Injury compensation three times more with independent legal advice

Mrs X was involved in a road traffic accident in Scotland when another driver drove into the back of her car, hitting the rear of the car twice, causing injury.

She tried to deal with the other drivers’ insurers directly for her injury claim but ended up coming to Digby Brown’s specialist solicitors in Edinburgh for independent legal advice.

“I wish I hadn’t put myself through that and had went straight to a solicitor at the beginning. I didn’t think for a minute that it mattered but I definitely don’t think the insurance companies have your best interests at heart.”

First compensation offer didn’t reflect full extent of injuries

The insurer’s had Mrs X seen by doctors to examine her injuries and made an initial offer of £4,300.

“At that time, I was sore from the initial impact and I would have said that was a respectable offer then.

“However, still to this point I have issues from the injuries I received from the road traffic accident. You don’t know what the full impact of the injuries are going to be at that stage.

“I’m so glad that I waited because I had no clue I would have secondary problems from the accident.”

Insurers reduce injury compensation to £2,500

The insurers then had her seen by another doctor who said that her medical condition and pain she was experiencing was unrelated to the accident. They withdrew the earlier offer and reduced it to £2,500.

“I can’t fathom how that happened. The doctor recognised everything I was saying about my injuries but then the report didn’t reflect the appointment we had.

“I thought, this is ridiculous and seemed like a one sided affair so I decided to get some independent advice.”

Independent legal advice from Digby Brown

Mrs X came to Digby Brown for independent legal advice and help with her injury claim.

“When I rang the insurance company, the girl I dealt with spoke to me as if I had done something bad. They were defending their client and not doing what was best for me.

“When I went to Digby Brown it was totally different. Although the procedures were similar, the approach was different. They were fair, offered me any advice I wanted, I saw my solicitor one to one - she was great.”

Injury compensation for car accident THREE times more

In the end, the injury claim settled for over three times the final compensation offer made by the insurers.

Our solicitors were able to secure this amount of compensation by having Mrs X seen by the right medical experts. A Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon confirmed that her symptoms were due to the road traffic accident were ongoing contrary to what the insurance company's doctor had said.

Our solicitors also had her seen by a psychiatrist who confirmed ongoing travel anxiety, which they arranged treatment for.

“I would recommend to anyone to go get independent legal advice from the beginning and don’t deal with an insurance company as they don’t have your best interests at heart”.