Challenging your claim compensation offer

Your personal injury solicitor will advise you on the merits of your case when they have met with you and reviewed the evidence.

Agreeing to represent you on a no win, no fee basis suggests they believe you have a strong claim, since they risk not getting paid if you lose. 

Nobody wants to end up in Court; even the most aggressive of insurers are keen to avoid the expense and uncertainty of litigation where possible.

Accordingly, if they believe there is a chance your claim might succeed, they will likely make a compensation offer at some point during the settlement negotiations.

Ultimately, the stronger your claim, the more likely you are to receive a compensation offer.

Yes, as the claimant (the person bringing the claim), the decision to accept a compensation offer lies with you. You can challenge any compensation offer the defendant or their insurers make if you are unhappy with it.

However, it’s crucial to take advice from your personal injury solicitor about the adequacy of the offer before coming to a decision.

Whilst you may understandably be keen to take the compensation and move on, you must be careful not to under-settle. The compensation offer will be in ‘full and final settlement’ of your claim. This means that once you have accepted it, you cannot go back and claim more, even if it transpires that the sum was inadequate. 

On the other hand, when someone has caused you pain and suffering, you may feel reluctant to settle and instead want to see them held accountable for their negligence in Court.

However, failing to accept a fair compensation offer can lead to an unfavourable costs order against you following trial, even if your claim succeeds.

If you reject a compensation offer and go on to be awarded less by the Judge than the amount the defendant offered, you may be ordered to pay their costs from the deadline for accepting the offer onwards.

An important caveat is if your solicitor is acting under a no win, no fee arrangement and they and your insurers agreed that you should reject the offer. In these cases, you may be protected from this potential cost liability. 

Your personal injury solicitor, with their expertise in personal injury law and their experience in handling similar cases, will consider the defendant’s compensation offer and advise whether they consider it appropriate. 

If the offer appears fair in the circumstances, or if there are other reasons for accepting it – for example, because there are difficulties with your case that make proceeding to trial particularly risky – your personal injury solicitor may advise you to accept it. 

If the defendant makes their offer without an adequate explanation of how they arrived at the proposed sum, your solicitor may challenge the offer and ask them to clarify their reasoning and justify the amount. 

In other cases, your personal injury solicitor may advise you to reject the offer.

They will likely do so in the following circumstances:

You do not have all the evidence required to properly assess the adequacy of the offer. For example all necessary medical evidence, or the results of an independent medical examination.

Personal injury damages (the legal term for compensation) are intended to compensate you for the pain, suffering and loss of amenity you have endured due to your accident, as well as any financial losses.

When assessing whether a compensation offer is appropriate, your solicitor will need to calculate how much a Judge would likely award were your case to reach trial. To do so, they will require sight of several key pieces of evidence.

For example, if you are likely to require ongoing medical treatment for a medical negligence claim, your solicitor will need to obtain an expert medical opinion on your prognosis to ascertain the extent and duration of that treatment.

If you are likely to be out of work for some time as a result of your injuries suffered, your solicitor must calculate your potential loss of earnings, including any lost bonus payments and pension losses.

They may require evidence from your employer to assist them in doing so. In particularly complex cases, they may need input from a forensic accountant.  

By accepting an offer that the defendant or their insurers make before you have collated all the necessary evidence, you run the risk of discovering later that the sums you require to fund your medical treatment or compensate you for your loss of earnings are significantly greater than that which you received. 

The defendant or their insurance company will be keen to extricate themselves from your case as quickly and for as small a payout as possible.

Accordingly, the first settlement offer they make is unlikely to reflect the true value of your claim.

Once your solicitor is in possession of all the required evidence, they will assess the adequacy of the offer against your pain and suffering, as well as your actual and potential losses.

If the amount detailed in the offer is inadequate, your solicitor will likely advise you to reject the compensation offer. They may advise you to make a counteroffer for the amount the evidence suggests you deserve.

Yes, as the claimant, you ultimately make all decisions regarding your case, including compensation offers.

However, if you are funding your case with a no win, no fee agreement, rejecting a fair offer that your solicitor reasonably advises you to accept may give them a reason to terminate your no win, no fee arrangement and bill you for their costs if the terms of the agreement allowed.

The overwhelming majority of personal injury solicitors are skilled negotiators committed to obtaining the maximum compensation for their clients, so this situation is rare.

Nevertheless, it’s important to ensure your chosen personal injury solicitor is someone whose advise you trust, and to familiarise yourself with the terms of your no win, no fee agreement before you sign. 

To find out more about personal injury claims or how to start to make a claim, call free on 0800 234 6438 and speak with a trained legal advisor today.