Personal injury - liability accepted

I'm sorry, I don't know the best way to advise you on this but wish you well. I hope that by responding it will flag your question to others with some knowledge and experience.

I was in the same position as you but after being hit by a car. A lot of googling revealed that by and large the end result was the same as although solicitors take a percentage they are able to get a higher pay out so it can be swings or roundabouts. FWIW I used a solicitor and was glad I had as it removed most of the work from me and I was very satisfied with their performance.

Check if you have legal cover as part of household insurance, it may cover such a claim.

Chilipea I would definitely encourage you to use a solicitor. If your case is as good as you say and the company has accepted responsibility then the company will be responsible for paying all your legal costs.

My DD was severely injured and left with a disability after a road accident, where the car that caused the accident drove off and no-one got his number. On the advice of a solicitor friend we found a local firm of solicitors who had a partner who specialised in personal injury, and it was the best thing we ever did.

He explained everything to us and said we would only be responsible for legal charges if we lost our case, not something you need to worry about as the company has admitted responsibility. He commissioned professional medical reports on the extent of DDs injury and when these doctors saw DD and discussed the ramifications that would result from her injuries they raised all kinds of issues that we never thought about.

At first her claim was turned down, our solicitor helped us go to appeal and the adjudicator slammed the Motorist's Insurance Bureau for rejecting her claim saying she was the entirely innocent victim of someone elses bad driving and they should pay up.

The solicitor then negotiated with the insurance bureau to maximise her compensation. Thanks to his help with getting full medical reports and negotiating her compensation, she got a significantly better payout than we ever expected. Mind you, she has to live with a badly scarred and disabled right arm for the rest of her life, and that is a significant disability when you are right-handed.
Without his help DD would have got nothing.

I really would advise you to make an appointment with a local company of solicitors who has a partner that specialises in personal injury, and that is important. Do not go to one of the no win/no fee solicitors, especially in a case like yours where responsibility has been admitted. You shouldn't need to pay fees and you will end up with a higher compensation payment.

If you would like to discuss this further feel free to PM me.

Monica’s advice is sound. Find a solicitor from the Law Society’s Personal Injury Panel if you aren’t sure. They will be well versed in the medical aspects of a claim and quantifying any possible future loss of earnings if this applies.

You would need to be highly skilled in all the legal stuff to be able to handle a case like this. Are you in a works union? They may be able to help if the injury was work related as they should have their own firm of solicitors. Otherwise, it looks like you will have to pay for legal services although, if you win your legal costs should be covered by the other party. Good luck but just remember, services have to be paid for and sometime greed can bite us for n the backside!

You need a legal rep as you could end up losing out. The other insurers usually make a poorer offer first which is rejected by your legal rep then a better offer given. Sometimes your legal rep will have to threaten court action which other side won't want if they have accepted liability as would have to pay court costs. Finally you get the best offer which your legal rep will advise you to take. You couldn't do all that on your own unless you are a lawyer yourself. I used Digby Brown who appoint local reps and were brilliant. Well worth their fee and they also organised physio for me and a consultant review.

Those who say get a specialist legal rep. are quite right
A close friend's husband lost half or his right leg in a work accident, due to employer's neglect. Friends didn't use a lawyer.
At first the employer's lawyer insisted on assessment for longterm loss of wages etc. Which took ages. He got a payout in the end but it was much less than he'd hoped. Then they invested it unwisely and lost most of it.
He did get a retraining programme and invalidity benefit.

The most important thing to remember, is in a case like this the person admitting the liability pays the legal costs for both sides.

DD did not pay a penny of her legal costs, her case was proved and the insurance company paying out also paid all her legal fees as part of the settlement.