Jacqueline and her partner had both been drinking and ended up having an argument. Her partner got into his car with the intention of driving off. Jacqueline, knowing that he was unfit to drive the car, tried to prevent him from driving off by getting onto the bonnet of his car. Her partner drove off which resulted in a serious knee injury to Jacqueline.
How we helped our client
We intimated a claim upon the insurers. They responded to confirm that they would not admit liability, however they would agree to negotiate a settlement to the claim.
We instructed medical reports to comment on Jacqueline's knee injury. Her medical history was complicated as she had already suffered from knee problems prior to the accident and her knee would have deteriorated anyway, even if the accident had not happened. We instructed an opinion from Counsel about the vale of Jacqueline's claim. We then negotiated a settlement, the updated value of which is £127,000.
Contributory fault
If we had taken Jacqueline's case to court, there was a big risk that she would be:
- criticised for being drunk;
- unwisely getting on the bonnet of a car knowing the driver intended to drive off; and
- failing to call the police instead of getting on the bonnet of the car.
There was a big risk that she might be found at least 50% to blame for the accident in which case she would not recover her legal costs. Taken together with her complicated medical history, it was very much in Jacqueline's interests that she settled her claim without going to court.
Testimonial
Jacqueline said "I was happy with the way Lindsays looked into my claim, instructing the right medical experts and obtaining Counsel's opinion. Counsel commended the settlement Lindsays obtained for me. "