Compensation claim

[Oddcat]

My dd and I were involved in an horrific rta while we were abroad. Our solicitors sent us a letter stating that they valued our claim at between £25 and £50 thousand for each of us.

Our solicitor has now put a suggested offer to the other side of £8,000 for my dd.

He says he massively over estimated the claim and that we are bound by the law in which the accident happened.

When I very first spoke to him he told me that he specialised in this country.

My question is , can we hold him to his original valuation ?

Eh? No, he’s your solicitor. If his assessment of what you might get for your claim was wrong, it was wrong. I assume it was only ever an estimate anyway. You can instruct him that you won’t accept a lower offer but if the other side don’t think your claim is worth that amount they won’t settle.

I just don’t understand how he initially valued it so high .

Did he tell you before putting the suggested (lower) offer in?

He will be bound by the limits of the country that it happened. Did he over estimate your injuries at first? No matter really, if he thinks that is what you can get then I would agree solicitors are not known for under settling. Did your injuries mean you had to pay for special flights home or hospital bills or even time off work? If so then I can see your frustration unless these things were covered by travel insurance

It would depend on what information the solicitor had then and has now, wouldn’t it? Medical reports? Crash investigation? Personal circumstances like income loss? That sort of thing.

The original valuation was sent to us after we had completed all the forms detailing loss of earnings, injuries etc.

My dd injured her back and according to the specialist that she was accessed by will possibly be life long , I have been accessed as permanently disabled. So in effect our injuries are worse than our solicitor understood from the forms we completed.

Typically a claim should be brought in the jurisdiction where the incident occurred, apart from in quite specific circumstances- sometimes those aren't clear at the outset. Awards vary between countries considerably -this link goes someway to explaining how far apart Ireland (for example) is from England, Scotland and Wales. Other places, such as Finland and France, see claims settle at what we could consider to be very low values. These are European countries and I don't know where your accident occurred but it goes some way to explain how valuations can vary significantly.

If you're asking if you have any recourse against your solicitor for giving you unrealistic expectations, I'm not sure if you do. Ultimately any indication at the outset is reliant on a number of factors which can change, and that's only complicated when there's confusion over what jurisdiction the case will be brought in.

I totally understand you've lost trust in the solicitor who painted themselves as an "expert", but before you write them off I'd try to get an understanding as to what this proposal is based on. In England, Scotland and Wales you have the Guidelines for the Assessment of General Damages in Personal Injury Cases, in NI it's the JSBNI Guidelines, and in ROI there's the Book of Quantum. Ask them if there's anything similar in the country where the incident occurred, and get them to explain how they've arrived at this figure that they're presumably willing to recommend to you. If you're in any doubt walk away and get another opinion.

Thank you, TheCraic I’m aware that the European country it happened in has lower pay outs than the uk and his hands are tied in that regard , He has sent a breakdown of the offer, it’s just such a huge difference from his original valuation. The thought of starting all over with a new solicitor is depressing, it’s taken over 2 years to get to this point.

It would be worthwhile seeking a 2nd opinion. Could you use a direct access barrister. Or you could ask your solicitor to seek barristers opinion?