Insurers allege injured car crash victim is lying

Cheryl McAllister was injured after a young driver crashed into the back of her car at traffic lights in Newbridge.

However, the other driver’s insurers tried to imply that she was making a fraudulent injury claim and played games throughout the case in an attempt to force Mrs McAllister to under-settle, or drop her claim.

“I understand they were trying to defend their client but the other side knew themselves that their client had run into me and they kept changing their story. It could have settled a lot quicker if they had made a better offer at the beginning but instead they pushed it for as long as they could and just wasted everyone’s time.”

Catriona Headley, Associate Solicitor in our Edinburgh Office, reviewed the case and agreed to pursue an injury claim against the driver on her behalf.

“From start to finish, Catriona was absolutely fantastic and thought of everything. The whole process was quite straightforward and she made sure I understood everything that was happening. Whenever I had a question, she would get back to me straight away, the service was ten out of ten.”

Catriona arranged for a medical report to be undertaken which proved Mrs McAllister had suffered injury to her neck and back which should resolve itself within one year

“I’m a mum with three kids and used to doing everything so I had to just get on with it despite the pain. There were some things I just couldn’t do which meant I was forced to rely on others.

“It was the day to day things like washing my hair which were a nightmare and working in an office, you are sitting for long periods of time which I found very painful.”

The insurers admitted liability for the accident but alleged that the minor nature of the accident wasn't sufficient to cause an injury and invited us to 'withdraw the claim', saying "We trust you will advise your client of the seriousness of any false representation and the provisions of the Fraud Act 2006."

A little over a month later, the insurers withdrew their admission of liability and sent another letter saying 'we are satisfied that your clients would not be successful in their claims should proceedings be issued'. They also made threats about 'wasted costs' if we proceeded with the case.

Our Edinburgh office believed in our client and served court proceedings to the insurers.

The insurers continued to deny any wrongdoing and made allegations of contributory negligence this time saying Mrs McAllister was now to blame because she came to a sudden stop for no reason. They also offered to pay £1,100 in compensation. However, this was rejected.

Insurers continued to try and under-settle the case with another four offers being made to Mrs McAllister. Finally, four days before the case went to court, they increased their offer again and the case settled at £5,000, over four times the original offer.

Our solicitors understood what was owed to Mrs McAllister and refused to accept anything less, and armed with the ability of taking the case in court, secured what she was entitled to.

“The insurers were a nightmare. I told the truth but they kept changing their story and forgetting what fibs they had told. I stuck to the truth and in the end, we got there and I’m very happy with it all.

“I would highly recommend Digby Brown to others for making an injury claim, it was a fantastic result and service.”