Court for Low Velocity Impact injury. Any experience?

[argyllherewecome]

Was hit from behind whilst stationary, I (genuinely!) got immediate lower back pain which persisted, I was on painkillers and received physiotherapy. It has largely gone now, this was nearly 2 years ago. I got word that it is going to court fairly soon, and upon googling I'm really concerned that 1) I might end up looking stupid and/or a liar (I'm very bad with details/dates) or 2) I might be liable to pay costs if they decide I'm untruthful. My solicitor basically sent me an email to say come to court 30 minutes early and we'll brief then, but I feel very unsure about the whole thing now. Is there benefit for her to go to court knowing that I don't have a robust case? What should I expect to happen, would I be cross examined by the defence? Or is it more a fact finding case by the judge to see if I look credible? Would the other driver be questioned too, or even need to be present?
Any advice or experience would be really helpful, I'm really thinking about not proceeding at this stage.

Both you and the defendant will be questioned, but the judge will just be interested in the facts of the case: the date the accident happened, how it happened, photos of the damage caused by the impact, the assessment reports of the accident made by your respective insurers, the date you first attended the GP, what your medical notes say, any treatment received and so on. Your solicitor should have already prepared you for this, but will explain in the briefing: they’ll remind you of what statements you’ve made, and all you need to do is remember these and be truthful. If you don’t remember something then it’s always best to say “I don’t remember” rather than try to flannel up a guess.

Losing the case is always a possibility when it goes to court; but if your solicitor is allowing it to go to trial and hasn’t recommended you accept an early settlement then this is usually an indicator that they have a level of confidence you will be successful.

Thank you that is very helpful. The problem is I don't remember anything, such as when I started physio, when it finished etc. Is it possible to get these details from the GP? The last thing I want is to look like a chancer.
The defendant's insurance company offered me £1000 to accept a no injury claim, which I wanted to deny as I was hurt. No other offer was made, and now I'm wondering if they are confident that it is going to get thrown out of court? Would the defendant's solicitor have access to my medical records? I don't mean the medico-legal report, I mean my GP records?

If your physio was through the NHS then your medical records will detail appointment dates and prognosis. You need to request your records. If you had private physio then you can ask the clinic / therapist for a record of when they saw you and what they treated you for. The defendant’s solicitor won’t have access to your NHS medical records unless you’ve agreed to this. It sounds as though your own solicitor hasn’t even had sight of these yet?

I’m quite surprised this has all got as far as a court date without you having provided any documented information at all to anyone about your injury and your treatment for it. At this stage your case would usually be pretty solid: documentation of injury sustained, what you’re claiming for, why you’re looking for this sum, what expenses and losses it’s to cover etc. Have you not covered any of this with your solicitor?

I consented for my solicitor to have access to my medical file, ditto my physio notes. I have a copy of the independent medico-legal doctor's report, it's extremely brief. My solicitor has not had any further contact, there certainly hasn't been any talk of figures, I literally have no idea if she is thinking of claiming anything, the way she put it to me was that it is very much up to the judge on the day of court as to whether he believes I am credible or not; I might get something and I might get nothing. A google tells me it's probably a maximum of about £1200 according to the new whiplash rules? Is it appropriate for me to ask to see the solicitor? Can i request my notes from my GP?

Yes, you can make a request for your medical records at your GP and at the hospital or clinic you were treated at.

It sounds as though you need to contact your solicitor asap rather than wait until 30 minutes ahead of your court date for them to brief you, when you aren’t even sure what your case is and what facts they’re using at its basis.

I literally have no idea if she is thinking of claiming anything, the way she put it to me was that it is very much up to the judge on the day of court as to whether he believes I am credible or not; I might get something and I might get nothing.

Where did you find this solicitor? The whole point of engaging a solicitor for an injury claim is that they can put together a strong case for you based on their legal knowledge and experience of the claim process and the courts. Yes, there’s always some element of the judge’s interpretation of the case they have in front of them - but your solicitor is being paid to create a robust, evidence-based case to persuade the judge to agree that you were injured, that the accident was the cause, that you suffered losses and expenses, and you are due compensation for those losses and expenses. “Let’s just show up at court, see how the judge feels on the day, and whether they believe you when you say you were injured and think you should get something or not” is not the legal support you engaged a solicitor for!

If they won’t engage with you properly, raise this higher in their practice.

She's provided by my (car) insurance company. To be fair it's a reputable firm and according to the website she deals with litigation, so not a complete newbie, however I'd like to be kept a bit more in the loop! So she makes the argument in court then? The matters of the accident are not contested, AFAIK the defendant's are making the case that I couldn't have been injured due to the low velocity impact. My car had scratches to the paintwork and was subsequently written off, although no major damage to either car.

You must have provided a witness statement to your solicitor to set out what happened and what you say about your injury? OP I highly suggest you contact the solicitor and ask to have sight of copies of your documents and also query why they haven’t put forward any offers of settlement on your behalf and what the various options/outcomes are for you at this point. I also suggest looking out any terms you entered into on engaging them as there equally may be consequences to discontinuing your case.