Major car accident - what happens next?
Discussion
durbster said:
Anonamoose said:
Fingers crossed that he suffers no lasting damage but I can't see how anyone would think claiming compensation for this kind of accident is the same as the 'whip lash' lot.
I should just clarify that point - what I meant was I don't know how you distinguish between the types of companies who are primarily going for the ambulance chasing cases and those who deal with the more legitimate side of things (if indeed there is a distinction).Perhaps this is unfair but I worry I'll be sitting in a reception next to Barry, who is suing Adidas because he put his shoes on the wrong feet and fell over.
http://www.stewartslaw.com/services/personal-injur...
This could be a significant claim and I would concur with other posters (and your own view) that you need proper and serious lawyers (not amublance chasers) to give you the best advice.
OP, my sincere condolences. And may I say what a wonderful thing you are doing stepping up to the plate like this, and what an incredible woman you married to give up her job to look after him too.
In terms of advice you have it above, my only addition would be to speak to one or two firms/people so as to find one that you "gel" with...
I know this sounds awful but right now I would be contacting their employers to see if they had any death in service benefits as the child is likely to be the sole recipient of them which right now should assist you and your wife given you will be losing her salary at least in the short term.
In terms of advice you have it above, my only addition would be to speak to one or two firms/people so as to find one that you "gel" with...
I know this sounds awful but right now I would be contacting their employers to see if they had any death in service benefits as the child is likely to be the sole recipient of them which right now should assist you and your wife given you will be losing her salary at least in the short term.
Soovy has asked me to take a look at this and give some views as to where the money will be coming from.
Firstly, condolences on your loss, I can't imagine the pain and upset this must be causing you.
The advice around Death in Service benefits is sound and should be investigated via your brother's employer.
In terms of the insurance side here's what should happen.
Assuming they had fully comp insurance then the car will be paid out as a total loss into your brother's estate. This is a mior amount and not overly relevant.
There will be compensation. assuming your nephew suffers no long term disability, then the compensation will come in three forms:
The first two will be paid to cover both the loss of parents and the amount needed to compensate the OP for the changes to his lifestyle and cover the loss of your wife's income.
All 3 of these are likely to be fairly large sums. The largest will be the last one though.
However, if your nephew is impacted for life then, especially if there is a longer term disability then there will most likely be a Periodic Payment Order which will ensure that a specific amount is paid on a regular specified basis to cover all your nephew's needs for all his life. This will usually be monitored and managed via a firm of solicitors and you should acively support this. The cost of this administration will be borne by the insurer.
The issue over liability seems to be quite clear cut that the LR driver was at fault. However, shoudl your brother be found liable, or partially liable, then any payout for the loss of him as father will be null or reduced by the amount that he is liable. No other payment will be affected as your nephew will be compensated by either one insurer or both to the same value.
You have to get specialist advice from a large firm that specialises in this sort of incident. Do NOT rely on a googled firm, do NOT rely on what gets posted here, especially by the tinfoil hat wearers. Sadly, I can not recommend one specific firm, but they will arrange for this to cost you £0 and all bills will be via the LR driver's insurers.
Google Agnes Collier to get a feel for what process and potential sums are involved for an idea of what the outcome may be.
All along you must request interim payments from the TP insurer via your solicitors to ease the financial burden and nsure there is no hardship. This will have to go to Court to be resolved as your nephew is a minor. The whole process will take years to resolve, potentially up to a decade depending on the severity of your nephew's injuries.
I hope it all works out for you. If you can PM me the insurers involved I may be able to help ease that process, but I would appreciate discretion over my real life identity, as Loon can be a Marmite character and many seem to dislike my online persona.
Firstly, condolences on your loss, I can't imagine the pain and upset this must be causing you.
The advice around Death in Service benefits is sound and should be investigated via your brother's employer.
In terms of the insurance side here's what should happen.
Assuming they had fully comp insurance then the car will be paid out as a total loss into your brother's estate. This is a mior amount and not overly relevant.
There will be compensation. assuming your nephew suffers no long term disability, then the compensation will come in three forms:
- A lump sum to cover the loss of father
- A lump sum to cover the loss of mother
- A sum to cover the injuries suffered by your nephew.
The first two will be paid to cover both the loss of parents and the amount needed to compensate the OP for the changes to his lifestyle and cover the loss of your wife's income.
All 3 of these are likely to be fairly large sums. The largest will be the last one though.
However, if your nephew is impacted for life then, especially if there is a longer term disability then there will most likely be a Periodic Payment Order which will ensure that a specific amount is paid on a regular specified basis to cover all your nephew's needs for all his life. This will usually be monitored and managed via a firm of solicitors and you should acively support this. The cost of this administration will be borne by the insurer.
The issue over liability seems to be quite clear cut that the LR driver was at fault. However, shoudl your brother be found liable, or partially liable, then any payout for the loss of him as father will be null or reduced by the amount that he is liable. No other payment will be affected as your nephew will be compensated by either one insurer or both to the same value.
You have to get specialist advice from a large firm that specialises in this sort of incident. Do NOT rely on a googled firm, do NOT rely on what gets posted here, especially by the tinfoil hat wearers. Sadly, I can not recommend one specific firm, but they will arrange for this to cost you £0 and all bills will be via the LR driver's insurers.
Google Agnes Collier to get a feel for what process and potential sums are involved for an idea of what the outcome may be.
All along you must request interim payments from the TP insurer via your solicitors to ease the financial burden and nsure there is no hardship. This will have to go to Court to be resolved as your nephew is a minor. The whole process will take years to resolve, potentially up to a decade depending on the severity of your nephew's injuries.
I hope it all works out for you. If you can PM me the insurers involved I may be able to help ease that process, but I would appreciate discretion over my real life identity, as Loon can be a Marmite character and many seem to dislike my online persona.
Zod said:
How utterly dreadful!
You should definitely look into a PI claim for the toddler. The claim will depend on the extent of his injuries and whether there are any permanent physical effects. SPeak to a proper firm of solicitors, not a bunch of ambulance chasers.
absolutely You should definitely look into a PI claim for the toddler. The claim will depend on the extent of his injuries and whether there are any permanent physical effects. SPeak to a proper firm of solicitors, not a bunch of ambulance chasers.
if there are long term effects from injury this could be a high value case
What a horrific situation for you OP. My thoughts are with you, your family and of course the nipper.
Hopefully I can offer some advice as ex TraffPol. If there is a possibility of a prosecution, unless the other driver makes full admissions and pleads guilty at court, it will be around a year until conviction. If the driver lost control due to a minor lapse of concentration, or minor driving error (albeit ended with catastrophic circumstances) the likely outcome would be Death by Careless Driving.
If the loss of control was caused by grossly excessive speed, or an obviously dangerous manoeuvre such as an overtake on a blind crest, then the likely charge would be Death by Dangerous Driving.
Either way the justice system is a long drawn out affair which will be painful for all involved. I don't know what feelings you have towards the other driver at the moment but it is unlikely whatever they may be convicted of, that the sentence will feel reflective of what has happened. Driving convictions rarely do.
It is important to remember that the Criminal court system is about apportioning blame, the Inquest is not. The inquest is about exploring why the collision occurred, and potentially identifying if there is anything that can be done to stop it happening in the future.
From a PI perspective I would, without any hesitation, wholly recommend Slater and Gordon.
http://www.slatergordon.co.uk
I make the recommendation from a personal point of view, not from any experience on TraffPol, and for the Mods am not affiliated in any way. They are without question the most professional legal practice I have ever come across and have a dedicated PI team.
OP if you need anymore advice please do not hesitate to PM me, I will gladly pass you my mobile number or email, which ever you feel more comfortable with.
I hope some of the above helps.
Hopefully I can offer some advice as ex TraffPol. If there is a possibility of a prosecution, unless the other driver makes full admissions and pleads guilty at court, it will be around a year until conviction. If the driver lost control due to a minor lapse of concentration, or minor driving error (albeit ended with catastrophic circumstances) the likely outcome would be Death by Careless Driving.
If the loss of control was caused by grossly excessive speed, or an obviously dangerous manoeuvre such as an overtake on a blind crest, then the likely charge would be Death by Dangerous Driving.
Either way the justice system is a long drawn out affair which will be painful for all involved. I don't know what feelings you have towards the other driver at the moment but it is unlikely whatever they may be convicted of, that the sentence will feel reflective of what has happened. Driving convictions rarely do.
It is important to remember that the Criminal court system is about apportioning blame, the Inquest is not. The inquest is about exploring why the collision occurred, and potentially identifying if there is anything that can be done to stop it happening in the future.
From a PI perspective I would, without any hesitation, wholly recommend Slater and Gordon.
http://www.slatergordon.co.uk
I make the recommendation from a personal point of view, not from any experience on TraffPol, and for the Mods am not affiliated in any way. They are without question the most professional legal practice I have ever come across and have a dedicated PI team.
OP if you need anymore advice please do not hesitate to PM me, I will gladly pass you my mobile number or email, which ever you feel more comfortable with.
I hope some of the above helps.
Having just read through this thread once again another point comes to mind .
This may seem like a trivial matter compared to much of what has happened , but presumably you are the young boy's next of kin ( or only relatives ) ?
I am no lawyer , but I presume you will have to go through some formality in order to become his legal guardian , perhaps even formally adopting him ? This may be neccessary in order that you can look after his interests until he reaches adulthood .
Maybe one of the qualified legal minds can comment on this and its importance ?
This may seem like a trivial matter compared to much of what has happened , but presumably you are the young boy's next of kin ( or only relatives ) ?
I am no lawyer , but I presume you will have to go through some formality in order to become his legal guardian , perhaps even formally adopting him ? This may be neccessary in order that you can look after his interests until he reaches adulthood .
Maybe one of the qualified legal minds can comment on this and its importance ?
LoonR1 said:
The scope of this goes way beyond what a sime Legal Expenses policy would provide. Something like this will have the big firms desperate to take on the case an you need their weight, experience and strength for a case like this.
Pardon my ignorance for asking this , but would the legal expenses cover not be of benefit only to the policyholder , and not to a third party claimant ( which I presume the OP is , acting on behalf of his young nephew ) ?I understand there will be a settlement to the policyholder's estate for the car , so - apart from an executor winding up his estate , could anyone else invoke it ?
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