Success for the Defendant PI Team
The Defendant, a large motor group, instructed Hannah Rudling to defend a claim for personal injuries being brought by the Claimant who was a rear seat passenger in a motor vehicle which had been loaned to their customer, Mr P, whilst his own vehicle was in for repairs.
An accident allegedly occurred in August 2020 when an animal ran out in front of the Claimant’s vehicle causing Mr P to swerve into the opposite carriageway, mount a pavement and collide heavily with a wall boarding a residential property. The accident occurred on a quiet residential street, late at night and with no witnesses other that the passengers in the vehicle. The first the Defendant became aware that their vehicle had been involved in an accident was when the recovery company delivered the damaged vehicle back to the dealership the following day. Mr P was contacted to ascertain the circumstances of the accident and was initially reluctant to report the accident until the dealership confirmed that they would provide indemnity under their motor insurers. The following day, a claim for personal injuries was submitted by the Claimant.
The claim was initially submitted in accordance with the Ministry of Justice Claims Portal for low value claims with the claimant advising that the claim was limited to £10,000.00. A GP report was obtained in respect of the claimant’s injuries one month later indicating whiplash injuries but also that the claimant was suffering from tinnitus and psychological trauma. The claimant then proceeded to obtain expert evidence from a Consultant ENT and Clinical Psychologist which stated that the accident had caused the claimant to suffer acoustic shock and PTSD, a diagnosis which was made despite the claimant only making one telephone attendance to his GP 8 days after the accident.
Whilst the impact resulted in the Defendant’s vehicle being written off due to damage to the chassis, engineering evidence confirmed that the impact had not been of sufficient severity to set off the airbags and neither had the seatbelt pretensioners activated. It should also be noted that the claimant’s evidence was that Mr P had collided with a wall but no claim for damaged property was presented to the Defendants and the collision did not appear to have alerted any of the residents to the accident.
The Defendant had significant concerns regarding the claim from the outset. The evidence was challenged; there were clear inconsistencies in the account given by the claimant in his CNF, to the medical experts at the examinations and even between Mr P and the claimant. A request for further information and clarification from the claimant was sought on numerous occasions but the claimant refused to co-operate. The Claimant issued Court Proceedings in February 2022 pleading a value of £30,000.00. The claim also included treatment costs of £7000.00.
Following the service of proceedings, the Defendants filed a Defence, disputing liability, alleging that the accident had been staged, challenging the medical evidence, the credibility of the claimant and raising allegations of fundamental dishonesty. At the same time the Defendant made a Part 36 offer to settle the claimant’s claim in the sum £3,000.00 and a Calderbank Offer in the sum of £3,500.00 time limited for 7 days. The claimant accepted the Defendant’s Calderbank Offer of £3500.00, resolving the claim at a significantly reduced sum.
Our client in this case carried a substantial self-insured excess and needed to take a robust line to protect their personal exposure to what appeared to be a substantially overstated claim. Through the resources available to the Defendant team, we were able to demonstrate with sufficient force the significant issues in the case and resolve the case at an early stage at a substantially discounted figure, saving our self-insured Defendant client a liability in both damages and costs, potentially in excess of £30,000.
Contact Hannah Rudling on 01603 675621 or email hannah.rudling@rogers-norton.co.uk.