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Legal matters

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Original poster

Car insurance/personal injury claim, is this the normal time frame.

18 replies

jenkel · 03/10/2019 18:31

My dh was involved in quite a bad accident, other person admitted total liability, our car was written off, very thankful that he walked away from it. Anyway, now the fight has started, insurance not really offering what the car is worth, had lots of offers which we have refused, slowly getting closer to the minimum that we would like. He went to see his gp the day after the accident and was diagnosed with whiplash and some quite nasty abrasions from the airbags going off, no treatment other than pain relief, advised to see how it goes and go back in a few weeks if no better as nhs physio is a very long wait. Very stiff neck and shoulders, trouble sleeping, having a few flashbacks/nightmares and hard to get head/neck into a comfy position to sleep. Our insurance co has put us in touch with personal injury lawyers,, they have asked him to go for a gp appointment with a gp that they have booked in 7 weeks time. We have never really claimed off insurance before but just can’t believe how difficult and long winded it is, and very frustrating as it totally was not his fault. Accident was 3 weeks ago, so no car, no money and got to wait another 7 weeks before they will even start to look at personal injury claim, and I would hope by then he would have improved, understand whiplash can take a long time but all the abrasions should have gone.

OP posts:

RedHelenB · 03/10/2019 22:09

You seem a bit unfortunate. When my car was written off LV dealt with it all for me and I got more than I thought I would. Didnt claim for any personal injury though.

popcorndiva · 03/10/2019 22:13

My sister was victim in a drink drive crash. Her car written off, she is left in road unconscious. She is still 8 months later not recieved her personal injury claim as they want to send her for further tests to see lasting damage so it can be very long winded.

popcorndiva · 03/10/2019 22:15

Drunk driver has been prosecuted and gone to court and been found guilty though.

Yubaba · 03/10/2019 22:17

My mum was hit by a car and was left disabled and her personal injury claim took nearly 2 years to go through.

NannyR · 03/10/2019 22:21

I thought that with personal injury claims they waited a few months to see the long term effects of the injury, what treatments you might need etc. If you settle now, but then find out in a few months that the injury is much more debilitating than first thought, then you've lost out on money which could be useful for physio etc.

LadyB49 · 03/10/2019 22:33

Personal injury claims should not be settled too quickly. You must make sure that the whiplash heals. What if he is still having problems in one year....two years ?? This would affect the level of settlement. i.e. Would merit higher settlement. If your dh needs physio it can be arranged privately as the costs should be covered by the insurance under special damages. Also if driver's insurance company should ring you directly offering a quick settlement don't be tempted. Their offer will be low, they will be hoping you want the money quick but it's not worth it.

Before negotiating personal injury damages your dh will need xrays and consultant med report..
You can ask for your car damage to be settled separarely.

I was a legal litigation Secretary for 30 years and it was rare that even the most simple injury would settle in less than a year.

MissDai5y · 03/10/2019 22:36

I was a pedestrian in a hit and run and it took about 2 and a half years for personal injury claim. He was found and convicted within 3 months.
DP had someone run into the back of him, totally her fault, and they pretty much offered the value of the car immediately and we had another one within a fortnight. Courtesy car for the duration. No personal injury claim.

LadyB49 · 03/10/2019 22:36

Did you take pics of the abrasions and any bruising.

Walnutwhipster · 03/10/2019 22:45

It took almost 3 years before DS received his PIC.

BritInUS1 · 03/10/2019 22:45

The personal injury claim takes a while as they need to assess for ongoing injury - which will be why the appointment is so far off

The car claim is going on because you are rejecting the claims. Have you proved to them what the car is worth and therefore what you are willing to accept? Have you got a hire car while this is being sorted out? If it's their fault you should be able to claim this

SunnySummerDays · 03/10/2019 22:49

Seven months in here and it’s all gone quiet

endofthelinefinally · 03/10/2019 22:50

3 to 4 years IME.
That was with the other party admitting fault within 24 hours of the incident.

endofthelinefinally · 03/10/2019 22:54

My dc is still having physio 4 years on. The medical assessor insisted that 2 years would be sufficient for full recovery. We were told we were not allowed to disagree or the case would be dropped. So you are over a barrel even if you are completely innocent.

siriusblackthemischieviouscat · 04/10/2019 06:41

I was involved in an accident over 22 years ago. Im not sure how long it took for mum to get her money for her car but my personal claim took about 18 months/2 years.

VirtualHamster · 04/10/2019 06:46

My personal injury claim took about 18 months.

Lwmommy · 04/10/2019 06:56

The personal injury and car claim should be separated though.

The car claim they should address now and get you either a replacement of same value and condition or the funds to do so yourself.

Personal injury claim will take a while as they need to compensate for the full effects and time taken to recover, they should only settle when DH is fully recovered or a doctor can provide accurate insights into lasting damage.

TakeMeToYourLiar · 04/10/2019 07:00

Yes agree the two should be separated.

Personal injury can take years.

Car should be quicker. My suggestion is you look at the outcomes here should you think your insurer is breaching any of them then email your insurer stating e.g by not doing x I believe you are breaching TCF 2. In my experience this tends to speed things up

Original poster

jenkel · 04/10/2019 14:17

Thank you everybody, yes we have a hire car, and it is being treated as two separate things. We have photos of all abrasions. We seem to be encountering a problem with the car, the car had extras on it, fitted by the dealer before it was registered, sports tuning kit etc, their are no details of this on the log book of the car, so they are offering us the value based on the basic car, we do have proof of the extras, and have sent this proof off, (service book and certificate of what was fitted). But it’s just frustrating, not our fault and a battle we could do without. But I guess, everybody got out ok and that’s the main thing. I’m just a bit grumpy, thanks for letting me sound off a bit,

OP posts:

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