Car Crash Injuries and compensation

[LiteralPainInTheNeck]

Hi all

Basic details and any advice or experiences would be very helpful.

Had a car crash into me a few weeks ago, his fault and he is being done for careless driving. DS and I taken to hospital after being cut out of car. DS had "laughing gas" to cope with the pains. Both had xrays and nothing broken so home that evening.
Doctors gave me tramadol for the pain and DS on usual painkillers for a week. He has scoleriosis in spine and under pysio anyway but now referred to hydro therapy as accident has made it worse. Im having physio session this week to assess injuries. Both still in pain, mainly back not neck too much.

Insurance rang to say other driver has admitted fault (no choice as police saw everything as it happened!) and offered us a pre-medical offer to save it going further. I have turned it down (insurance expected me to I think) but havent ever had compensation for anything before.
Has anyone been in similar situ and regretted/relieved to turn down first offer?
My insurance wont give too much away as we havent had full medical yet so cant assess what we should get which I understand but i feel a bit lost as to what would be a good offer to accept?.

Your solicitor would advise you but I would say your looking at 3-5 k

You're dammit

Thank you bronze :)

not sure if it matters but both cars were write offs :(

It will totally depend on the medical expert's opinion.

As a very general rule of thumb most whiplash type injuries settle, with treatment, within a period of 6-12 months. A 12 month injury, without any significant complicating factors, would normally be worth around £2750-3000.

The offer that you've been made is a pre-med offer (ie without sight of medical report). It's a token offer - normally £1000 - made by insurers to try and buy off the most minor claims at an early stage. If you had largely or totally recovered by now it would be worth accepting. However as you have ongoing symptoms, the best way forward is to go for the exam with the med expert, and see what his/her report says.

yes, that makes sense, thanks hatesponge :) very helpful

I had a similar accident over 10 years ago - bastard lorry driver pulled straight in front of me and I and DS ploughed into the side, car written off, similar injuries (more neck).

Your insurers solicitor will deal with all the business side. They will organise medical appointments and deal with the other persons insurers. They will liaise with you. Don't accept any initial offer obviously because it will be low, but mainly because your and your DSs injuries need to (hopefully) fully resolve before you accept compensation. It took around 3 years for my whiplash to settle, and I still have pain and stiffness in it most days, but it stabilised in that time. Luckily the back and leg pain settled completely and DS made a full recovery (especially as he'd taken his seat belt off!). I got around £4000, but it was a long time ago, so I should expect you will get more.

You can get physio and other therapies as part of your claim. Your DSs scoliosis complicates matters, so dont rush to settle on his behalf, especially as there may be long term implications.

Good luck anyway, don't you just hate shite drivers who dont give a monkeys about ruining other peoples lives!

My DD was awarded a payment after getting a head injury in a car accident, but the money is being held in a court fund until she's an adult.

My DS was T-boned a few months ago, low speed but it wrote off his car and the airbag went off. Other driver admitted fault immediately, her insurance offered £800 for his injuries straight away. He wasn't as badly injured as you, just pain for three or four days, and he negotiated them up to £1300.

Thanks sneezecakesmum (great name!!) am glad you and your DS are now ok, that interesting to know how long it look for your pains to settle! 3 years is a heck of time. As you say some people are incredibly selfish in their driving.

HSMM thanks for your answer hope your dd is ok now - can I ask why it is being held till she is an adult? My DS will be gutted if he has to wait :)

Oldladyknowsnothing - good negotiation on his part!! Would be pleased if they come back with another offer tbh so I can do the same

Your DS will have to wait until he is 18.

Children and adults are treated quite differently in personal injury claims. You can settle for whatever you think appropriate and it need not 'go to court'. You can simply accept a sum in full and final settlement of all claims you have arising out of the accident, but I would have thought this is not something you want to rush to see how quickly your injuries resolve - sometimes it is very quick, sometimes repeated trips to a physio are required, even over years.

As for your son, he cannot make an 'economic' settlement. His case will have to go to court for an 'infant settlement' hearing. Basically the solicitors will ensure that medical reports are obtained and once his problems are resolved or the final outcome is known, the parties will agree what his injuries are worth. There is unlikely to be any deduction for a quick settlement or because there is a risk of litigation (there doesn't sound like a risk as the otherside have admitted liability). Yours solicitors will probably instruct a barrister to prepare a short advice on quantum and this will indicate what sum is acceptable. Once both sides agree, a claim is lodged for approval of the infant settlement and normally you and your son will have to go to your local county court to have a district judge aprrove the payout. This is really a Judge's rubber seal of approval and normally no one from the defendant's side attends, but if the figure is too low, the judge can refuse to approve it. Normally these hearings are informal, happy/jolly and nothing to worry about!

BUT the payout will be paid into a government bank account which your son cannot access until he is 18. You can make an application for payment out of the fund, say for something that he really needs/wants that will help his life/education/budding music career etc, but there is no guarantee that the court would grant it.

HTH

Thank you YesMaam, really appreciate your explaining that :)