The best legal representation is just so important
- Case Study
- 16 Jun 2016
I settled a case today for a woman from country New South Wales who we will call “Barbara” (not her real name).
Barbara came to me late last year. She felt very depressed at the time because she had received advice from one of the leading specialist personal injury law firms in Sydney that she did not have any claim arising out of her motor vehicle accident on the 14th November 2012
In fact, in a letter to her dated 7 April 2014, they said:
“As I have previously advised you during our meeting in July 2013, the compensation available to you in relation to your accident will be very modest and likely limited to the payment of medical expenses. In this regard, I note the following:
•You have been unemployed and on a Disability Pension for many years.
•Your injuries won’t be significant enough to qualify you for compensation for pain and suffering, also known as non-economic loss
•Your partner, “John” (not his real name), was providing you with a lot of care and assistance before the accident on account of the fact that you were sickly, in fact, John was receiving a carer’s allowance from Centrelink.
Accordingly, I advise that you instruct me not to pursue your CTP claim in respect of the injuries you sustained as a result of the accident that occurred on 11 December 2012.”
Needless to say Barbara felt very disheartened with that advice but for a long time did nothing about it because she thought that the solicitors knew what they were doing. However, after seeing one of our ads, she rang me to get a second opinion. I said that I disagreed with that advice and thought I could recover compensation for her. Barbara wasn’t sure but decided to give me a go.
The first thing I did was set about getting Barbara over the 10% whole person impairment threshold so that she became entitled to compensation for pain and suffering. An application was duly lodged to Medical Assessment Service and Barbara was found to have 15% whole person impairment which qualified her for pain and suffering.
From there I was able to negotiate a settlement with the insurance company for $150,000 and needless to say Barbara was delighted.
This is yet another example of why choice of legal representation is just so important.
You only get one chance at claiming compensation and, to guarantee you get the best result, it is absolutely critical that you ensure that you have the best possible legal representation.