Right legal advice secures settlement 13 TIMES the original offer

James Morton was involved in a road crash on the A803 between Camelon and Bonnybridge after his vehicle skidded out of control due to diesel lying on the road.

He suffered a broken foot as a result of the crash, saying: “All I remember is driving along the road and then waking up to someone opening the car door.

“I must have been knocked out at one point but I was able to get out of the car.”

Mr Morton could not work for three months and didn’t get paid during his time off – all he received was statutory sick pay of £72 per week which resulted in financial difficulty.

As the person responsible for the spillage could not be identified Mr Morton’s case was handled as an untraced injury claim so Digby Brown passed the case to the Motor Insurance Bureau (MIB) to investigate.

The MIB arranged for medical reports in an attempt to value the claim against the nature of the injuries and subsequent after-effects.

It presented an initial offer of £13,000 which was rejected – the MIB then raised this to £85,000 but this too was rejected.

Mr Morton said: “The process went on for quite a while because of MIB. Their staff didn’t seem to understand or care about the impact the crash had on my life.

“I lived in a third floor flat at the time so couldn’t really get out except to attend doctor appointments. I didn’t drive even after my cast was taken off for some time.

“Even now I can’t play football or do any exercises – I can’t walk or sit down for too long.

“When I’m a passenger in a car I still get a fright if another car gets too close or drives too fast.”

Why expert evidence matters

Our specialist team in Edinburgh obtained their own medical reports on Mr Morton’s injuries and also consulted employment and pension experts to calculate any loss of earnings as well as any impacts the crash had on Mr Morton’s future earning potential.

It is these key pieces of evidence that our solicitors know is crucial in ensuring every claim we investigate is properly valued before negotiating a fair settlement.

Digby Brown then strengthened Mr Morton’s case even further by having legal experts known as ‘Counsel’, look over our evidence – and they estimated the claim to be worth £170,000.

Securing fair settlement

After taking the time to investigate and prepare Mr Morton’s claim properly, and not just quickly, we took all the information to the MIB.

It made a third offer of £115,000 – this was rejected. It then made what they deemed a final offer of £130,000.

Our solicitors, knowing at this stage Mr Morton had a worthy claim of nearly £170,000, appealed the MIB’s fourth and final offer.

Mr Morton’s case was passed to an Arbitrator – a neutral expert who, like a judge, looks into a dispute and makes a binding decision on the outcome of any dispute.

After assessing the evidence Digby Brown obtained from the medical and financial experts, the arbitrator advised the value of Mr Morton’s claim was £169,000 – this was accepted.

Why instructing a personal injury solicitor matters

From an original offer of £13,000 from the MIB the case finally settled for £169,000 – this is 13 times the original offer.

If Mr Morton accepted this without seeking and trusting our specialist personal injury legal team, he would have been £156,000 out of pocket.

This is a shining example of why a personal injury claim should be handled by a skilled, tenacious and independent personal injury law firm – not an insurance company.

Mr Morton concluded: “The whole process with Digby Brown was straight forward. The service was excellent with a lot of attention and care about my case. There was always someone there dealing with my case and moving it forward.

“The money in the end was brilliant and an amount I wouldn’t ever have been able to save in my lifetime. It helped settle the debts that accumulated while I wasn’t working.

“I would absolutely recommend Digby Brown Solicitors.”