Car Crash and Court

[user123465789]

Just looking for some advice please.

Over 3 years ago I was in a car accident where I have suffered nerve damage. Various medical report etc have taken place over the years but the final stay expired and now we are in court in a weeks time.

Liability has never been disputed. A part 36 offer has been Put forward but was have heard nothing from the other side. My solicitor last heard from them a week ago to say they are still waiting for settlement details from the insurance company and hope to have it ready for the end of the week. That was last week and still nothing.

I am just wondering what I can expect on the day? I am shocked it is going to court when we have done everything the other side have asked, there has never been any issues and the solicitors know they have to forward the settlement offer.

The idea of court scares me but my solicitor has said this is because time has ran out. the case is very strong. But going to court does scare me as its court.

Thanks for your help

But my solicitor now keeps saying we have no time and I will make myself vulnerable if I don't accept if they offer before court. I have said but if its not a fair offer then I feel like I am being forced into a decision I won't be happy with. I keep being told I could end up having to pay costs in court. But then will say I have a strong case. So I really feel like I will be forced to accept however I feel about it

Take a breath! You're sounding panicky!

Solicitor HAS to tell you of the risks so you can make an informed choice. If it's an offer you're not particularly happy with but is within the realms of what a judge may award then it would probably be sensible to seriously consider it because if not you could end up worse off. This is not the same as your lawyer saying you have to accept any crumb they throw.

Please try not to worry right now, you can't do anything at 10pm, give your lawyer a call in the morning to see exactly where you are.

Hang in there, it's very stressful at this point, but you're so close to it all being done

Thanks @EdithDickie you are right.

I can feel my anxiety spiking so I need to rest on things for tonight. I think after hearing of the type of experience in court I could end up having, it's just worried me abit. I'm not the most confident person. Being made to feel like my nerve damage isn't as bad as I live with would be particularly hard as I live with it day in day out.

In terms of a settlement figure I wouldn't expect my solicitor to request an unreasonable amount. But I hope she will act fairly for me.

Sometimes it feels like she just wants it out the way now with what she says. Its being going on since 2016 so I can understand. But the way she explains things really scares me. The case and medical evidence I am very confident with but it's the risks involved no matter how small that start me panicking.

Hopefully soon it will be all over.

Thank you everyone for your help

Wishing you all the best, sincerely. In May DH and I settled his case after five and a half years, so I definitely know how stressful it is, particularly at this stage!

Hang in there, you're nearly done, and have some tipple on chill for when it's over. We walked into the nearest pub (after the joint settlement meeting) and ordered anything and everything

thank you for your kind words @dontdoxmeeither

I am really glad I have posted here as have been offered great, calming advice.

Five and a half years! Wow. I was thinking mine was long being over 3 years! Did you settle in court or out of court? Did you accept their first offer or did they come in too low? Was there room for negotiations and how long did it take?

I think now I am nearly at the end it is worrying me a little, I just want things to be settled fairly. I have not been disabled and wouldnt expect a settlement to suggest that but at the same time it has affected my life and continues to do so. I am in my early 30s, a lone parents of a child who only now is more independent of me. The last 3 years have been hard and I have had to rely on others for lots of help, especially with my son and that has made me feel like a rubbish mom as I havent been able to look after him properly myself. Ive never had to rely on anyone, so thats been hard on me too, especially when it comes to looking after my son, as its my job and I feel I have been very restricted by what ive been able to do. That is time I can never recover back now :-(

We settled out of court at a joint settlement meeting. The defendants were really playing hardball (think massive global company).

Our barrister however, was really quite exceptional. He specialised in this area which helped greatly. DH did develop a rare condition from the injury though.

I won't lie, it was stressful BUT everyone made us feel at ease etc. Their opening offer was higher than we expected it to be but we still refused. There was a further three offers throughout the day and we accepted the fourth. Throughout we took the barristers advice and accepted when he advised us to. Not doing so would have exposed us to the risk of being awarded less at court and could incur high costs etc which we weren't prepared to do.

I am really sorry to hear that about your husband. Well done on agreeing a settlement you all felt was fair.

May I ask why you refused their first offer it was higher than you expected? Was it because your barrister felt it wasn't within the 'reasonable settlement bracket?' As I understand if you reject an offer within that bracket you are exposing yourself to a higher risk of costs?

I mean it was a higher opening offer than expected. We thought they would start much lower. It still fell well short of our overall expectations. The barrister had advised that he expected a figure of around x and when we reached that figure which was somewhere in the middle of their lowest and our highest , that's when we settled.

Your barrister sounds very good. I suppose that helped, having their support and advice. Congratulations on agreeing the settlement

Hi all.

Just a quick update to say settlement has been agreed. So that is one weight off my mind.

However I won't know what I walk away with until she gets the ATE premium and barristers fees confirmed. Personally I would have thought the ate premium would already be known as it was agreed a long time ago, though I've never had the policy. I also thought the barristers fee formed part of the legal costs. It would seem it doesn't.

So now I wait.

Thanks again for everyones advice

Glad it's been settled

@dontdoxmeeither I've pm'd you