# personal injury claim



## teamsaga (Feb 26, 2006)

Hi,
has anyone had experience of making a personal injury claim?
Two years ago a car ran into the back of our car (we were stationary). Prior to this we were very mobile regularly walking 2/3 hours at a time and cycling 20/30 miles. 
After the accident my wife struggled to walk because of spinal/hip/leg pain and now has to use a wheelchair and mobility scooter. After many gp/hospital visits/xrays/mri, the consultants have decided that the accident has turned previous wear and tear (68 years old) into lumbar spine stenosis.
We have had to buy wheelchair/mobility scooter, change our van and car to be more useable and drastically change our lifestyle.

We cannot guess how long we will be mobile for, so how do you value loss of mobility? At the moment they are talking 12/15k.
If I was not here my wife could not function and would need a carer.


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## HermanHymer (Dec 5, 2008)

Sorry I can't offer any relevant advice. I just wanted to say how sorry I am that an accident has ended up so badly. I wish you both well and success with any claim you pursue.


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## Philippft (Feb 16, 2008)

I'm fairly sure you will not be successful in making a claim due to the time delay from accident to lodging a claim.
I may be wrong, so best get some advice from someone who is recognized as being competent in these matters. Citizens Advice would be a good place to start.


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## Philippft (Feb 16, 2008)

Well! I'm talking out of my rear! Three years is the limit on making an injury claim. Citizens Advice would still be a sensible place to start, don't hang about and best of luck.


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## Redbeard (Dec 23, 2008)

*personal injury clam*

the LIMTATIONS ACT..... YOU HAVE THREE YEARS TO PURSUE A CLAIM seek some legal advise


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## Mrplodd (Mar 4, 2008)

You need some expert legal advice. DONT go to one of these ambulance chasing companies.

A Google search for personal injury lawyer or similar would be my first action. 

Be aware also that if you DO make a successful claim any benefits you have received since the accident and prior to the settlement have to be PAID BACK ( bitter personal experience)


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## Dunston (Nov 9, 2012)

Hi

Sorry to hear your accident. I was involved in an accident and was contacted by a company after my insurance had passed on the information of the accident. The process was fairly easy as it was all handled by the solicitor who made all arrangements regarding medicals. The only thing I didn't really like was all the professionals tried to exaggerate my condition in order to make a bigger claim. I must say my injuries were not as bad as your wife's although I do have limited movement in my neck now.

My recommendation would be to find a reputable solicitor sooner rather than later who will provide you with the correct advice. 

I wish you every success in your claim and hope you both are able to enjoy your motorhome for sometime to come.

Geoff


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

I went through a PA claim and yes the 3 year limit is crucial, lodge the claim via a solicitor (not someone who only does conveyancing of house purchases but someone with detailed experience of such things) well before that date, you can and will continue to add things to the claim for a long time after that.

The only exception to the 3 year rule that I am aware of is for children where they have until the age of 21 to lodge a claim (age of majority + 3 years).

Do not be fobbed off early in the process, it takes years to complete and is very disheartening at times.

I can give you plenty of anecdotal advice but you need professional help - and of course you will claim for costs from the other side.....

Dave


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## cabby (May 14, 2005)

Been there. If you have already been offered the amount you mentioned in writing then they have accepted the claim, however you still need to use a solicitor who specializes in this type of claim.
They will do all the paperwork and advise you of what you can claim for, in fact I am surprised your own insurance is not involved, they will have a section who deal with this action.
In my opinion you should be claiming for a sum of around double your figure, to compensate for the cost of care past and future and do not forget once you have agreed to a figure there is no further claim.

cabby


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## teamsaga (Feb 26, 2006)

Hi 
thanks for all the advice and good wishes, I kept the OP short as it is a
long story. 
I have legal cover on my insurance so let my ins. co. give it to their
contract solicitor who apparently paid them a large referral fee.
I was surprised at the low value put on my wifes injuries and loss of mobility by "my" own solicitor.
If I was not here to help her it would have cost more than this for her care over the last 2 years.


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## cabby (May 14, 2005)

It all depends on how you are fixed financially, it took 2 years before our claim was settled.
If you work out what it has cost so far, all the adaptions around the house etc and what it will cost if you were not able to care for the poor woman over the next 5 years, accounting for yearly increases, not forgetting the extra financial burden of having to maybe change your vehicle to accommodate her disability as well.
Plus a charge for the mental and physical damage and if she was working the loss of income.
Put it all down on paper and see how large a sum it will come to.
At a guess I would say 3 times their offer. 
Just remember if you had to buy it to help her physically or mentally list it.
then send that to the solicitor who is acting for you. 
It is easier to accept a little less than push for more.

cabby


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## ColinC (Oct 19, 2007)

Hi Teamsaga

Very sorry to hear of your problems. We had a similar accident in France 4 years ago although my wife's injuries were less serious than yours. I was not going to put in a personal injury claim initially but did claim for several hundreds pounds out of pocket expenses through the uninsured losses section on our insurance. The solicitors( big firm with specialist departments dealing with personal injuries and overseas litigation) that I was referred to by Aviva advised us to make a personal injury claim after they had arranged for a A&E consultant to assess my wife.

It took nearly 2 years before we got an admission of liability from the other party and a further 18 months before they agreed our claim in full just days before a court hearing!!! Its all about perseverence!

Based on the information you give about your wife's injuries and ongoing problems and needs compared with our experience I would suggest that the figure you mention in your initial post is way too small. As has been said by others I think you need a solicitor with good experience of handling such a claim and won't take no for ananswer. Since it is potentially an expensive business I would have thought you should be talking to your insurers.

Hope this helps. Best of luck to you both.

Colin


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

Ours took 8 years and they only came up with an offer (which was initially a pittance) about a month before the scheduled court case, we resisted it and the sum went up.....

then they did a tricky step - they paid in an amount to court (which was ultimately what we settled for), by so doing if we had gone to court and got LESS we would have been liable for BOTH sides costs, by accepting it they were lumbered with both sides costs.

Even that is a farce since solicitors do not keep a record of how much it has cost but simply seem to pluck a figure out of the air and then claim that........

In the end we had to pay a very small amount towards our costs but the main sum remained.

The costs of each side amounted to about £75k each.... (we did not get that much compensation believe me.....)

They also did nasty things like stalking me with a private detective and filming me doing things, on private as well as public land - but that backfired as *both* sides QC's said the video demonstrated EXACTLY what I had said about the problems I still had after 6 years..... but they had to disclose it pre-court.....

Not a pleasant experience - very stressful and I have been left with permanent problems with my right hip and an inability to do some things due to pain - like walk more than about 50 - 60m without being very aware of the pain even with 3 x types of painkillers......

Dave


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