Concealed Compensation

rooster00

When I was a child, roughly 3/4 years of age I was in creche and was involved in an accident which slightly disfigured the nail on one of my fingers for life. Its not something that deeply troubles me or I ever think about.

I remember a few years back my mother telling me that she tried to sue the creche as the accident was due to negligence on the part of the child worker who stood on my hand. She told me that the case fell through due to my solicitors office being liquidated. Being an unassuming teenager I believed her story and never questioned it.

Now I have recently found out that the solicitors office had in fact never been liquidated and my mother successfully sued the creche for a sum of around £1300 (Irish pound at the time). She won this claim in my name and went on to spend the money without my knowledge and has hidden this from me for the past twenty years.

I was wondering if there is anyway I could go about accessing files from the case and eventually would I have any right to bring my mother to court for the money which was won in my name and she then stole.

Really Interested

rooster00 wrote: »

her storyWhen I was a child, roughly 3/4 years of age I was in creche and was involved in an accident which slightly disfigured the nail on one of my fingers for life. Its not something that deeply troubles me or I ever think about.

I remember a few years back my mother telling me that she tried to sue the creche as the accident was due to negligence on the part of the child worker who stood on my hand. She told me that the case fell through due to my solicitors office being liquidated. Being an unassuming teenager I believed her story and never questioned it.

Now I have recently found out that the solicitors office had in fact never been liquidated and my mother successfully sued the creche for a sum of around £1300 (Irish pound at the time). She won this claim in my name and went on to spend the money without my knowledge and has hidden this from me for the past twenty years.

I was wondering if there is anyway I could go about accessing files from the case and eventually would I have any right to bring my mother to court for the money which was won in my name and she then stole.

What age are you?

Any case taken in a infants name the money has to be lodged to the Courts service till the infant turns 18. While payments may be possible they have to be approved by court.

rooster00

Really Interested wrote: »

What age are you?

Any case taken in a infants name the money has to be lodged to the Courts service till the infant turns 18. While payments may be possible they have to be approved by court.

I'm 24 now, she told me about this several years ago. I would've been about 18/19 at the time. It seems she fabricated her story and kept the money for herself rather than give it to me.

racso1975

OK in the first instance I assume you have no relationship with your mother if this is something you are considering? Cause it would be safe to say there won't be one after it.

I would also assume you'd have to see what way the award was made. Given your age at the time it could have been made to your mother on your behalf. She could argue that the money was spent on you at the time. Unless the award was made to be put in trust for you till the age of 18 or to carry out cosmetic surgery I think you'll find it hard to prove.

Really Interested

rooster00 wrote: »

I'm 24 now, she told me brought this up several years ago. I would've been about 18/19 at the time.

You could try and ask the accountants office what happened.

If the money was not payed in then up until age 20 you could have issued your own proceedings. It is also possible that the money was legally paid out for your benifit while still a child.

http://www.courts.ie/offices.nsf/0/AA9C020002F1116A802573CB00621EAE?OpenDocument

Really Interested

racso1975 wrote: »

OK in the first instance I assume you have no relationship with your mother if this is something you are considering? Cause it would be safe to say there won't be one after it.

I would also assume you'd have to see what way the award was made. Given your age at the time it could have been made to your mother on your behalf. She could argue that the money was spent on you at the time. Unless the award was made to be put in trust for you till the age of 18 or to carry out cosmetic surgery I think you'll find it hard to prove.

An award to a child can not legally be paid to a parent, a judge must approve the amount and then the order is to lodge the money to the Courts accountant. If that did not happen then up to age 20 the infant could have issued his own proceeding and got a payment even if a earlier award had been made but not agreed by a judge.

endacl

rooster00 wrote: »

I have and it doesn't bother me. I can easily prove she kept it due to the fact it was never placed in any financial institution under my name. How does she prove that she gave it to me?

How would you respond to: "But I did give it to him. I handed him the cash on his 18th birthday"?

rooster00

racso1975 wrote: »

OK in the first instance I assume you have no relationship with your mother if this is something you are considering? Cause it would be safe to say there won't be one after it.

I would also assume you'd have to see what way the award was made. Given your age at the time it could have been made to your mother on your behalf. She could argue that the money was spent on you at the time. Unless the award was made to be put in trust for you till the age of 18 or to carry out cosmetic surgery I think you'll find it hard to prove.

Your assumption is correct, I won't go into details but my relationship with my mother is beyond repair.

I'm not entirely sure how it was awarded that is why I'm looking for help in how I would access the case files. As the accident happened to and impacts on me, should any reward not be of the benefit of me at my own discretion?

Thank you for your reply.

rooster00

Really Interested wrote: »

You could try and ask the accountants office what happened.

If the money was not payed in then up until age 20 you could have issued your own proceedings. It is also possible that the money was legally paid out for your benifit while still a child.

http://www.courts.ie/offices.nsf/0/AA9C020002F1116A802573CB00621EAE?OpenDocument

Thank you for your reply and the link, I'll look into that. Much appreciate it.

Really Interested

endacl wrote: »

How would you respond to: "But I did give it to him. I handed him the cash on his 18th birthday"?

Again not possible if compensation paid through a solicitor then it must be ruled by a judge and on turning 18 the money is paid to the child.

If anything else happened other than lawful payments made for the benifit of the child then the solicitor could be in trouble.

rooster00

Really Interested wrote: »

An award to a child can not legally be paid to a parent, a judge must approve the amount and then the order is to lodge the money to the Courts accountant. If that did not happen then up to age 20 the infant could have issued his own proceeding and got a payment even if a earlier award had been made but not agreed by a judge.

So does that mean an award was made and my mother could not have possibly accessed the funds?

I'm slightly confused by your reply.

rooster00

endacl wrote: »

How would you respond to: "But I did give it to him. I handed him the cash on his 18th birthday"?

I'd simply respond by stating that she didn't and if she did, then she'd have record of withdrawing such funds around the time of my 18th birthday. She hardly left £1300 under her mattress, besides by the time I turned 18 Ireland was using Euro, when the award was made it was using Pounds.

rooster00

Really Interested wrote: »

Again not possible if compensation paid through a solicitor then it must be ruled by a judge and on turning 18 the money is paid to the child.

If anything else happened other than lawful payments made for the benifit of the child then the solicitor could be in trouble.

So you reckon if my mother did receive the money from the award then it was due to dodgy solicitors work?

She has a friend who works in the legal field, I know what solicitor she used, but I'm unaware if her friend worked at that office at the time.

Really Interested

rooster00 wrote: »

So does that mean an award was made and my mother could not have possibly accessed the funds?

I'm slightly confused by your reply.

Legally in any case involving a infant (that is anyone under 18) then once the matter is settled then a application must be made to a judge, the judge if he approves the settlement makes an order that the money is paid to the Courts service till the infant turns 18.

While it is possible to pay money out such payments must be approved by a judge for example say a child wanted a computer for study then the judge may agree that the solicitor can get the funds from the Courts service but usually a receipt must be provided.

The only way anyone could access the finds is either never to have got the judges approval (then the solicitors have question to answer) or if there is a valid reason to ask a judge to pay out money for the benifit of the child which may be education or health related.

Really Interested

rooster00 wrote: »

So you reckon if my mother did receive the money from the award then it was due to dodgy solicitors work?

She has a friend who works in the legal field, I know what solicitor she used, but I'm unaware if her friend worked at that office at the time.

I have simply set out the law on this issue and given you the contact details for the Courts accountant. You may be able to find out exactly what happened which may very well be legit but at least you will know.

rooster00

Really Interested wrote: »

Legally in any case involving a infant (that is anyone under 18) then once the matter is settled then a application must be made to a judge, the judge if he approves the settlement makes an order that the money is paid to the Courts service till the infant turns 18.

While it is possible to pay money out such payments must be approved by a judge for example say a child wanted a computer for study then the judge may agree that the solicitor can get the funds from the Courts service but usually a receipt must be provided.

The only way anyone could access the finds is either never to have got the judges approval (then the solicitors have question to answer) or if there is a valid reason to ask a judge to pay out money for the benifit of the child which may be education or health related.

Oh right, thanks for clearing that up I understand now. So therefore if my mother received the money it was due to her providing evidence that the money was needed for my benefit or else it was due to a dodgy solicitor accessing the funds for her.

On a side note, I'm not 100% sure if the case ever went to court. There is a chance my mother could've settled outside of court and gained access to the funds that way. What would be my legal position in such a scenario?

Really Interested

rooster00 wrote: »

Oh right, thanks for clearing that up I understand now. So therefore if my mother received the money it was due to her providing evidence that the money was needed for my benefit or else it was due to a dodgy solicitor accessing the funds for her.

On a side note, I'm not 100% sure if the case ever went to court. There is a chance my mother could've settled outside of court and gained access to the funds that way. What would be my legal position in such a scenario?

If that happened then 2 options if you had been less than 20 now you could issue a case against the defendant the other option if a solicitor was involved is a complaint to law society and maybe a claim against the solicitor.

hullaballoo

Moderator: if you do not have a legal point to make, please do not post.

Numerous posts deleted.

rooster00

Really Interested wrote: »

If that happened then 2 options if you had been less than 20 now you could issue a case against the defendant the other option if a solicitor was involved is a complaint to law society and maybe a claim against the solicitor.

Okay, thank you for your help. Its much appreciated. I will get in touch with the Courts Accountants, etc.

Once again thanks.

Sue Pa Key Pa

Is it possible that the crèche or their insurers settled out of court? In those circumstances, it would have been possible for your mother to access the funds without needing authorisation

Really Interested

Sue Pa Key Pa wrote: »

Is it possible that the crèche or their insurers settled out of court? In those circumstances, it would have been possible for your mother to access the funds without needing authorisation

There was a solicitor involved such action would be very wrong as all settlements involving minors must be ruled by a judge.

If such a thing happens then the minor on turning 18 could do all of the following, issue proceedings against the defendant as if no settlement paid, complain the solicitor, issue proceedings against the parent, issue proceedings against the solicitor.

PIAB offers must be ruled, out of court settlements must be ruled and of course if a judge makes an award he will order that be paid into Courts office.

4ensic15

The incident happened long before PIAB. It is entirely possible the mother was given cash by the creche to abandon the claim without the solicitors knowing about it.

Really Interested

4ensic15 wrote: »

The incident happened long before PIAB. It is entirely possible the mother was given cash by the creche to abandon the claim without the solicitors knowing about it.

It is possible, but if that happened the Crèche could be sued at any time after paying the money as the infant could have issued proceedings at anytime up until age 20 and the Crèche would have had to pay out twice.

0ph0rce0

Surely the time and effort to get all this information plus the cost of bringing her to court to try and get 1300 quid out of her isn't worth all the hassle.

Move on man. You'll end up paying more than you'll get.

Really Interested

0ph0rce0 wrote: »

Surely the time and effort to get all this information plus the cost of bringing her to court to try and get 1300 quid out of her isn't worth all the hassle.

Move on man. You'll end up paying more than you'll get.

It will take a call to the accountants office, and it may put the persons mind to rest in that everything may have been above board.

0ph0rce0

Really Interested wrote: »

It will take a call to the accountants office, and it may put the persons mind to rest in that everything may have been above board.

He doesn't want it to be above board. He wants money otherwise he'd have said "I just want to know the truth" but he has said that he would bring her to court to get it back.

If it's not above board its anywhere up to and over a grand for a solicitor.

If it was 50k or something then fair enough but pointless perusing this.

thomas 123

0ph0rce0 wrote: »

Surely the time and effort to get all this information plus the cost of bringing her to court to try and get 1300 quid out of her isn't worth all the hassle.

Move on man. You'll end up paying more than you'll get.

Have to agree , it will cost much more to get to the bottom of this than you could ever hope to get.

Hope you and your mum sort stuff out eventually. I know the feeling.