Yet another example that demonstrates the importance of instructing a lawyer to claim for you the proper way.
We have recently done several articles about recent cases we have settled for road accidents in the region of £5,000, but this latest one has settled for even more. A lot of that was down to claiming the right way as well as our negotiating tactics with the other side.
Road accident claims – The Facts:
- Many people are tempted in to under settling their claim directly with insurers
- Many go through referral lawyers by being passed to them by claims management companies or insurers and end up with a poor service
- Many law firms, due to recent legal fee reforms and historic referral fees, fall victim to standard offers that their lawyers get them to accept
When it comes to whiplash type injuries relating to soft tissue damage to the neck, back, and shoulder, the facts when it comes to payouts are these:
- Settling directly usually means a payout of between £500 to £1,500
- The average minor whiplash claim settles for around £2,500
- Research has shown that good lawyers can get you four times more than the original offer
So when we say that we can get you more, we really are telling the truth! In this case I can tell you that the negotiation process resulted in the following offers made:
- An offer from the insurers to accept in full and final settlement of just over £4,300
- A second offer from the Defendant solicitors for just over £6,700
- A third offer form the solicitors for £7,200
- A fourth offer of just over £8,000
But, as confirmed in the title, we settled for a sum that was just shy of £9,000 because we stuck to our guns and showed the solicitors defending the claim that we mean business. A lot of the offers mentioned above where made by way of ‘Part 36’ which puts people at risk of cost consequences if their offers are not beaten. The point of doing this is to put Claimants at risk, and some lawyers are simply too frightened to keep fighting.
But we are not – we’re not called The Injury Lawyers for no reason at all!
Eventually the solicitors accepted our offer which had been made despite them trying to settle for less with the offers above. Unfortunately the Court system isn’t always Claimant friendly, so a Judge at a hearing could so easily have awarded a less sum and caused cost issues for the Claimant had we have gone to trial.
But like I said above, we stuck to our guns, and we obtained a fantastic settlement that our client was happy to have received.
So here’s another example of how we can get you more! Don’t leave it to chance – call our friendly team 0800 634 7575 today.
