Last week I settled a case for a lady who had been involved in a road traffic accident. It was an unusual case as the car that she was travelling in drove into collision with a tree that had fallen into the road. The tree had been rooted in a cemetery which was owned by the local authority to whom we submitted the claim and who admitted responsibility.
We were then required to prove what lawyers call ‘causation’, namely that the accident caused the injuries suffered by the client. It was initially alleged by the authority that our client had not been in the vehicle, when our evidence showed that she clearly was.
Unfortunately, we spent months attempting to obtain witness statements from the other passenger and the driver of the vehicle. Regrettably, because of a falling out, neither of them were prepared to help the client. They did not respond to our numerous letters nor did they help when we sent a private investigator to visit them.
A medical was obtained but after we submitted it to the Defendants they refused to make any offers of settlement.
Our client was forced to start Court proceedings. At that stage we advised the client that there was a significant risk that she would not recover any compensation as it was possible that a Judge might decide that she could not prove that she was injured as a result of the accident. We advised the client to instruct us to make an offer of settlement which reflected the risks to both sides. She instructed us to make an offer of 50% of the true value of the claim.
Fortunately, this offer was accepted so the Claimant was spared the further difficulty of going to Court and avoided the risk of losing at Court.
At Taylor&Emmet we will always advise a client about the risks involved in proceeding with a case. Our experienced Solicitors will advise our clients to make sensible settlement offers to try and bring their claims to a conclusion at the appropriate times.
This Claimant was understandably upset that none of the people that were in the car with her were prepared to help her so, in the end, this settlement represented a good outcome for her.
If you would like advice on any type of personal injury claim, call our personal injury team on 0114 218 4000 or email us at P.I.Dept@tayloremmet.co.uk
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