Accident & claims - what happens when you can't agree?

[Two-Wheels]

Just a couple of comments. There is a time limit of 3 years on any personal injury so you'd best check whether you are out-of-time yet.

The question on loss of wages could be separated out as a simple money claim. There you have up to 6 years in England and Wales to issue a claim through the County Court. But that claim would have to be less than £10K to keep it on the costs-limited Small Claims track.

See what your advisor thinks about splitting the issues to get round the time limits.

I'm coming to the end of putting a number of years of payslips together. Tedious work so I'm just taking a mental break from it right now to reply.
I'll certainly be getting in touch regards this 3 year limit thing. I wasn't aware of it. I do hope that it doesn't get to 2 years & 364 days & it's accept their 5 pence offer or nothing.

I'd expect there to be things in place to stop that kind of behaviour surely? Else the other side would only ever offer a few coppers.

Regards my pay [only] I think it's under 10k. I was expecting it to be over but they've deducted SSP from it which I guess is right. This puts me under £10k.

Took four years to settle mine and in the end I took the offer. Had to concede 10% because I was overtaking a traffic queue when hit by a car turning right, but you can only fight these things so long before it impacts your mental health. I'd broken my spine. Those scales can be astronomical, well into six figures. I settled on nothing like that, and nine years later I'm OK. I'd had enough living in cotton wool and not doing things that may impact my claim. I was back cycling.

Your solicitor will know what's reasonable and do not expect anywhere near the higher amounts unless you've lost body parts or can't use them and are disabled.

This confuses me. How did yours take 4 years if the limit is 3 years? Unless things have changed? But then a friend of my wife had an accident before me & his was much worse than mine (sensory loss, huge job impact, so on & so forth) and apparently they STILL can't agree a price for his injuries. They'll easily be beyond 3 years now.

My solicitor pitched to me just shy of £20k all in. I didn't expect that. I was thinking ok if his pitch is near £20k then I'll get maybe £15k when it's all done.
Even that is looking very optimistic.

They are likely based on Ogden Tables. These are agreed scales of payment depending on age and type of injury. To simplify matters and to save on court/lawyers time these are agreed so everyone in the industry can narrow down to a common tariff. Where you are on the scales will be based on medical reports etc. Calculated by actuaries.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...rial-compensation-tables-for-injury-and-death

*Actuaries are people who find accountancy too exiting and racy.

Yep, had those reports. Various medical & psychological assessments.

Though it baffles me if my injury is put between 2 numbers and they can only pitch slightly higher than this, how the other side are allowed to offer a tiny fraction.
It's like saying these 'decision makers' value your injury at £10k, I'll ask for £12k initially ... and then the other side offers you £1k.

But yes, I'll finish with these payslips & then get back in touch.

 

[postman]

Mrs P has already turned down two miserable offers on her injury caused by the car driver in Manchester last year.Even the car got written off.She is not worried about going to court having been a Police Officer and appeared many times.Me i just think the company are tywunts

 

[fossyant]

3 year limit to get a court application in or some such, mine dragged on for 4 years and wore me down mentally as I was battling recovering from a badly broken spine. I'm OK now - well no, cos I fell off my bike and smashed my pelvis recently, but hey ho, my fault this time - silly accident.

I've sort of blocked out all the finer details in my head now - it's in a folder on the computer that I don't look at. I don't have my wife's memory, which is a blessing for me. She remembers everything, and finds it harder to deal with big crashes. I average one every 9-10 years.