FAQsWhy does it seem to take so long?
Mainly because the injuries can take so long. No Solicitor should settle a claim until either the client’s injuries have fully healed or a medical report is obtained saying this is as healed as the injuries are going to be – a final prognosis. The more serious the injury, the longer it will take.
Defendants and insurers do not, on the whole, deliberately try and spin things out. What does happen is that they raise valid questions relating to the cause of the accident or alleged negligence (liability), whether the ongoing symptoms relate to the accident or to some other cause (causation), and whether the financial items claimed are reasonable and justified.
Mrs Smith had arthritis for some years before being involved in a road accident which was not her fault. As a result, the pain and discomfort caused by the arthritis got worse. A medical report was obtained saying that the accident aggravated the arthritis by a period of 12 months and any ongoing problems after that were down to the pre-existing arthritis. Although liability was quickly admitted by the insurers, the claim still took over a year for precisely this reason. Settling early may well mean settling low and that is not in your interest.
Remember, your Solicitor won’t be paid until after you have been paid, so he’s not likely to sit on it!
Why does my Solicitor not contact me for such long periods?
Your Solicitor should keep you fully in touch at all times, but there may be long gaps in between something happening; while injuries heal, reports are obtained etc. Claims rarely flow smoothly or in a measured manner, it’s usually in fits and starts, with the occasional panic if there’s a trial coming up.
Why is my Solicitor so concerned with costs and fees instead of listening to my own concerns?
If only Injury Solicitors were trained therapists! Although, here at Gordons we’re a little bit different because one of us actually is!
Lawyers are generally trained to only look at the case and the legal & financial issues, so it’s easy for them to lose sight of the fact that there is a human being at the other end of the claim who may be going through hell!
The word “costs” means different things to your Solicitor than it does to you. The word “costs” to your Solicitor means income, whereas to everyone else it means expenditure!
A difficulty here is that a “no win no fee” agreement means that your Solicitor won’t get paid unless you win, so your Solicitor will be more concerned than usual about this aspect and will be obliged to monitor your chances of success on an ongoing basis.
No business can afford to work for nothing, so your Solicitor is going to be concerned at the outset about getting paperwork signed and may send you a pile of stuff you feel you don’t even want to look at (- which you should read before you sign). Insurers are very good at challenging the fine print of these agreements, so your Solicitor is going to emphasise the importance of this aspect, especially at the beginning.
Another problem concerns the amount of regulation that Solicitors have to comply with, a burden inflicted by government and other regulatory bodies. When “no win no fee” agreements first appeared in the mid 1990’s, they were easy and simple. Now, after years of regulation, they are anything but simple and this is why you receive not just the agreement, but a pile of reading material to go with it!
As always, call and ask if you’re unclear and your Solicitor will answer your questions and explain it to you. Keep asking till you’re clear and don’t sign anything you’re not happy with.
If I have a “no win no fee” agreement and don’t have to pay win or lose, why am I given all this stuff about hourly rates and costs? It’s quite scary!
The first point is that you’d only have to pay if you breach your agreement, for example by giving false information or failing to co-operate. This only very rarely happens.
You’re given all the stuff about costs because regulations imposed on Solicitors require that you be given it. The idea was that clients be fully informed, but often the effect is that clients are fully scared. There’s no need to be. If you don’t pay win or lose, it doesn’t matter (except to your Solicitor) what the rates are. Again, ask if you’re unsure.
In addition, Solicitors are required to give clients 6 monthly updates of the costs so far and the likely cost for the future. Again, this is sent because the rules require it to be sent and you should not be concerned at all when a letter arrives twice a year telling you how much has been spent and is likely to be spent on your case. The natural tendency when you receive this sort of information is to get worried, but please do remember that you’re not the one footing the bill!
My Solicitor is talking about disbursements. What are they?
A “no win no fee” agreement is only a no win no legal fee agreement, that is your Solicitor’s costs (his firm’s charges). It does not mean no win no cost. Disbursements are monies which are paid to other people involved in the claim, such as doctors, experts, court fees, fees for obtaining medical notes etc. Most Solicitors will pay these for you and insure you (at no cost to you) in respect of these disbursements and also in respect of losing, when the Defendant or insurers would be looking for their charges from you. The insurance is essential to cover your back, just in case!
My Solicitor even wants identity papers at the beginning. Why? This is a pain.
Yes it is. It’s the government imposing more regulations that are supposed to prevent fraud. It’s no different however than what you’d need to show if you, say, wanted to open a bank account. Certifying who you are is a pain, but it is a necessary requirement imposed by law. The fraudsters like it even less!
I don’t understand what’s going on
Ring your Solicitor and ask! If you don’t understand anything, ask for a simpler explanation. You have a right to know. It’s your claim, after all!
I can never seem to get hold of my Solicitor
We all have to prioritise our work – cases involving court dates will often be given priority. We all have busy schedules and there really will be times when we’re in meetings!
If it becomes a persistent problem and no-one seems to be taking your calls or getting back to you, you should write with an informal complaint to the person dealing with your claim.
If that fails, you can complain formally to the “complaints partner” (every firm has to have one) and in extreme cases, you can complain to the Legal Complaints Service based in Leamington Spa. They will investigate your complaint themselves.
My Solicitor says he can’t tell me how much I’m likely to get. Surely he must know?
Not until quite some way into the claim, usually. Compensation for injuries is difficult to assess and we’ve all had the experience of trying to give good news to the client at the beginning only to find the claim is worth less than we’d originally hoped. That makes people very unhappy and they start to feel angry about it.
Mrs Jones had a bad leg injury with what seemed originally a hideous burn and scar. The Solicitor on seeing this thought it could be worth maybe £10,000 and said so at the outset. After 3 or 4 months, however, there was hardly a mark to be seen and Mrs Jones got only £3,000. She had a go at her Solicitor over this, but the claim was correctly valued.
The Solicitor’s mistake was in giving a figure before the injury had had a chance to heal, so we tend not to do this until we are reasonably sure of all the medical facts. Even then, it can be difficult to assess and we do this by looking at previously decided cases for similar injuries. After that, it’s often a matter of haggling with the insurers.
I’ve heard about someone who got £20,000 for a claim involving a broken leg but I’ve been told I’ll only get £10,000 for my broken leg. Is this fair?
Compensation falls into 2 categories ‘general’ and ‘special’ damages. General damages relates to money for the injury itself, special damages is money for financial losses. It’s the latter category that pushes some claims up higher than others.
Mr Green and Mr Blue had similar accidents. Both had a broken arm. Mr Green was a plumber and so lost a great deal of money from not being able to work. Mr Blue was unemployed and so had no loss of earnings. Both got £4,500 for the injury. Mr Blue received £5,250 in total, the £4,500 plus some travelling costs and a claim for a lost short holiday. Mr Green’s claim amounted to £15,000 to compensate him, not just for the injury, but also for the loss of his earnings. Mr Blue felt aggrieved that he had got less than Mr Green, but there was nothing else to include in his claim.
Every claim is different, so don’t try to compare your claim with someone else’s, it’s invariably a mistake.
Anything more you’d like to ask?
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