Compensation Claims Against Personal Injury Solicitors

In a recent case the Court found that an accident victim's solicitor had under-settled his claim because the solicitor did not claim for activities the Claimant could no longer carry out such as gardening and DIY. 

 

The Judge in that case commented upon the system set up by the solicitors which involved the “extensive use of questionnaires and standardised letters with very little personal contact with the client.” 

 

This enabled the solicitors to deal with a very high number of claims at limited cost, but as the Judge also commented “The disadvantage however of such a system is that it is heavily reliant on the client carefully reading 

 

all the correspondence and filling the questionnaires in accurately”. 

 

It is becoming increasingly common for insurers to try to settle claims without a medical report.  Your solicitor should warn you of the risk associated with not obtaining medical evidence and if they fail to do so they could be negligent if your injuries are worse than you initially thought. 

 

Diane Massey, Principal at DSM Legal solicitors, says “Unfortunately with the introduction of fixed fees it is to be expected that firms will look to reduce costs and many may be tempted to settle claims too early in order to obtain their costs. 

 

However, standards must be maintained and my advice is to seek a second opinion from a personal injury specialist solicitor if you have concerns that your claim may have been under-settled or settled too soon. ” 

 

Solicitors are insured against negligence claims, so we if we think you have a good case after we have carried out a free assessment we will offer you a No Win No Fee agreement. 

 

For further information on under-settling of claims visit our webpage:- 

Under-Settling A Personal Injury Claim 

 

Please note that there are strict time limits involved in bringing a professional negligence claim.