No reply from defendant so solicitor dropped case

[Derek Grim]

My sister gets legal support through her trade union. She is a health worker. She had a nasty accident while visiting a residential property earlier this year. Fell through a defective/corroded manhole on the driveway. Broken arm, surgery, pins etc. Her lawyers sent a letter of claim to the homeowner and asked for insurance details. No reply. So they sent a chaser. Still no reply. So now her lawyer wants to drop the whole claim on the basis that he cannot be sure the defendant is solvent and could pay. Sister is fuming. Surely they shouldn't just drop the case because the defendant didn't reply? If that happened all the time, then defendants could easily wriggle out of reponsibility just by sitting tight and refusing to answer any letters from the claimant's lawyer, right? Is there a way to force the defendant to provide the necessary details? Any advice appreciated.

[Pezza54]

The lawyer is probably worried about not receiving their fee if the property owner does not have insurance
My advice to your sister is to drop this lawyer and consider making a court claim as a litigant in person.
If she doesn't know the name of the property owner she could search at the Land Registry

Fortunately there is an example of a Particulars of Claim in Negligence/Occupiers Liability at www.lawteacher.net

Did your sister obtain a photo of the defective manhole?

[Pezza54]

To calculate damages for personal injury (for the schedule of loss), solicitors and courts refer to the "Judicial College Guidelines" version 17
Chapter 7 covers orthopaedic injuries.

[Derek Grim]

The lawyer is probably worried about not receiving their fee if the property owner does not have insurance
My advice to your sister is to drop this lawyer and consider making a court claim as a litigant in person.
If she doesn't know the name of the property owner she could search at the Land Registry

Fortunately there is an example of a Particulars of Claim in Negligence/Occupiers Liability at www.lawteacher.net

Did your sister obtain a photo of the defective manhole?

Thanks, Pezza. Yes, she had the good sense to take a lot of photos on her smartphone. She said it was a very dilapidated property, and she is doubtful the homeowner has insurance. Do you think it's still worth registering a claim even in the absence of proof that the homwowner was insured? He is simply refusing to reply to letters.

[atticus]

You can find the land registry details for the property to see who owns it and whether there are any outstanding mortgages or other charges. This may indicate whether the property itself may be a means of eventual payment.

[Huxie]

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