No win no fee or a solicitor
Discussion
Hi Guys,
Looking for some advice.
I was riding to work a couple of weeks ago, and a parked car pulled out in front of me, resulting in me going straight into the drivers rear light with the side of my face as I tried to avoid her. I ended up on the floor, surrounded by some very kind members of the public. The police and ambulance service were called.
I was taken to hospital, spent the day there, having numerous X-rays and CT scans. It was established I'd fractured my orbit bone in two places and another fracture further down my face.
An appointment a week later at Kings, confirmed that I needed an operation to have a titanium plate fitted to fix the orbit fracture as my cheek bone had dropped. The op went ahead a week later and went well and I was there overnight, follow up appointment is Xmas eve.
I have contacted the drivers insurance company and they have admitted liability, adding that I should get a solicitor to deal with my claim.
My question is, am I best going through a no win no fee type company, although they seem to take 25% of any compensation, or just going through a normal solicitor, who's fee maybe less than 25%.
The bike is covered on my home insurance, but not sure if they can help. Just looking for some advice if anyone has been in a similar situation.
Thanks
Looking for some advice.
I was riding to work a couple of weeks ago, and a parked car pulled out in front of me, resulting in me going straight into the drivers rear light with the side of my face as I tried to avoid her. I ended up on the floor, surrounded by some very kind members of the public. The police and ambulance service were called.
I was taken to hospital, spent the day there, having numerous X-rays and CT scans. It was established I'd fractured my orbit bone in two places and another fracture further down my face.
An appointment a week later at Kings, confirmed that I needed an operation to have a titanium plate fitted to fix the orbit fracture as my cheek bone had dropped. The op went ahead a week later and went well and I was there overnight, follow up appointment is Xmas eve.
I have contacted the drivers insurance company and they have admitted liability, adding that I should get a solicitor to deal with my claim.
My question is, am I best going through a no win no fee type company, although they seem to take 25% of any compensation, or just going through a normal solicitor, who's fee maybe less than 25%.
The bike is covered on my home insurance, but not sure if they can help. Just looking for some advice if anyone has been in a similar situation.
Thanks
You could also try contacting Leigh Day who I believe are the solicitors British Cycling use. They would obviously have good experience of these type of claims and would hopefully ensure you get everything you are entitled to e.g. bike, clothing, as well as the medical / loss of earnings side of things
A retired barrister friend who used to deal in complex claims told me that there is an agreed (acceptable) list of what injuries are worth.
Another friend was severely injured in a vehicle accident and employed some high level legal outfit to fight his claim. My barrister friend said what he would probably get; I don’t think he was wrong.
Using Leigh Day sounds like a smart move, but don’t hang out, go for the quickest payment of reasonable compensation.
Another friend was severely injured in a vehicle accident and employed some high level legal outfit to fight his claim. My barrister friend said what he would probably get; I don’t think he was wrong.
Using Leigh Day sounds like a smart move, but don’t hang out, go for the quickest payment of reasonable compensation.
Ensure that you get a cycle savvy solicitor, someone like Slater & Gorden
https://www.slatergordon.co.uk/personal-injury-cla...
https://www.slatergordon.co.uk/personal-injury-cla...
Hi OP
Just to add some information to the above, which might be of help to you, a “win” does not just relate to liability, but also to “quantum”, I.e. the value of the claim.
Whilst you mention that liability has been admitted, is this a full/open written admission, or is it “primary” liability subject to contributory negligence and/or causation? Contributory negligence could relate, for example, to allegations of travelling too quickly, lack of helmet (if possibly relevant to injuries sustained), lack of visible clothing/lighting etc. I am not saying that these are factors in your case and hopefully the insurers have accepted total fault, but they are elements that can be argued by insurers in cases of this nature.
In terms of the quantum position, the risk here is that a settlement offer may be made sometime during the life of the claim by your opponent, and if you do not accept it and later fail to beat it, there could be a cost risk relevant to your case. In such cases, the injured party would lose part of the claim, even if they had already succeeded on liability. The position here is complicated by something called Qualified One way Cost Shifting, which is to the benefit of most injured parties and in reality most claims do proceed relatively straightforwardly. However, I just wanted to emphasise that there can be more to it than simply establishing liability in full.
Since some reforms in 2013, certain legal costs charged under a “no win, no fee” agreement (conditional fee agreement) that are not recoverable from the opponent. Since the reforms were implemented, the existence of 100% compensation guarantee has generally become quite rare.
The likelihood is that the claim would be started within an online portal. This has fixed fees that are charged and are unlikely to cover all aspects of the work required. However, the portal should make the claims process quicker and establish a full admission of liability in open correspondence within 15 working days of the claim being submitted. You may not get a particularly personal service, as the fixed costs regime typically mean that legal representatives running these sort of claims can have high case numbers.
As referred to above, you should check to see whether you already have “Before The Event” insurance (legal expenses insurance). You may have this attached to your home insurance or if you have cycling insurance in place. If this does exist, this should be your starting point to see what cover is available as you may then be entitled to a 100% compensation guarantee. You can then see whether you are happy with the proposed representation, or otherwise shop around. The more complicated the claim in terms of liability and injury recovery/quantifying losses, the more important this is likely to be.
If you have minimal/easily quantifiable financial losses, the majority of your claim will relate to your injuries. This is known as “general damages” and are generally valued in reference to the Judicial College Guidelines. You can try and settle your claim at any stage, but your legal representative will want to know what the final prognosis is before valuing your injuries, but could give you an indication of value prior to this for you to decide to wait or not.
HTH.
Just to add some information to the above, which might be of help to you, a “win” does not just relate to liability, but also to “quantum”, I.e. the value of the claim.
Whilst you mention that liability has been admitted, is this a full/open written admission, or is it “primary” liability subject to contributory negligence and/or causation? Contributory negligence could relate, for example, to allegations of travelling too quickly, lack of helmet (if possibly relevant to injuries sustained), lack of visible clothing/lighting etc. I am not saying that these are factors in your case and hopefully the insurers have accepted total fault, but they are elements that can be argued by insurers in cases of this nature.
In terms of the quantum position, the risk here is that a settlement offer may be made sometime during the life of the claim by your opponent, and if you do not accept it and later fail to beat it, there could be a cost risk relevant to your case. In such cases, the injured party would lose part of the claim, even if they had already succeeded on liability. The position here is complicated by something called Qualified One way Cost Shifting, which is to the benefit of most injured parties and in reality most claims do proceed relatively straightforwardly. However, I just wanted to emphasise that there can be more to it than simply establishing liability in full.
Since some reforms in 2013, certain legal costs charged under a “no win, no fee” agreement (conditional fee agreement) that are not recoverable from the opponent. Since the reforms were implemented, the existence of 100% compensation guarantee has generally become quite rare.
The likelihood is that the claim would be started within an online portal. This has fixed fees that are charged and are unlikely to cover all aspects of the work required. However, the portal should make the claims process quicker and establish a full admission of liability in open correspondence within 15 working days of the claim being submitted. You may not get a particularly personal service, as the fixed costs regime typically mean that legal representatives running these sort of claims can have high case numbers.
As referred to above, you should check to see whether you already have “Before The Event” insurance (legal expenses insurance). You may have this attached to your home insurance or if you have cycling insurance in place. If this does exist, this should be your starting point to see what cover is available as you may then be entitled to a 100% compensation guarantee. You can then see whether you are happy with the proposed representation, or otherwise shop around. The more complicated the claim in terms of liability and injury recovery/quantifying losses, the more important this is likely to be.
If you have minimal/easily quantifiable financial losses, the majority of your claim will relate to your injuries. This is known as “general damages” and are generally valued in reference to the Judicial College Guidelines. You can try and settle your claim at any stage, but your legal representative will want to know what the final prognosis is before valuing your injuries, but could give you an indication of value prior to this for you to decide to wait or not.
HTH.
Leigh Day were very good with me, I’d recommend them. If you go through British Cycling, you’ll pay nothing. You could go through a local solicitor but LD are well experienced with cyclists and as mentioned, British Cyclings current legal partners. There may well be a list of injuries and values but take it all with a pinch of salt.
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