Solicitor or insurance company?

[neg213]

My wife was involved in an accident recently, the other party has admitted liability and we are now in the process of claiming for personal injury. Because we don't have 'legal protection' my insurance company has said we need to either go to a solicitor, or deal with direct the other party's insurance. Which one is going to get me the best payout, will a solicitor just cream off a fee or will the insurance company offer me a low value if i don't have a solicitor?

[Pollypeptide]

Two years ago my husband was hit from behind by a third party vehicle. The lady admitted responsibility and her Insurers contacted my husband the next day and offerred him �1,000 there and then for his whiplash injury - which was totally genuine I might add. He declined their offer and went to a local solicitor.

She made a claim on his behalf for his pain and suffering, specialist massage treatment, travel expenses for him to get to and from the treatment clinic, loss of earnings for the times that he had to travel there etc, etc. He finally received a cheque for �12,000 from the third party Insurers! Yes, that is �12,000!! We were astonished. The solicitor did not make any deduction from this figure - the third party Insurers paid her fees on top of what they paid my husband.

So you can guess what my advice is. But make sure you check with the Solicitor what their system is before you instruct them.

[BertiWooster]

The value of any compensation , will depend , amongst other things on -

1. the nature and extent of your injuries ( general damages )
There are guidelines , but there is no hard and fast rule

2. How good your solicitor or other representative are , in negotiating the claim - Some solicitor firms are robust , others aren't .

You can deal directly with the defendant insurer if they agree to proceed on that basis .

If it is not a simple matter , then the defendant insurer are more than likely going to require certain documented evidence - for example medical report etc - plus there are certain Civil procedure rules, which are required to be complied with .
Frankly , it will be much easier for you ( unless you are familiar with the process) to seek professional assistance .

Whether or not you receive the full compensation negotiated , will depend on who you instruct .
There are many reputable solicitor firms , out there that will deal with your claim on a no win no fee basis -
( subject to possible conditions/ clauses )
If you go down that route , make sure you understand on what basis the solicitor will be dealing with the claim , before you sign an agreement .

[gouldc]

In regards to the best deal, it makes little difference in all honesty. Most insurers (including us) prefer to direct deal wit hclaimants simply because if you decide to use a firm of solicitors, they will inevitably claim about an extra �2500 in costs from us - this would not, however, affect your compensation - I won't go into specifcis, but it's generally covered by various ancillary insurance products.

Insurers have a set of benchmark figures that they go by for injury settlements - for example, a striaght whiplash would generally settle at between �1000 and �1500. You may get slightly more via a solicitors, but the insurer will generally request a medical report, etc, and this will drag it out for months.

Approach the other party insurers and see what they say -0 in all honesty, you may possibly get an extra �2-300 via solicitors, but you'll have to wai!

[gouldc]

I would also point out that in reply to pollypeptide, I would suggest that the husbands injury was not a simple soft-tissue whiplash - Scotland (where the law is very different), and Northern Ireland, cap whiplash up to �8000 for a 2 year prognosis

[neg213]

Thanks for the info

gouldc � Would I be within my rights to ask the other party�s insurance company for an offer, and if I felt that wasn�t satisfactory, and then go through a solicitor?

[Rollo]

Yes you can ask them what they are prepared to offer. But bear in mind that they are going to offer you a lot less than they would actually be prepared to pay.

[gouldc]

Sorry for the late reply - you're more than able to ask the other party insurers for an offer.

In regards to rollo's answer, yes they will likely offer less than if you went via solicitors, but not by much - as I noted in my previous answer, we tend to try and settle as quickly as possible on striaght forward cases to stop solicitors getting involved - obviously the offer is based on NO MEDICAL EVIDENCE. You would get around �1000 offered (poss more, poss less) dependent on what you tell the insurer.

If you go to a solicitor, and get examined, the examiner may find you to be less injured than the insurer gauged, and you may well get less. On the flip side, your injuries may get worse over time and you would get more - being blunt, it depends whether you are out of the money, or just want to be compensated for your inconvenience. At the end of the day, it's money for nothing in the majority of cases - I accept there are some genuine cases out there, but the bulk we see are pikeys trying it on (or people of asian origin in the West Midlands, Luton, or London).