Common Questions and Answers

What if the Accident Was Partly My Fault?

It is very often the case that two or more people are to blame for an accident and if you are one of them that does not necessarily mean that you will not be entitled to damages. The court will apportion damages according to the respective blameworthiness of the persons involved. In brain injury cases this can be very important because, if your injuries are serious, you could still be entitled to a very large award of damages even if you were mainly to blame.

 

It is my child who has been injured and the police or some other third party said that he/she was to blame. Does that mean my child cannot claim?

No. Call us to discuss the circumstances in which your child was injured. It may well be that your child was partly to blame but the courts are very generous to children and they may still be entitled to damages. If their injuries are very serious they could be entitled to a substantial award even if they were almost entirely to blame.

 

What if I caused the accident?

If you are insured your relative will be able to claim against your insurance company. There is no rule that provides that a child cannot sue a parent or a wife a husband. Whilst such situations may be difficult it is important that the injured person gets the compensation they need and at the end of the day that is why we all pay our insurance premiums.

 

How long do I have before I can claim?

The basic rule is that court proceedings have to be issued before the third anniversary of the accident. It is however always best to consult a solicitor as soon as possible after the accident so that the claim can be started and important evidence about the accident gathered. In many brain injury cases the basic rule will not apply so even if the accident is more than three years old please call us if you think you might have a claim.

 

My insurance company has appointed a lawyer for me – should I agree to proceed with them?

Our advice would be no unless you are completely satisfied that an actual solicitor has been appointed for you; they are local or relatively local and that they have sufficient experience in this area. Our experience tells us that you will usually be allocated a panel solicitor who could be located anywhere in the county and who might not be the right person to represent you. Always consult a specialist and speak to one or more lawyers before you make a final decision whom to instruct. You will often know instinctively which one feels right. Do not feel obliged to proceed with your insurance company’s lawyer. Remember whoever you instruct can make a big difference not only to the final outcome but to your whole experience of the litigation process. Take into account that the insurance company will generally receive a fee for passing your case to their solicitor and do not be afraid to challenge their choice. You have freedom of choice of your lawyer and most lawyers can offer flexible funding arrangements so you will not lose out by making an independent choice.

 

How much compensation will I receive?

It is impossible to say how much compensation you will receive until the full extent of your injuries and the effects that they will have upon you in the long-term are clear. It may be necessary to obtain a number of medical and other expert reports to help value your claim. Obviously, the more serious the injury and its consequences, the higher the value of the claim. Sadly where damages are very high it usually means that the injured person needs care or cannot work or live in the house they lived in at the time of the accident. Serious brain injury cases will almost always attract awards of over £1million.

 

Can I claim compensation for my wife/husband/partner who is now caring for me?

You can claim “gratuitous care”costs if someone is caring for and looking after you in a way that was not necessary before the accident. You can also claim the cost of employing professional carers if this is necessary. You will not however be able to claim for care provided by a relative if they actually caused the accident.

Will I have to see lots of doctors?

It is the case that the claimant, or the injured person, has to prove their case and not the other way around. It is therefore essential that you see a number of doctors to ensure that your injury and its effects are properly identified, that treatment you may need is discussed and, ultimately, so that a  final condition and prognosis can be given. Justice also requires that in serious injury cases the other-side are able to obtain medical reports too so you will probably need to see their doctors. This is often difficult but with a good solicitor managing the process well it will not be too onerous. We often advise our client’s to think of these appointments as a working day in that the work done on that day will pay off in the end by helping to ensure that you get sufficient damages.

 

How long will the claim take?

Most brain injury cases take a long time to complete. This is not because the lawyers and the courts are slow but because when someone has been seriously injured it is necessary to be in a position to properly assess all of the effects of the accident before the case is finished and damages calculated. For example, it may be necessary to wait for several years to see if someone can return to their pre-accident job without any problems or to see if the injured person is able to live in their own home with carers.

 

Will it be worth the hassle?

Almost always YES. We will advise you as soon as we are able whether you have a good case and if you do then it will be worth pursing it for several reasons. Firstly, the claim itself may mean that you will be able to see doctors and other experts that you would not have done without the claim. They may recommend treatment and therapies that may be paid for by your opponent and which would not have been available on the NHS. This may result in you getting better sooner or the extent of recovery being greater. Secondly, the aim of the claim will be to try and put you back into the position that you would have been in had the accident not occurred. Obviously no amount of money will be able to restore your health but via the claim you will be able to claim reimbursement for expenses you have and will incur, replace income lost whilst the claim is on-going and after settlement and have funds to ensure that you can meet all your care and other needs in the future. Thirdly if you chose the right solicitor, i.e. a true specialist in brain injury cases, they will manage the claims process in such a way as to minimise inconvenience and stress to you. By getting your selection of solicitor right at the outset you will quickly develop a trusting relationship with them and will feel confident in following their advice and allowing them to “take the strain” as it were.

 

Will I have to pay a lot of costs?

Our advice to our brain injured clients and families is not to worry about costs. Nowadays agreements can be set up which mean that the client has to take little financial risk in the whole process and even if the client does end up paying some costs these will be substantially exceeded by the damages and the benefits those damages will bring. We always do everything we can to ensure our clients pay nothing at all or very little in costs and we have not received any complaints to date from our clients as we believe we treat them very well and very fairly.

 

How will I know that my case is not going well?

This is difficult because most individuals claiming compensation following a brain injury will not have done so before so they have nothing to measure their experience against. Our advice here is to pick up the telephone and talk to us about what is going on if you have any doubts and we will then be able to give you an indication of what we think and possibly agree to meet you so that we can talk to you in more detail about it. Every case will be different but some of the things to be alert to are as follows:

• Your solicitor never returns your calls and take ages to respond to your letters
• You simply do not feel comfortable and relaxed when dealing with your solicitor
• You are not given regular updates about what is going on
• Liability or an acceptance of fault from the other-side has not been forthcoming but your solicitor is not doing anything about this
• Liability has been admitted or judgment has been entered on your behalf in court proceedings but you have still not received any interim payments or any treatment or rehabilitation
• Your solicitor has not taken a detailed witness statement from you and your closest relatives
• You have never met your solicitor
• Your solicitor is talking of settling the case when it is not clear what might happen in the future regarding for example, a return to work, your care needs, or a child’s education and ultimate level of independence
• There has been no mention of obtaining court approval of a compromise or settlement on behalf of a child or seriously injured adult who lacks capacity, i.e. cannot make decisions for him/herself