Accident claims with loss of earnings?

[dn17]

Hi all,

Apologies for my first post being a question, I used to lurk around here a while back posting here and there but I've long since forgotten all my account details... I was just hoping someone may be able to shed some light on what I should be able to expect now that I am coming towards the end of my insurance claim for an accident I had a few years back.

(EDIT: For clarification, I'm from the UK if that changes anything.)

As I said, I'm coming to the end of an insurance claim from 3 years ago when I was travelling 30mph down a main road and some guy pulled out of a side road right in front of me, totaling my bike and shattering one of my feet in the process... he took 100% liability for the accident, but the claim is still proceeding even now 3 years later.

I ended up with some complications post-accident and have been on long term sick for the last year as a result, I have been to see the medical specialist regarding requested by my insurance and the expert did agree that I should be off work - he has basically said that he recommends staying off work for 18-24 months and my previous year of lost earnings should be covered too.

Can anyone tell me how this works out in terms of the insurance claim? This is my first claim and my first time dealing with personal injury or loss of earnings so I am completely clueless, and my insurance agent is now on holiday until late feb and to be honest, they seem to want to keep me in the dark so they can make it last as long as possible and squeeze every penny out of this claim.

Basically I don't know how they calculate my loss of earnings - my take home salary was around £20k/yr after tax, so with 3 years loss of earnings does that mean I should realistically be able to expect £60,000 from loss of earnings alone?! Have I calculated that correctly? Is there any way for the other side to challenge that, or reduce the amount? What if the claim goes to court? Can the court change it?

The amount seems absurdly high to me, especially if personal injury will be on top of that... I expressed interest in settling (simply to see how much they would offer) after I had been told 3 years LoE by the expert, the other side offered £2,500 as a full and final settlement so that doesn't seem to match up unless they were just extremely desperate in the hope that I'd take a very low offer?

Right now I am pretty stir-crazy as I have been without a vehicle for well over 6 months due to my previous ride (CBR125R '11) chewing its top end up (not too surprising after the toll 15,000 miles/yr of daily commutes takes), so any good news or even anything that will help me know what to expect would be great.

Thanks for any responses and for reading

[defblade]

Stringing out a claim in the hope that you run out of money and have to settle for a very small amount is, sadly, a recognised tactic of insurance companies. Also, not making interim payments (they don't have to, unless ordered by court... go on, guess how I know ) to keep you going until they decide on the final figure is a similar tactic.

Sounds like you need to get onto one of the firms of lawyers who specialise in bikers ( White Dalton spring to mind, others are available ) - you are allowed to change lawyers at any time during a claim - and see if they can, at least, work to keep you more in the loop.


However, long-term complicated injuries are never going to be settled quickly as they cannot put a price on it until you know what the full outcome is.


GWS!
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Honda Varadero 125cc => Suzuki Bandit 650 33bhp => 77bhp =>
BMW K1200R Sport 163bhp => Aprilia Shiver GT 750 95bhp

[dn17]

Thanks for the info..

Yeah, unfortunately they have been trying that tactic for 3 years now... two years into my claim, my insurance all but promised me that the other side couldn't refuse an interim payment once we had the medical experts report submitted to them... so I spent a year getting the appointment and waiting for the report only to find out that the other side had zero intention of paying an interim payment regardless of what my insurance told me 12 months prior, and it seems my insurance just told me that so I'd get off their back and keep quiet for a few months.

I'm handling this claim through Fentons Solicitors in case you have heard of them, they're actually not appointed by my insurance company - I had heard Fentons were really good before my accident so decided to take my claim up with them after the accident happened. Regretted it ever since, but surely changing companies now (so close to what seems to be the end of the claim) would do more harm than good?

The claim is supposed to go to court by April '16 (due to time limitations or whatever), however my insurance are talking about submitting papers that would extend that date further and give the other side even longer to get their shit in gear, apparently they're hoping my foot might spontaneously re-shatter in that time and somehow double the final payout, but I'm not convinced it will. They like to tell me that the longer the claim goes on, the less chance it will be under-settled, which I understand, but it's got to end eventually....

Right now it feels like the claim is never-ending and now I'm kind of expecting someone to turn around and tell me that calculating loss of earnings isn't so straight-forward and will likely end up <£5K or something. I've also been reading around previous posts on this forum of people who had to deal with accident claims, many people have been saying how long it feels 12 months in to their claim... My claim is now triple that length, yet I can't see a light at the end of the tunnel as someone keeps making the damn tunnel longer and telling me it's for my own good!

[M.C]

You can change solicitors, but I believe the new solicitors have to agree to the previous solicitors costs (can't recall the specific term). Mate £2500 (unless you've missed out a zero) is an insult, I got more than that without any broken bones

Regarding lost earnings, I'm not an expert (someone like arry will probably be along shortly), but it should be the time you've had off work therefore earnings lost. However I believe they deduct money if you've been on long term sick and received benefits as a result.

Fenton's? Think I've seen their ad' on TV If it helps I went through the same thing, crap solicitor, claim went on for ages then on the day before going to court they made a decent offer to settle. I'm surprised seeing as liability has been settled they've not tried to settle the claim, dragging it out will cost them more, and interim payments do seem to be rare unless they want to get you off a hire bike or something.

[dn17]

Hey M.C,

£2,500 is definitely low and an absolute joke. I didn't miss a zero and I don't plan to accept that offer! Actually I did forget to mention that the actual settlement figure is closer to £4,000 as I've already received £1,500 as an interim payment 6 months after the accident due to my bike being written off, so that I could get myself back on the road. I suppose I should be grateful the other side actually did bother to allow me that much but it's easy to forget about over 2 years later. The final take-home settlement amount, minus that interim payment, would be £2,500.

As for the lost earnings, I realize that this will generally cover time you have had off work and missed pay as a result of the accident, however I have now been off work for 13 months (received £100/wk sick pay for the first 6 weeks I think, nothing since then) and the medical expert has the opinion that my time off work (13 months) is a result of the accident solely, and that I should take a further 18-24 months off work to recover fully.

Exactly how this factors in to lost earnings I'm not 100% sure, as far as I can make out that means I should receive at least 12 months lost earnings (minus the few hundred in sick pay I received) plus whatever they decide for the 18-24 months, which could simply be the equivalent of another 2 years wage - I really don't know... I was hoping someone else who had been through this type of thing may be able to shed some light there.

[Pete.]

Smashed foot, off work sick for 3 years, possible life-long pain and almost certain early onset of arthirtis? Throw a nought or two on there at least.

I got about £2k loss of earnings by calculating the reduction in OVERTIME I did over a few months due to a fractured wrist. I did the sums myself and scanned wage slips as evidence. I demonstrated my average earnings over 4 months before the accident, during the time I was convalescing my broken wrist and 4 months after that. I sent it all in a letter to my claims team telling them that's what I want and the other side just agreed and paid it.

As I see it your LOE claim should at least be the amount you would have earned had there been no accident less the amount of sick pay/benefits you've received in that time. Don't forget to factor-in your company's annual pay review policy if it has one and take into account any possible career/pay enhancements you might have been due.

You should be able to come up with a rock solid figure that they will find very hard to refute.
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a.k.a 'Geri'

132.9mph off and walked away. Gear is good, gear is good, gear is very very good

[Pete.]

Oh, another trick is find out who your handler is and call them every damn day. If you don't have a name now call to discuss your claim and take their name right away. Ask for that same person every time. No-one likes being pestered.
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a.k.a 'Geri'

132.9mph off and walked away. Gear is good, gear is good, gear is very very good

[Pie-Roe]

The amount you earned will be subject to deductions based on anything you received from the government etc.

So say you're down 20k from earnings, you took 1900 from sick and holiday pay at work, then 6k in benefits, you'd only be entitled to claim the 12.1k difference.

Pain and suffering for a smashed foot is between 12-18k with no amputations depending on severity. Make sure you have a podiatrist opinion too, that can add a head of claim that can be very helpful. An estimate about the amount of insoles or requirements for walking you may need in the future is huge, especially if you're a younger guy.

EDIT:
You have 100% liability in your favour. You may be able to get another interim payment, but possibly not. The parts you are claiming currently are long term.
I'm in a similar boat, mine is coming up for three years and I'm settling early for a reduced amount because I can't be dealing with it anymore.
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[Rogerborg]

[M.C]

[dn17]

Thanks for all the responses, sorry for the delay in getting back! Busy weekend

[Pie-Roe]

[P.]

Can;t imagine what its like not working for that long I broke both ankles and spent 8 months in a wheelchair, that was enough for me

Hope it hurries up for you!

[T.C]