Can anyone help?

Hi all, I need some advice (not a joke this time ), I'm not, or ever have been the type to make ins. claims, and could never bring myself to be one of the "whiplash for a few easy quid brigade" ... however I feel I do have grounds for some form of compensation for the bike accident I had last year, leaving me with reduced use of my left ankle, permanant screws that will stay in there for the rest of my days, possible problems in later life etc etc the list goes on, I wont bore you with the details!! (oh, and the guy responsible has been a complete knob about it )

Anywho, I have been thinking about contacting one of the "no win no fee" company's to see what they think ... and just wondered if anyone had any experience or advice for me ? like what not to do maybe, who not to approach and why ... anything really .. as I said, I've never done owt like this before

If anyone has experienced anything similar, but dosent want to say in public, perhaps Steve could somehow pass on my details (email, mbl or summut like that ???)

Thanx anyway

when did it happen?

Sorry to hear all that Andy. I have no experience with this. Hope it all works out.

The only experience I have is when I took my ex employers to court which was a no win kinda thing. I had to pay for the initial fee and then whatever was settled he took 1/3 so not really the same.

I would suggest going to your local CAB and getting advice there, thats where I started Xx

Sounds like you have a great case find a no win no fee solicitor local to where you live and they'll guide you through if they thought you didn't have a claim they wouldn't take the case

Cheers for the replies

Steve - it was the end of April last year, then I had 12wks off work (8wks in plaster) two operations, and around 15 physio sessions.

The blokes ins payed for the rebuild of the bike (they wanted to right it off but I came to an agreement with them cus I wanted it back) but they said they are only paying up because even they couldnt get hold of him , he ignored letters, emails, phones calls ... just buried his head and went to ground !!! so they had to pay for the damage, but at the same time, said they didnt accept liability

have to be careful with the no win no fee, think its much more regulated these days but my Uncle was ripped off big style, too his firm to court after ndustrial injury and most of the win was swalowed up by legal fees they took 9k he got 1k, you must do your research very carefully and really look into the details of charges when successful. Like someone else said , no win no fee is academic as they would never take your case unless they were sure they could win. I'm a little old fashioned and believe you will always be better o go to a normal solicitor if you have a good case, but you alwaysd have a possibility of paying fees and losing

andy go to a normal solicitor that can set you up with a liability insurance policy that way you wont just get a solicitor that will fleece you
thats what i done and had a great result

unsure there, buthere sometimes if you call around they sometimes are real helpful with giving advice and all before you actually go on.

Only really considering this type of thing because I cant afford solicitors fee's TBH, and with his Ins. basically saying they arnt admitting to owt, (cant see why they would stump up if they didnt think I had a case? I'm sure they could get hold of him somehow !!) just makes me nervous

Need to talk to someone I guess, thanks for the concern

Andy wrote:Cheers for the replies

Steve - it was the end of April last year, then I had 12wks off work (8wks in plaster) two operations, and around 15 physio sessions.

The blokes ins payed for the rebuild of the bike (they wanted to right it off but I came to an agreement with them cus I wanted it back) but they said they are only paying up because even they couldnt get hold of him , he ignored letters, emails, phones calls ... just buried his head and went to ground !!! so they had to pay for the damage, but at the same time, said they didnt accept liability

Andy, please,please check your paperwork very carefully from when they paid out for the repairs to your bike.

Look for anything that says "This is in full and final settlement of your claim" if you signed a letter and sent this back to the insurance company then you have no grounds to make a further claim from them. From reading the above statement you came to an agreement with them.

You have to be so careful with insurance companies, they will screw you anyway they can. I have been there and outgrown the TShirt.

If they paid out for the repairs I THINK they must have accepted liability otherwise they wouldn't have paid out. Please check this though. As said please take some advice go to your local Citizens Advice Bureau they should be able to point you in the right direction. Good luck. I have added link to Worcester CAB below.

http://www.cabwhabac.org.uk/

I would be very careful who you use. I had a car crash back in 2000 which was before the no win no fee was introduded and the solictor I had was an absoulte night mare.

It took over 5 years to settle the case. The only reason it was settled was she went on maternity leave and her boss took over and settled it in a week. I ended up getting the amount offered 3 years earler she said to refuse as it was too low. So I could have had it settled and money in the bank. In the end they didjn't charge me any fees as she'd done such a bad job. I did think the figures she was comming up with was very high.

Hey Kathy, thanx for the advice x, I'll check out the CAB

When I said came to an agreement, all that was, was that I would agree to compramise slightly on the rebuild, in order to get the bike back, as the initial cost was around 4k's worth of damage! so they just wanted to right it off (but I knew I couldnt get another bike like this for what they would pay me) ... I havent had any contact with the third party, or his ins. it was all handled by my ins. and the dealership that did the repair work, the only thing I have signed to date is to say I'm happy with the quality of the repair (which covers the garage and their work).

The whole thing makes you feel like a very small fish in a very big sea , and just want to make sure if the ball starts rolling in the wrong direction, I'm not gunna get squished !!

Hi Andy, my hubby has just suggested to look on Money Supermarket website they may some reviews of these type of companies for you to look at. Hope you can get it sorted.

There are claims companies that the other side covers all the costs, which means you won't pay any legal fees at all! Good luck, you deffo have a claim if its his fault and you can proove it

Equi wrote:There are claims companies that the other side covers all the costs, which means you won't pay any legal fees at all! Good luck, you deffo have a claim if its his fault and you can proove it

but you still need to get a separate liability insurance because if they get found not to blame you will get a large bill thats why i was saying go to a normal solicitor that specialies in accident claimes you will find it better in the long run
the solicitor will even purchase it for you and will pay for it so will still not cost you a penny

Hi Andy
Contact your own insurace back but be very careful how you word your conversation.
They should have details of your accident on file as they were involved at the begining , tell them that at the time although you sustained injury you didnt realise the coplex situation and that you would still be suffering now and have perminant damage. Although you dont know who was liable it would be up to both ins companys to battle it out and if they cannot agree irrelivent of the other refusing to comply then a fifty/fifty will be implimented and you would be covered for compensation.
You will need to give permision of your medical records and will also need to see a indipendant medical consultant but from the time of your accident you have a 2 year window to make a claim if one wasnt settled at the time.
The other insurers will try to dismiss but keep at it and dont accept it.
Your own insurace should persue this case as it hasnt been closed and hasnt passed the 2 year deadline.
As for not making a claim in the first place accidents and claims are calculated and yearly insurance projects them so if you have a accident and are counted but dont claim compensation then what you rightfully should have goes into the profits of the others ins and tbh they already are in the millions in profits every year .

Thanx all for the support

Gem - will my Ins. fight even if I havent got legal cover? (cant find my damn policy to check ) ... I remember asking them where I stand with the damage to my leathers/helmet, and was told they werent covered, and that I would have to persue the third party for that !! despite being fully comp (thats when I started thinkin about the no win no fee boys)

There is a very long list of reasons why I should persue this, and only one why I shouldnt !! and that is by some freakish twist I lose, and have to pay .. though I cant see how, but i'm not a brief !

andy are you a member of a union? at work
if you are ask them to look into it for you
my union offers legal advice

If you were not at fault for the accident then the other party is responsible for your litigation which covers you for your bike and compensation for injury (was you asked at the time of the accident when you reported it did you suffer any injury ) if not ring them and say as above and you could never have forcasted what your treatment was going to be so thats why its a delayed claim for injury.
Like I said its up to your insurance to battle out blame and if the other chap refuses to comply then it should go in your favour the very worse case should be 50/50 blame then each of could claim compensation of each other.
What your insurace is saying you cannot claim from your own ins compen and clothing damages but you can claim from the other side so you need to persue them for blame just because he refuses to aknowlege the accident doesnt mean he can get away scott free they (his insurers) have a legal obligation to compensate any third party who is injured