Not heard back from Tesco Solicitors for 8 months now.

[shazamer44]

Can anyone advise on the best way to deal with Tesco solicitors.

They have made an offer which I rejected. I made them a counter offer to try and settle quickly. They then said in order to increase their offer they would need Mum's medical records, I had already provided these, but Mum signed the form and returned it to them in June 2022. I have not heard from them since I sent a message in October 2022 to chase this up but no reply!

I have been authorised to deal with this. This is for my 78 year old mother who was badly injured, scared and is still suffering pain. Huge amount of stress to family, lost her independence and some mobility.

However, family don't really want to go down solicitor route it's to difficult for her. We really want the quickest option now as it is coming up to 2 years since the accident.

Can anyone advise on the best next steps to take. Could I go through small claims? thanks

[atticus]

You may need to take legal action. Remember that the limitation period for personal injury claims is 3 years. This means that any court action must be commenced - by the claim being issued at court - no later than 3 years after the date of the injury.

[dslippy]

The quickest option is by spurring them into acting. Move the case forward from your side. As it is, you are merely giving them an incentive to do nothing.

[dodolaw]

Can anyone advise on the best way to deal with Tesco solicitors.

They have made an offer which I rejected. I made them a counter offer to try and settle quickly. They then said in order to increase their offer they would need Mum's medical records, I had already provided these, but Mum signed the form and returned it to them in June 2022. I have not heard from them since I sent a message in October 2022 to chase this up but no reply!

I have been authorised to deal with this. This is for my 78 year old mother who was badly injured, scared and is still suffering pain. Huge amount of stress to family, lost her independence and some mobility.

However, family don't really want to go down solicitor route it's to difficult for her. We really want the quickest option now as it is coming up to 2 years since the accident.

Can anyone advise on the best next steps to take. Could I go through small claims? thanks

Hi you wouldn't be able to go through the Small Claims Track as the Smalls Claims Court does not handle injury claims. Furthermore even if Small Claims were to hear the claim, it would probably inconvenience your mother if she would have to attend Court to argue her case.

With regards to your mother's medical records, sometimes these can take a while to be released by the relevant medical authority that holds her records.

Just my take on this (I have worked in PI in both Claimant and Defendant roles) ordinarily when an individual doesn't have a Solicitors firm representing them, the Defendant will take advantage of this and go with low offers knowing you're more than likely going to accept it. You may therefore be selling yourself short by not instructing a Solicitor.

I'm assuming that as you don't have a Solicitor that your mother hasn't had a Medco accredited Medical Examination? Please note that this isn't attending a hospital or her GP, it's Medical Examination (usually by a GP or Orthopaedic Expert) who produces a Medical Report that you can rely upon at Court. As a Solicitor, one would use the Medical Report to value your mother's injuries.

Out of interest, have you valued your mother's injuries in the settlement figure you've sent to Tesco? If so, have you used the JC Guidelines to value the injury?

If you were to reconsider instructing a Solicitor, your mother can sign authority forms allowing you to be involved with the day to day running of the claim, so it would put less of a burden on your mother.

If you do instruct a Solicitor they will most likely work on a No Win, No Fee basis and take 25% (or more) of the final compensation. However you could potentially avoid the 25% fee by checking if your mother has any Legal Expense Insurance (LEI) on any policies she may have such as home insurance, car insurance etc or if she is part of any Unions.

You could also potentially shop around with Solicitors and find one to reduce the 25% as you have what appears to be an admitted liability case - once Solicitors know that liability is admitted then they'll be more eager to take the work on as they know it'll be easier than a disputed liability claim. I'd strongly recommend at least making a few enquiries and if you can get a firm to take it at a lower rate then it's a no brainer. The key is when they start trying to sell you their service let them know you don't like the sound of the 25% and just like with most services, they'll probably 'have a word with management' and lower it.

Also, should you proceed with a Solicitor it is important to provide them with copies of the offers and they'll most likely ask you to withdraw your counter-offer.

Hope this helps