How long did it take for your claim to settle, please? I have been 100% honest, not exaggerated at all (not implying you've suggest I have done this), I can't be dealing with being discreditted & it really isn't about the money, it's about getting some normality back to my life and being able to afford things to assist me with managing this condition, it's ruined my life!

Did you manage get an interim payment?
What was the timescale from accident to settlement, please?

I will look up Brain Barr.

[Peridot]

Hi Janey.smithy,
How awful for you. Unfortunately recovery to a level of normalcy following this sort of accident can take a long time. It is widely recognised that whilst in the middle of an ongoing claim this doesn't help either with recovery. I appreciate this doesn't help give you any timescales but so much of the claim will be dependant on what level of recovery can be predicted by the medical expert.

So to recap the claim is already underway. Has the Defendant admitted liability so now it is a case of quantifying the claim?

If liability has been admitted then the next steps are to establish what injuries have been caused by the accident or exacerbated by the accident (which relies on medical evidence and is known as general damages) and what other losses you have incurred (such as loss of earnings, loss of opportunity, prescription charges, travel costs to see Drs/experts etc all known as special damages)

Whilst there may continue to be some haggling about what symptoms the accident caused and how long they can last, if liability is admitted then it would be reasonable to ask for an interim payment pending finalising of your medical evidence. I would say that if you have not had any medical evidence yet this would be difficult to argue as the claim very much turns on the actual injuries being as a result of the accident, before calculating the future losses and anticipated loss through the expected recovery time before looking at any of the special damages.

Depending on what stage you were at with the creation of your company will dictate whether it is appropriate to claim for this loss of opportunity. Future losses of earnings through the company would be difficult to prove and the more information you have demonstrating the likely income you expected the better.

With any PI claim the clamant is expected to help themselves and look at minimising their losses as far as they are able and injury permitting of course. So it may be sensible to look into whether there is something you could do at college to re-train if necessary. This sort of thing can be 'priced up' and potentially included in any claim also. Of course ambitions have to be realistic to justify a claim for something toward training for example.

You need to keep all receipts for losses to evidence payments made. The time your family and friends assist you with things you would have done yourself can also be claimed so keeping a diary is a good way to keep a log of this sort of assistance.

If you have a new solicitor now it would be sensible to discuss with them the sorts of things you could be looking at that can be included in the claim and how those things can be evidenced. Definitely mention your business you were planning to set up and they can guide you whether it can be included.

As I mentioned already and not being certain whether you have already got medical evidence (even if it's just a first report indication and further reports are needed) it would be unlikely an interim payment would be forthcoming if there is no medical evidence as yet. In addition if liability has not been admitted this would be another hurdle to clear before requesting an interim.

As others have indicated until there is a more certain prognosis for the outcome of your injuries it would be inadvisable to settle your claim so until that evidence is available the claim will continue. Of course offers can be made to settle at any stage and your solicitor should advise you whether it is a sensible offer to consider depending on what stage you are at and the risks there are in continuing with the claim, should evidence not support the whole of the claim.

I hope that clarifies things a little. You need to find a solicitor specialising in PI who you click with. You can explain the issues with the company start up and assistance you are requiring from friends & family and they can guide you on the likelihood of being successful in any specific aspects of the claim. Yes there will be an element of leaving them to do things but you can be collecting all the pieces of info you need and researching other options you could consider work wise. The most frustrating thing is waiting for the medical evidence to be finalised or to a point that you can give a prognosis of the likely outcome for you from the injuries. Once that happens hopefully matters can be settled to leave you to concentrate on yourself and not the litigation which is stressful even when fit and healthy.

Here if you need support or have any queries.

[rinaldo]

Hi Janey,

I felt sad by listening to your condition. I advise you to take help from any best legal attorney who deals with your condition. They will definitely guide you in an accurate way.

[Paul60]

I had an accident in April 2017 and I have recently been diagnosed with a pain condition, which affects my mood, memory and everyday life, I rely on my family to help me keep on top of thing, bathe me and cook. I am struggling to adjust to the fact that I will be disabled for the rest of my life and my self esteem has plummeted and I have ballooned in size, nothing fits me really and I have no funds to replace clothing, because I am having a battle with the government agencies with my claim for PIP and UC.

Now I know my claim is going to go through the multi track system altough I have to get a report drawn up by the appointed medical professional because I was diagnosed by the NHS (my previous solictors was bad, did not follow my instructions or listened to me regarding my continous pain, just a shark that wanted to make money at my expense, well my legal expenses insurance, expense).

No I wanted to ask a few questions, so I am hoping if you guys & gals could help me.

Firstly now I am registered disabled and I have been off work since early June last year, they are constantly contacting me and essessially cause me stress, which inturn cause my symptom to intensify. They have pretty much told me that they will be looking at terminating my contract, which I don't know the legality of because I also have depression with my pain syndrome. I have a meeting next week to discuss my absence from work. The job I am currently doin in the organisation will have adverse affects on my health, if they only offer me a position with a different campaign (call centre), that could not be a reasonable adjust because it will have the same detrimental affects on my health.

Is it reasonable to ask them to find a completely different role within their organisation that does not involve call handling?

What if they are unable to provide me with an alternative role, are they allowed to terminate my contract, would this be discriminatory?

I also wanted to know if the medical expert views were that my pain condition and depression was caused by the accident (I had no pre-existing conditions), I know that I have until April 2020 to issue court proceedings, I want to get a better picture of how long it usually takes for a case to get through the multi track system?

Lastly, I was in the planning stages of starting my own business and infact I hoped to be fully operational by September 2018, however I am unable to pursue this line of business due to my ill health, would it be ok, if I informed my solicitor of this so he can seek damages based on my plans to start my own business. Is this something that you have every seen before?

Thanks for reading, hopefully I can get a clearer picture.

"Dear Janey

I was sorry to read about your situation.

As already mentioned it can take time to get things resolved, especially where there is a claim regardless of fault and I sat this with personal experience.

I do have some questions,

are you in a Union, if so it would pay you to speak to them as they usually have their own solicitors which you should be able to access. The will make a charge on any compensation but so will any other solicitor. One point, you mentioned that at the start of your claim you had a solicitor who was not doing a good job. Do make sure that if you appoint another solicitor that you pass the information on and make sure that the 1st solicitors services are cancelled after who have lined up your replacement.

where you on the way to work when you had the accident, if so it might be worth speaking to the company you are work for as some companies have insurance which is in effect when traveling too or from work and give benefits.

I realize you may already be aware of all this but I am always surprised when I come across someone who is not and struggle to get what should been offered automatically but is not.

I hope this is of help.

Best wishes

Paul

[janey.smithy]

Hi thank you all for your replies, I have not been feeling to well of late, this condition is horrendous & trying to workout how to live with it. Peridot, my condition is a long term one and unfortuanely there is no cure for it at present, unfortunately.

I am so upset with the other driver because this accident did not need to happen and I should be struggling with pain for the rest of my life.

Paul thanks for your advice, I will contact my employer and ask for their insurance documentation.

The advise is much apprieciated.

[Paul60]

Hi thank you all for your replies, I have not been feeling to well of late, this condition is horrendous & trying to workout how to live with it. Peridot, my condition is a long term one and unfortuanely there is no cure for it at present, unfortunately.

I am so upset with the other driver because this accident did not need to happen and I should be struggling with pain for the rest of my life.

Paul thanks for your advice, I will contact my employer and ask for their insurance documentation.

The advise is much apprieciated.

"No problem, it is worth a shop and you have nothing to loose.

Don't forget to keep track of any expenses as a result of the accident (e.g. prescription costs, hospital visit costs, etc.) and request that they be added to any claim, this can be done upto the settlement.

All the best for the future.

Paul

[janey.smithy]

Hi all,

What happens when a barrister refuses to act on my case?

Does this mean my case is viewed by the barrister as unwinable?

Also if a another barrister does take on the case, what are the next stages & am I essentially.

If I had another accident which was also not my fault, will this make the currently claim difficult?

[Amethyst]

Has the barrister given a reason?

How did you engage them ? through a solicitors or direct access ?

Your medical reports have already been produced? so I suspect any further accident would warrant a further medical report and any deterioration in your condition attributable to the further accident discounted from the original accident PI claim.

Where in the claim process were you with the barrister you were with?

[janey.smithy]

Hi thank you for responding to my questions.

The barrister said they didn’t like elements of my case. I think the first report is the issue.

My medical reports, have not been produced & I was told I don’t have to disclose the first medical report (which will eliminate issues). I changed solicitors because the previous company were rubbish.

My solicitor engaged with the barrister, I never met them.

I believe the barrister is looking at the case to see if they want to represent me.

Will I be able claim more from the second accident if the first is discounted because of that?

[victorross]

I am sorry to know about your situation. You are definitely facing a hard time. The only advice I can give you is to hire an experienced solicitor who can work on no win no fee basis.

This could help you to not to make upfront payments in terms of fee and you don't feel the financial burden.