AIBU to think she’s lying?

[TS45]

I have always been very close with my best friend. We went to primary and high school together, we shared uni accommodation together and studied the same course together. She’s incredibly sweet and smart, and I couldn’t imagine life without her. And that’s why I’m struggling a lot now.

Around 6 years ago, she had a simple operation she paid privately for. Whilst the operation went well, she ended up with slight nerve damage in her upper thigh. This hasn’t affected her in any way. She’s still able to work, drive, and walk. She occasionally complains of pain but this doesn’t impact her mobility in any way. Within the last three years, she has informed me that she has sued the hospital and will be receiving millions in compensation. She has been awaiting payment for the full three years which she states will be in her account ‘any time now’ .When I questioned the amount being won by her, she exclaimed that it is to cover loss of earnings. She works as a cashier in a supermarket and only took 2 weeks off for the duration. She also has not had any additional treatments, ramps, special cars, etc. She continues to live normally with zero adjustments ever having been needed.

She has begun spending excessive amounts on credit cards and always states her ‘compo will cover it’, despite it never arriving. I’m getting very concerned about her. She is thousands in debt and shows zero anxiety as she claims she’s days away from becoming a multi-millionaire anyway, despite saying this for years. I believe her behaviour is becoming reckless. Her house is currently on the market ready for when she can purchase her mansion.

I want to seek help for her but I don’t know whether she is being truthful about the amount being won or not. If she is being truthful then I risk our friendship. If she’s not being truthful, she’s going to be in very serious financial trouble. Has anyone ever won compensation before or knows anything about it to give me some insights?

Thank you

Did she win the lotto and doesn't want anyone to know?

From experience of a friend in similar situation, she can expect a few thousand, definitely less than 20, so she's either lying or deluded.

She's either full of shit or very unwell (or both)

There is also the possibility that she is being scammed? Being strung along by a dodgy solicitor? Along the lines of those adverts saying 'Had X go wrong? You could qualify for compensation!' Some people are just gullible.

Why does she work as a cashier in a supermarket if she's got a university degree?

A relative received compensation after a car crash which was the other drivers fault. It took 4yrs and they settled out of court. The injury has severely affected his mobility, resulted in multiple operations and procedures and he might still lose his foot. He received around 100k.

My son escaped a respite centre aged 8 for severely autistic children ,he ended up in a strangers house who thankfully called the police and his ‘carers’ turned up 19 minutes later
during this he injured himself climbing a fence causing nerve damage.
He received 10k which I asked to be put in a trust fund
She won’t get millions and she sounds like she is mentally ill.
please don’t lend her a penny should she ask.Although she sounds totally deluded.

I now work in a shop and I have a degree
my child is very disabled and I can’t commit to my previous career.

How long after an negligence can you sue?
12 years ago I had an op on my back.
When I came out of surgery my foot (not related to the surgery was so painful. There was a big lump and the doctors and nurses told me it was a sebaceous cyst. I accepted this as they kept telling me this. Had problems with the foot for ages and still do..

Then I had a fall. The X-ray showed I had a previous fracture in my foot and that the lump was actually bone that had not healed.
So the surgeon had obviously fractured my foot in surgery. Maybe when I was being moved.

Of course it;s OP's business if her best friend is cheerfully bankrupting herself over a delusion.

Because degrees are 2 a penny these days?

Unless she is Tetraplegic, confined to a wheelchair and needing full time carers (as is the person I know who sued the NHS leaving them in that way and subsequently got just under £3Million) I think she is telling porky pies OP.

@AutumnDaysConkers limitation is 3 years, but it does run from date of knowledge, so you may have a chance of claiming - if you found out more than 3 years ago, sadly not.

From what you have described she would not get an amount that would be life changing. Sounds like shes been googling and got her hopes up!

You have 3 years from date of injury to bring about a claim. There are exceptions to this rule relating to children, but unfortunately for you it looks like it’s too late.

Sorry that above message was a reply to @AutumnDaysConkers

The fact she’s said ‘millions’ is a red flag. It’s not realistic nore, I would have thought, true. She’s spending excessively aside from that. Reckless. All warning signs. As a psychiatric nurse we often see this sort of behaviour in a manic episode. I’d try and speak to a family member to see if they have concerns. If not, call your local mental health crisis line and relay the info. They can organise seeing her and signpost to relevant services if needed.

That's a shame I found out in May 2019. So missed the deadline. Thanks for the info though.

Do you think she may have gotten into gambling and become addicted? And is under a delusion that she will win big but covering it with this story?

Best case scenario is that she’s lying and has a plan (however poor) for when the bills come due.

Worst case scenario is a mental health crisis and she believes what she is saying and has nothing in place.

I can’t give any advice to add to what’s already been said but if this is a MH crisis, speaking to her is unlikely to break through her delusions.

She's probably won the lottery and this is her cover story.

it just won't happen, I know 2 people who have gotten 'millions/upper thousands' and this was after a loss due to negligence that your friend probably could not even comprehend. These cases often make the news. Most operations come with risk which is why forms are signed before hand. If she can work, drive, and walk then most likely she'll just lose money on solicitors fees.

Maybe she's heard of the excessive sums of money involved in compo claims in the US and thinks it's the same here.
As everyone else points out, she's going to be in for a shock.

I suffered a shoulder injury at work, which required surgery. My union acted for me. 3 1/2 years of agony before it was fixed. I received 13,500 in compensation, which included a lot of expenditure for transport costs, a new mattress, clothing that didn't require moving my shoulder to put on/do up etc. I would much rather have had an uninjured shoulder than such a relative small amount, as it continues to give me pain and restrict movement, even 15 years after surgery.

Obvs don’t know the full picture but he was either foolhardy or badly advised to have settled a serious claim like this without a clear prognosis. No competent solicitor would have advised him to settle if there was even a hint of a possibility of amputation of the foot or if the prognosis was unclear. It may be that need for amputation is not as a result of the accident but other factors but I would think a barrister would be involved with this level of compensation and I think it v unlikely a solicitor and barrister would both fail to pick up on this?