Initial offer of £5,500.00 and settlement of £115,000.00 after taking over the claim from previous solicitors

We have recently secured damages in the sum of £115,000.00 for a maintenance worker in his late 40s who crushed his thumb at work. He sustained a badly broken and dislocated thumb, the extent of which was so serious that the local hospital couldn’t deal with it and transferred him to another hospital for surgery.

As many people mistakenly do, he first instructed solicitors that he found through an advertisement, who claimed to be a specialist personal injury firm. He had no reason not to trust them.

Unfortunately for him, his previous solicitors submitted his claim to the defendant’s insurer through the process designed for low value claims.

Any experienced personal injury lawyer would know that a seriously crushed thumb for a worker in any manual handling industry may mean problems with work in the future and so such claim would not be suitable for the low value claims protocol.

Fortunately for him, he then came to us (mainly because he had difficulty getting hold of his lawyer) and we took over the handling of his claim from that firm.

£115,000.00 compensation for a crushed thumb

We were able to quickly rectify the situation by explaining to the defendant’s insurer that the claim was mistakenly initiated as a low value claim and that it clearly was of significant value. We quickly obtained a medical report in support of the claim from a leading Hands Surgeon in the UK, who stated that the loss of function in his thumb affected his work, although in the time since the accident he has learned to adapt and cope with the work. However, if he was to lose this job for any reason he would not be able to find a similar one.

As the 3 year deadline to issue court proceedings was approaching, we had to commence proceedings for the client in order to protect his position because the insurer didn’t want to settle the claim without first obtaining their own medical evidence on the injury, which the court allowed, and after which the claim settled for £115,000.

Just to illustrate the significance of instructing the right firm of solicitors in a situation like this. When the previous solicitors submitted this claim as a low value claim, the defendant’s insurer made an offer to settle the whole of the claim for £5,500! This is less than 5% of the actual settlement we achieved for the client. Fortunately for our client he instructed us to take over the claim and we of course advised him to reject that offer. But one can only imagine what could have happened if he stayed with his previous solicitors.  

Accident at Work Compensation Claims

We act on a no win no fee basis to help work accident victims maximise the compensation to which they are entitled, making sure that their claims are handled professionally.

Seeking the expert advice of a specialist injury lawyer can be crucial in ensuring that your claim goes smoothly and that you get the support you need to recover from your injuries.

You can trust in the experience and knowledge of our team of professional injury lawyers to ensure that you receive the maximum amount of compensation that you are entitled to.

Get in touch today and find out within 1 hour if you have a claim. Call us on 0800 048 2355 or request a call back now.