Litigation Question

[LoonR1]

So you want £6k and the offer is £1k. Pretty much what I said from the start.

Your solicitor is failing to keep you updated and doing a pretty crap job. Pretty much what i said from the start

You ringing the other side is a bad, bad move. Everything you say will be admissible should it ever get to Court and you could destroy your case easily.

Seems to me that your solicitor has overstated the potential
Value and is now either hoping you'll go away, or the case is with an overloaded paralegal. Either way, your calls and anger should still be directed to your solicitor not the other side who will happily let you talk yourself into a big hole.

[Greenish]

To be honest I have reached total saturation with this now, anger has taken over, and I am now fit to take this all the way. I have nothing to lose. I have responded to both of them stating I won't accept offers, and that I want my day in court. Bring it on. I have compelling evidence of her driving without due care and intend to give it in full to a judge.

This came from my solicitor a couple of hours ago...

"I requested a breakdown of their offer and the reason as to why the offer was so low. They have confirmed that the reduction is due to their concerns regarding liability, the amount is 30% of their valuation. They are alleging you assumed their insured was exiting the roundabout instead of heading back on herself and although their insured would rather they make no offers at all, this is a genuine attempt to settle the matter."

My whole attitude over this has changed. I think I have even lost interest in the money, it's all about the principles now.

[Greenish]

LoonR1 said:

So you want £6k and the offer is £1k. Pretty much what I said from the start.

Your solicitor is failing to keep you updated and doing a pretty crap job. Pretty much what i said from the start

You ringing the other side is a bad, bad move. Everything you say will be admissible should it ever get to Court and you could destroy your case easily.

Seems to me that your solicitor has overstated the potential
Value and is now either hoping you'll go away, or the case is with an overloaded paralegal. Either way, your calls and anger should still be directed to your solicitor not the other side who will happily let you talk yourself into a big hole.

It was a very amicable call, and I was careful what I said. It was just worth a little punt. There is nothing I have said that will cause any issues, but as I say anything seems worth a go at the moment.

My solicitor at least has got back to me today, but I am surprised as to the amount of time, plus yet again it is me pestering her.

[V8forweekends]

Greenish said:

My solicitor at least has got back to me today, but I am surprised as to the amount of time, plus yet again it is me pestering her.

I'm sorry I can't add anything directly relevant except to say that has been 100% my experience of solicitors at all times. They all seem to be the same, so there's no incentive to improve. Wills, probate, conveyancing and divorce have all been expensive and drawn out with me doing all the pestering.

[Bluebarge]

Greenish said:

My solicitor at least has got back to me today, but I am surprised as to the amount of time, plus yet again it is me pestering her.

Calm down dear. The other side wrote to your solicitor on the 24th (Tues) so the earliest your solicitor would have received it is Wednesday. You are assuming that your lawyer has no other clients, was not off-sick or on holiday and was able to pick up your file instantly. 3 working days after your solicitor received a response you have had your answer. Sure, you could get a faster response, but it depends how much you are being charged. If you want a lawyer at your beck and call who will answer your questions instantly, be prepared to pay accordingly. If,as it appears, this is a very small claim and you are paying naff all towards it, manage your expectations accordingly.

P.S. "fight them all the way" can have big costs implications for you. Stop getting emotional about it and get professional advice on your prospects.

[Greenish]

Bluebarge said:

Calm down dear. The other side wrote to your solicitor on the 24th (Tues) so the earliest your solicitor would have received it is Wednesday. You are assuming that your lawyer has no other clients, was not off-sick or on holiday and was able to pick up your file instantly. 3 working days after your solicitor received a response you have had your answer. Sure, you could get a faster response, but it depends how much you are being charged. If you want a lawyer at your beck and call who will answer your questions instantly, be prepared to pay accordingly. If,as it appears, this is a very small claim and you are paying naff all towards it, manage your expectations accordingly.

P.S. "fight them all the way" can have big costs implications for you. Stop getting emotional about it and get professional advice on your prospects.

Three working days, true, however, this I was told by her was a case that has been "on her desk for months" that "everyone is getting fed up with the wait" with and as always, "the second I hear anything I will let you know". So she heard something a week ago, a pretty significant thing, and yet it is only after 1 week, plus me spending most of the morning on the phone chasing her, that I got a response. I get the impression that she certainly does have plenty of other clients, possibly too many that she actually can't cope with.

Is there a cost implication to me? If we go to court, and I lose, then what is the cost? Their fee's are being paid by my work legal cover, so I don't actually have any involvement there. I would presume they would not take a case to court unless they believed there was a high chance of success?

[anonymous-user]

Greenish said:

Is there a cost implication to me? If we go to court, and I lose, then what is the cost? Their fee's are being paid by my work legal cover, so I don't actually have any involvement there. I would presume they would not take a case to court unless they believed there was a high chance of success?

It depends how the legal cover policy is written.

You will almost certainly face cost implications if you don't follow advice of the approved solicitor and lose.

[Roo]

I think you've done well to get anything out of them so quickly.

Took two and a half years to sort out compensation from my accident.

[Bluebarge]

Greenish said:

Three working days, true, however, this I was told by her was a case that has been "on her desk for months" that "everyone is getting fed up with the wait" with and as always, "the second I hear anything I will let you know". So she heard something a week ago, a pretty significant thing, and yet it is only after 1 week, plus me spending most of the morning on the phone chasing her, that I got a response. I get the impression that she certainly does have plenty of other clients, possibly too many that she actually can't cope with.

Is there a cost implication to me? If we go to court, and I lose, then what is the cost? Their fee's are being paid by my work legal cover, so I don't actually have any involvement there. I would presume they would not take a case to court unless they believed there was a high chance of success?

3 working days (max) is not a week in anyone's book. Your claim is very small, your solicitor will not make much money out of it, she may even make a loss. The only way to make such claims pay is to do a lot of them at once. That means you cannot expect instant attention whenever you want it. If you want a Rolls Royce service, you have to pay Rolls Royce prices.

Your work insurance will not pay for you to pursue a one-man crusade for "justice" - if you do not accept a reasonable offer, they will drop you like a hot brick. Be prepared for your idea of "reasonable" to differ from theirs.

[JustinP1]

Greenish said:

Is there a cost implication to me? If we go to court, and I lose, then what is the cost? Their fee's are being paid by my work legal cover, so I don't actually have any involvement there. I would presume they would not take a case to court unless they believed there was a high chance of success?

That's for you to ask.

As I said before, solicitors don't rack up costs willy nilly, and legal coverage doesn't include running with a case that you are not going to get benefit from taking to court.

To give you an idea: Lets say you are offered £3000 by the other party, and that's rejected, and you stamp your feet, go to court, and get judgment for £2900.

If each set of solicitors have racked up bills of £2000 each, then even though you had 'won', you would end up paying for all of the legal costs, as during the costs discussion, the Judge would be shown what would have been proven a reasonable offer, for you to reject it, causing £4000 of costs to be racked up.

Before making a rash judgement here, I would check the limits and liabilities of your legal coverage.

I would suggest that you are only covered by what is legally and commercially justifiable, not to take a case to court because of your personal principles.

[Greenish]

Roo said:

I think you've done well to get anything out of them so quickly.

Took two and a half years to sort out compensation from my accident.

Problem being I am hearing from countless, and I mean countless cyclists, who are receiving large sums of money literally the same week as the accident. I'm not saying I want it that quick, but a year on seems a tad excessive.

[LoonR1]

Greenish said:

Problem being I am hearing from countless, and I mean countless cyclists, who are receiving large sums of money literally the same week as the accident. I'm not saying I want it that quick, but a year on seems a tad excessive.

I tripped up in the street and received £441,000 the following day from my local council.

Theres another one you've heard that's absolutely true as well.

I earn £2m a year and just got a company Ferrari on expenses.

My penis is enormous and I sleep with a different supermodel every day.

Plenty of statements are made regularly that are comete and utter BS. It's a shame that if you're in a similar position that you believe them.

[Bluebarge]

Greenish said:

Problem being I am hearing from countless, and I mean countless cyclists, who are receiving large sums of money literally the same week as the accident. I'm not saying I want it that quick, but a year on seems a tad excessive.

Probably from ambulance chasers who offer a small amount of cash upfront if you instruct them on your claim. Whether they then get represented well (and get what they could have got) is another matter.

[Greenish]

LoonR1 said:

I tripped up in the street and received £441,000 the following day from my local council.

Theres another one you've heard that's absolutely true as well.

I earn £2m a year and just got a company Ferrari on expenses.

My penis is enormous and I sleep with a different supermodel every day.

Plenty of statements are made regularly that are comete and utter BS. It's a shame that if you're in a similar position that you believe them.

Thing is, this isn't pub hearsay from strangers, these are from people I know and ride with regularly. I know for a fact 3 of them have had almost instant payouts. One was contacted by the car drivers third party insurance and dealt with directly etc, so all a very different kettle of fish.

Looks like this is definitely going to court in light of todays revelations.

[pork911]

the Court won't award you principles and as mentioned earlier there are three levels of service (even more so since your's is legal cover backed)

now, other than raising your blood pressure what have you achieved today? not a lot, since you still have questions - seems your solicitors have emailed you - was their full letter on the offer attached or do you still await that? either way you've clearly not read it given your costs questions

frankly, your ranting indicates a higher litigation risk

anyhow, get the full advice and calmly consider, i imagine given your alleged evidence and attitude generally you will still want to reject and that's fine, but the same result for yourself could have been achieved without all this petty drama

impatience doesn't help YOU, even today, and will hinder you going forward

[anonymous-user]

Greenish said:

Is there a cost implication to me? If we go to court, and I lose, then what is the cost? Their fee's are being paid by my work legal cover, so I don't actually have any involvement there. I would presume they would not take a case to court unless they believed there was a high chance of success?

They'll take a case to court as long as there's a high chance that they'll get paid. Winning or losing isn't the question.


As for principles, they're not really worth a light. Take the offer or just relax and let the lawyers have their feed, if it's not costing you.

[LoonR1]

Greenish said:

Well it turns out there is an update which I obtained by speaking to one of my solicitors admin assistant's. I have tried getting through to her all morning, left a message all to no avail, so when I spoke to someone else they informed me last Tuesday they had received a part 36 offer in the region of £1000, non prejudice, from the third party insurer. I am surprised that as this is over a week ago I have not heard anything about this, and am finding it increasingly frustrating that I either cannot get hold of my solicitor directly (if she even is one as I am led to believe by a friend she is probably just a litigation executive who works on behalf of one) or when I do I am promised an update which never comes.

Quoted purely to reemphasise the liability dispute here. I think the other side are looking for only 30% against them.

I hate to say this but shouty, desperate to settle TP's are a good indicator of a poor claimant and one who might not have a strong liability claim either

[V8forweekends]

LoonR1 said:

I tripped up in the street and received £441,000 the following day from my local council.

Theres another one you've heard that's absolutely true as well.

I earn £2m a year and just got a company Ferrari on expenses.

My penis is enormous and I sleep with a different supermodel every day.

Plenty of statements are made regularly that are comete and utter BS. It's a shame that if you're in a similar position that you believe them.

I got a NIP for doing 34mph in a 30 zone, too :-)

[Greenish]

Brief update and following on from above.

The offer to me by them of £1k has been declined and the file is still "being reviewed" for court. The main thing we are waiting for in connection with that now is my witness, an elderly chap who was walking at the time. I thought he was a no goer as I have struggled to get hold of him for a long time, however, it turns out he is just an old chap with amobile that has no reception, and a landline that he take's a while to answer, neither of which have a messaging system. I recently obtained his address and email from him so luckily he is now able to provide a statement. I have never asked him directly what he thinks happened or who was at fault, but from conversations with him he has alluded to a degree of blame, in his opinion, by the car driver who was manoeuvring and drove into me. It may be he see's me as having a degree of blame too, but he has never said this directly. His main summary is he looked up and we were just both there on top of each other at the roundabout. I guess receiving his correspondence is important prior to any court proceedings being initiated.

Anyway, I also spoke to me solicitor yesterday. She has been chasing the third party, I think for a bit of disclosure and also to rationalise what I now think has become a 70 / 30 liability presumption by them. When asked why they had come to this conclusion their response was that it was confidential and could not be disclosed. She asked them about what statements they had from the driver e.t.c. and apparently they do not have anything. They then said they had a confidential document which they could not disclose. I then remember being told a long time back when I was speaking with them directly and wasting a lot of time speaking to their phone robot's that they sent an accident investigator to the scene to make an assessment. They have obviously sent their own investigator who will have compiled a report in their favour, after all, how can they assess what happened without speaking to me, who had the most involvement in the accident than anyone else? Insurance companies as usual I guess, so I am totally unsurprised by this. However, seems to me this is just a continuation of heel dragging so on it will go for some time until we eventually do end up outside the county court.

Will update the thread when I know more but I suspect this will go stale for some time now until all paperwork has been collated and a date has been set.

[Jasandjules]

If they wish to rely upon any document in court they would be wise to disclose it now to aid negotiations and reduce costs. Your solicitor should be able to press them on this.