Personal Injury Claim Confusion.

FairytaleGirl

Hi all,

Was in a car accident in November 2013, where I sustained whiplash and was off work for 10days.
The other party has accepted full liability for the accident and the claim is ongoing on my behalf.
I had a medical in march on the request of the solicitor after visiting my own gp at the time of the accident, which confirmed soft tissue damage which should be resolved within 6months.
I was also paid ssp for days missed so have no loss of earnings.

I received a letter yesterday morning with my medical report, I am to return with permission for the solicitor to provide this to the other party for recoverable costs.
However, on the final page it states 'Special damages - £0.00'


I have to sign this page - in doing so am I accepting that I incurred no losses in this accident and therefore will receive zero compensation?
The solicitor lives 3 hours away from me and I have been unable to get them on the phone or email since January so I can't get anything clarified.

I just want this settled at this point, 5months is long enough!

kilp10

Is this not going through the Personal Injuries board? It would not be recommended to settle directly or sign anything with the insurance company/solicitor acting for the person accepting liability without consulting with someone who speciailises in these kind of cases. It should be going through PIAB in which case this would not be normal I think. And don't settle until you're better or have a definite prognosis, some doctors are good but they are not experts in soft tissue treatment and prognosis. Even the examination by the PIAB appointed doctors should in my opinion, be carried out by a Physio and not a GP as it is just not comprehensive enough.

As a guide, I had an accident in Dec12, claim logged with PIAB via solicitor in early 2013. Early Doctors report said injuries should be resolved in 6-12months. Was reviewed by PIAB Dr in late 2013, said should be resolved in 12-18months. I'm now almost at the 18months and still having serious trouble with my back which is unlikely to resolve fully. Am in the care of a consultant, multiple MRIs, steroid injections etc. It's been released to the court now so it's looking unlikely that this will be closed for another while. But, although I'm a lot of medical expenses down at the moment, it's more important to get better and wait until I have a clearer prognosis before settling.

Good luck but exercise caution here and this kind of thing requires a lot of patience as I have found!

FairytaleGirl

Sorry, I should say I'm living in Northern Ireland- maybe it's different here?

The medical was done privately by an orthopaedic surgeon - and I agree with his prognosis.

Just feel like I dont know what's happening!

V.W.L 11

FairytaleGirl wrote: »

Hi all,

Was in a car accident in November 2013, where I sustained whiplash and was off work for 10days.
The other party has accepted full liability for the accident and the claim is ongoing on my behalf.
I had a medical in march on the request of the solicitor after visiting my own gp at the time of the accident, which confirmed soft tissue damage which should be resolved within 6months.
I was also paid ssp for days missed so have no loss of earnings.

I received a letter yesterday morning with my medical report, I am to return with permission for the solicitor to provide this to the other party for recoverable costs.
However, on the final page it states 'Special damages - £0.00'


I have to sign this page - in doing so am I accepting that I incurred no losses in this accident and therefore will receive zero compensation?
The solicitor lives 3 hours away from me and I have been unable to get them on the phone or email since January so I can't get anything clarified.

I just want this settled at this point, 5months is long enough!

OP,i myself was waiting 5 years to finalise my own situation,the award wasnt what would be deemed as "very" substantial,but they will make an offer of a small nature,its isnt always the best

kennM

kilp10 wrote: »

Is this not going through the Personal Injuries board? It would not be recommended to settle directly or sign anything with the insurance company/solicitor acting for the person accepting liability without consulting with someone who speciailises in these kind of cases. It should be going through PIAB in which case this would not be normal I think. And don't settle until you're better or have a definite prognosis, some doctors are good but they are not experts in soft tissue treatment and prognosis. Even the examination by the PIAB appointed doctors should in my opinion, be carried out by a Physio and not a GP as it is just not comprehensive enough.

As a guide, I had an accident in Dec12, claim logged with PIAB via solicitor in early 2013. Early Doctors report said injuries should be resolved in 6-12months. Was reviewed by PIAB Dr in late 2013, said should be resolved in 12-18months. I'm now almost at the 18months and still having serious trouble with my back which is unlikely to resolve fully. Am in the care of a consultant, multiple MRIs, steroid injections etc. It's been released to the court now so it's looking unlikely that this will be closed for another while. But, although I'm a lot of medical expenses down at the moment, it's more important to get better and wait until I have a clearer prognosis before settling.

Good luck but exercise caution here and this kind of thing requires a lot of patience as I have found!

Great advice here.... not sure how it works in northern Ireland but will try and shed some light on factors.

Injuries board FAQ should hopefully clear up the different category of damages - http://www.injuriesboard.ie/eng/FAQs/. Nearing getting my own PI claim sorted, accident was mid 2010

stepinnman

'Special Damages' refers to out of pocket expenses, as opposed to 'general damages' which is compensation for the pain and suffering etc. As you've indicated you have no loss of earnings, and presumably have not included a claim for any other specials such as medication, travel etc., your special damages are recorded as €0. It doesn't sound as though the Board has made an assessment re your injuries yet. They have 9 months to do so from the date of acknowledgement of receipt of your application. Once they make the assessment both you and the Respondent will have set period of time (off the top of my head I think it's 21 and 28 days (could be wrong but something like that)) within which to accept/reject.

If you both accept the matter is at an end. If either of you reject the Board will issue an 'Authorisation' to enable you issue Court proceedings.

If you're solicitor isn't responding and hasn't already advised you of all this you've got a poor Solicitor!

seb65

He's in Northern Ireland. Don't think any advice re PIAB applies.

stepinnman

seb65 wrote: »

He's in Northern Ireland. Don't think any advice re PIAB applies.

OP is in Northern Ireland but hasn't said where the accident occurred or in which jurisdiction it's being processed. The Solucitor being 3 hours away suggests its ROI. Although he has used a £ re special damages (as opposed to €). You might clarify OP.

In any event, the explanation of the difference re generals and specials stands, although I don't know what the Northern Ireland/UK process is re injuries claims - but I do know the awards are significantly less than ROI.

FairytaleGirl

Thanks to stepinnman, that's made so much sense to me!

For the others, accident happened in NI, I'm in coleraine, solicitor based in Newry (this was the solicitor my insurance company forwarded the claim to)

I actually got a letter from my insurance company this morning,

'FairytaleGirl,
Your claim has now been settled and we have made payments totalling £845. For accidental damage'

I assume this was what it cost to have my car fixed after the accident (insurance company took care of it all) Do I need to forward this letter to my solicitor??

This whole process makes me feel stupid, I dont like it one bit!

stepinnman

Your real name is FairyTaleGirl?!

It sounds like it's just the property damage that has been dealt with, which would make sense.

You really should do all you can to contact your solicitor - North or South, it's poor form for your Sol. not to keep you up to speed or respond.

Best of luck with it anyway.

McCrack

I think you should instruct a solicitor of your choice and one that practises personal injury work and not one that an insurance company has nominated.

boardsuser1

Old thread here i know but like the title i am equally confused, was involved in an accident, the other side repaired the vehicle after it was damaged, however, I have an ongoing back injury since,they opted not to go through the injuries board, is this accepting liability or which is it????

Little CuChulainn

KC161 wrote: »

Old thread here i know but like the title i am equally confused, was involved in an accident, the other side repaired the vehicle after it was damaged, however, I have an ongoing back injury since,they opted not to go through the injuries board, is this accepting liability or which is it????

If you have made an application and they have declined to engage then the Injuries Board will give you authorisation to take them to court.

boardsuser1

Little CuChulainn wrote: »

If you have made an application and they have declined to engage then the Injuries Board will give you authorisation to take them to court.

Does that mean admission /denial of liability? Considering the vehicle involved was repaired by them,never heard of it before

Little CuChulainn

KC161 wrote: »

Does that mean admission /denial of liability? Considering the vehicle involved was repaired by them,never heard of it before

It just means they don't want the injuries board to assess the claim. You can't really assume anything as to the motivation. It might be just a solicitor who doesn't like the process or they might be denying liability completely.

boardsuser1

Little CuChulainn wrote: »

It just means they don't want the injuries board to assess the claim. You can't really assume anything as to the motivation. It might be just a solicitor who doesn't like the process or they might be denying liability completely.

Or by them assessing it means it gives a figure they might not like?

kennM

KC161 wrote: »

Old thread here i know but like the title i am equally confused, was involved in an accident, the other side repaired the vehicle after it was damaged, however, I have an ongoing back injury since,they opted not to go through the injuries board, is this accepting liability or which is it????

You can be sure any repairs etc. that have been done "without prejudice"... from my own perspective (motorbike accident), insurance company paid for damages to bike & gear, went through PIAB.... claims handler had verbally indicated to my solicitor that liability wasn't in dispute. When PIAB gave authorisation to proceed to court insurance company produced a full defence and dragged it out till the 11th hour.

Unless you have an admission of liability from the insurance company then they can likely fight it, or attempt to.

boardsuser1

kennM wrote: »

You can be sure any repairs etc. that have been done "without prejudice"... from my own perspective (motorbike accident), insurance company paid for damages to bike & gear, went through PIAB.... claims handler had verbally indicated to my solicitor that liability wasn't in dispute. When PIAB gave authorisation to proceed to court insurance company produced a full defence and dragged it out till the 11th hour.

Unless you have an admission of liability from the insurance company then they can likely fight it, or attempt to.

Feck it anyway,in other words wait until the steps of the court type thing??? I hate this process already