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Original poster

Compensation for daughter (hit by car) but who from?

162 replies

MotherOfDragons27 · 11/06/2021 17:58

Hi everyone, I'd appreciate some advice or knowledge please.

Almost two years ago (sept 2019) my eldest daughter started secondary school. In her 2nd week she was leaving school and was hit by a car as she was crossing the road. The driver was a 17 year old boy from her school who had just passed his test. When it happened another mum got out of her car and told the driver to move his car for some unknown reason, so he did. This means the police were unable to gain any evidence from the scene and as there was no proof of wrong doing there were no further charges against the boy and the case was dropped.

My daughter suffered two breaks to her pelvis and obviously scrapes and bruising. She was in hospital for 10 days and had to use crutches for 6 weeks until her pelvis was healed. I was with her the whole time and had to be signed off work with stress to cover myself work wise.

I have been thinking about trying to claim for some sort of compensation for my daughter but I'm unsure if it's possible? Where would I claim, who would I be claiming from and what are the chances of her receiving anything?

Does anyone have any similar experience where someone was injured in a road traffic accident but no fault was established? We have the letter from the police and the incident number etc so there is record of it. I also have her discharge letter from the hospital.

If anyone can shed any light on this for me I'd be very grateful. Thank you.

OP posts:
Oblomov21 · 11/06/2021 19:44

I can't see that you'd get anywhere after all this time.

NoWordForFluffy · 11/06/2021 19:46

@Oblomov21

I can't see that you'd get anywhere after all this time.
Also utter nonsense.
MsWarrensProfession · 11/06/2021 19:49

Just stepping in to back up NoWordForFluffy who clearly knows her stuff. Yes you can claim, yes a pelvic fracture and ongoing psychological issues could result in significant financial compensation.

The people saying it’s not worthwhile because she didn’t suffer financial loss should ask themselves how much someone would need to pay you for you to agree to be attacked with a baseball bat and suffer broken bones that took weeks of recovery. Still think the compensation should be trivial?

And yes the lack of criminal conviction is irrelevant.

God alone knows what sometimesfraught thinks she’s talking about.

Soontobe60 · 11/06/2021 19:50

@NoWordForFluffy

Well, they have to be at fault, they certainly don't need to be convicted of anything.
Are you one of those PI lawyers who phone me up telling me I can claim for the accident I was in? Even though I’ve never been in one?

So it would be up to the claimant to prove the driver was at fault then. I’m sure there were plenty of witnesses who could testify as to how the accident happened.

titchy · 11/06/2021 19:51

@Sometimesfraught82

Insurance here. You don’t have any claim UNLESS the bot was convicted of driving without due care and diligence
Please consider getting a new job then because that is absolute bollocks.
badpuma · 11/06/2021 19:53

@Sometimesfraught82

Are you thinking of insurance?

If you’re thinking Of insurance then you don’t need a legal conviction but the other party needs to be “at fault” in the insurance claim

If you are after compensation then you need a conviction

This is not true. You do NOT need a conviction. Whether the driver is liable will be decided by the court as part of the r overall claim. A personal injury solicitor (not a random wrong person on MN) can give you an idea of what is involved, chances of success and what sort of compensation might be awarded.
NoWordForFluffy · 11/06/2021 19:53

I only ring my clients, so no.

You're clearly talking shit and don't like being called out for it.

Yes, we'd need to prove fault and yes, there may be contrib. on behalf of the child. However, none of us have the details of the accident to know what the result may be. Therefore, it's well worth claiming in the first instance so that it's investigated.

(FWIW, it's rare to get nothing for claims involving children.)

Hoppinggreen · 11/06/2021 19:58

It’s going to be hard to gather evidence after 2 years unless the accident was reported to the Police and the drivers insurance company

prh47bridge · 11/06/2021 19:59

@Sometimesfraught82

Are you thinking of insurance?

If you’re thinking Of insurance then you don’t need a legal conviction but the other party needs to be “at fault” in the insurance claim

If you are after compensation then you need a conviction

Wrong again. Compensation through the courts depends purely on whether the driver is at fault for the injuries. It has nothing to do with whether the driver was convicted of an offence.
prh47bridge · 11/06/2021 20:01

@Oblomov21

I can't see that you'd get anywhere after all this time.
Why not? The time limit for a personal injury claim is 3 years.
Aposterhasnoname · 11/06/2021 20:04

First step is get yourself a good solicitor that specialises in this. Not an ambulance chaser and definitely not one of the ones that phone you randomly. I can highly recommend Irwin Mitchell, I think they are national. Give them all the details and they will sort it out, all your DD will have to do is attend any medical s they need..

NoWordForFluffy · 11/06/2021 20:05

@Hoppinggreen

It’s going to be hard to gather evidence after 2 years unless the accident was reported to the Police and the drivers insurance company
@MotherOfDragons27 says it was reported to police, so that's not going to be a problem.
NoWordForFluffy · 11/06/2021 20:08

@Aposterhasnoname

First step is get yourself a good solicitor that specialises in this. Not an ambulance chaser and definitely not one of the ones that phone you randomly. I can highly recommend Irwin Mitchell, I think they are national. Give them all the details and they will sort it out, all your DD will have to do is attend any medical s they need..
What distinguishes IM from an 'ambulance chaser' firm? They're all in the same business!

Maybe you mean that the random ones that ring are the ambulance chasers? In which case, yes, I'd avoid those firms.

You don't need a national firm, just a decent one.

flippertygibbit · 11/06/2021 20:11

Funny it's just coming up to the 3 year statute of limitations that you decide you might want to claim. Detest this suing culture. You had six weeks off work nearly three years ago so presumably you've recoupled those losses if you only received SSP. Physically she's recovered and mentally she's recovered. You're now just being greedy and you're going to make your daughter relive it just for £££

HaveYouMetMyMateStanley · 11/06/2021 20:14

@Sometimesfraught82 my dad was a cyclist hit by a driver. She was at fault. She did not receive any conviction. He got compensation. I also work in insurance.

One of your comments says at fault or conviction and the other says conviction. You definitely don't need a conviction but they do need to be at fault.

HaveYouMetMyMateStanley · 11/06/2021 20:15

And I really pushed for that conviction but it never came.

NoWordForFluffy · 11/06/2021 20:15

@flippertygibbit

Funny it's just coming up to the 3 year statute of limitations that you decide you might want to claim. Detest this suing culture. You had six weeks off work nearly three years ago so presumably you've recoupled those losses if you only received SSP. Physically she's recovered and mentally she's recovered. You're now just being greedy and you're going to make your daughter relive it just for £££
It's 3 years from the child's 18th birthday. She's nowhere near limitation.
Aposterhasnoname · 11/06/2021 20:20

@flippertygibbit

Funny it's just coming up to the 3 year statute of limitations that you decide you might want to claim. Detest this suing culture. You had six weeks off work nearly three years ago so presumably you've recoupled those losses if you only received SSP. Physically she's recovered and mentally she's recovered. You're now just being greedy and you're going to make your daughter relive it just for £££
I’m gonna stick my neck out here and guess you have no experience of a broken pelvis. My DD suffers with pain to this day, is limited in what work she can do as she can’t stand all day, may have to have hip replacements in the future, has been told she’s almost certainly going to have to retire early due to ill health, had to have a C section when she had her son and has been advised not to have any more. All because of her broken pelvis following her accident.

Was she being greedy claiming her compensation?

Iceybirb · 11/06/2021 20:25

@Sometimesfraught82

But someone has to be convicted in law or at fault in an insurance claim for there to be compensation due!!!!
No they absolutely don't. What are you talking about?
MissMaple82 · 11/06/2021 20:35

Is it really worth it. No serious long term damage. No proof of liability. Poor 17 year old is probably traumatised enough. As horrible as im sure it all was id put it behind you all and move on

eurochick · 11/06/2021 20:39

@NoWordForFluffy

Compensation is mainly aimed at compensating financial losses (your loss of earnings, taxis, etc) but you can get sums awarded for pain and suffering too.

I'm surprised that a litigation lawyer has got this so wrong. Compensation for injury is the predominant reason for bringing a claim, in the main. A good 70-80% of my clients have no financial losses to claim. Yes, some people do have financial losses, but we don't encourage claiming for anything without a receipt / provable.

Explain to me what is wrong about that statement. It's 100% accurate and what you said afterwards about your clients does not show it to be inaccurate. The purpose of compensation is to put people in the position they would have been in if the wrong hadn't happened.
NoWordForFluffy · 11/06/2021 20:41

What's wrong about it is that you said it's predominantly for financial loss, such as LoE or taxi fares, when it's not in a PI claim. The injury itself is usually the predominant factor in claiming, with or without financial loss.

eurochick · 11/06/2021 20:43

I was talking about compensation in general. If I'd meant compensation in a PI claim I would have written "compensation in a PI claim"....

NoWordForFluffy · 11/06/2021 20:44

This is a thread about a PI claim though. There's enough misleading information on it, such as needing a financial loss to be able to claim, without muddying the waters with generalisations.

Littleheart5 · 11/06/2021 20:46

You would 100% be successful. I say this as a PI lawyer! The burden of proof is different in civil abs criminal cases. The fact that a criminal case wasn’t prosecuted has no bearing on a PI claim.

I’m not sure of the statute of limitations in the UK, but in my jurisdiction, you have two years from the date of the accident to lodge a claim, so I would be getting on that ASAP as September 2021 is fast approaching.

She will need all medical, psych reports etc in time but for now you just need a solicitor to take the case on, who will instruct a barrister to draft proceedings. Honestly, it’s a relatively straight forward, although lengthy process. Once it’s in the hands of your solicitor they will handle everything. She should get a decent settlement/aware from the court given the injuries you describe.

On your part keep every receipt for doctors/physio/psych. You will need them all