Personal injury claim.

[Drawweight]

I have just received compensation for an accident a couple of years ago with a hefty 30% skimmed off the top for my solicitor (that’ll teach me not to have legal cover on my insurance.)

It occurred to me has anybody tried the diy approach ? It’s easy enough doing that if it’s only property damage but how difficult would it be for a personal injury claim.

Presumably loss of income would be easy but what about the rest?

[xjay1337]

I would imagine it's significantly harder than , for example , defending a speeding ticket.

You can get legal cover for like 10 quid online or I think I recall seeing somewhere you can sign up for it for free!

[Nezquick]

If the other insurer admits liability then it should be a piece of cake.

The only issues you have really are:

1. Getting them to send you for a medical examination with an independent medico-legal expert;
2. Ensuring that you receive fair compensation - for simple whiplash type claims that's easy enough but if you have longer-term injuries, not so much.

30% is about the norm for these type of claims though. Your solicitors will have been paid by the insurers too, on top of what they took from your damages!

[ElectricPics]

Nezquick said:

If the other insurer admits liability then it should be a piece of cake.

The only issues you have really are:

1. Getting them to send you for a medical examination with an independent medico-legal expert;
2. Ensuring that you receive fair compensation - for simple whiplash type claims that's easy enough but if you have longer-term injuries, not so much.

DIY would require detailed knowledge of the civil procedures relating to personal injury claims and the systems used to file claims.

Even if the other party admits liability, you would need to gather medical evidence to support your claim for damages. You will need your medical records, free of charge with a Subject Access Request to your local NHS Trust.

Then, you'll need one or more examinations from a medico-legal expert who will, for a fat fee, produce a medical report summarising any injuries and any long-term effects or disability. The report may require hospital examinations, all done at private hospitals at your upfront expense, which can be astronomical, although they will be recovered, assuming your claim is successful. You also might need physiotherapy, all at your own expense initially.

Then, despite an admission of liability, the other party may dispute the amount of damages claimed and you will need your day in court, and good luck doing that DIY.

All of the above was my experience with a relatively simple claim against a motorist for breaking my wrist, requiring surgery. The bills for the medical report, including x-rays and an MRI scan that the medico-legal expert needed, came to a relatively light £5000ish. The claims firm also paid upfront for physio, recovering the cost from the insurer. The other party disputed damages and my claims handling firm instructed solicitors and sued, which would have cost another £3000 including solicitors feeds and court costs. It got as far as a court date, but the insurer eventually backed down.

25% of my claim seemed fair considering the amount of work involved.

[singlecoil]

Nezquick said:

...Your solicitors will have been paid by the insurers too, on top of what they took from your damages!

Obvious conflict of interest there.

[theguvernor15]

I was hit by a drunk driver, who was speeding & on the wrong side of the road, he was apparently adjusting his stereo & had veered onto the wrong tisde of the road, i'd just crossed the road (single lane each way) & was about a foot away from the curb.

There was a number of police witnesses, as well as numerous civilian witnesses.
So it was very much a bang to rights case.

I was incredibly lucky not to actually be killed & walked away with minor injuries.

I used one of the no win/no fee type places as i didn't have the money at 20 to pay for a solicitor, nor did i really know what i was doing.
They took 25% of the total claim. (This was 10+ years ago though).

[Lindun]

singlecoil said:

Nezquick said:

...Your solicitors will have been paid by the insurers too, on top of what they took from your damages!

Obvious conflict of interest there.

Why will the solicitors have been paid by the insurers? Which insurers as well, not that I think either will pay them.

[anonymous-user]

Doesn't most home insurance include some legal covers? Might be worth checking policies.

[theboss]

ElectricPics said:

DIY would require detailed knowledge of the civil procedures relating to personal injury claims and the systems used to file claims.

Even if the other party admits liability, you would need to gather medical evidence to support your claim for damages. You will need your medical records, free of charge with a Subject Access Request to your local NHS Trust.

Then, you'll need one or more examinations from a medico-legal expert who will, for a fat fee, produce a medical report summarising any injuries and any long-term effects or disability. The report may require hospital examinations, all done at private hospitals at your upfront expense, which can be astronomical, although they will be recovered, assuming your claim is successful. You also might need physiotherapy, all at your own expense initially.

Then, despite an admission of liability, the other party may dispute the amount of damages claimed and you will need your day in court, and good luck doing that DIY.

All of the above was my experience with a relatively simple claim against a motorist for breaking my wrist, requiring surgery. The bills for the medical report, including x-rays and an MRI scan that the medico-legal expert needed, came to a relatively light £5000ish. The claims firm also paid upfront for physio, recovering the cost from the insurer. The other party disputed damages and my claims handling firm instructed solicitors and sued, which would have cost another £3000 including solicitors feeds and court costs. It got as far as a court date, but the insurer eventually backed down.

25% of my claim seemed fair considering the amount of work involved.

I have 6 or 7 medical expert witnesses having input on a medical negligence claim. My “no win no fee” solicitors can only take their cut out of past losses and general damages - not special damages paid in respect of (e.g.) future medical or care needs.

Of course if I win they will be seeking all costs to be paid by the defendant, and if I lose they are covered by an ATE legal insurance policy, so they’ll earn a wedge come what may.

They are fking entitled to it as far as I am concerned. The amount of work involved on their part is mind boggling.

Edited by theboss on Wednesday 28th August 17:41

[anonymous-user]

Would this not have clicked in:

https://www.freemotorlegal.co.uk/

Interested either way if anyone has got any experiences?

Cheers

[anonymous-user]

mgsontour said:

Would this not have clicked in:

https://www.freemotorlegal.co.uk/

Interested either way if anyone has got any experiences?

Cheers

I always have legal cover to cover the cost of any prosecutions as well. The website doesn't say anything about that? Is it more just another claims handling company?

[Lindun]

flashbang said:

mgsontour said:

Would this not have clicked in:

https://www.freemotorlegal.co.uk/

Interested either way if anyone has got any experiences?

Cheers

.

I always have legal cover to cover the cost of any prosecutions as well. The website doesn't say anything about that? Is it more just another claims handling company?

Legal expenses cover that gets offered most of the time is for exactly what you’ve just claimed for. That being uninsured losses in a non-fault accident. If you have it then your solicitors costs are paid for from that policy, if not you pay up to 35% of your compensation in fees to your solicitor.

It has nothing to do with defending your claim or you against prosecution

[anonymous-user]

Lindun said:

Legal expenses cover that gets offered most of the time is for exactly what you’ve just claimed for. That being uninsured losses in a non-fault accident. If you have it then your solicitors costs are paid for from that policy, if not you pay up to 35% of your compensation in fees to your solicitor.

It has nothing to do with defending your claim or you against prosecution

Thanks for clearing that up.

[anonymous-user]

mgsontour said:

Would this not have clicked in:

https://www.freemotorlegal.co.uk/

Interested either way if anyone has got any experiences?

Cheers

This must be worth signing up for?

[martinbiz]

Nezquick said:

If the other insurer admits liability then it should be a piece of cake.

The only issues you have really are:

1. Getting them to send you for a medical examination with an independent medico-legal expert;
2. Ensuring that you receive fair compensation - for simple whiplash type claims that's easy enough but if you have longer-term injuries, not so much.

30% is about the norm for these type of claims though. Your solicitors will have been paid by the insurers too, on top of what they took from your damages!

What a load of b****ks

[Cudd Wudd]

theboss said:

I have 6 or 7 medical expert witnesses having input on a medical negligence claim. My “no win no fee” solicitors can only take their cut out of past losses and general damages - not special damages paid in respect of (e.g.) future medical or care needs.

Of course if I win they will be seeking all costs to be paid by the defendant, and if I lose they are covered by an ATE legal insurance policy, so they’ll earn a wedge come what may.

They are fking entitled to it as far as I am concerned. The amount of work involved on their part is mind boggling.

Edited by theboss on Wednesday 28th August 17:41

You may well have a comprehensive ATE insurance policy, but many will just cover your own disbursements and your opponent’s costs, rather than the actual legal fees incurred on your behalf. With such policies, the Claimant’s solicitor would not get paid in the event of an unsuccessful claim and would absorb the costs themselves. A loss could arise either by failing to establish fault and/or causation, or failure to beat a settlement offer with costs post-acceptance period being non-recoverable.

Best of luck with your claim. I think I’ve read about it in other posts you’ve made and you’ve certainly been through it!

[Cudd Wudd]

Nezquick said:

... Your solicitors will have been paid by the insurers too, on top of what they took from your damages!

A compensation guarantee is likely to exist to take account of any shortfall between costs incurred under the retainer between the Claimant and their solicitors, including any “success fee” forming part of the Conditional Fee Agreement (no win, no fee), and what is actually recovered from the opponent/insurers. The latter would not include the success fee since March 2013, hence why most claims are subject to a set percentage guarantee.

The deduction should not be absolute and should only cover what isn’t recovered from the opponent/insurers but remains chargeable under the retainer. If all costs were recovered from the opponent/insurers, which is unlikely where a success fee is being charged, then no deduction should apply to the compensation. But the actual terms of the Claimant’s retainer would set out the position in each individual claim.

As for the OP’s query re DIY approach, yes it can be easy to quantify losses in lower value, more straightforward claims. But issues can often arise, including causation arguments, contributory negligence issues, and/or future losses where split multipliers and multiplicands for advanced receipt losses come into play. There is also the ticking time bomb of “limitation” which requires proceedings within a set period where the claim has not been compromised, knowing all heads of loss that can be claimed and how to calculate them, and obtaining/enforcing judgment etc. It can be a convoluted and difficult process, and legal issues that appear easy at the outset can often become quite the opposite.

[Drawweight]

Don’t get me wrong I don’t grudge them the amount they charge although by God between them and the third parties insurance they don’t half drag it out

I was really just curious if anyone had actually done the diy approach.

Apparently not

[theboss]

Cudd Wudd said:

Best of luck with your claim. I think I’ve read about it in other posts you’ve made and you’ve certainly been through it!

Thank you! The claim is only at the early stages having served protective proceedings at the 3 year limit. The simultaneous divorce didn’t help but thankfully I’ve been able to get that out of the way despite the ex’s best efforts to bring the medical claim “in scope”. We’ll see how it goes in the next 1-2 years. At some point I’ll probably appear in the Daily Mail with my arms folded.

[Cudd Wudd]

theboss said:

Thank you! The claim is only at the early stages having served protective proceedings at the 3 year limit. The simultaneous divorce didn’t help but thankfully I’ve been able to get that out of the way despite the ex’s best efforts to bring the medical claim “in scope”. We’ll see how it goes in the next 1-2 years. At some point I’ll probably appear in the Daily Mail with my arms folded.

Probably best to get an up to date house valuation done in readiness for your sad face DM appearance

Hope it all works out for you and glad the divorce aspect has been sorted, a horrible added stress to have had to contend with. Best of luck with it all and hopefully the claims process goes as smoothly as possible for you.