To ask how much you would expect the compensation to be for these injuries?

[CrimsonCountess]

I just want to start this by saying that I don't really care about the money as such, but after everything I've been through I feel a bit insulted by the value they've put on it. The Police aren't prosecuting the driver due to insufficient evidence even though he admitted fault at the scene, so I guess I wanted him to be impacted financially instead

6 months ago I was t-boned by a driver who hit me at 65mph in a 30 limit after he failed to give way at a crossroad. My car smashed into a signpost, flipped over a ditch and landed upside down in a field 20 metres away from where the impact happened, just to give you an idea of how hard he hit me. I was trapped inside the car for 3 hours and had to be cut out of it

I had extensive bruising and 2 broken fingers, whiplash and numerous soft tissue injuries all over my body. I had 2 weeks off work then went back on reduced duties. I've done 3 months of twice weekly physio for my back, neck and hand, and the nerve damage to my fingers has left me with reduced movement and grip. I was diagnosed with post concussion syndrome which has caused ongoing problems. I've also had 4 months of counseling which is still ongoing due to PTSD symptoms. I've spent months terrified to leave the house, having nightmares and being unable to drive due to the fear of it happening again. I've recently started driving again but I hate it and am only doing it because I have to

My solicitors have been in touch today and said they have valued it at £2500, but have taken out the amount they've already paid for physio so would give me £1800. I don't want to seem like I'm just out to get money, but I don't think I believe this really reflects the hell that my life has been for the last 6 months. I don't know whether to argue it with them, or if I should just accept it and try and move on

I got £1k for a scratch from tfl!
They need to add some zeros to the end of those figures!

You'd need a specific psychiatric report to fully diagnose the ptsd and it's very strict. They use the TSQ and if you don't hit at least 8/10 it's downgraded to adjustment disorder with anxiety.

Also request an orthopaedic medical report too.

Always reject first offer.

It’s a negotiation. The more evidence you can provide in terms of medical reports and other supporting documentation, the more weight you have to your argument that your damages should be increased.

Dont be in a rush to settle. No rush. You deserve the best outcome for you.

They start with the lowest possible offer. Rest assured there’s plenty of headroom and you can successfully argue upwards. They are likely to ultimately want to avoid court, so I imagine their offers will increase significantly if they receive a psych report and any more evidence you gather further down the line.

That doesn’t sound right to me.

I was a passenger in an accident where a car went into the side of my passenger seat at about 15mph. I had some bruising on my hip and needed four or five sessions of physio.

I received £3,500 plus the physio sessions were covered separately directly by the insurer. I missed one day of work and I also received a payment equal to the difference between my sick pay and my usual earnings.

This was 5 years ago. Your offer seems incredibly low!

I’m going to pm you…

Insulting. I got £2.5K for a car written off worth £500 and minor whiplash over 10 years ago. Id be expecting £10K+ with prolonged injuries and psychological damage.

I don’t seem to be able to PM you - long story short, I got 10k about 8 years ago for being knocked off my bike. I had a problem with my foot that required physio, cuts and bruises and diagnosed ptsd, plus costs for repairing my bike and replacing other bits and bobs. No loss of income as I wasn’t working at the time. I think that was the third offer, they started around 3k.

That does seem very low. Approximately 3 years ago, someone ran into the back of me and I had whiplash and had to have 6 weeks of physio. I got £3.5k (plus I presume the cost of the physio as I didn't pay for it) and I wasn't working at the time so loss of earning wasn't included in that figure. Your solicitors sound crap.

Blimey! I was a teenager in 1993 and a car drove slowly into us when we were stationary in traffic, and I banged my head and hurt my back a bit. I was awarded £3000 back then.

(Ironically used it for driving lessons and my first car.)

Definitely hold out for more Op. Sounds horrendous.

I'd reply "I think you missed off a zero there but yeah I think 25k is a good starting point." It sounds horrendous, 1800 quid is a joke!

Listen to this well-informed post.

I think that you should be able to get more: start by returning to your solicitors and asking to be referred upwards because you don't think their recommendation takes your full losses into account. It's in your solicitors' interests to get as much money for you as possible because that way they get their fees paid by the other side, but it looks like some junior claims handler has done a very superficial job to get it done with asap.

If necessary go back to your insurers and say the magic word Ombudsman.

Ignore the posters saying "I got £5,000 for a simple whiplash claim three years ago". The law has changed since then and whiplash claims are now minimal. But your other injuries sound significant.

I have worked in this field on both sides for over 20 years and that advice does not seem correct. Either there is an typo in their figures or the person valuing your case has missed something.

I would absolutely not agree to settle at that level. I would refuse to settle until the nerve damage has resolved as it may take longer than predicted.

I would also ask for a psychiatrist's report if you have been diagnosed with PTSD. You may need an orthopedic report too, I suspect that your solicitors have got a cheap GP report and is valuing your claim as a minor injury resolving in 6 months with travel anxiety rather than fractures with diagnosed PTSD. They are probably over worked, under paid and heavily incentivised to settle quickly. Push for better. You don't have to change solicitor's firm but you could ask the supervising partner to give a second opinion on the valuation.

Also they should be claiming private treatment costs in addition to PSLA rather than deducting it.

I got £6.5k for a driver hitting me, I had a sore back resolved with a few months of physio and a lot of anxiety afterwards.

this doesn’t seem right

Its not really possible for us to say without seeing any expert medical reports, plus most of the people reading this will not have any actual knowledge of what bracket you fall into.

Although having dealt with PI claims for many years, everyone seems to think they should get more than what's offered.

The amount is set out in the JCB guidelines. They give brackets for injuries and the medical report will confirm where your injuries sit in that bracket. Anything on top of that is financial losses which you need to evidence and is exactly what you've lost out on.

They are taking the piss. I worked for an insurer 30 years ago and the average whiplash claim then was around £3k - a decent amount of money then, not so much now!

You have 3 years from date of accident to bring your claim. If you’re still suffering I’d wait a bit and get an up to date prognosis report later on if you’re better or if you’re still suffering.

look at JSB guidelines online - but it’s not a case of adding up each injury as there is aspect of discount given for overlap of injuries.

by their very nature the compensation you get for the injuries themselves (called general damages) are notoriously mean, the large sums you see in the press come from what are known as special damages - loss of earnings, care required etc

That is very low anyway, but extra baffling that they are talking about taking off your physio costs.

1. This is an uninsured loss, insurers of the responsible party have to pay for it, not your own insurers. This is why the solicitors are involved.
2. Liability appears to be undisputed, so there has been so far no need to go to court (issue proceedings)
3. Your solicitors represent you. They are expected to know their stuff and if they don't you can complain about them. They do not appear to know their stuff, since you were able to Google the amount and see it was laughably small.
4. You need to contact them and make sure it wasn't a typo because it does look absurdly small.
5. If it is correct you need to list all your injuries / symptoms and they should be obtaining reports for each aspect of them. Concussion is very serious and the claim should not be proceeding to full and final settlement until it's sorted out, and and an expert on possible later impacts should be doing the report.
6. I used to work in this field and you should include the word negligence in your email explaining that £1.8k is not enough to "make you whole". All your treatment should be paid for and that is separate from payment for the impact / pain and suffering.

I have had EMDR- it changed my life. Still not completely cured of my PTSD, but I function so much better now

They just want it settled. I was advised to take a £2000 offer and I refused I got £22,000 back injury

just write back and say all what you have said

the physio costs should be separate
as should the car and any taxi, phone calls etc

say to your insurance company that you aren’t happy

was the driver charged with anything? Very low amount

That's a paltry amount.

Someone I know got £17 grand for essentially bruising her enormous backside when she voluntarily undertook a risky activity.