In desperate need of advice please and help with a car claim

[3boysmummy]

Hi everyone, I am in desperate need of advice.

in December 2012 my 2 sons aged 9 years old and 13 months , my husband at the time and myself were involved in a car accident. We were hit by another car at a junction and the impact jolted us all and left my 2 boys crying and disturbed. We exchanged details my husband was driving. My eldest suffered from minor muscular injuries and psychological trauma. I myself suffered a further back pain to what I already had. Both of us took paracetamol and had bed rest.
Fast forward to 2014 and we received a phone cal from a no win no fee agent saying they had our details and we had every right to make a claim against the other driver as she had done against my husband (at the time ) so we decided to go ahead and in 2016 I was paid a small sum in compensation.My eldest sons case (as my youngest was too young to claim ) was also with the same solicitor I had used. They kept making excuses about a portal before settlement. Then they had a compensation fee in mind and I signed to accept it. Everything so far was going ok.
Untill they hit a stumbling block and apparently something in my husbands statement meant the insurers wouldn’t pay out.
my understanding is that the insurers came to take a statement and wrote a statement in his behalf and he signed it without reading it ( at that time my son had just been discharged from hospital after having an emergency operation and my husband was dealing with counselling for a gambling addiction so his head wasn’t in it and he never read things like that. A lesson I hope he has learnt)
Today I spoke to my legal representation and I was shocked when they replied that if I could find the photograph of our case involving our car and if it was a minor bump they would quash the case with no further action. But if it comes back my husband(att) said that he and my son was uninjured then I could be held accountable for making a fraudulent claim and that could end in a prison sentence for myself. I am absolutely devastated I have never made a wrong claim my son and myself took a medical and they were very true and the findings backed up the trauma my son has had and they were carried out by doctors acting on behalf of my solicitors. I know I haven’t made a fraudulent claim from the bottom of my heart but I don’t know what my husband(att) has said on his statement to their insurers. If this is the case then I would rather withdraw my claim for my son and pay any monies owed rather than go through any more upset. But my solicitor is the one who is going to take the action and has not give me this option.
i have searched my iCloud and back up but the photographs were taken on a phone that wasn’t backed up and perished in a fire at our previous family home ☹️ We really have had no luck.
I need some advice please on what to do. I know I’ve done nothing wrong but I am unsure on that statement and my husband can’t recall what he said or signed.
Can I quash the case and make a payment plan to drop the case as I don’t think I will get hold of these photographs although I am doing everything I can . Or have I no choice but for my own solicitors to continue and take myself to court even though I haven’t knowingly breached any agreement or attempted to make a fraudulent claim.
This is making me ill now and I already suffer from bad health I just don’t know what to do and any help would be gratefully recieved. I wish I’d never let them talk me into taking action. I wish I knew then what I know now.

[Amethyst]

Hmmm. This seems to be happening a lot lately - cold call ambulance chasers encouraging people to start claims then sending huge bills to victims for 'discrepancies'

Have they put this in writing to you ? and have they given you an idea of costs you'd have to pay to cancel ?

Do you have your agreement / client care letter ?

Do you have copies of the statements you gave and accident report from insurers ? Also who was at fault in the accident as you say the other driver claimed against your husband ? so was he the driver and at fault in the accident ? so in essence you've sued your husband ( his insurers )?

@des8

[3boysmummy]

Hi thanks for your response....
a woman pulled out On a one lane at a junction to us she over took all
the traffic and hit us when the rest of the traffic was at a stand still and we were crossing the junction . In the end both parties had to claim 50/50 responsibility as their was no witnesses that stoped other than our selves.

They haven’t put this in a letter to me no it was a telephone conversation yesterday which has left me in a state.

I know there fees currently stand at £2500 plus vat.

I just couldnt handle any more my more bad luck or reprocussions in my life.

If if I have to pay I will but he’s not giving me the option to withdraw my claim before he issues further proceedings. I know I have never said we weren’t injured but I can’t be sure what my husband at the time said and for that reason alone I want to quash the Case but the solicitor won’t let me. Yet if I managed to get hold of a photo of our bumper he would quash it completely?? I have my original agreement it doesn’t mention what can happen if I end my contract nor does it say I can. He has told me I am now duty bound to him to do as he says ☹️

[Amethyst]

I don't see how a picture of the car would help. Were photographs provided to the insurers when you first dealt with it and accepted 50/50 responsibility ?

Can you say who the firm is you are dealing with and who cold called you originally and passed you over to the solicitors ( PM or email if you prefer admin@legalbeagles.info ) just so I can see if this is the same company that have been doing similar to others.

If you can do a pic of the agreement you have that would help too.

I'm going to tag Peridot regarding the SRA rules on getting out of a contract / getting your client file etc.

[des8]

Just come across this thread (the tag didn't work!)

I'm afraid the account is rather confusing, but if there was a split liability agreement 50/50 you would only receive half of any compensation amount.
Your solicitors fees would still need paying.


The threat of imprisonment for making allegedly false claim is rather OTT.
I would rather say he is on thin ice saying you cannot withdraw a claim and are duty bound to do as he says.
You are his client and he takes instructions from you.
It is for him to do his best legally for you.
He has a contractual duty to you.

Be interesting to see Peridot 's take on this

[Peridot]

Hi 3BoysMummy,

Can you confirm who was actually sued? Was it your husband via his insurers or the other driver? As Des8 mentions a 50/50 split on liability would reduce any damages that were awarded.

Aside from that, who has flagged your husband's witness statement. The fact everyone seemed fine immediately after the accident is pretty much irrelevant. Issues can develop further down the line particularly with psychological issues. Did you and the children go to your GP about any problems? Were any of you prescribed or recommended any treatment? If you weren't then I would question why the claims management company who contacted you and subsequently the solicitor you spoke to about the claim agreed to take it on.

As others have said your lawyer should be presenting your case on your behalf. I would want some more information on exactly what the issue is that has now been raised and why>

You mentioned you have had medical reports prepared and what did these say? Do they agree that the type of injuries you complained of were as a result of the accident or have they suggested this isn't possible or maybe hinted at some exaggeration.

Sorry a few questions first then hopefully we can direct you a bit better, before we look at what the lawyer is expecting you to do.

[3boysmummy]

Hi thank you for your reply... to the best of my knowledge the solicitors acting on both my sons and my behalf are sueing the insurance company that represented the lady who crashed into our car as the third party accepted liability in a letter we recieved from our solicitors.
initially we never went straight to the gp as it was a Saturday and my son wouldn’t get in a car for many weeks due to the crash.
I had treatment through physio for my back at a later date and my son eventually received counselling and the car accident was an area he was treated for.
the medical reports that our solicitors sent us for supported my sons claim they stated he had tissue and muscular damage initially that was treated and obviously his psychological trauma which was treated too through a child psychologist. Both issues we’re resolved. The independent specialist gave a thorough and detailed report supporting my sons and my claim. I am guessing that is why I was paid out a small sum 2 years ago.

Initially my husband was making a claim too (again after being pestered into it) but as his solicitors came back with a statement he had signed saying he and my son wasn’t injured enough to make a claim the solicitor told my husband to withdraw his claim or if he continued he could be making a false claim and could go to prison for fraud so we paid the fees to date as we didn’t want this. My husband never said that he and my son weren’t injured but the statement that he had given had been altered and unfortunately he had signed it there and then he was stupid I know but at the time his head was all over the place and we’re he had said they weren’t majorly injured in his statement the person who wrote the statement from her insurance company had took out the word majorly.
My solicitor representing my son has told me that something in my husbands initial statement has caused the problem with my sons claim and to the best of my knowledge this is the only thing I can think of.
The solicitor has told me to peruse he must then begin legal proceedings to force the hand of the insurance company to see what they are using as an excuse to not conclude my sons claim and this is where his threats are taking place. He says if it comes back that I am making a false claim for my son then I could end up with a custodial sentence.
The accident happened in December 2012
they phoned us and took on the case in sepetemver 2014.
I have signed a form of a an agreed settlement small payout for my son over 12-18 months ago . I thought this case was all over with and it was just a matter of going through the closing stages. Then these problems have come back.
If I am honest we just want the whole matter over with.
i wish they had never called us to make a claim . It is causing so much stress and upset to our family. We haven’t got much money and when they contacted us we thought we were helping our sons future by making the claim as they told us there is money in a pot just waiting for him to claim and we had a good case . Up untill that point we had never seeked out a solicitor to make a claim. We just want the best way to end the whole thing.
I feel deeply let down by the solicitors dealing with the case and their scare mongering tactics. Like you say they are meant to be working for us but all they have done is swap around those who are ment to be dealing with the case and give us excuse after excuse as to why it’s not closed.
initially they told us it would take longer as it had to go through a portal with my son being a minor. Then they swapped over who was dealing with the case (once my case had been closed) then nothing till this problem arose. They also are hard to get hold of to speak to when I leave messages and then send me a letter through the post which wasn’t very nice about not contacting them when I had only phoned the week prior and they hadn’t phoned me back.
I stand by the fact we have never made a false claim, but I really don’t know what to do or what my options are.
Any help will be gratefully recieved as I do feel our solicitors have lost their way with this case and need someone to blame.
Tajnks in advance

[Peridot]

Hi 3boysmummy,

You mention you had physio and counselling was this a referral from your GP. Do you know if your medical records were obtained (they may not have been as RTA portal claims don't have to in a lot of circumstances) If you can show that you saw GP's (even if it was a bit after the event) and complained of the injuries I don't see how they can dispute the claims you have made.

Your solicitor/lawyer needs to be providing more information on what the other side are alleging. You are entitled to defend yourself and if you have any supporting documentation confirming your version of events it would be helpful. You could obtain copies of your GP records if that would help your claim. It may be that you have to offer to obtain them yourself for which there would be a fee (usually about £50).

When did your husband make the statement? Who took the statement? do you have a copy of the original draft he approved that can be compared to the final version he signed?