[molly44]

has anyone claimed for injury in a car crash?. recently i had a little scrap, nothing major but of course since then i have had no end of calls from person injury specialist, even though i have told the insurance people that there were no injury, and that it only involved two people. but recent conversation with the PIS, they seem determined i should claim for this and that injury. now whats your experience of this sort of scam?

[dawny1970]

i would phone your insurance company and ask for the £500 back that they just made selling your details on to these leeches without your consent!!

[medusa]

I did claim, but it was over 15 years ago and the claim was at my instigation because of the neck and chest injuries I sustained in the crash.

I abhor this current system of hounding people until they put in a claim. In my opinion it is a scam and I object to everybody who pays for their car insurance having to pay more because of it.

[Sooperdooper]

If you do have a personal injury claim I recommend you go to a law firm who specialises in this work. I have had a text this week asking me about the compensation am due, not even had an accident! And tonight at work, in a law firm, I answered 7 calls from the same claims farm in less than an hour.

I am not going to say who I work for, but there are good, professional, hard working, law firms out there and they would not be making unsolicited phone calls.

[shaz112]

I claimed on one a few years back, as a passenger, when a car went into the back of us. As I recall, I wasn't hounded by anyone, I made the claim through my own solicitors.

I have noticed the current obsession with claiming for injuries and I get those annoying text messages occasionally, asking if I've been in an accident. You see the advertisements on TV all the time now as well; we're slowly taking on that favorite American pastime of suing for ridiculous things like slipping on a puddle or tripping up in the street. It's pathetic.

[sumayyah]

i had several calls about my "recent" accident until i pointed out that i skidded backwards off the road into a lampost and that i was quite sure the lampost didnt owe me squat

[molly44]

yes i heard on radio 4 today that the areas with most claims have the most law firm that do this sort of business. which they are linking with putting up drivers premiums in those areas they had a 54 year old man, who drove a 7 year old Peugeot and has never claimed in 26 years of driving, got a number of quotes from around the country. which ranged from 300 pounds, to over 1500. its outrageous the way insurance companies make their profits. in scotland this didn't happen as the law regulates the law firms more strictly there.

[kidley]

i think i heard on the news that the government are going to outlaw this no win no fee practice

[Rupert_Baehr]

Originally Posted by kidley

i think i heard on the news that the government are going to outlaw this no win no fee practice

I'm not so sure that's a good idea, because many people - including those who genuinely deserve compensation - may not be able to afford to sue to get it.

One of the problems is the word 'compensation'. It does not mean 'enrichment'. The purpose of compensation is to put the victim (as far as is possible) back into the state (s)he was in before the accident.

I was involved in an accident about 12 years ago. It was the other driver's fault. - He pulled out to overtake a lorry on double white lines, lost control and hit me head on. It was a spectacular accident (closing speed about 90mph.) He survived and when he was fit enough to appear in court, was convicted of dangerous driving.

My car (a 15 year old Volvo, in pristine condition) was a write-off. I) got £500 for that. (The car was worth more to me, but I could've bought a similar car for £500, so that's what I got.

My employer paid me sick pay while I was off work, so my employer was refunded the amount paid (fair enough.) I was paid for the clothing I was wearing (it was a write-off, but it wasn't good clothing. I got about £25 for that. (Fair, I didn't get rich.)

I received about £250 for 'pain, suffering and loss of amenity' - broken ribs, cuts and bruises. They hurt - but they heal. I couldn't dress myself for a while (couldn't bend to put my shoes on) so my son tied my laces.

I didn't make a profit - I probably lost about £20.

I had 4 passengers (children) in the car at the time of the accident. One was injured quite badly (the centre seat in the rear had a lap-strap only, his head went down between his knees and he suffered muscular and internal injuries. I understand he got (he needed) more money. The other 3 had cuts, bruises, a broken nose and a broken hand. They received compensation - but they were not made rich.

My son was one of the passengers and the thing that really annoyed me was that the other party's insurers quibbled over a few quid. The insurer required my son to have a further medical examination carried out by a consultant. I don't know how much the consultant charged, but the travel costs alone were probably more than the difference between the amount claimed and the amount offered - and bear in mind, the other party had admitted liability, so irrespective of the outcome the insurer was going to pay the costs.

Insurance companies don't give a damn! - They will waste money contesting claims (even when they know they are bound to lose.)

Perhaps it's the insurance companies - rather than the lawyers - who need to be 'reined in'.

Insurance companies have high costs because - in part, IMO - they waste money contesting claims. Not a problem for them - they pass the costs on to the policyholders.

It can work the other way. I live (during the winter) in a place where wearing helmets by motorcyclists is optional! (Morethan 75% of the motorcyclists I see on the roads are inadequately dressed. No helmets, no gloves, no boots, no leathers (tank tops and flip flops are 'dé rigeur')

The insurance companies love that!

"If you have an accident and you are not wearing appropriate (full) protective equipment, it's your fault and we are not paying out." (I wear full PE at all times. If it's too hot to wear proper clothing, it's too hot to go out on the bike.)

I asked an insurance underwriter (off the record) why premiums here are so low and he said "Because we don't have to pay out. There are plenty of accidents, but the rider can usually be held to have been at least partly liable, so we don't pay."

I said: "I wear full PE at all times." He said "I hate you!"

They don't pay out much to motorcyclists (overall) so I still get a very cheap premium.

[denlin]

Insurers wouldn't pay out without you having medical examination and as you've said you have no injuries no ethical dotor will invent them. If you go along the lines of these scam companies the cost in the unlikely event of you succeeding would be paid by everybody in higher insurance premiums. Also if you lose you would have to pay solicitor and worst case scenario it could be called perverting the course of justice

[willman]

The problem you will have molly is that the other driver is claiming from you as you admitted fault. You can't claim compensation against yourself.

[Shogun]

lA few weeks ago I was driving down Tyler st and I had to stop for a ignorant driver parked on the double yellow lines sat waiting to pick someone up from the station,when all of a sudden a motor cycle smashed into the back of my 4+4 at speed bouncing off of me and hitting a car on the other side of the road, the lad was left laying in the road seriously injured I did my bit and rang the ambulance and stayed with him until they took him away, I gave all my information and details to the police and thought that was it,there was some damage to my car but not that bad, the next morning my phone rang it was some company asking about the accident talking about compensation and whiplash and things I said no thanks there's nothing wrong with me and my insurance company will be dealing with my car,so I put the phone down as soon as I put the phone down it rang again same thing happened about 6 times that morning where do these people get the information from they were ringing me before I had even rang my insurance company,I gave into there pressure and gave one of them the go a head to act on my behalf promising me that I would be in line for a descent compensation pay out,I feel a bit of a rotter but every body seems to be at it at the moment so why not, they are on with it at the moment so I will see what happens

[kittenta]

I have them knock on the door now. The most recent one insisted that I must have got a valid claim because he'd seen a small dent in the bumper of my car. After I explained that I had not had an accident in my car and that the dent was done whilst parked elsewhere and I didn't see it happen, he asked if I was covering up some bad driving skills , cheeky so and so. He simply couldn't believe that I had not had any accidents or injuries and seeing as he didn't want to shift off of my doorstep, I told him if he didn't go away I could create an accident for him , he soon went.

There are too many quick cash scams about and it should be made harder to claim compensation, obviously for those who are genuine, doctors tests etc shouldn't be a problem.

[kidley]

Rupert_Baehr

The no win no fee was a good idea but like all good "free" things it gets abused and quite honestly i cannot see that it would be a great loss if it was dropped i think Solicitors being what they are if they get a case what is virtually 100% winner they would take it on. This no win no fee is exactly that! they don't take them on unless they are 99.9% that they win it

[Bassman62]

Originally Posted by denlin

Insurers wouldn't pay out without you having medical examination and as you've said you have no injuries no ethical dotor will invent them. If you go along the lines of these scam companies the cost in the unlikely event of you succeeding would be paid by everybody in higher insurance premiums. Also if you lose you would have to pay solicitor and worst case scenario it could be called perverting the course of justice

In November 2009 we were hit whilst stationery at an M1 roundabout when another vehicle accelerated into us, the impact was so severe that as you can see from the attached photo the centre radio console an air vent and a headlamp bulb became dislodged.

Liability was immediately accepted by the other sides insurer

http://i40.tinypic.com/a4opl3.jpg

I suffered severe neck whiplash, injury to my shoulder, injury to lower back, very loud Tinnitus and hearing loss. my feet are numb with the numbness steadily travelling up my legs.

I've already had surgery on my shoulder and later this month I go for an MRI scan on my lower back

My wife who was leaning foreward to read the Motorway sign was thrown back so hard that her spectacles were found on the rear seat of our car.

Our insurance sent us to their own medical examiner who got everything wrong as by now according to him all of my problems would have cleared up.

They offerd with in months £3000 to my wife for whiplash and £4000 to me, obvioudly £3k for whiplash and £1k all the other problems, this was based on the report given by the so called medical examiner.

My advice is pay yourself for an independent examination if you're not happy with the insurance companys examiner, the impression I've formed is that the medical examiners get a nice little earner from the insurance companys who like to have everything tied up and settled ASAP.