Major accident at work, settle or sue? Opinions/advice pls

Major accident at work, settle or sue? Opinions/advice pls

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Discussion

SunnyD

Original Poster:

698 posts

175 months

Tuesday 30th September 2014
quotequote all
Someone very close to me recently had a serious accident at work in his office, (something fell on him) as a result he doesn't know if he's going to be able to fully use his leg again and/or drive etc. it only happened two weeks ago. He is management level at a very large corporate co.

He was v.concerned about making his working life difficult if he got solicitors involved and isnt the type of person who wants to "rinse them for all they're worth" however after chatting to a solicitor he has decided to instruct them. As soon as the employer found out about this they immediately told him not to get solicitors involved and said they'll look after him and it will be the same agreement. They are now coming over to his house to talk with him tomorrow. (Is that not a bit heavy handed?!)

He believes that the company have his best interests at heart and says he trusts them. I'm concerned that if he settles like this he might get taken for a ride. And how is he to know if he's being given a fair deal with the settlement sum? But I can understand that he doesn't want to create tension etc at work in the future.

I've never been in this kind of situation and don't know what to advise. What are the downsides of settling? Anyone got any experience with this kind of thing? TIA

surveyor

17,768 posts

183 months

Tuesday 30th September 2014
quotequote all
To me the safest thing to at this stage is to tell them that he is happy to deal direct, subject to them paying for him to take specialist legal advice to ensure that he is completely aware of where he stands.

They don't get sued. He get's compensated knowledgeably. How can they object.

Petrus1983

8,521 posts

161 months

Tuesday 30th September 2014
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Won't the employers insurers be handling this? If it genuinely is a life changing accident I'd want my own representation - the figures involved are likely to be high so having someone with experience would be beneficial. I'm not talking about the 'no win, no fee' types, but actual experts in the field.

Soov535

35,829 posts

270 months

Tuesday 30th September 2014
quotequote all
Tell them to go through his solicitors.


bazza white

3,551 posts

127 months

Tuesday 30th September 2014
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Be warned it can be a bit of a trap, they will have a conversation and record (written) everything he says, anything out of line or even a sniff of anything a miss they will cruicify him for it. Where as a solicitor will tell you what not to say.


Tbh 2 weeks is fairly quick for a major accident.


anonymous-user

53 months

Tuesday 30th September 2014
quotequote all
Go through the solicitors. Do not meet them without a solicitor present.

His boss might say all the right things, but when the big boss, or the insurers get involved it might be a different story. They might be hoping to settle cheaply, but a claim for life changing injuries could easily go into 7 figures.




ben5732

763 posts

155 months

Tuesday 30th September 2014
quotequote all
Get a solicitor, record every single meeting he has with the company. My old man worked for a company which tried to worm their way out of a career ending injury for him which went on for years, he thankfully recorded everything which saved him massively and a simple payoff sum ended up turning into a 6 figure sum along with an agreement he would keep quiet about what happened. He worked 20+ years there without any blemishes on his record as well, nice loyalty from them eh?

Nezquick

1,453 posts

125 months

Wednesday 1st October 2014
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This is why company's have insurance and it sounds very much to me like they haven't advised their employers liability insurers about this accident.

As said above, whilst there is nothing wrong with your friend meeting his employers (they may simply want to see how he is doing and he won't need a solicitor present for that), he should not under any circumstances be accepting any financial settlement and/or liability proposals from them in relation to this accident. All of that needs to be dealt with properly by a good firm of solicitors and the company insurers.


Soov535

35,829 posts

270 months

Wednesday 1st October 2014
quotequote all
Nezquick said:
This is why company's have insurance and it sounds very much to me like they haven't advised their employers liability insurers about this accident.

As said above, whilst there is nothing wrong with your friend meeting his employers (they may simply want to see how he is doing and he won't need a solicitor present for that), he should not under any circumstances be accepting any financial settlement and/or liability proposals from them in relation to this accident. All of that needs to be dealt with properly by a good firm of solicitors and the company insurers.
100% this.

I suspect they have not informed their insurer in time, and have therefore had cover declined. They are therefore on the hook for it themselves.

Under no circumstances do ANYTHING without a solicitor present. At all.



kowalski655

14,599 posts

142 months

Wednesday 1st October 2014
quotequote all
+1
Way to early to be able to assess correct compensation, he needs decent legal advice as the final figure could well be 6 figures or more. Don't sign a thing. Make. Sure their insurance is involved or the company could go bust over this if a small one. If a big one that should be standard procedure anyway

elanfan

5,516 posts

226 months

Thursday 2nd October 2014
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Fully agree with all the 'get representationists' here. Whatever the injured party decides to do - it is way too early to agree on any form of settlement as the longer term prognosis isn't known, nor what further health issues might lie in wait down the line. What if he agrees a settlement and then they let him go so he has no income and will find finding another job more difficult. Hold fire!

However I'm wondering if there is more to this than meets the eye. Are perhaps the employers seeking to avoid being prosecuted. It would seem likely that this is a reportable injury under RIDDOR (look it up). Has the accident indeed been reported to HSE? - already an offence if not done within 5(?) days if I recall correctly. Could it be there is a person or persons responsible for the injury that could be personally prosecuted and possibly even jailed for allowing an unsafe system of work? Maybe this is the aspect they are worried about?

If HSE investigate and someone is found guilty of breaching H&S law then the insurer will take over payment/management of the claim. I never saw any comeback on individuals if they had a genuine claim - it is why EL cover exists (and is very cheap for office risks). If anything I suspect the person that was responsible will be the one under a cloud!

Edited by elanfan on Thursday 2nd October 18:54


Edited by elanfan on Thursday 2nd October 19:46

Sy1441

1,113 posts

159 months

Thursday 2nd October 2014
quotequote all
Good advice above.

What fell on him?

SunnyD

Original Poster:

698 posts

175 months

Thursday 2nd October 2014
quotequote all
Thanks for all the advice and opinions folks. Apparently it wouldn't be going through insurers because the company self-insure. They have their own claim department that are the ones handling the situation with him.

Sy- The thing that fell on him was glass. It was part of the office so no personal blame.

Soov535

35,829 posts

270 months

Friday 3rd October 2014
quotequote all
SunnyD said:
Thanks for all the advice and opinions folks. Apparently it wouldn't be going through insurers because the company self-insure. They have their own claim department that are the ones handling the situation with him.

Sy- The thing that fell on him was glass. It was part of the office so no personal blame.
They do WHAT?

"Self insure" = "DON'T HAVE ANY INSURANCE"

I suggest you email breadvan72. Now.

You are dealing with cowboys.

"Self insure" - what a load of baloney.




nikaiyo2

4,672 posts

194 months

Friday 3rd October 2014
quotequote all
Soov535 said:
They do WHAT?

"Self insure" = "DON'T HAVE ANY INSURANCE"

I suggest you email breadvan72. Now.

You are dealing with cowboys.

"Self insure" - what a load of baloney.
Quite a lot of BIG corporates self insure, I used to work for a large building products company and all the vehicles were self insured.
They will have insurance for certain outcomes and situations, accident at work, I would imagine will be on a scale where level of claim/ injury will kick in the insurance.

Soov535

35,829 posts

270 months

Friday 3rd October 2014
quotequote all
nikaiyo2 said:
Soov535 said:
They do WHAT?

"Self insure" = "DON'T HAVE ANY INSURANCE"

I suggest you email breadvan72. Now.

You are dealing with cowboys.

"Self insure" - what a load of baloney.
Quite a lot of BIG corporates self insure, I used to work for a large building products company and all the vehicles were self insured.
They will have insurance for certain outcomes and situations, accident at work, I would imagine will be on a scale where level of claim/ injury will kick in the insurance.
I agree, but unless his employer is a cash rich debt free company with a lot of employees I'd be worrying about them folding it if they get a claim for six figures.

Terminator X

14,921 posts

203 months

Friday 3rd October 2014
quotequote all
Legal person thinks you should go legal shocker spin

TX.

Vaud

50,289 posts

154 months

Friday 3rd October 2014
quotequote all
nikaiyo2 said:
Quite a lot of BIG corporates self insure, I used to work for a large building products company and all the vehicles were self insured.
They will have insurance for certain outcomes and situations, accident at work, I would imagine will be on a scale where level of claim/ injury will kick in the insurance.
Car insurance (for vehicle damage), yes, but all employee and public liability can be an order of magnitude higher, surely?

SydneyBridge

8,500 posts

157 months

Friday 3rd October 2014
quotequote all
As above, Asda are self-insured and I am sure Royal Mail are
its not uncommon and not a problem

What are his injuries?
Is he capable of working?
loss of earnings/future loss of earnings will be the largest part of any claim, if he can work to his full capacity until his expected retirement age, the claim will mainly be limited to his injuries. If there is a chance he could have problems working in the future, the claim could be large and should be looked at carefully.
2 weeks is far too soon and independent expert medical evidence should be gained at a later date

Soov535

35,829 posts

270 months

Friday 3rd October 2014
quotequote all
In short, FFS get a decent solicitor and DO EXACTLY WHAT HE OR SHE SAYS.