advice regarding solicitors

[cascade]

my dad was involved in a car accident about 3 years ago. It has been dragging on ages. Anyway this is the situation he is now. The firm of solicitors who have been representing him has been taken over by another firm. This firm has said they cannot represent my dad as they are the solicitors that are representing the other person involved in the accident. They have now disclosed to him that they sent all his private medical notes to this other person by accident. Is this right, what can he do?

aaarrrrggg! no, sending the other side his medical notes is not alright.

They are probably right they can't continue to represent him if they have lots of inside knowledge about the other side but sending his notes off sounds very dodgy.

Try and get another decent firm of sols asap to take over the personal injury claim and then look at pursuing other firm for possible negligence.

All firms should have a complaints policy; you go first to senior partner and then if not satisfied on to the Law Society or Solicitors Regulatory Authority (not sure which)

yes hes got another solicitor already. He has been using the legal team within his union. He was in a lorry when the accident happened. The union have now got him another firm of solicitors. What i dont understand is that the old solicitors will have inside knowledge now, if you see what I mean. It has been going on so long because they wanted to go fifty fifty, He has refused as it wasnt his fault. (he has witness statements and police evidence stating he was not at fault)

I think its just bad luck the firm got taken over by the firm that acts for the other side; even though it will be different individual solicitors dealing with the case, i think it is very difficult and ethically completely unadvisable for the same firm to act for two sides in a dispute.

Good luck and i hope he sorts it out soon but these things do tend to drag on and on and on and on as insurance companies want to get a reputation for being hard players.