A substantial compensation settlement has been obtained for a maintenance worker who was severely...
Recent statistics released by the Motor Insurers Bureau (MIB) indicate that 4% of vehicles on the road are uninsured. So, on average, every 25th car you pass on your journey will be driving illegally. When these individuals cause accidents, the innocent victims can recover their losses through the MIB.
There are two types of claim that the MIB deal with. Firstly where the driver responsible for the accident has no insurance on his vehicle but is identified - uninsured. The second is where an accident is caused by a hit and run driver who is never identified – untraced. In the uninsured scenario, the claim is dealt with in almost exactly the same way as a claim against an insurance company. Compensation is assessed in the same way and all legal costs are payable in addition. For that reason the funding of the case would be the same, normally a no win no fee agreement which, contrary to common public perception, does not cost the claimant anything at the end of the claim and allows them to keep all their compensation. The only difference in a claim against an uninsured driver is that the first £300 of damaged property is not recoverable – this is normally the policy excess on the victim’s comprehensive insurance policy.
Untraced cases are slightly different in that, while the compensation is assessed in the same way, the amount of legal costs recoverable from the MIB in addition is limited to 15% of the compensation up to a maximum of £3,000. However, if the compensation exceeds £150,000 the legal costs paid are 2% of the overall settlement. So, if your claim settled for £200,000 the MIB would pay £4000 towards legal fees. Of course, claimants don’t have to instruct a solicitor. They can leave it to the MIB to gather the evidence in support of the claim. You have to bear in mind however that there is little incentive for the MIB to build a detailed claim for a significant award of compensation effectively against themselves, purely for the claimant’s benefit. It is generally the case that a good personal injury solicitor will add vastly more to the compensation recovered compared to the legal costs that may exceed the contribution payable by the MIB.
For further information or advice relating to this or other personal injury/clinical negligence matters, contact David Greenhalgh on 01689 887887 or email him at david.greenhalgh@cwj.co.uk