Part 36 Offer - Personal Injury Compensation Claim

[StillStuckInTheShed]

Hello,

Background:

This has been ongoing for over 2 years now as it's been quite a significant case.

In 2021 DH was involved in a serious motorcycle accident which resulted in a severe complete degloving of the foot up to the ankle, numerous broken bones and a three week stay in the QE hospital where he underwent multiple surgeries where bones were fixed, metal plates where bones were lost, a large skin flap (plus muscle and veins) removed from his thigh (opposite leg to the injured foot) to reconstruct his foot and skin grafts.

He has been out of work since the accident (was let go last September as his employer couldn't continue to hold his position open and he simply could not do the job) it seems unlikely he will ever be able to work again due to ongoing chronic pain in the foot and in the site of the skin flap. He can walk/stand for no longer than a couple of hours before the pain becomes severe.

He is still awaiting medical appointments with plastics and limb reconstruction to enquire about the foot being amputated in March. The skin flap site is quite disfigured and expands pretty much the entire front of his thigh from the groin to just above the knee.

He has developed severe PTSD to the point he suffers frequent panic attacks, flashbacks and nightmares. We live on a fairly busy road and just thee sound of the cars going past the house will trigger an anxiety attack.

He was not at fault for the accident.

He has received a part 36 offer of settlement (250K) before all appointments and reports have been collected.

His questions are:

• What is a Part 36 Offer? Is it a tactic for the defence to save money?

• Why has the defendant put forward this offer before all appointments and reports have been attended and collected? DH is still awaiting Psychology and Limb reconstruction appointments and reports. It seems odd to receive a settlement offer before all the facts have been laid out.

• Is this a low offer considering DH's life has practically been destroyed (lost job, unable to work, chronic pain, now disabled, possible limb removal, PTSD)

we are well aware that the offer isn't a low offer at all but in his circumstances it seems low

• Can he negotiate the offer without going to court?

This has been a long post. Thank you if your still here and any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I don't know the answer but additionally I think you need to give an idea of DH's age at the time of the accident and his approximate salary at the time. Also if he was on track to earn much more. e.g. he was a trainee Doctor for example.

I think this information would be needed by anyone judging if £250k was an appropriate amount

Have you got a personal injury solicitor involved? It sounds like you don’t and so I would immediately find one, who can work on a no-win, no-fee basis for you. They’ll be able to advise on this more fully.

I'd say that's a low offer.

It's only 10 years worth of a salary of £25k

£250 sounds a lot but it certainly isn't.

its been a few years since I did this for a living and I’m putting toddlers to bed so I’ll be short but here goes

• What is a Part 36 Offer? Is it a tactic for the defence to save money?

It’s an attempt to avoid court. They want you to take the money and go away. They are very common. They like to throw them around a while into long complex claims hoping claimants may be desperate enough financially to take them.

• Why has the defendant put forward this offer before all appointments and reports have been attended and collected? DH is still awaiting Psychology and Limb reconstruction appointments and reports. It seems odd to receive a settlement offer before all the facts have been laid out.

because they want you to take the money and go away.

• Is this a low offer considering DH's life has practically been destroyed (lost job, unable to work, chronic pain, now disabled, possible limb removal, PTSD)

this depends. You need to look at case law and the PI compensation guidelines. Psychological trauma is not worth a huge amount, you’d be shocked. If he can’t ever work again they should be citing smith and Manchester case law and looking at a VERY sizeable loss of opportunity claim but the chances that there’s nothing he could ever do as work are probably slim. It may mean a career change but the courts won’t accept ‘he can’t be a mechanic so he can’t work’ as an excuse they’ll expect him to take a basic office job or work on a checkout in Asda if he can. It’s hard to claim he can’t due to psych issues also. It’ll also take into account dependants…etc so if he were the breadwinner with 3 small kids the claim would be much larger than no dependants and later in life.
£250k isn’t nothing but without knowing the intricacies I can’t tell you if it’s good or not. You need legal advice!!!

Why have you posted this twice?

What is a Part 36 Offer? Is it a tactic for the defence to save money?

It is an offer to settle the claim. If your husband accepts it, that will end the legal action. However, if he rejects it and the final judgement does not award him more than this offer, he may be liable for the defendant's costs from the date the offer expires.

Why has the defendant put forward this offer before all appointments and reports have been attended and collected? DH is still awaiting Psychology and Limb reconstruction appointments and reports. It seems odd to receive a settlement offer before all the facts have been laid out.

If they can reach a settlement with your husband before this goes to court, it will save money, time and stress for everyone.

Is this a low offer considering DH's life has practically been destroyed (lost job, unable to work, chronic pain, now disabled, possible limb removal, PTSD)

Can he negotiate the offer without going to court?

I presume your husband is represented by lawyers appointed by his insurers. He should address those questions to them. They are far better placed than anyone on here to say whether this is a good offer.

However, if he rejects it and the final judgement does not award him more than this offer, he may be liable for the defendant's costs from the date the offer expires.

This is very important. Under part 36 rules if your DH rejects it and goes to court instead, but then gets awarded (say) £200k, he may get told to pay all legal costs from when he could have accepted the offer - both his own and the other side’s costs. The rationale is, he was unreasonable in turning down the offer as he didn’t get more in the end, he could have saved everyone the time and costs of court if he’d accepted, so he should pay those costs.

So it’s not just an offer to settle but also a way for the defendant to protect themselves against future court costs. They may well think it’s unlikely he will get more than £250k if it goes to court, so this offer protects them.

Yes he can absolutely negotiate the offer without going to court. In fact part 36s are often intended to kick off negotiations.

https://davisons.law/services/disputes-and-litigation/part-36-offer/#:~:text=In%20personal%20injury%20claims%20when,('special%20damages'). This is a useful page.