Injured in a neighbour's house - neighbour refusing to engage

[RichInSpirit]

Hi Galway_blow_in.
Perhaps my approach would be less sensible from a financial perspective. I would be inclined to put the injury down to wear and tear due to life's happenings, pay for treatment myself and not claim insurance or money off your friend, regardless of your right to do so.

 

[peteb]

time will tell , if its a strange set up where public liability is excluded , then that would require a rethink

Why would it require a re-think? Either you injured yourself and are seeking compensation or you aren't. You're making it sounds like "well if its a claim under his insurance policy its hurts no-one but if he has to pay himself well i dont like that".

Also don't forget, he's got to be found negligent. You didnt have to assist in the moving of the tank, you voluntarily accepted some level of risk here.

 

[galway_blow_in]

Why would it require a re-think? Either you injured yourself and are seeking compensation or you aren't. You're making it sounds like "well if its a claim under his insurance policy its hurts no-one but if he has to pay himself well i dont like that".

Also don't forget, he's got to be found negligent. You didnt have to assist in the moving of the tank, you voluntarily accepted some level of risk here.

" why would it require a rethink "

because it might be foolish to chase someone through the courts if they had not any money to compensate and i would have spent money bringing them to court ! , my being injured is beside the point in that sense , theoretically someone could end up in a wheelchair due to an accident but if the person responsible had no proper insurance , they would be left financially in the lurch but their injuries would remain the same regardless , common sense would tell someone that a form of redress through insurance would be less painful , someones insurance going up 500 euro over a few years is less of a hit than paying out several thousand out of your own pocket , its about making a balanced decision , vast majority of people in this scenario would be covered for a guest getting injured so for now im dealing with this as a normal claim through insurance , if it turns out this guy isnt insured , i have to consider the risk reward of a civil action as i might only get a pyrrhic victory which is the point of this thread , getting a charge on the mans house is not something i would want as i myself would not be any better off

i believe its presumptuous of you to conclude i accepted some level of risk , i was not to know that a foreign body was beneath the tank and the owner shrieked " oh i forgot about the blocks " once one rolled out and on to my foot , would be like saying someone who helped you paint a room took on risk due to having gotten an electric shock from exposed electric wires hanging from the ceiling , the only risk i took on was if the tank had landed on top of me but that didnt happen and the tank was empty , had i grabbed a half full tank and it fell or i hurt my back lifting it , that would be entirely different

i was asked to help remove a tank from a shelf , not a tank with a block lying underneath !

 

[peteb]

How is injuring your back from lifting the tank anyway different? The inherent risk of injury remains the same.

You can believe its presumptuous of me if you like. but on a 4 foot shelf how would you not notice the tank was raised? ?

 

[galway_blow_in]

Hi Galway_blow_in.
Perhaps my approach would be less sensible from a financial perspective. I would be inclined to put the injury down to wear and tear due to life's happenings, pay for treatment myself and not claim insurance or money off your friend, regardless of your right to do so.

i appreciate your view , perhaps i will be as philosophical about such things some day , for now however i have to anticipate potential earnings loss and medical expense , not to mention manage each day in constant pain , some people end up with what is known as " chronic pain " in the event of injury , even a fracture or a bruise eventually heals fully , the pain hangs around , its a sort of irrational pain where the nerve system is over active , you cannot be diagnosed with chronic pain until six months after an injury had healed , there is an entire wing of medicine which deals with this , they are known as pain specialists

 

[galway_blow_in]

How is injuring your back from lifting the tank anyway different? The inherent risk of injury remains the same.

You can believe its presumptuous of me if you like. but on a 4 foot shelf how would you not notice the tank was raised? ?

are you a practicing solicitor ?

if you are , does that kind of obtuse line of questioning prove successful ?

 

[Cervelo]

Personally Gbi I think you should make a claim against you neighbour not necessarily for compensation but for the ongoing medical costs to you because of the injury you sustained while helping him.
Compensation can be addressed later if needs be but your medical bills, which could be expensive will be an ongoing cost to you, why should you have to pay for that!

 

[galway_blow_in]

Personally Gbi I think you should make a claim against you neighbour not necessarily for compensation but for the ongoing medical costs to you because of the injury you sustained while helping him.
Compensation can be addressed later if needs be but your medical bills, which could be expensive will be an ongoing cost to you, why should you have to pay for that!

thank you

the reason i first contacted this man ( he lives about three miles away ) was because i was unsure of how this injury would develop , the man himself contacted me about two hours after the injury , i then rang him ten days later having had an xray but with the pain becoming steadily worse , the conversation was entirely civil ten days later , i told him the pain was getting worse and asked in a discreet way if he had cover , he said he would call me back in an hour and when he duly did , he informed he me had no insurance , i asked did he even have house insurance and he replied that he did but that this kind if thing would not be covered

i called him three weeks later and informed him i was waiting on an MRI but that the pain was worse than ever , his tone was altogether different , he dismissed my claims of being in pain and when i explained i was already out quite a bit of money , he agressively replied that he would pay me out of his own f*****g pocket if it shut me up , he then hung up , i then knew this could not be dealt with in a friendly manner so contacted my solicitor who informed me i would need to write to him to inform him of the need to notify his insurance in the event a claim might need to be made , upon receiving the letter , he contacted me by phone to berate me for having the audacity to send him a solicitors letter , he also informed me that there was nothing wrong with me , to which i replied that he was not a doctor and that i was facing a year long recovery potentially , he then hung up so thats where i am , no good will whatsoever on the part of the other individual despite there negligence having ruined my families summer , a kid on the way in october and an entire summer of air BnB cancelled due to my not being able to run around getting rooms ready for guests , not to mention my not being able to go to work many days due to the pain

no laughing matter and i never even got an apology so i might be forgiven for not taking a " turn the other cheek " approach

 

[staff]

I wouldn't be a big fan of PI claims as I do believe that there are a lot of chancers out there who just up the cost of everyone else's home and motor insurance. Taking your posts at face value I would have no problem pursuing this as based on what you have said you are no doubt in a lot of constant pain and this could go on for who knows how long or how bad it will get. As you said your summer has been ruined, you have lost income etc so by all means go for it. Make sure you have a solicitor who knows what he is talking about.

Best of Luck with it.

 

[galway_blow_in]

I wouldn't be a big fan of PI claims as I do believe that there are a lot of chancers out there who just up the cost of everyone else's home and motor insurance. Taking your posts at face value I would have no problem pursuing this as based on what you have said you are no doubt in a lot of constant pain and this could go on for who knows how long or how bad it will get. As you said your summer has been ruined, you have lost income etc so by all means go for it. Make sure you have a solicitor who knows what he is talking about.

Best of Luck with it.

thanks , according to my solicitor if the other side are agreeable , the matter will be dealt with by the injuries board , according to him they will either agree to pay a sum of say 15 k or pay nothing at all , the solicitor will be getting 3 k and that was with me haggling but if i get nothing , there will be no fee , by the time i pay the solicitor and cover my own expenses , i will have very little out of it

i dont believe i should take a financial hit over this , i would happily reimburse the other party what they were out in increased premium but they are being extremely unhelpful so far

 

[Bronte]

You'd be entitled to loss of income on the air B&B too if you make a claim. It's highly unlikely your neighbour does not have public liability. Unless he's carrying on some kind of trade that is not insured.

If you get more than 15K does the solicitor get more than 3K? Make sure you get a section 68 letter from the solicitor.

 

[Easeler]

Personally i wouldn't do it as good friends and neighbours can be a scarce commodity it Might be too late for OP to pull back now as he has all ready started proseedings and has threatened to sue and said friends and neighbours wouldn't trust him again he might as well go for it and get his compensation that he feels he is intitled to.

 

[galway_blow_in]

You'd be entitled to loss of income on the air B&B too if you make a claim. It's highly unlikely your neighbour does not have public liability. Unless he's carrying on some kind of trade that is not insured.

If you get more than 15K does the solicitor get more than 3K? Make sure you get a section 68 letter from the solicitor.

no the solicitor gets 3 k ( 3100 actually ) regardless but he seems to think 15 k or nothing is about what to expect if things went smoothly through a regular injuries board settlement

 

[galway_blow_in]

Personally i wouldn't do it as good friends and neighbours can be a scarce commodity it Might be too late for OP to pull back now as he has all ready started proseedings and has threatened to sue and said friends and neighbours wouldn't trust him again he might as well go for it and get his compensation that he feels he is intitled to.

oh dont worry , if i get nothing , this person will still have gone down like a lead balloon in my estimation so that kind of reasoning can work both ways , i believe in stepping up if you mess up and someone else suffers , he obviously prefers to shirk any responsibility or worse still , portray himself as the wronged one , people can rationalize almost anything

 

[T McGibney]

he obviously prefers to shirk any responsibility or worse still , portray himself as the wronged one , people can rationalize almost anything

This is your biggest hurdle, and if you go to court you'll get plenty of law but you mightn't get much justice. Prepare for your "I was borrowing something" narrative to be twisted beyond recognition and for your character and reputation to be dragged through the dirt.

 

[galway_blow_in]

This is your biggest hurdle, and if you go to court you'll get plenty of law but you mightn't get much justice. Prepare for your "I was borrowing something" narrative to be twisted beyond recognition and for your character and reputation to be dragged through the dirt.

I don't see how my character and reputation would be sullied by that revelation

Sure a solicitor would probably play that card but it's hardly a smoking gun in terms of a. Ruling

 

[T McGibney]

I don't see how my character and reputation would be sullied by that revelation

I didn't refer to a revelation. You said yourself that your neighbour may portray himself as the wronged one, and rationalize almost anything.

Just make sure you're sufficiently armed for that.

 

[Susie2017]

I know its not the forum for medical advice but a bone bruise should be healing or nearly there at this stage. You are unlikely to suffer arthritis unless there was a joint injury. Have you been elevating the leg for long periods to reduce swelling. You didnt elaborate on what the MRI showed. If there was no fracture then you are likely to be well again very soon. You are lucky that you did not suffer serious injury. Be thankful for that rather that focussing on what worse things may have occurred - they didnt. Anyway for what its worth I think having a good neighbour that you can drop in to borrow something and have a friendship is a valuable thing in life. Try to keep your relationship intact if you can. You never know when you might need him. He is probably suffering just as much as you if not more ! I can guarantee you he has had a few sleepless nights particularly getting a solicitors letter. I have noticed over the years that people who make disproportionate insurance claims may end up sick or have some tragedy unfold in their life that cannot be fixed by money. Just an observation. Money wont fix your foot. Solicitors will of course advise that you need compensation but then again they are taking a nice slice for themselves. You can claim 20% of your medical expenses back through the Med 1 form. I hope that your foot gets better soon and that you can get on with your life.

 

[peteb]

are you a practicing solicitor ?

if you are , does that kind of obtuse line of questioning prove successful ?

No I'm not. Are you?
You've hired a solicitor so why bother with the musings of some random people online when you are already have professionals engaged and only want to hear what you want to hear?

 

[Monbretia]

You can go to the injuries board without any solicitor so why pay one if you don't need to. Time enough if you decide to follow on and go to court.