Pedestrian run over by senior citizen!
Mr B was hit by a 70 year old motorist who "accidentally" hit the wrong pedal and ended up running into him, causing serious leg injuries as he was trapped against another vehicle. There was obviously no argument as to legal blame, but Mr B needed a lawyer who knew what to do next.
Mr B was one of those unfortunate victims of an accident who was poorly advised. He accepted a recommendation to instruct a High Street solicitor, a sole practitioner, who did not specialise in personal injury work. Over 5 years later his claim had still not been settled. It was a case involving serious injuries but there was no excuse for such delay. Fortunately, Mr B’s luck changed as his solicitor was declared bankrupt requiring him to appoint a new firm to represent him. As Mr B was local to our Farnborough office, he called in for a free consultation and we instantly set about rescuing the situation.
One of the difficulties we faced was that there was a strict Court Order in place to disclose expert evidence that was just not available at the time. The Judge was not satisfied in the way in which the case was being run. The other problem was that Mr B just wanted to settle his case because it had taken so long. The car driver’s insurers had played a devious game, despite the severity of Mr B’s injuries and losses, they had only offered £123,000 and had refused to increase their offer.
We managed to obtain key expert evidence and at a Court hearing a negotiated settlement was achieved of nearly £350,000. Mr B was pleased to get an offer within the range of damages that a Court would have awarded if it had gone to Trial and although he could possibly have gone on to get more, he decided to finish the case after waiting for so long.
Mr B conceded that he wished he had instructed Bakers Personal Injury Solicitors, a specialist personal injury firm, in the first place. The Judge praised our handling of the claim and said that he was amazed at the progress that we had made in the time from when the matter had last come before him, and was pleased to approve the settlement.
If you have been injured in a road traffic accident, whether as a driver, passenger, pedestrian or other road user, or if you are not happy with your current Solicitor because your claim has been going on for so long please contact us for free advice.
