Civil case following car accident

[Covgal83]

My DD was knocked over by a car a few months ago. We have been incredibly fortunate - it could have been a lot worse. It was no fault of her own and the driver is being charged by the police. she has no physical injuries, but her independence and confidence has been negatively impacted: we have to walk her everywhere now as she is too nervous to cross roads and be in busy places. She is a young teenager so this is understandable, but not ideal as she needs to be becoming independent. I think we are going to need to look at therapy to help her overcome these anxieties. Has anyone any experience in claiming or raising a civil case to help pay for this expense, please?

I worked in the County Court for many years, you really need legal advice. There are protocols that have to be followed and its not the type of thing you can do yourself. Obviously there will be costs involved, you can get solicitors who will do it ‘no win no fee’ (many local solicitors offer this - not just the online ones who I would avoid). Also you may have legal cover with your household insurance and that would cover it. To see where you stand book a 30 minute free consultation with a local solicitor and they will tell you where you stand. Much better to use a local firm so you can have face to face meetings, ask around for recommendations

Thank you. That’s really helpful.

Agree you need to contact a solicitor who specialises in this. Also where abouts are you as the rules on no win/no fee etc differ across different areas of UK. For example, I used to practice in NI and there is no win no fee there.

On the face of it, if the driver is found guilty there should be no dispute of liability and you may have a good claim. A solicitor should write to the drivers insurers and set your daughter up with a consultant psychiatrist appointment. The psych will write a report on the impact of the accident on her, and this will be used to talk money with the insurers. It's quite usual to go back and forth on offers two or three times, but your solicitor will be able to guide you on whether you should accept an offer or not.

It is possible to settle a case involving a minor outside of court, but there will be a court date in which the judge will have to approve the settlement, to ensure best interests of the child. But if you have agreed a settlement and just looking for judicial approval, your daughter should not have to give evidence etc. Depending on the extent of psychiatric injuries, and your jurisdiction, this will either be county or high court.

If you are successful in your claim, the solicitors should recoup costs from the other side.

I would contact a personal injury firm that's local to you, not a big chain.

Also keep in mind a lot of solicitors now do the majority of these cases over the phone, it's much more efficient for everyone and instructions don't really need to be taken in person. If you want to meet in person they should accommodate this so do say if that's the case.

sorry I meant there isn't no win no fee in NI. I accidentally wrote the opposite there.

We have gone through this and I second using a local solicitor - we had an initial face to face meeting, and then it was mostly done by phone or email, with occasional in person catch ups. The fee was 25% of the compensation agreed (well worth it).

Try Resolution Law in Liverpool (an off-shoot of DWF). They didn’t deduct anything from damages when I used them.