Insurers and solicitors dragging their feet
Discussion
Edited first post as my first one wasn't clear:
Early December last year, I was strapping a child into the back of my car when a car ran into the door, sandwiching me between the chassis and the door. It was a rubber bumpered discovery 1 and low speed so the door just closed on me, driving my right knee into the bit of the chassis above the rear wheel and my shoulder into the bit of the c pillar (I think) near the rear seatbelt fixing post. My left leg was bent up into the car as I was leaning over to secure a child in their seat.
The car squeezed past and as it did so it released the door and hence me. It then slowed down about 50 yards up the road before driving off. A witness driving behind saw it happen and we both got the number plate.
I had four young kids with me and so I had to take care of them first - I got them home and rang 101, and they suggested I needed to report it to the police station which was open the following day - a Saturday. I then waited until my wife got home so I could hand the kids over / have their parents pick them up.
I was stiff and sore that night and had trouble sleeping but thought no more of it - I'd just been hit by a car, that tends to give you a bit of bruising, much like (say) after a heavy rugby match. My wife saw the state of me and suggested I go to the local a&e which I did on Saturday morning, where it was teeming with injuries that seemed far more serious than mine - a young child coming in looking blue with shortness of breath for example.
They diagnosed bruising and lacerations, but were clearly run off their feet.
I then reported it to the police, who promptly lost the complaint, but advised me to give it some time so they could get a response from the RK. Fast forward a month, and I thought I'd try the gym for the first time since the accident - I'd been going four times a week before the accident, but I didn't last five minutes, so headed back home. This was just after Christmas.
I then waited, expecting the police response to come through some time in January, considering the delays associated with Christmas etc.
Nothing happened, I kept dosing myself with painkillers when I needed to but trying not to pop them everyday and generally slipping back into sedentary life, with the knee and shoulder not getting any better, until April - when I had a call from a very apologetic police sergeant who had found the complaint and went to see the RK. They denied any knowledge, but the witness statement and my information tallied and they said they weren't able to pursue a criminal claim due to the time elapsed but recommended I pursue a civil claim. This was the trigger to make me realise that my mobility had been slowly degrading (the swelling and general scrapes took about a month to clear up but the knee and shoulder just weren't getting better, but weren't degrading fast enough for me to really notice).
So I lawyered up and the insurance company promptly admitted full liability. They then referred me to a physio who did a few tests and reckoned that I'd damaged my knee (acl, medial meniscus and cartilage), and also torn a sub-scapular muscle in my shoulder. Apparently, it is quite common for the knee injury to be masked in the early days of an accident as the swelling actually holds the joint steady. She recommended to the insurance company (her client) that I get an urgent orthopaedic consult. That was in May. Nothing has since happened, except a few phone calls from various agencies, all of whom have said they're referring me to a specialist for further investigation / MRI.
My issue is that the surgery that is probably needed will need a good few weeks in plaster and then some form of metal cage, followed by up to 18 months of physio. I have to go back to work in September - and there is an assessment which ensures I have a level of fitness that I would probably fail if I was in a cast. If I fail, then it puts things back a year, I therefore am very keen to try and get this fixed ASAP as I really can't take another year off and even if I could, I doubt the insurers would want to pay out for that level of loss of earnings,
The question is therefore: how the hell can I get this diagnosis sped up (ideally without trying to find money to pay for it and then claim back at an unknown date in the future), so I can figure out whether or not I can start my new career in September.
Many thanks,
Early December last year, I was strapping a child into the back of my car when a car ran into the door, sandwiching me between the chassis and the door. It was a rubber bumpered discovery 1 and low speed so the door just closed on me, driving my right knee into the bit of the chassis above the rear wheel and my shoulder into the bit of the c pillar (I think) near the rear seatbelt fixing post. My left leg was bent up into the car as I was leaning over to secure a child in their seat.
The car squeezed past and as it did so it released the door and hence me. It then slowed down about 50 yards up the road before driving off. A witness driving behind saw it happen and we both got the number plate.
I had four young kids with me and so I had to take care of them first - I got them home and rang 101, and they suggested I needed to report it to the police station which was open the following day - a Saturday. I then waited until my wife got home so I could hand the kids over / have their parents pick them up.
I was stiff and sore that night and had trouble sleeping but thought no more of it - I'd just been hit by a car, that tends to give you a bit of bruising, much like (say) after a heavy rugby match. My wife saw the state of me and suggested I go to the local a&e which I did on Saturday morning, where it was teeming with injuries that seemed far more serious than mine - a young child coming in looking blue with shortness of breath for example.
They diagnosed bruising and lacerations, but were clearly run off their feet.
I then reported it to the police, who promptly lost the complaint, but advised me to give it some time so they could get a response from the RK. Fast forward a month, and I thought I'd try the gym for the first time since the accident - I'd been going four times a week before the accident, but I didn't last five minutes, so headed back home. This was just after Christmas.
I then waited, expecting the police response to come through some time in January, considering the delays associated with Christmas etc.
Nothing happened, I kept dosing myself with painkillers when I needed to but trying not to pop them everyday and generally slipping back into sedentary life, with the knee and shoulder not getting any better, until April - when I had a call from a very apologetic police sergeant who had found the complaint and went to see the RK. They denied any knowledge, but the witness statement and my information tallied and they said they weren't able to pursue a criminal claim due to the time elapsed but recommended I pursue a civil claim. This was the trigger to make me realise that my mobility had been slowly degrading (the swelling and general scrapes took about a month to clear up but the knee and shoulder just weren't getting better, but weren't degrading fast enough for me to really notice).
So I lawyered up and the insurance company promptly admitted full liability. They then referred me to a physio who did a few tests and reckoned that I'd damaged my knee (acl, medial meniscus and cartilage), and also torn a sub-scapular muscle in my shoulder. Apparently, it is quite common for the knee injury to be masked in the early days of an accident as the swelling actually holds the joint steady. She recommended to the insurance company (her client) that I get an urgent orthopaedic consult. That was in May. Nothing has since happened, except a few phone calls from various agencies, all of whom have said they're referring me to a specialist for further investigation / MRI.
My issue is that the surgery that is probably needed will need a good few weeks in plaster and then some form of metal cage, followed by up to 18 months of physio. I have to go back to work in September - and there is an assessment which ensures I have a level of fitness that I would probably fail if I was in a cast. If I fail, then it puts things back a year, I therefore am very keen to try and get this fixed ASAP as I really can't take another year off and even if I could, I doubt the insurers would want to pay out for that level of loss of earnings,
The question is therefore: how the hell can I get this diagnosis sped up (ideally without trying to find money to pay for it and then claim back at an unknown date in the future), so I can figure out whether or not I can start my new career in September.
Many thanks,
Edited by LeftmostAardvark on Sunday 20th July 14:38
I've deleted as this raged wildly off topic. I was hoping that someone could give me advice on how to speed the process of getting some medical assistance through a TPs insurance after they admitted full liability. In essence, i need to convert an initial diagnosis from a physio into a full diagnosis from an orthopaedic surgeon and then hopefully get something done about it, but it seems to be very bogged down in admin.
thanks, and sorry for the delete.
thanks, and sorry for the delete.
LeftmostAardvark said:
I've deleted as this raged wildly off topic. I was hoping that someone could give me advice on how to speed the process of getting some medical assistance through a TPs insurance after they admitted full liability. In essence, i need to convert an initial diagnosis from a physio into a full diagnosis from an orthopaedic surgeon and then hopefully get something done about it, but it seems to be very bogged down in admin.
thanks, and sorry for the delete.
Go and see your doctor. That's what you pay NI for.thanks, and sorry for the delete.
PurpleMoonlight said:
Go and see your doctor. That's what you pay NI for.
thanks - as i said in my deleted post i did go to a&e the following day but felt like a pillock as there were much more serious complaints and they seemed under pressure. They did see me and diagnosed bruising and abrasion so it wasn't until much later that i realised it was something more serious.your external point of view has been very useful, i was so focused on getting resolution through the channel i was concentrating on, I'd not thought of using nhs...
edit: oh that's right - physio and solicitor both said ages ago there was massive waiting lists for this type of op. Will try anyway.
Edited by LeftmostAardvark on Sunday 20th July 09:49
Jasandjules said:
I don't know what the OP is but if necessary you could consider (check with your solicitor assuming they are competent) paying privately for any urgent treatment and then recovering the same from the other party.
Knee reconstruction surgery - £000s and way outside my pocket capability. I have been told that the MRI alone would be £700 and, for various reasons, even that is money I can't do without for a while.LeftmostAardvark said:
Knee reconstruction surgery - £000s and way outside my pocket capability. I have been told that the MRI alone would be £700 and, for various reasons, even that is money I can't do without for a while.
What is the problem with the other side? Why are they not paying up yet? Is liability disputed? If not ask for an immediate payment to cover the cost of the OP and note that this will reduce costs in the long run. I'll try and reconstruct my post.
Early December last year, I was strapping a child into the back of my car when a car ran into the door, sandwiching me between the chassis and the door. It was a rubber bumpered discovery 1 and low speed so the door just closed on me, driving my right knee into the bit of the chassis above the rear wheel and my shoulder into the bit of the c pillar (I think) near the rear seatbelt fixing post. My left leg was bent up into the car as I was leaning over to secure a child in their seat.
The car squeezed past and as it did so it released the door and hence me. It then slowed down about 50 yards up the road before driving off. A witness driving behind saw it happen and we both got the number plate.
I had four young kids with me and so I had to take care of them first - I got them home and rang 101, and they suggested I needed to report it to the police station which was open the following day - a Saturday. I then waited until my wife got home so I could hand the kids over / have their parents pick them up.
I was stiff and sore that night and had trouble sleeping but thought no more of it - I'd just been hit by a car, that tends to give you a bit of bruising, much like (say) after a heavy rugby match. My wife saw the state of me and suggested I go to the local a&e which I did on Saturday morning, where it was teeming with injuries that seemed far more serious than mine - a young child coming in looking blue with shortness of breath for example.
They diagnosed bruising and lacerations, but were clearly run off their feet.
I then reported it to the police, who promptly lost the complaint, but advised me to give it some time so they could get a response from the RK. Fast forward a month, and I thought I'd try the gym for the first time since the accident - I'd been going four times a week before the accident, but I didn't last five minutes, so headed back home. This was just after Christmas.
I then waited, expecting the police response to come through some time in January, considering the delays associated with Christmas etc.
Nothing happened, I kept dosing myself with painkillers when I needed to but trying not to pop them everyday and generally slipping back into sedentary life, with the knee and shoulder not getting any better, until April - when I had a call from a very apologetic police sergeant who had found the complaint and went to see the RK. They denied any knowledge, but the witness statement and my information tallied and they said they weren't able to pursue a criminal claim due to the time elapsed but recommended I pursue a civil claim. This was the trigger to make me realise that my mobility had been slowly degrading (the swelling and general scrapes took about a month to clear up but the knee and shoulder just weren't getting better, but weren't degrading fast enough for me to really notice).
So I lawyered up and the insurance company promptly admitted full liability. They then referred me to a physio who did a few tests and reckoned that I'd damaged my knee (acl, medial meniscus and cartilage), and also torn a sub-scapular muscle in my shoulder. Apparently, it is quite common for the knee injury to be masked in the early days of an accident as the swelling actually holds the joint steady. She recommended to the insurance company (her client) that I get an urgent orthopaedic consult. That was in May. Nothing has since happened, except a few phone calls from various agencies, all of whom have said they're referring me to a specialist for further investigation / MRI.
My issue is that the surgery that is probably needed will need a good few weeks in plaster and then some form of metal cage, followed by up to 18 months of physio. I have to go back to work in September - and there is an assessment which ensures I have a level of fitness that I would probably fail if I was in a cast. If I fail, then it puts things back a year, I therefore am very keen to try and get this fixed ASAP as I really can't take another year off and even if I could, I doubt the insurers would want to pay out for that level of loss of earnings,
The question is therefore: how the hell can I get this diagnosis sped up (ideally without trying to find money to pay for it and then claim back at an unknown date in the future), so I can figure out whether or not I can start my new career in September.
Many thanks,
Early December last year, I was strapping a child into the back of my car when a car ran into the door, sandwiching me between the chassis and the door. It was a rubber bumpered discovery 1 and low speed so the door just closed on me, driving my right knee into the bit of the chassis above the rear wheel and my shoulder into the bit of the c pillar (I think) near the rear seatbelt fixing post. My left leg was bent up into the car as I was leaning over to secure a child in their seat.
The car squeezed past and as it did so it released the door and hence me. It then slowed down about 50 yards up the road before driving off. A witness driving behind saw it happen and we both got the number plate.
I had four young kids with me and so I had to take care of them first - I got them home and rang 101, and they suggested I needed to report it to the police station which was open the following day - a Saturday. I then waited until my wife got home so I could hand the kids over / have their parents pick them up.
I was stiff and sore that night and had trouble sleeping but thought no more of it - I'd just been hit by a car, that tends to give you a bit of bruising, much like (say) after a heavy rugby match. My wife saw the state of me and suggested I go to the local a&e which I did on Saturday morning, where it was teeming with injuries that seemed far more serious than mine - a young child coming in looking blue with shortness of breath for example.
They diagnosed bruising and lacerations, but were clearly run off their feet.
I then reported it to the police, who promptly lost the complaint, but advised me to give it some time so they could get a response from the RK. Fast forward a month, and I thought I'd try the gym for the first time since the accident - I'd been going four times a week before the accident, but I didn't last five minutes, so headed back home. This was just after Christmas.
I then waited, expecting the police response to come through some time in January, considering the delays associated with Christmas etc.
Nothing happened, I kept dosing myself with painkillers when I needed to but trying not to pop them everyday and generally slipping back into sedentary life, with the knee and shoulder not getting any better, until April - when I had a call from a very apologetic police sergeant who had found the complaint and went to see the RK. They denied any knowledge, but the witness statement and my information tallied and they said they weren't able to pursue a criminal claim due to the time elapsed but recommended I pursue a civil claim. This was the trigger to make me realise that my mobility had been slowly degrading (the swelling and general scrapes took about a month to clear up but the knee and shoulder just weren't getting better, but weren't degrading fast enough for me to really notice).
So I lawyered up and the insurance company promptly admitted full liability. They then referred me to a physio who did a few tests and reckoned that I'd damaged my knee (acl, medial meniscus and cartilage), and also torn a sub-scapular muscle in my shoulder. Apparently, it is quite common for the knee injury to be masked in the early days of an accident as the swelling actually holds the joint steady. She recommended to the insurance company (her client) that I get an urgent orthopaedic consult. That was in May. Nothing has since happened, except a few phone calls from various agencies, all of whom have said they're referring me to a specialist for further investigation / MRI.
My issue is that the surgery that is probably needed will need a good few weeks in plaster and then some form of metal cage, followed by up to 18 months of physio. I have to go back to work in September - and there is an assessment which ensures I have a level of fitness that I would probably fail if I was in a cast. If I fail, then it puts things back a year, I therefore am very keen to try and get this fixed ASAP as I really can't take another year off and even if I could, I doubt the insurers would want to pay out for that level of loss of earnings,
The question is therefore: how the hell can I get this diagnosis sped up (ideally without trying to find money to pay for it and then claim back at an unknown date in the future), so I can figure out whether or not I can start my new career in September.
Many thanks,
Your solicitor is there to provide legal advice and their role is to get you whatever compensation your injury merits - they are not a health care professional and it is not their job to care manage your recovery.
As another poster has said you need to go see your GP ASAP and get a proper referral to your local hospitals orthopedic department.
At that stage you should explore seeing if the other side's insurer will pay for a private op. I would be very surprised if an insurer was willing to shell out for this on the say so of a physio.
Your solicitor may wish to have you seen by an orthopod in due course but this would be for the purposes of a report for your claim and while he may make recommendations about further treatment, in the first instance you need to access healthcare through the gateway of your GP.
I would also advise that the opposing insurers may be difficult about this one as there is no contemporaneous treatment for an injury (I read your post as you attended but weren't seen at A+E) and a number of months later you are popping up claiming for a serious knee injury without any GP attendances. I know this isn't the case but the insurers are entitled to test your evidence of your injury and remember the duty to prove your claim is upon you (and your solicitors).
I know I've said this twice already, but go and see your GP and take a copy of the physio's report.
As another poster has said you need to go see your GP ASAP and get a proper referral to your local hospitals orthopedic department.
At that stage you should explore seeing if the other side's insurer will pay for a private op. I would be very surprised if an insurer was willing to shell out for this on the say so of a physio.
Your solicitor may wish to have you seen by an orthopod in due course but this would be for the purposes of a report for your claim and while he may make recommendations about further treatment, in the first instance you need to access healthcare through the gateway of your GP.
I would also advise that the opposing insurers may be difficult about this one as there is no contemporaneous treatment for an injury (I read your post as you attended but weren't seen at A+E) and a number of months later you are popping up claiming for a serious knee injury without any GP attendances. I know this isn't the case but the insurers are entitled to test your evidence of your injury and remember the duty to prove your claim is upon you (and your solicitors).
I know I've said this twice already, but go and see your GP and take a copy of the physio's report.
This getting ridiculous.
Your solicitor will be able to refer you to someone, as they will be getting a kickback for the referral. That person will write a full report and suggest what needs doing next. Your solicitor should then send test to the TP insurer and ask them to fund it. Your solicitor should just keep chasing to ensure it happens. If they don't of this, then sack them and get another one.
Your solicitor will be able to refer you to someone, as they will be getting a kickback for the referral. That person will write a full report and suggest what needs doing next. Your solicitor should then send test to the TP insurer and ask them to fund it. Your solicitor should just keep chasing to ensure it happens. If they don't of this, then sack them and get another one.
Thanks loon and everyone else. Will get on to them again tomorrow morning. Can you recommend the best way to push them to speed up? And if i need to switch over to a different one, wont there be outstanding costs that they'll chase me for?
as you can tell, this is the first time (and hopefully the last), that I've had to go through this.
as you can tell, this is the first time (and hopefully the last), that I've had to go through this.
LeftmostAardvark said:
The question is therefore: how the hell can I get this diagnosis sped up (ideally without trying to find money to pay for it and then claim back at an unknown date in the future), so I can figure out whether or not I can start my new career in September.
Many thanks,
Has your lawyer written to the other side?Many thanks,
Have you asked them to do so?
Jasandjules said:
Has your lawyer written to the other side?
Have you asked them to do so?
the insurers are aware of the issue due to the physio report in may and as a result of a phone interview with their rehab team in early June. I've spoken repeatedly with the solicitors to try and speed the referral up but nothing coming through.Have you asked them to do so?
LeftmostAardvark said:
the insurers are aware of the issue due to the physio report in may and as a result of a phone interview with their rehab team in early June. I've spoken repeatedly with the solicitors to try and speed the referral up but nothing coming through.
Then I'd suggest engaging their complaint process noting that their delays are causing you further injury and potential loss and damage, especially if the matter doesn't get resolved by September.I'd be inclined to phone and ask to speak to their senior partner and follow it up in writing if required.
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