Bob had the misfortune to be involved in an accident at work in March 2013 whilst cleaning a machine, resulting in his hand being trapped and crushed. At the time he instructed a large law firm with offices in London and on the south coast to act on his behalf in a claim for compensation against his employers. He was reassured that the claim was in good hands by their size and, seemingly, their professionalism. The claim was settled 19 months later for £15,000.

Bob became uneasy that his claim had been under-settled and contacted Irvings to obtain a second opinion about the right level of compensation. We obtained his file of papers from Bob’s original solicitors and after a thorough review, came to the conclusion that it had indeed been under-settled on a number of counts.

We found that the firm had made errors with his claim including making deductions from the overall compensation because of private insurance monies received (which shouldn’t have been taken into account at all). They also failed to take into account the effect that the Bob’s injuries had on his capacity (or incapacity) to work in the future. Furthermore, they failed to take into account the care and assistance that Bob required at home after the accident as a result of his injuries.

We relayed our opinion to Bob who instructed us to pursue a professional negligence claim against his former advisors.

The professional negligence claim was put to the firm concerned who very shortly thereafter admitted that Bob’s private insurance funds should not have been deducted from his personal injury compensation. They further admitted that they had failed to include a claim for domestic assistance from friends and family members and the handicap that his injuries would cause to Bob on the future labour market.

Following negotiations the negligent firm agreed to pay Bob a further £22,500 on top of the original £15,000 settlement that he received, and they also agreed to pay all of his legal costs and disbursements in respect of this professional negligence claim. Bob was very happy with the result and so were we – he was back where he should have been had the claim been correctly handled from the start!

Sometimes the professionals you trust to handle your legal claim, working for law firms large and small, make mistakes that end up costing you, the client. If you feel your case wasn’t settled properly or that your solicitor made a mistake, we can look into this for you. Give us a call to discuss your case at 0800 954 0243.

Ian Kyle
Partner, Irvings Law