Gear Head

iTrader: (2)

Have to agree with you mate.

gatecrasher3

I take it that these comments are coming from someone who has experience of both ‘good’ Solicitors, and those working under a ‘no win no fee’ contract, or as you would probably recognize them better as ‘bad’ Solicitors? I thought not.

Again, doesn’t look like you have much experience of the National Accident Helpline either. How it works is, the ‘Helpline’ fields new enquiries and the call will be transferred to one of the Solicitors on their panel, should the call handler consider that the claim has reasonable prospects of success… the claim will then be dealt with either under the terms of the injured parties legal expense insurers, or perhaps under a no win no fee type agreement. You follow so far?

These ‘panel’ Solicitors are based all over the Country and I think you will find that they are all compliant with the CPR (Civil Procedure Rules), PI Protocol (Personal Injury Pre-Action Protocol) and the Solicitors practice rules.

Turning to your comments about these ‘bad’ firms getting you less compensation than ‘good’ (or non-panel) Solicitors, a claim is worth no more or less dependant on who you instruct to deal with your claim for you. The quantum of general damages (you know what they are, right?!) will always fall within a certain bracket regardless. Your Solicitor can only advise you on whether an offer is potentially acceptable or not, based on the injuries suffered. It may be that your Solicitor advises you that an offer is at the bottom of the bracket, but that you may want to consider accepting it after taking into consideration the litigation risks and delays. After all, a DJ (District Judge) may award you a lesser figure at trial. It does happen. Quantifying PI cases is not an exact science. If a Solicitor recommends acceptance of an offer which is less than should be awarded, they would be liable for a professional negligence claim as a result….

One last thing…. You ever heard of those little Sols practices called DLA, Irwin Mitchell or Nabarro Nathanson? You ever considered that perhaps a large percentage of their work comes through such helplines. Something to think about.

blip

To all those on this thread offering helpful advice thanks very much, I really appreciate it.

To the pr*cks insinuating that what happened to my girlfriend is false or that I am after a fast buck - I just hope you don't have to go through what both me and my partner have been through as a result of some jerk not paying attention.

FYI it is nearly two weeks since the accident, my girlfriend is still in constant pain (even when taking the maximum dose of all her painkillers), she has numb arms, pins and needles in her hands, can't write, type or drive, and cannot work. She is self employed so is now in danger of losing clients (and therefore her livelihood) as all their jobs are on hold.

I guess if this happened to your partner through no fault of their own you wouldn't want them compensated would you?

As you'll see from the pictures the impact broke the back of her seat and buckled the roof. But you are probably right, she is probably faking it. Like I say pr*cks.

http://www.dcmediadev.co.uk/cc/crash1.jpg
http://www.dcmediadev.co.uk/cc/crash2.jpg
http://www.dcmediadev.co.uk/cc/crash3.jpg

SiPie

1 Sorry to hear about your g/f's accident

2 My wife is self employed and hence personal illness/accident cover is extra important when self employed...but not alot of point in telling her that now though

3 Hope you feel better after your rant

4 Learn to ignore the high percentage (increasing daily) of complete ar5eholes here on Scoobynet, don't let them wind you up....just ignore them

Good luck

2000TLondon

NEVER, EVER go anywhere near any firm advertising their services on a no win no fee basis!

Your insurance company should appoint you a respected local law firm, and you should be able to check them out locally.

The whole no-win no-fee is a complete scam. For a start your insurance company will pay your costs if you lose, assuming you took the legal cover for the extra few pounds, and when you win the guilty parties insurers cover your legal costs.

There will be dozens of decent law firms in your area, simply try the phone book, don't bother with googling for injury specialists.

Also, importantly, your wife / gf shouldn't just be claiming for the pain and loss of income now. This could be a long term injury and she will need long term care / treatment. Your solicitor will help you with projected costs for paying someone to do things she may not be able to do in the future because of this.

Finally, don't just rely on the GP and the pain medication, I strongly advise she visit an osteopath ASAP who will begin to work on the muscle damage.

Whiplash can be very serious, and the symptons of exhaustion as well as pain are very typical of this type of injury and will not suddenty get better after rest, she will benefit from proactive treatment now!

blip

Thanks

Yes I know! She has learnt the hard way

Yes I do

I normally do, but this is obviously something I feel strongly about.

Cheers

Drunken Bungle Whore

Blip - sorry to hear about the accident.

Check your PM.

Good luck.

tim.gilbert23

iTrader: (3)

check out JSB guidelines (Judicial Studies Board). for assesment of damages in PI claims.

from memory it gives a scale of compo depending on severity of injuries

Claim needs to be brought for general & special damages. General will be in guidelines.. special is prescriptions..loss of earnings...damage to property etc.

tim