Any advice about insurance claims for TBI (by RTA)... - Headway
Any advice about insurance claims for TBI (by RTA) and estimated times spans! Finances at rock bottom!
mine took 10 years, i didn't have to argue, as hey admitted liability from the start
its because i kept having to be assessed after different treatments and i pretty much travelled the country seeing specialists
i was broke and in massive debt but kept hoping year after year it would be settled.
anyway i am guessing it depends on what they think your outlook will be and whether it will improve with treatment so they can mitigate the claim
so i guess it depends on what complications you have had and whether specialists can agree
other may have been settled sooner, but the last thing you want to do is settle early only to find that your condition is more serious or you have further problems arise which weren't accounted for.
the way i look at it is, that the longer it takes the more thorough they are being
The key to this is getting the right legal team. I can recommend the people we're using - seriousinjurylaw.co.uk/, they've been fantastic at getting us interim payments so we don't starve! My understanding is that it usually takes 2-5 years and that the more specialised your legal team the better. At the very least, make sure it's a firm affiliated to Headway.
Good luck!
Hey Folks, Dorsetcharlie i couldn't agree more, seriousinjurylaw.co.uk/ have been handling my situation and have helped us lots, especially with interim stuff while the insurance company play silly buggers. i'm now 4 years and a couple of weeks since my injury and am led to believe it will settle this year.
many thanks for the info -it's bad enough what happened initially and the hell that my husband has had to go through and the fact that he wont be able to work again (he was self employed ) then to get all the financial pressures! Its been over a year now and we have lived off our savings and a measly interrim payment from the insurance company and
its adding to pressure knowing we are running out soon-I feel like oliver twist with the begging bowl trying to get another interim payment! You just want to get on with making the best of things and then some insurance company seems to rule your lives! I have tried to sell the house to release equity-no joy there due to the economic climate so we are trying to go on as long as we can paying the mortgage .I know we are "lucky" in just the fact there is a claim in progress, it's god help people who are just left to cope with state benefits and my heart goes out to those people, especially people on their own who has no one to 'fight their corner' and it makes me think what would have happened to my husband if he didnt have myself and our sons-not just the financial aspect but dealing with everything else that happens alongside brain injury!
Hey Pollyanne. My son suffered a hypoxic brain injury due to hospital staff incompetence and sheer negligence, so not an RTA, or even a TBI, but from the money side I believe that all brain injuries are very similar!! Your story seems so familiar to ours, and probably many others in this group. The biggest difference is that he is not fighting his case through an insurance company and therefore we have had no interim payments. Our solicitors are first class, Leigh Day and Company in London, but there are many others and I see that Dorset Charlie has already suggested Headway as they are affiliated to many good ones. And don't think that just because you are in one area you have to employ a firm there. I live in Cornwall but couldn't find anybody that I felt were up to the job of fighting the NHS so chose a London firm. Slightly more complicated, but hey, worthwhile benefits.
As to timescales; about a month ago they admitted liability - well there's a shock , haha, as if there was anything else they could do. This was after three and a half years and he has just received an interim payment so can start trying to begin living again. As previously mentioned, the job of assessments and re-assessments seems to take forever, but it is worthwhile. You need to make sure that every aspect of life will be catered for - no good settling for a 'quickie' payoff only to discover that various aspects weren't taken into consideration. It is your one opportunity to secure your future and you need to make sure that it's done correctly. We've still got the settlement amount battle to go through, and have been advised that it could still take a long while (maybe a year or so), but at the outset we were advised it could take 5 years or more before any payout was made. The worst thing for us (as with many others) is the financial implications of suffering a brain injury. But it will get better (eventually) so try to hang on in there, it will be worth it in the end. I myself have been so frustrated in the past (and still am sometimes) because it's in the initial stages that one seems to be paying out so much - but you'll get through it somehow I'm sure. I just wonder how others cope with it; I feel so lucky that at least when I pass and my son is left behind, he will be financially secure: with the lack of help (financial and physical), compassion and interest the powers that be have in brain injuries, anyone who tries to deal with life on a day-to-day basis without any financial assistance deserved a medal.
So good luck with it all, and keep fighting. You come across as being a very strong lady, well done for all you have achieved so far. But we all need help sometimes and this forum is excellent for anybody who is involved with brain Injuries, it's honest, and if you have any questions, need to blow off steam or just have a chat, it's fantastic. Don't forget those famous words from the Gettysberg address...... "for the people, by the people......." - seems quite apt here.
Thank you- it is good to know that others are as frustrated as we are and I really appreciate all your honest replies. I must admit it is sometimes tempting to to cave in and take the initial offer(not that there has been one offered yet) and just get on with life-no more assessments -appointments-solicitors! but I know you are right ! you are a lot further down the line than we are and it is just a case of hanging on in there. I dont know how you have gone all those years, but then again choice doesnt come into it really! I think i shall get some plates ready to throw at the wall to vent the frustration- all welcome to join me!!!
When I hear everyone elses stories I feel truly humbled that there are so many brave selfless people around just getting on with things!!
I was just shy of 8 yrs i think. We lost our home and the one we rented was sold while we were in it so we were homeless. Stressful? very.
I got a small interim payment. I was fed up of them saying settled in 6 months, next few months, by christmas, by summer, so i just didnt believe them anymore. It seemed to me that everyone else except me was interested in the money. I agreed to an amount that the solicitor said was about half of what i should have got. I had gotten fed up and i didnt ever want to have to go to london ever again. Its so very very busy, so much noise and smells and moving things, its very disorienting and takes seconds to be overwhelmed. So i signed as soon as they made the first offer. I dont regret it. I dont care much about money. I dont have loads of cash anymore because i kept giving it away and buying stuff for people.
Hi all
Headway provides a comprehensive list of approved solicitors that meet the charity's code of conduct for personal injury law firms.
It is strongly recommended anyone wishing to seek advice from a solicitor should consult at least two or three firms before coming to a decision. Visit the 'Questions to ask your solicitor' section for help with your first meeting.
For more information or to search for a Headway-approved solicitor, visit headway.org.uk/legal-advice....
Just a thought; have you had a case manager assigned under the rehabilitation code? If not then your solicitor is not doing their job. A case manager is funded by both sides as an advocate for the injured person and their job is to make sure immediate needs are met, so they don't get lost amidist all the litigation.
Ours is a lifesaver so make sure your solicitor looks into this for you.
There's some info here: justice.gov.uk/courts/proce...
Many thanks for the link-it was very enlightening- It appears that we should have had a lot more rehab help than we have had (none) via the insurers and my husbands immediate needs like the speech therapy were not met , eventually got it through the NHS but was a fight! I think it is probably a bit late in the day for the case manager as i have basically got on with organising things myself and i am concerned about the cost
Didnt know about the rehabilitation code, hence will look into that. A case manager has been mentioned but they want to use any measly interrim payments to pay for one and i feel the money is better off paying my gas bill and mortgage payments. What is the case managers role? as I have been organising rehab,, appointments etc myself for the past year
purely as I feel I know what my husbands needs are but I am open to new ideas etc although I still think it is time which is the best healer!
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