Who is going to pay your costs?
You should have received a note with your initial questionnaire entitled "Legal
Expenses Insurance Explained". This gives you all the technical
information you require although clients often ask whether they are liable
for our costs. CS2 Lawyers does not provide a free service and you will have
received a breakdown of our charges with our initial questionnaire.
If you have legal expenses insurance, your insurers will have indemnified you
against the cost of our services. This means that as long as you abide
by the terms of your insurance contract, your insurers will cover the
cost of our fees. These terms are usually only breached when you go against
our explicit advice.
If your claim is successful, some or all of our costs may be recoverable
against the third party or their insurer.
| FAQS-Index | top | Is your e-mail facility reliable?
CS2 Lawyers has always been at the forefront of technology so we are well used
to all forms of electronic communication and the importance of handling
it efficiently and securely. One of our computer servers is dedicated
to distributing mail and other essential information throughout our building
to ensure your message gets to the person dealing with your claim - fast.
E-mail is a quick and effective way of contacting the person dealing
with your claim. You can e-mail queries, request updates, even confirm
acceptance of offers which would normally take several days to reach
us via the post.
Your contact e-mail address should be on the top of letters you have
received from us. Alternatively, you can send an e-mail to mail@cs2Lawyers.com.
Please remember to include our reference number.
| FAQS-Index | top | How long will it take?
Unfortunately there is no set answer as to how long your claim will
take to settle. This depends on the circumstances of the case. Two things
need to be agreed between the parties in every case
before it can be settled; liability and quantum.
If both of these are agreed straight away then cases can be settled in
less than a month. Disputes between the parties mean that the claim will
taker longer to settle. If an injury is involved, expert evidence is
likely to be needed and agreed upon - a process that can take several
months. If liability and quantum are not agreed, any one of the parties
involved can begin court proceedings. Court proceedings take a minimum
of about three months to reach a hearing, and in more complex cases the
process can take up to several years. | FAQS-Index | top |
What is the next step once the questionnaire
is returned?
Letters will already have been sent to the other party, or their representatives
if known (usually the insurers or the brokers at this stage). Once we
receive the questionnaire, we send the details of your claim to the other
party and request their immediate comments on liability and quantum.
If we do not hear from them within a short space of time, we will contact
them again for a response.
| FAQS-Index | top | What is "file auditing"?
CS2 Lawyers aims to provide a quality service to all customers and
achieves this through our Quality Management system. All staff are trained
in the Quality Management system and are committed to continually improving
the quality of our service. The Quality Management system applies to
all aspects of the practice and our work is regularly audited. | FAQS-Index | top |
What difference does my insurance cover make?
There are two main insurance cover types; "comprehensive" and "third
party fire and theft" (or TPFT). With TPFT cover, your insurers
will compensate the other driver if it transpires that you are partially
or fully at fault for the incident. However they will not deal with the
damage to your vehicle. With comprehensive cover, you get the same cover
as with TPFT but your insurers also lessen the impact on you, usually
by arranging the repair of your vehicle through an "approved repairer" and
paying for repairs themselves. This is then included in your claim against
the other party. Some insurers also provide courtesy cars.
Comprehensive insurance usually has an excess applicable. For example,
an excess of £200 on your policy means you pay the first £200 towards
the cost of the repairs. We include this excess as part of your claim.
You will also have a no-claims bonus on your policy. This is affected
as soon as your insurers pay anything out against your policy, and will
only be re-instated when your insurers receive 100% of their outlay back. | FAQS-Index | top |
What is a split liability agreement?
In some cases it is most appropriate to apportion liability on
a split basis. Two examples of split liability agreements are "a
50/50 split" or "a 75/25 split".
Split liability agreements are suggested for different reasons. Sometimes
when both parties agree that they are each partially liable, they can
agree a split liability settlement. More often, a split settlement is
proposed where there is no clear evidence of who was at fault for the
incident and neither party will accept full liability.
If a split settlement is agreed, each party receives a proportion of
their claim. E.g., in the case of a 50/50 split, each party receives
50% of their claim from the other party (or their insurers if they have
any).
50/50 settlements are not "knock for knock" settlements, where
both parties bear their own losses. | FAQS-Index | top |
Can you explain the term "liability"?
To establish liability, three factors have to be shown to be present:
- duty of care
- breach of that duty
- that damage resulted from
that breach.
First, it has to be shown that a duty of care is placed on the
parties. This is taken as always being the case in road traffic accident
cases, as all road users have a duty of care when driving. It also needs
to be shown that this duty of care was breached. This is normally
the area of dispute between the parties. The fact that damage occurred
from the incident should be self-evident, in that the vehicles involved
will have been damaged.
| FAQS-Index | top | Who are all these people involved in my claim?
Brokers: These are companies who try to find the best insurance
deal for their clients. Sometimes we are provided only with the broker
details for the third party at
the beginning of the claim. As we need the insurer details to progress
your claim, there can be a delay whilst we write to the brokers for the
insurers' details.
Solicitors: Sometimes the third party has legal expenses insurance,
and therefore their insurers ask solicitors to deal with the claim on
behalf of the insurers and the third party. It is the solicitors' job
to negotiate the claim in place of the insurers. However, it is the insurers
and their client who have the final say on any offers. It is also the
insurers who pay the claim, not the solicitors.
Motor Insurers' Bureau (MIB): The MIB is a public organisation
set up to compensate victims of uninsured or untraced drivers. If the
third party is uninsured or untraced (i.e. no-one knows their identity),
then a claim can be made through the MIB. There are however a few restrictions
on pursuing a claim through the MIB. Firstly, there is a £300 excess
on all property damage claims. This means that the first £300 is not
paid. It is therefore important to ensure that your claim is valued at
more than this. The MIB will also not pay any "subrogated" claim.
This means any item of claim for which you have already been paid by
another party - for example your insurers' outlay in a comprehensive
claim. Further, in an untraced claim, special damages cannot
be claimed - only an injury could be claimed for. This is why they are
often known as "the insurer of last resort"!
Costs Draughtsmen: In cases where our costs need to be evaluated
(usually where the case is being settled before a hearing), some insurers
ask costs draughtsmen to evaluate these on their behalf. Costs draughtsmen
go through the items we have claimed as part of our costs and then attempt
to negotiate a figure with us. Our costs need to be agreed before any
final settlement is made, as we would otherwise have no legal recourse
to recover our costs from the third party after settlement.
| FAQS-Index | top | What can I claim for?
There are two basic rules for items that can be claimed. Firstly, it
has to be something which is a direct result of the incident. You could
not, for example, claim for the loss of your employment if the incident
made you angry and you told your employer you no longer wished to work
for them after a heated argument. You can, however, claim for other less "remote" items
such as tablets to ease the pain of an injury.
Secondly, it has to be something reasonable in the circumstances. Different
judges have different opinions of what is reasonable. For example, judges
are unlikely to find it reasonable if you hired a Ferrari when the only
vehicle you own (and the one you had the incident in) was a Mini. It
is always important to bear in mind that the entire point of the civil
court procedure is to place the innocent party back into the
position they were in before the incident occurred. Therefore,
it always best to hire a vehicle similar to the one involved in the incident.
Of course, you are entitled to pay for whatever you wish, but to claim
for that item it has to have been reasonable in the circumstances.
It is also important that you mitigate your losses
- this means that you keep your losses to the barest minimum.
| FAQS-Index | top | I want to make a claim for my injury
What type of injury can I claim for? The most common type of
injury from a road traffic accident is a "whiplash" injury.
More often than not, this will only last for a week or so. You can
still claim for this, even though you may no longer be suffering
from it. A medical expert can verify that the symptoms you describe are
consistent with the incident circumstances. Some claims for a one-week
whiplash injury have resulted in settlements of £1,000. Claims for distress
and upset are more difficult to claim for. The courts impose the restriction
that the mental injury has to be a diagnosable condition, for example
a post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Symptoms of PTSD include nightmares,
flashbacks, and intrusive thoughts.
What if my injury is very minor? It is possible to pursue a claim
for an injury even when we do not have evidence to support it (although
we do not recommend this). We can give details of your injuries to the third
party's representatives and request their offers. As we have no evidence
to back this up, the settlement offers are not always equivalent to those
we receive having obtained evidence.
What is the process of claiming for an injury? Where a personal
injury is involved, it is very important to get as much information on
the injury as possible, as no further claim can be made after settlement
has been reached. Sometimes it appears that an injury has settled - however
it may "flare up" again some time after settlement. This is
obviously something which should be avoided. In the majority of cases
a report is needed from a medical expert. In this report the expert should
say how long they believe the injury should last for. More reports may
be necessary, sometimes from other experts.
Why do I need to sign a form to release my GP records? It is
very important that the medial expert has access to your medical records.
The point of this is to check whether there are any relevant pre-existing
conditions (i.e. your injury might not be entirely due to the accident).
Without this confirmation the third party's representatives can ask that
you see another consultant, as your medical evidence is incomplete. This
means that your claim takes longer to progress.
How far will I have to travel to see an expert? We have details
of hundreds of medical experts in the country, and we will always try
to appoint someone on the grounds of expertise and proximity to you.
| FAQS-Index | top | What is credit hire?
The first thing to bear in mind with credit hire vehicles is that they
are NOT courtesy cars. You have to be aware that you are legally liable
for the cost of the car. The reason that you are not invoiced immediately
for the hire car is that credit hire is dealt with on a deferred payment
basis. This means that you are given time to pay the hire vehicle, which
gives us the opportunity to claim the hire from the third party before
payment becomes due.
| FAQS-Index | top | Is it likely to go to court?
The vast majority of cases do not go to a full court hearing as they
settle beforehand. It is not unusual for settlement offers to be made once
a trial date has been set , so don't panic when court proceedings are
issued. This is often an excellent tactic for forcing unwilling third
parties to settle your claim – rest assured that no one likes to receive
a court Summons!
| FAQS-Index | top | How does the court system work?
The courts currently have three different ways of dealing with cases,
each based on what the court considers to be the value and complexity
of the case. These are referred to be the courts as "tracks".
The tracks are; Small Claims, Fast Track, and Multi Track. The vast majority
of cases are dealt with by way of the Small Claims track. The following
gives a rough idea of which cases will be referred to which tracks;
Small Claims
Cases where special damages are
less than £5,000, and/or there is an injury valued at approximately less
than £1,000.
Fast Track
Where special damages are between £5,000 and £15,000 and/or there is
an injury valued at approximately more than £1,000. Complex cases.
Multi Track
Where special damages are more than £15,000. More serious injuries.
Very complex cases.
This is by no means an exhaustive list - the courts take other considerations
into account and they do have some discretion when it comes to allocating
the case to a track. | FAQS-Index | top |
Do I really have to attend the hearing?
The courts have decided that it is technically not necessary for all
the parties to attend the hearing. However we have found that the courts
prefer all the parties to attend. This is so the Judge can ask any questions
they may have. We would certainly recommend that you attend any hearing
as Judges look favourably on parties who attend. | FAQS-Index | top |
Who will represent me at court?
We will arrange for a barrister or paralegal to attend the hearing
with you. Before the hearing, we send the representative all the details
of your case along with all the relevant documents. We also get them
to meet you half an hour before the hearing so that you can discuss the
case with them and raise any queries you may have. | FAQS-Index | top |
After accepting an offer, how long will
it be before cheque arrives?
Once you have confirmed your acceptance of an offer , we write to the
other party's representatives to request a cheque (if everything else
has been agreed). As it is the insurers who actually pay the claim, there
may be delays if the third party's representatives
are a firm of solicitors; they will need to let the insurers know that
the offer has been accepted, and it will be the solicitors who then send
a cheque from the insurers on to ourselves before being passed to you.
This means that it can be several weeks before settlement is actually
received.
CS2 Lawyers does not pay your claim, nor can we provide any interim payments
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