Advice Needed Please

[RichardR]

My mother-in-law was walking to work on Thursday in all the ice and snow when she was knocked down by a car. She's not seriously hurt, but she's not sure where she stands in relation to making an insurance claim against the driver if she needs to, hence the plea for advice.

The scenario was:
- She was walking along the pavement of a single carriageway A road
- Two police cars passed her at high speed going in the opposite direction
- Next thing she knows, she been knocked down from behind by a car and pushed along the pavement
- She ends up pretty much lying down in front of the car with it looming over her head
- Apparently, when the police cars had gone past, the driver of the offending car braked, lost control and mounted the kerb. Witness statements seem to bear this out.

She was very shaken up, but was declared only to be suffering cuts and bruising by the doctor (don't know about the quality of the examination); no ambulance was called. She reported the incident to the police after she was taken home by some work colleagues who came to assist her (the police weren't weren't impressed that the guy hadn't reported it himself - he apparently stated at the scene that he didn't want to get the police involved). They spoke to the driver and the witnesses and have confirmed the above story.

She then spoke to a legal helpline that she has access to, and they informed her that she is unlikely to be able to claim against the guy as he wasn't negligent . I could see how this might stand if she tried to claim for mental anguish or some other related thing, but surely if she needs to claim for treatment arising from her injuries, or for damage to clothing or other personal items that should be valid?

Can anyone shed any light on this, or advise who she should contact for further information?

Thanks in anticipation,
Richard

[bobthebench]

Not enough info to consider negligence. Most solicitors will offer free first interview - try one.
Many will do No Win, No Fee.

Last resort is to try the ambulance chasers (Fone if you fall direct type outfits) who will take on most things, but charge a lot (25 - 50% in many cases)

Free legal helplines are fine to a point, but for £12 per annum or whatever, what do you expect. You pay peanuts, you'll get a monkey.

[madcop]

This sounds as though it was a vicinity Police vehicle accident.

Section 170 Road Traffic Act 1988
Owing to the presence of a mechanically propelled vehicle on a road (the Police vehicles), an accident occurs by which
(1)personal injury is caused to a person other than the driver of that mechanically propelled vehicle
or
(2) damage is caused ........

As you can see the fact that the Police vehicles were on the road and travelling fast, could have been the reason the other driver lost control and hit your mother inlaw. In any case the car that hit her, regardless of negligence has been involved in a Section 170 Accident.

The Police vehicles may well not be negligent in any way but they were involved as they were relevant to the sequence of events that occured.

You need to seek advice from a lawyer that deals with these claims. The force that I work in would investigate who the drivers of the passing Police cars were (which will not be difficult to find out, even without registration numbers) and include them in an accident report.

C.A.B. would also be a good place for her to obtain advice.

The main thing is that the accident has been reported. I assume that the offending driver left the required details such as name address of driver and owner, registration number and insurance details. If they missed any of these out, they have failed to comply with obligations under Section 170 R.T.A. 1988 above.

I hope she was not too badly damaged by the incident.



>> Edited by madcop on Sunday 2nd February 00:47

[RichardR]

Thanks for the pointers guys. I'll pass the information on and let you know what transpires.

[T-C]

For a solicitor to take the case on, the injury has to be worth at least £1000 otherwise a No Win, No fee agreement cannot be entered into, and unless it is worth at least £1000 the solicitors will not be able to get their costs back.

The alternative is to enter into a private client agreement where the client agrees to pay the legal fees out of their award, or if it looks like minor injuries, because it is worth less than £1000 is take out a small claims action against the driver.

Although the driver may have commited offences under the road traffic act, under civil law a different set of tests are applied as we have to be satisfied that there is minimal contributory negligence and maximum causation, which in this case doesn't appear to be a problem.

The value of injuries are laid down in a book writtten by the judicial services review board where every injury is given a value. For example the most severe injuries are severe brain damage or quadraplegia which are valued at £275,000 tops. The rest of the value is made up of special care costs, loss of earnings and so on. A sever whiplash is worth about £1500 and then there are different injuries all with different values. This is what is called quantum.

You may find a solicitor willing to take iit on for a fixed fee, but it will still be quite expensive against what the value of the injury is worth, and certainly we would not consider it simply because the cost of making the claim and the time involved (about 2 years) would not be justified against what the injury is worth.

[tallchris99]

I have claimed and settled for thousands for pretty minor injuries and had nio problems doing so.

If the fella mounted the pavement then you will win the claim.

Don't do a no win no fee agreement. Get her to check her house insurance policy, it will usually cover her expenses to sue someones arse if this sort of thing happens.

Whoever is to blame, it is not her, a bit like being the pillion on a mototrcycle that is involved in an RTA.

[tonybav]

Good to know that someone is always to blame.

Just a pointer on this posting. Anybody asked who pays for claims? Well it goes like this, if there is a claim and assuming the other party was insured, then the claim will be met by his insurance company, who will then recover the cost by putting up their insurance rates for the rest of us. So who pays for an insurance claims, all the rest of us.

[T-C]

tallchris99 said: I have claimed and settled for thousands for pretty minor injuries and had nio problems doing so.

If the fella mounted the pavement then you will win the claim.

Don't do a no win no fee agreement. Get her to check her house insurance policy, it will usually cover her expenses to sue someones arse if this sort of thing happens.

Whoever is to blame, it is not her, a bit like being the pillion on a mototrcycle that is involved in an RTA.

Yes there is a claim. But, a specialist Personal Injury lawyer is unlikely to take it on based on the minor nature of the injuries, and the value which is major to her I accept, but very minor to the lawyers. Doing it through the LEI (legal expenses insurance) is an option but is likely to result in a panel non specialist lawyer retained by the insurers being given the case. It will still take between 18 months and two years to settle, and will require medical examinations for the reports to be prepared, and if the lady does not have LEI, then unless she is prepared to fund it herself then a CFA (No Win, No fee) is theonly way she is likely to get the case funded. I see these sorts of cases every day, and probably 1 in every 20 only are accepted.

[RichardR]

tonybav said: Good to know that someone is always to blame.

Just a pointer on this posting. Anybody asked who pays for claims? Well it goes like this, if there is a claim and assuming the other party was insured, then the claim will be met by his insurance company, who will then recover the cost by putting up their insurance rates for the rest of us. So who pays for an insurance claims, all the rest of us.

I don't think my Mother-in-Law is looking to go through some sort of American style litigious process (even though I would expect that it's pretty distressing almost being run over).

I think she merely wants to know where she stands in case she ends up with any medical problems arising from the accident. If she did need involved medical treatment or suffered a substantial loss of earnings I certainly wouldn't try and talk her out of claiming in order to save everyone a couple of quid on their insurance.

[T-C]

All she has to remember, is that in the event that she decides to make a claim, then proceedings against the third party must be issued within three years either of the date of the accident or from the date when the injury became known, whichever is sooner. This statute of limitation does not apply to children or individuals incapable of managing their own affairs.

She must ensure that it is recorded with her GP, as records will be required at a later date as it will help prove the date and nature of the injury.

[Nightmare]

T-C...I dont understand! Why is that anyone needs to involve solicitors here?

I assumed (obviously wrongly I guess) that if I was run down in a similar manner it would go like this

1. got run down
2. got medical check
3. got medical bill
4. presented medical bill to baddies insurance company
5. insurance co pay medical bill
6. end of story

or am I missing something major?

Night

[icamm]

Well there are the claims for "other expenses" and the claim for the actual injury. On top of the claim for direct cost of the medical bills. It always helps to have a solicitor in those cases as they should know what you can claim for and how much you should get. Trying to do it yourself can lead you to missing out on money due to you. Don't forget that the insurance company in unlikely offer you anything if you don't ask for it.

[T-C]

Nightmare said: T-C...I dont understand! Why is that anyone needs to involve solicitors here?

I assumed (obviously wrongly I guess) that if I was run down in a similar manner it would go like this

1. got run down
2. got medical check
3. got medical bill
4. presented medical bill to baddies insurance company
5. insurance co pay medical bill
6. end of story

or am I missing something major?

Night

If you were injured, would you know how much the injury is worth? I can assure you that even if liability was not contested the third party insurers would offer you the absolute minimum which may well fall short of what you are entitled. Would you know about the three year limitation and that proceedings have to be issued otherwise the claim does not have to be met, and many insurers will drag it out for that very purpose.

Would you be able to work out the interest on the claim you are entitled to dating back to the date of the injury? Could you provide an accurate assesment of your loss of earnings? Could you arrange for an expert medical examination from someone independent at an average cost of £600 per time? Without it you won't get very far. Would you be happy to pay up to £200 for all the police reports, statements and photographs in the knowledge that it may be 2 years before that money is seen again?

Would you be able to calculate what the pain and suffering is worth on top of the actual injury? What about the damage to property? Then there is the inconvenience to friends and family which is a claim you are entitled to make?

If there is a question mark over liability, then an independent accident reconstruction expert may be required, average cost about £1500. Would you be happy to pay that?

Then there are other matters which go into making your claim financialy substantive. The average cost of presenting a claim is in the region of £1500 - £3000 depending on the severity, and in the worst case scenario of severe brain damage, you are looking at £5000 upwards, most accident victims just don't have that sort of money available, so the solicitors pay these bills called disbursments which are then claimed back against the third party. If the claim is unsuccessfull then the no win no fee insurance (average cost £350+) kicks in and pays these costs.

What about if a member of your family were killed. If they didn't have any life insurance and no dependants, did you know that all the claim is worth is the cost of the funeral?

If it is a straight forward claim and you go for early settlement, can you be assured that the problem won't be a lifelong condition. I learnt, I was knocked of a Police bike, 18 months later settlement was made, I retired 6 months later minus my left foot which had to be amputated. Instead of £40,000 just for the injury, I got £2500 in full and final settlement, because the solicitors appointed by the Police didn't have a clue, and at that time, I was none the wiser. With all the additions, my final settlement should have been around the £100,000 region not the £2,500 I actually got.

So, to answer your original question, yes you can do it yourself, but obtaining a medical report and presenting it to the insurers is likely to result in you being shortchanged by about 90%. Crack on, and I wish you well!



>> Edited by T-C on Monday 3rd February 22:37