Personal Injury Compensation - how much?

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zippitydooda

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Hi everyone,

I've been dealing with an insurance company for 2 years now relating to genuine injuries from a car accident. They have asked me to think about how much I would want from them to settle the case.

How do you go about getting to a figure? I feel greedy just thinking about it but I understand that compensation for a lifelong injury is what its all about.

I asked if I looked at the Book of Quantum for each injury and added them up would that be OK - and they said no - that I should come up with a lump sum.

I'm not sure where to go/who to talk to to get a good figure in mind. I could leave it to PIAB to determine but they are pushing me to settle before that.

Any advice?
 
You should think about talking to a solicitor who specialises in this kind of thing.
 
Would they entertain me even if they knew there wasn't money in it for them?

Any recommendations on a solicitor? (Meath area) - PM me...
 
Would you not consider paying the solicitor for advice? Sorry, no recommendations.
 
I would second getting some professional advise or else you will probably end up settling on a lower amount. You'll obviously have to pay for it but they are professionals at assessing exacting what the impact will be on you for the long term and there may be future expenses and problems you haven;t considered. You should talk to a solicitor or an insurance adjuster (I think thats what they are called).

I will PM you a number for the latter, but I don't know if he can do personal claims. He should be able to point you in the right direction.
 
I had an accident a few years ago,when i went to solicitor he asked me to sign something like a mandate were he gets a certain % of my award after it gets to court & if it goes over a certain amount then the % goes up further.I signed it but read in a news paper article a few months ago that this pratice was not allowed,i contacted the law society.A lady whom i spoke to on the phone told me that i could have grounds for a complaint but was very vague with any further information,does any one have any info or advice for me? I havent approached my solicitor about this matter as yet.
 
It is incorrect to charge a percentage of any claim. You need to pursue the law society. The Solicitors used to be able to charge a percentage, but that is no longer the case.

In respect of the original poster, if the majority of the work is now done, why not consult a Solicitor with a view purely to obtaining settlement.

I know two people with serious genuine claims, one is heading towards the high court and the other recently settled at a settlement meeting in law library.

At the outset, PIAB were stressing that a Solicitor is not necessary. Both people went ahead and engaged a Solicitor, the person who settled very recently was very satisfied how the Solicitor handled the case and with the professional service he received.

If he had been asked to quantify a figure himself, he probably would have ended up with a very considerably lesser settlement figure, even after all costs have been paid.(He reckons at over 1/3 less, because he had not factored in everything he was entitled to)

I think you could lose out by not having at least a consultation. The loss assessor is a good option too.
 
I had a case a while back where I brought a claim to PIAB via a solicitor. The insurance company ignored the solicitor and wrote to me directly making an offer to settle. The solicitor was not impressed with their tact.

Is there any reason why they would ignore the solicitor and contact the claimant direct?
 
I would have that would be a scheme to try and pay out less!
However, on looking at the [broken link removed] website, it appears that this should not be the case "Whether you deal directly with PIAB or choose to engage an agent the award will be the same."
I suspect that the insurance company should have not done that.
Interesting.
Nicola
 
I know PIAB say your award will be the same, but in the two cases I know personally, PIAB were unable to make a decision and released both cases to court after a year. Both people were glad to have engaged a Solicitor from the outset.
 
PIAB may say that you don't need a solicitor, but you would be a fool not to have one.
 
zippitydooda said:
Hi everyone,

I've been dealing with an insurance company for 2 years now relating to genuine injuries from a car accident. They have asked me to think about how much I would want from them to settle the case.

How do you go about getting to a figure? I feel greedy just thinking about it but I understand that compensation for a lifelong injury is what its all about.

I asked if I looked at the Book of Quantum for each injury and added them up would that be OK - and they said no - that I should come up with a lump sum.

I'm not sure where to go/who to talk to to get a good figure in mind. I could leave it to PIAB to determine but they are pushing me to settle before that.

Any advice?
Click to expand...

I presume you didn't treat your injuries yourself and you should really go seek professional advice in this regard also. There a number of factors to consider when coming to a settlement figure e.g. injuries sustained, recovery period, loss of earnings, expenses. It is in the insurance companies' interests to settle for as little as possible.
 
Imho , i really advise you to contact your a good personal injury solicitor.
Piab assessed a claim i had and it was substantially less than what i should have received ( i am now paying the price for being pushed into a hurried decision by the insurance company) . So please seek good advise.
 
I note that this case is going on "for two years now" and that the OP says "I could leave it to PIAB to determine".

Just to clear up one point, may I take it that the case is already lodged with PIAB?

If not, it may well be statute barred.
 
Investing said:
This is the reason the PIAB was set up so that you dont need a solicitor!
Click to expand...

This is true. Unfortunately there are many flaws in the PIAB legislation which will not be obvious to a lay litigant but which could be fatal to their claim. With the way PIAB is currently setup it is still advisable for a person to go through a solicitor.
 
Dazza "there are many flaws in the PIAB legislation which will not be obvious to a lay litigant but which could be fatal to their claim"
Can you provide a couple of examples ?
 
Statute of Limitations continues to run against claimant if Respondent is the Estate of a deceased person. Just one of the serious and potentially fatal flaws in the legislation.
 
Sorry to hear about your bad luck, but I am sure the money will be of some comfort when it comes along.
What about asking your solicitor to go to the other side and ask them for a stage payment i.e. some form of payment to cover your medicals and cost of living which could be deducted from your settlement.
OR
If you/your solicitor are that cock sure why cant your solicitor provide you with a loan to keep the home fires burning ? Or an undertaking to the proposed bank to pay the money back if you default.
Remember you take your solicitors advise but he has to take your instructions.
 
i've been through it with the solicitor, he seems to think the bank will be ok about the loan, he is willing to give something in writing to them explaining the situation. So all I have to do now is get the guy in the bank to actually speak to me about it.
You're right the money will be some comfort when it eventually arrives but won't be much comfort if I've already lost the house, car etc. Payment protection has only covered so much.....sorry for going on about this. I've borrowed from every source available to date and the credit card is going to self combust any day now. Still trying to get bank on phone. Going to try again now. Thanks for listening!
 
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