Rta claim..

To give you an estimation of value would be wrong and near on impossible as no two claims are ever the same and your circumstances will be different to others in a similar position.  Your solicitor should have given you an indication by now of what sort of settlement you should be looking at.

What I can say is given the severity of his injuries, is that it is likely to be substantial.

There are many factors that come into play when determining the value of a claim. 

Firstly there are what is called general damages which cover the actual injuries themselves and includes a payment for pain and suffering.

Then there are special damages which covers all other costs such as loss of earnings, out of pocket expenses, any ongoing treatment, and so on.

On top of this, if your husband is likely to suffer a disability for the rest of his days which may prevent him doing certain things, even for example not being able to return to his previous occupation if for example he was a manual labourer and he therefore had to take a pay cut, this is also taken into consideration along with a lot of other things.

However, not knowing the full facts of your husbands case, the other side may try and attribute a degree of contributory negligence, and if successful, whatever percentage of contrib is awarded or agreed is then deducted from the award.

This is why the independent medical report is important as the expert will be able to provide a long term prognosis which also helps your solicitor determine a value (called the schedule of damages).

Best thing to do is ask your solicitor if he/she has a figue in mind in respect of what sort of value he has put on the claim.  He/she should have a pretty good idea by now.

Mmarsh wrote:

Our main concern is getting his wages back that he is owed.

Have you asked your solicitor to apply for what is called an interim payment.

In cases where financial difficulty are being experienced, it is not uncommon to apply for an interim payment (in short part of your compensation early or before settlement) which can tie you over until the case settles, and in the more complex cases, several interim payments can be made.

However, these interim payments are part of your compensation, and whatever the final award is, it will be less the amount already received.

As far as lost salary, this will form part of the special damages.  Your solicitor will write to your husbands employer and ask for a break down of his lost earnings and any loss of overtime and bonuses.  This also becomes part of the schedule of damages.

Hope that makes sense?

Sometimes, depending on the severity of the injuries, more than one report is required especially if your husband is still experiencing ongoing problems.

The independent medical expert should have been provided with everything he needs to be able to provide a detailed report, unless it was already known that a further report may be required later down the line, but that does not detract from the fact that he should have had everything sent to him.

If there are still ongoing problems, then the independent medical examiner may not be able to provide a long term prognosis which will help determine the level of compensation that he will be entitled to, and this is important when it comes to preparing the schedule of costs.

3 - 4 weeks for your solicitor to receive the report is actually pretty quick in comparison to some.

The interim payment comes out of the compensation that is due.  His lost salary will form part of the overall award including any loss of bonus or overtime.  So if for example the total overall award is lets say Â?20,000, bearing in mind you have already received Â?2,000, then you will receive in the final settlement Â?18,000 which if you add the Â?2,000 brings it up to the Â?20,000.  (Again, I hasten to add, this is just an example).

These types of cases can sometimes take years to settle, particularly if there has been a serious injury, but your solicitor should have explained all of this when he/she first spoke to you and your husband, and you should be kept in the loop all the way through.

Hope I have explained this OK for you.

Cheers pal. I do appreciate the witring.

A6yy4B comment2

I suggest you find out from an experienced personal injury solicitor how much you claim might be worth. Any solicitor that has been practicing for a while can give you a good estimate of how much to expect.

Engraving