Personal injury court case - any experiences?

[siriusb]

Hi,

I'm just wondering whether anyone has any experience of court for a personal injury cases.

 

There are two companies/organizations that the claim is against - each denying responsibility and pointing the finger at the other.

 

The accident I had severely exacerbated an existing but well managed condition and a medico-legal expert has found that it brought forward my need for surgery.

 

I know the particulars of the claim have to be with the two organizations within 4 months - but as they both deny liability I am assuming this will go all the way and I don't really know what to expect.

 

Any ideas?

[reallymadwoman]

If you don't have a solicitor dealing with this already then you should get one a.s.a.p. - personal injury claims are not generally suitable for a litigant in person.

 

In general, very few PI claims actually ever reach court. The most likely scenario is that the insurers of the two companies will come to some agreement between themselves as to how to split liability for your claim. If it does reach court then what actually happens on the day depends on so many variables that it's pretty much impossible to give general information, however your solicitor and barrister should go through it with you beforehand.

[siriusb]

I do have a solicitor - I certainly wouldn't want to be doing it alone.

 

I have no idea what or how potential figures are reached, or whether if it reaches court whether I will need to explain just how horrendous the pain was or the impact it had upon me.

 

My solicitors are good but I don't think they want me getting ahead of myself (which I'm not). I'm making no automatic assumption it will go in my favour but I would like some idea of what to expect :/

[reallymadwoman]

As I said above, the chances of it reaching court are so small it's really not worth worrying about. The costs of a full hearing are so high that, unless your claim is valued in hundreds of thousands, it's simply not worth it.

 

When you refer to potential figures I guess you mean how much your claim is worth. The valuation will be done by your solicitor/barrister using previously settled similar cases uprated to today's value though as you can imagine this is not an exact science and will almost certainly be subject to considerable negotiation.

 

Should your case for some reason actually make it to a court room you may be asked questions about your injury, but more likely the medical reports would have been accepted beforehand. One way of costs spiralling out of control is to dispute medical evidence and have to call expert witnesses!

[siriusb]

Thanks for your input.

 

I've been doing a bit of reading around the subject and from what I can gather after all the court docs / particulars of claim / statement of truthfulness and any evidence are exchanged then it is likely a section 36 or calderbank offer may happen.

I am just trying to get my head round how this works with two defendants!

[reallymadwoman]

The two insurance companies are very likely to reach a compromise agreement between themselves as to what proportion each should pay toward your claim - again, it goes to costs. Unless you have a very expensive claim it is far more economical to compromise than go to a court hearing.

 

I do think you are getting way ahead of yourself. From post 1 they don't even have the particulars of claim yet and when they do get them I expect it will very quickly focus their minds on limiting how much you are going to cost them by reaching an agreement. There are probably hundreds of thousands of injury claims issued every year and only a tiny proportion of them ever get anywhere near a court room and those that do tend to be valued in millions.

[siriusb]

:/ I realize I'm probably trying to look three steps ahead.

Both organizations involved are blaming the other one - that's why I'm trying to figure out things.

As you say if they reach a compromise on figures between themselves that would be better for me - much less stressful!

[steampowered]

There is a lot of law surrounding joint defendants. Vastly over simplifying this, the answer will be different depending on whether both defendants jointly contributed to a dangerous situation (in which case they are both jointly liable for all damages) or whether the defendants both contributed to exacerbating your condition (rather than both contributing towards a single dangerous set of circumstances, in which case each Defendant would only be liable for the damage attributable to it).

 

It is not necessarily the case that you would have to apportion liability between them. You may be entitled to pursue either Defendant for the full whack and leave the two Defendants to sort out the allocation of liability between themselves. This is how most PI claims with multiple Defendants proceed. Needless to say this is something for your solicitor to comment on.

[siriusb]

Thank you for your reply.

 

I am not really sure which of the scenarios apply. Although I'm sure in personal injury terms my case is probably simple to my untrained eye the liability issues is messy.

[steampowered]

That is understandable. There is a lot of case law dealing with all sorts of different situations. This is the kind of issue where we would really need the full background to give you any sensible advice, so it is best to ask your solicitor.

 

If the Particulars of Claim names both Defendants as co-Defendants, I would imagine both Defendants are being sued on a joint and several basis (which means they are both liable to you for the full amount, and dealing with how to allocate that between them would be their problem not your problem). Obviously it is difficult for me to be sure about this without reading the POC.

[siriusb]

Yes, the POC names both of them. At end of poc it specifies breach of duty/negligence for each defendant.

[siriusb]

Any thoughts peeps?

 

My solicitors (a reputable company linked to my Union) sent me the particulars of my claim several weeks ago.

I wroteback immediately saying a couple of points weren't right and clarified what they were. I followed this up with a phone call a couple of days after. I spoke to my soliciitor at this point who said she had submitted the case to the court (not the particulars or medical report but the preliminary bit) and would go over the what i had submitted and get back to me. I asked at this point if she needed any further info regarding emails I had copies of (that would need to be disclosed - i couldn't remember if I had already provided them).

 

As I had not heard anything I rang last friday and spoke with her secretary - but i still haven't heard anything and I am a bit worried about time limits etc.

 

Just to be clear my claim was submitted very soon after the accident but my employers and other comapny involved have been very reluctant to porovide responses/information. Additionally i had surgery so it was important to let things settle as much as they could. That's why the solicitor left it until just before the three year mark.

 

Any thoughts on how to best approach my solicitor without appearing a pain in the bum?

[reallymadwoman]

If you've not had a return call by the end of tomorrow I would ring again and remind the secretary.

 

Bottom line is that if the solicitor misses the deadline you will not lose out as she will be liable for your claim instead.

[steampowered]

Asking your solicitor whether the POC has been issued is not being a pain in the bum. Its a very reasonable question and only takes a few seconds to answer.

 

If the claim form has been issued in court but not yet served on the other side you have some time, but not that much time.

[siriusb]

I think that is the case i.e not issued to the other sides.

 

I rang today but she was in a meeting so I took her email address and emailed her.

 

I've attempted to make sense of the process as outlined on the justice website and i think there is now 4 months for all documents between all parties to be exchanged (but i may have got that wrong).

[steampowered]

If the Particulars of Claim has not been issued then you are not at the disclosure stage yet. This comes later. There is no requirement to exchange documents until after the POC has been filed, after the Defence has been filed and after the case has been allocated within the court system.

[Ganymede]

Hi, briefly what will happen next (in most cases but not all):-

 

1. Particulars of Claim and medical report etc must be filed and served within 4 months of the issue date.

 

2. The defendants will then file their defence within 28 days.

 

3. The court will (after a few weeks) provide directions which is basically a timetable for the case leading up to trial.

 

4. Disclosure of docs will probably be 4 weeks later with exchange of witness statements another 6 weeks on top of that.

 

5. If it doesn't settle you will probably be looking at a trial date after 4-5 months.

[siriusb]

Thank you very much everyone.

[siriusb]

Having good read of bumpf that I've been sent for info from solicitors...and I'm a tad confused about part 36 offers. I appreciate one is likely a month or three away but am just trying to figure implications of them.

 

If (for example) I made a part 36 offer for £10,000 but the two defendants rejected that, made no counter offer and it made it to court but the judge only awarded me £8,000 how are costs assigned?

[Ganymede]

You're seriously overthinking things now.

 

You are paying a solicitor for professional legal advice, use her!!

[siriusb]

You are right! I guess I just like to look ahead at what's around the corner so I am prepared. This is in no small part due to the reticent, ineffectual managers I have had to deal with in the past (thankfully not the case at the moment).

[siriusb]

I have finally got follow up letter - and now POC are good to be signed and sent back (along with statement of truthfulness and some documents required for disclosure at a future point I guess).

So looking at the usual timeline I am possibly looking at September time next year if it goes all the way to court?

Regarding witness statements - how does it work if some of the people who worked for the defendant/s at the time of the accident no have resigned/retired?

[Ganymede]

Again aren't these questions for the solicitor you have instructed? lol.

[siriusb]

Lol. Probably. Just wondered if anyone had any experience in such circumstances (esp as for next 6 weeks work commitments mean a phone call during the day is out of the question).

It's all gone on soooo long that I guess the flickering light at the end of the tunnel is too attractive - and I just want some kind of resolution.

[Ganymede]

If you issue now then I reckon it'll be around 6 months to trial.

 

Do you have the witnesses number? Your solicitor will get in touch and find out an address to write to. If you have no contact details you might not get one.