Injuries Board

Primrose Lane

today i was in with my solicitor who instructed me to decline my offer from the personal injuries board, the offer was fr €24k but after the consultants and solicitors take their fees from it I was left with €17k (i might add that this was not made clear to me at the start of this process).

so following my solicitors instruction i have now rejected my offer and he is now gtn a case prepared for the circuit court, which he advises will not go that far as the third party will not want it to go that far.

he has estimated that my case will be settled now within 6 months and that will all expenses paid will get approximately €30k (take home),

can anyone share with me their experience, the length of time it took & if in the long run it was worth their while to decline the first offer?

chops018

The Solicitor can only advise you and take your instructions.

If you want to accept this offer then tell them and they will have to act on your instructions.

But, if you do, then I'm afraid all necessary fees and outlays will have to be discharged. There is no getting away from this.

You will received a breakdown of all the outlays and of the work done. You can even ask for one now on work done thus far.

Primrose Lane

this all started a year ago and i've literally seen my solicitor for the 2nd time today - his costs so far are just shy of €3800,

i have rejected the offer following his advice, my question is - what sort of timescale will i be looking at now to get this issue resolved?

chops018

I'm not sure. Personal Injury cases can take anywhere from 6 months to 3 years. It depends on each case.

Get another meeting with your solicitor and voice these concerns, as I said they will be able to outline all work done on your file etc.

Primrose Lane

thanks chops018

goz83

Without knowing the work involved, it's difficult to say if the solicitors fees seem excessive. Is it on a no-win-no-fee? When you accept the services of a solicitor in a personal injury claim, you normally sign an agreement, which sets out the fees. I had a PI claim in 2011 and the solicitor fee was €1000 plus vat no-win-no-fee. The claim from start to finish was 2 years and was a road traffic accident. I visited my solicitor maybe 4, or 5 times, a couple of times, just to drop in reports, or receipts. He was not instructed to pay outstanding bills, so these were paid by me, out of the settlement. Solicitor fees are not included in compensation.

Normal fees are between €1000-1,500 according to the agreement I signed with my solicitor. If the case goes to court, a new agreement is put in place and the solicitor gets paid more.

The question to ask, is not what you get, but, do you feel that the take home money is fair compensation for your injury?

I took home around €14k for my whiplash injury. My solicitor said it was not exactly generous, but I was satisfied and felt it was fair, even though I know I could have got more if I went to court.

Remember, it is possible you could end up with less compensation and higher bills if it did go the whole way. That's why it is prudent to ask yourself if the offer on the table is fair. If it is not fair, then by all means, go after the compensation you are looking for.

Nidgeweasel

What's the injury in generic terms and on what basis have you retained the solicitor?

griffin100

Your solicitor cannot instruct you to decline the offer. He/she can only advise on the merits of the offer. The decision is entirely yours. If you decline the offer and go down the court route this can take years - IME it depends on the complexity of the claim, how quick the solicitors are at writing to each other, the attitude of the defendents to the claim, etc. Your solicitor telling you exactly how long the case will last and how much you will get is pie in the sky.

_Brian

Primrose Lane wrote: »

this all started a year ago and i've literally seen my solicitor for the 2nd time today - his costs so far are just shy of €3800,

i have rejected the offer following his advice, my question is - what sort of timescale will i be looking at now to get this issue resolved?

Following an accident in 2009 my PI claim is still not settled. PIAB declined to make a settlement on my case so it's court bound at some stage.

kult

In future always go for solicitors no win no fee... I would accept the offer of 17k, because court process can drag forever... went through that few times

goz83

kult wrote: »

In future always go for solicitors no win no fee... I would accept the offer of 17k, because court process can drag forever... went through that few times

I would agree with the first part, assuming the solicitor is a good one. I wouldn't just pick any solicitor.

You can't just say you would accept 17k without knowing anything about the OPs case. The 24k may not have been high enough to begin with. We only know that there is an injury, an offer and what would appear to be high solicitor fees.

OP, before you go any further, I would sit down with your solicitor and discuss the fee as it stands. I can't see how the bill would be so high if, as you say you only had contact twice. You are also entitled to dispute the fees and have them independently assessed if after you get a breakdown of charges, you are not satisfied. If you are unhappy with your solicitor and you wish to take your PI case to court, then you would have to settle the current bill with your solicitor and find another. Good luck with it all.

McCrack

Its not an offer but an assessment by the Injuries Board. People get a better or fairer result in the court process than the Injuries Board.

I do think that solicitor fee is on the high side. It seems to be a little over 3k plus VAT. The usual range would be 1500 to 2500 plus VAT. I'd ask for it to discounted considering you're now going the court route and your solicitor will recover fees on a party/party basis.

kult

I went through the injury board 6 x , 3 x went to court which took me 3-4 years in one case and did not get that much. I would accept fair offer but I would not go to court and wait 3 years for extra 5-10k... Rather have cash now...

goz83

kult wrote: »

I went through the injury board 6 x , 3 x went to court which took me 3-4 years in one case and did not get that much. I would accept fair offer but I would not go to court and wait 3 years for extra 5-10k... Rather have cash now...

6 times? What do you drive? I will steer clear of you :pac:;)

kult

Just had accidents due to other people negligence, that's all. Never had a car crash.

goz83

kult wrote: »

Just had accidents due to other people negligence, that's all. Never had a car crash.

I have had 3. One as a pedestrian when i was 15, was run over by a careless driver not even looking where she was going. The other one two and a half years ago, was rear ended while stopped at lights and the most recent was 2 months ago, again rear ended when my car had stopped. Driver behind me was young and inexperienced and could have had better tyres tbh. :mad:

Primrose Lane

my accident was as a result of a load falling of the back of a lorry passing on the opposite side of the road, they called it 'Final Destination' round here for a bit.

The solictor has advised me that my case will be resolved in a maximum 6 mths, said because the other party have accepted liability that they won't want it to go to court and will try there utmost to get it resolved sooner rather than later. he was very confident in what he told me and even told me about another case where injuries was something similar and it was resolved within about 4 months of declining the inital offer

goz83

Primrose Lane wrote: »

my accident was as a result of a load falling of the back of a lorry passing on the opposite side of the road, they called it 'Final Destination' round here for a bit.

The solictor has advised me that my case will be resolved in a maximum 6 mths, said because the other party have accepted liability that they won't want it to go to court and will try there utmost to get it resolved sooner rather than later. he was very confident in what he told me and even told me about another case where injuries was something similar and it was resolved within about 4 months of declining the inital offer

If your solicitor can guarantee that it takes no longer than 6 months, get him to out it in writing and to waive his fee if he is wrong. Better still, give him a year. I smell higher fees and naivety.

Valentine1

Primrose Lane wrote: »

my accident was as a result of a load falling of the back of a lorry passing on the opposite side of the road, they called it 'Final Destination' round here for a bit.

The solictor has advised me that my case will be resolved in a maximum 6 mths, said because the other party have accepted liability that they won't want it to go to court and will try there utmost to get it resolved sooner rather than later. he was very confident in what he told me and even told me about another case where injuries was something similar and it was resolved within about 4 months of declining the inital offer

Once a party has accepted liability the court case is only about assessing damages/compensation, phone your solicitor and ask him to explain to you why he thinks the Recommendation of the injuries board (which is not an offer by the way) is too low. he should be happy to do so and shouldn't charge you for it.

goz83 wrote: »

If your solicitor can guarantee that it takes no longer than 6 months, get him to out it in writing and to waive his fee if he is wrong. Better still, give him a year. I smell higher fees and naivety.

Total rubbish.

goz83

goz83 wrote: »

If your solicitor can guarantee that it takes no longer than 6 months, get him to out it in writing and to waive his fee if he is wrong. Better still, give him a year. I smell higher fees and naivety.

Valentine1 wrote: »

Total rubbish.

I see someone needs lessons in the art of sarcasm :rolleyes:

Valentine1

goz83 wrote: »

I see someone needs lessons in the art of sarcasm :rolleyes:

Someone needs to remember that sarcasm doesn't lend itself to the written word.:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

goz83

Valentine1 wrote: »

Someone needs to remember that sarcasm doesn't lend itself to the written word.:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

Not for those with no sense of humour anyway. :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

Sunnyisland

_Brian wrote: »

Following an accident in 2009 my PI claim is still not settled. PIAB declined to make a settlement on my case so it's court bound at some stage.

This has happened my brother to, how long does it usually take and does that mean he will get more in compensation ? Accident happened in 2012 August .

kennM

realies wrote: »

This has happened my brother to, how long does it usually take and does that mean he will get more in compensation ? Accident happened in 2012 August .

Mine only sorted recently... accident was mid 2010. From the time papers submitted to high court till trial date was circa 6 months. Hope this helps.