Hints and Tips : What you don’t learn at Law School • In a car accident get the registration numbers of the cars behind before they drive off, (better still get their names and addresses) Why? This is because
after the initial accident witnesses don’t
want to • Watch
who actually gets out of the driver’s
seat from the car Why? If the driver has been drinking they may say someone else was driving and alcohol is almost a dead cert for liability. • If
you have an injury make sure it is recorded at A & E
or your GP. Why? Insurance companies are likely to have access to your medical records at a later date and will argue that if you do not seek medical advice you weren’t injured or are no longer suffering. A & E notes are seen as an independent and accurate account of what happened in the accident. Even if wrong hospital records and GP notes are difficult to overcome
The other side’s insurers will go through them with a fine-tooth comb. • Keep a record of all expenses caused by the accident such as prescriptions, mileage to hospitals/GP, parking by you and any hospital visitors. If you can keep any paperwork to prove it Why? So that you can claim it back but you need details and preferably documentation to back it up. • Keep a record of the time i.e. number of hours that you receive assistance given by friends and close family on an unpaid basis either for care, housework/DIY/gardening Why?
You can claim it at a going rate of about £50.00 per week
or even • If you are
injured at work or in a shop make sure it is accurately recorded in
the accident book. Record in the accident book that Why? The other side’s insurance company will claim that it never
happened or wasn’t serious if it is not in the accident book. • If you trip
or slip in a shop get the names and addresses of witnesses before they
disappear and make sure you remember Why? Shops always deny that there was anything to slip on because the assistant manager and staff fear their jobs are on the line. • If you trip
on a pavement photograph and measure it as soon as possible and take
someone with you as a witness. Why? After taking no notice of the defect for months if you report an
accident to the council they immediately go out and repair it. This wipes
out your evidence. You need to prove how deep it was and what made it
dangerous. You need evidence of its dimensions. • Your partner (who is a named driver) crashes your car with you as a passenger you can sue (even though the insurance for the car is in your name and you are suing your own insurance company.) Why? You are covered when you are a passenger even though the insurance is in your own name. A surprising number of husbands and wives crash the car with the other as a passenger. They and all the children can pursue a claim against the driver. You lose the no claims bonus but the damages more than off-set this and the damage to the vehicle claim if comprehensive means that this would have been lost anyway. • If you have your own legal expense insurance (either through your car insurance or contents insurance) you do not have to use their solicitors. You have a statutory right to your own choice of solicitors Under the Insurance Companies (Legal Expense Insurance) Regulations 1996 which implements a European Community directive that you have the right to your own choice of solicitor when proceedings are brought. The Legal Expense Insurers do not publicise and you are usually directed to one of their panel solicitors. There are advantages to the insurers in you utilising their panel solicitors. Such firms may put the interests of the insurers before your own as they are dependant upon them for business. The companies frequently have special arrangements with such firms to do the work cheaply and to minimise claims against the insurers. This frequently means lack-lustre low grade staff dealing with your claim on the cheapest basis possible and this is reflected in damages recovered. We deal with many transfers from other solicitors, the majority of which are dissatisfied clients of legal expense insurance solicitors from “up-country” who are doing a poor job. Their clients have difficulty contacting or communicating with them and need decent experienced solicitors to sort out their case. We have taken over cases and won substantial damages in cases which have been rejected by legal expenses insurance solicitors or where clients have been recommended to accept poor settlements. • If you trip,
slip or injure yourself at work there are so many work regulations
that in most cases some liability will attach to the employers. In
some cases the employers would prefer that you Why? If you are absent and make a claim your loss of wages are paid by the insurance company rather than the company and they do not actually lose any kind of no claims bonus. It is to their financial advantage. Things you shouldn’t do: • If you get assaulted and want to make a claim don’t have a criminal record, don’t do anything that could be construed as provocation such as swearing, getting into an argument or agree to a fight (even if the attacker then uses a weapon). Why? The Criminal Injury Compensation Scheme regulations require previous
conduct, provocation and criminal record to be taken into account and
only award compensation to those deserving of an award. • If you have a whiplash injury do not wear an orthopaedic collar to the doctors or solicitors. Why? The latest guidelines suggest that most neck injuries should not be immobilised as this makes recovery more difficult and prolonged. Collars are only likely to be prescribed in cases of neck fractures. The other reason is that patient wearing a collar when this has not been prescribed is usually seen as a malingerer exaggerating their symptoms by doctors and everyone else involved in the process. • If you have a back injury do not go to bed to rest it for a week? Why? Unless you have a spinal fracture the usual advice is to try and gently mobilise the back otherwise the back will stiffen up and get worse and worse. However you must follow your doctor’s advice and this does not mean you should do heavy lifting or strenuous activity. • Don’t exaggerate your claim or lie about even a small part of it. Why? The Domino Theory. If the Judge or the Defendant or their insurance company catch you out about one small thing they will not believe anything you say about all other parts. The danger is that someone with a good case tells one small lie and loses the majority of his claim. • Do not expect
anyone to believe that you were just about to earn lots of money in
a business that you were about to set up unless you had done something
concrete about setting it up. • Don’t think you can con the examining doctor into thinking your injuries are worse than they really are. Why? Medico-Legal Experts/Orthopaedic Consultants are experienced in the system and know that some people try and fool them. They know that their opinion has to be able to withstand being challenged in court. They have the experience of the injuries. You are likely to be discreetly watched entering the examination room and undressing for discrepancies with what you say and is found upon examination. There are sophisticated tests such as “Waddells Tests” to detect restricted movements and unusual pain patterns. • Don’t get caught by video surveillance doing something you have said you cannot do. Why? Insurance Companies and their solicitors arrange for enquiry agents and detectives to follow accident victims and video them performing tasks and moving freely. A favourite place is when leaving a Defendant’s medical examination but also when leaving home or work and when shopping. A picture is worth a thousand words and such a video can scupper a claim in court. • Don’t use Claims Management Companies or Solicitors advertising on daytime TV. Why? This is because they usually just sell your case on to someone. Its only when you fully go into the detail of the arrangements that you find out that they are not in it for you. High charge-out rates, high credit rates, expensive insurance policies, too quick under-settlements inexperienced staff with no local knowledge of doctors and the courts mean that you end up with deductions from low settlement . • Don’t
think that Judges/Solicitors/Defendants Why? They do the job day in day out and have seen it all before. • Fail to check with decent experienced solicitors whether you have a claim. Why? Unless you are familiar with the system you are unlikely to be able to say whether someone has a good claim. Everyone has an opinion, many of which are inaccurate or based upon sensationalist press reports. The line between having a claim and not is often very thin! • Don’t believe what people say about how much your claim may be worth. The headlines in the press are only for the unusual and exceptional. They usually include loss of earnings of high earners and you never hear about the appeal. Most people think awards are like those in America. Until final detailed medical reports are available no one can accurately predict what figure an injury might be worth as it mostly depends upon the length of recovery. • Don’t spend or commit your damages until they are in your hand. Why? It can take ages to get damages out of the court system even after
an award and the sanctions against the insurance companies are not very
effective. • Don’t make the wrong impression to the judge in court. Why? It shouldn’t matter but it probably does. Don’t snigger, laugh or sneer at the other side giving evidence as it goes down terribly badly. Do dress sensibly to avoid stereotypes. The one time you don’t necessarily want to wear street clothes is your day in court. |