lump sum payout and benefits

[geritelmad]

Hello,

Sorry if title is misleading couldn't think how to word it..

My husband and I are are about to be made an offer re compensation for injuries and loss of income folling a car accident last year.

Since the accident my husband has been unable to work and I have had to give up work to become his carer meaning we are currently living on state benefits, income support and housing benefit etc.

Our solicitors have warned us that a lump sum payout may affect our entitlement to benefits. Does anyone know what the amount would need to be to affect our entitlement.

We have not had an offer yet but suspect it to be in the region of 5-8k. Would this reduce our housing benefit and tax credit entitlement?

Thanks

[MIKEY DABODEE]

When you receive the lump sum you will need to tell I.S and H.B

It will not effect tax credits.

With regards to I.S you are allowed to have up to 16 thousand and still claim but capital does effect.

You can have six thousand and there is no effect but after that what is called tariff Income is taken out of your benefit

 

For ever two hundred and fifty pounds over 6K your have then £1 tariff income is taken out

For example if you have 8K then £8 would be deducted from your benefit

so if you should receive £120 per week IS then you would be paid £112

 

I think HB has similar rules but check out your local council site.

[geritelmad]

thankyou,

thats really helpful

[wheresmyhairgone]

Hi i,m assuming this wasn,t a slight accident. Is your husband not walking because of the accident, is he claiming disabilty living allowance, are you claiming carers allowance, is this the first offer, will he be able to work in the future and was the accident his fault, was your husband working before the accident?

 

The reason i ask is because 8k seems very low for the injuries you have stated.

Is this their first offer? if so you might consider turning it down.

 

Insurance companies do this to test your resolve.

 

Do you have YOUR own solicitor, if so is it a NO WIN NO PAY solicitor?

 

Your solicitor should be trying to get any amounts that you might have to pay back to benefits office included in the compensation.

 

I am not an expert in this field, but i do have some experiance ( my sister was involved in a accident and i was her carer for a while and i was dealing with her claim on her behalf)

 

I understand that in your circumstances 5-8k might seem alot but she had to turn down two offers from the insurance company.( on her solicitors advice)

 

It took 5 years to get the compensation but she had a very good PRIVATE solicitor and in the end she got 6 times the original offer and they had to pay All the money that the benifits office were wanting back on top.

 

This was ten years ago and if things are different now i,m sure i will corrected.

[NewSAHD]

I would tend to agree with the last post.

 

I was involved in a car accident around six years ago now and was off work for "only" two to three months. I say "only" as it played havoc with my professional/personal life.

 

Tried to work from home, pointless, pain killers alone knocked me out for much of the day / evening. Physio continued for a couple of months after that. Never slept so much in my life, which might account for some insomniac posts now!

 

Long story short, I never wanted to pursue a Personal Injury claim (an aversion to our claims culture, which I didn't want to be a part of, oh, the irony) and didn't pursue it for a few years. A few years ago I rethought the whole situation, which had been traumatic for my family and I after all.

 

In short, several cars had been written off by a drunk driver, independent witnesses said I had been lucky to get out of my car alive. A short exchange with Insurers/Solicitors and I was paid about £7,500. I didn't fight it further, just wanted it brought to a rapid close and move on.

 

Yet your husband finds himself out of work for a year or more and you have to be a full-time carer? All with no end in site? Doesn't seem quite right.

 

You need proper advice - who is acting on your behalf?

[wheresmyhairgone]

Would this be thread be better off in the insurance forum.

 

Newshad i do think you need more advise about your claim.

 

My sisters solicitor had all 5 years of benefits included in the claim because the benefits office were claiming ALL the payments made to her back if her claim was successful.

 

I don,t know if they do that now but it is best if you found out.

[EYEBALLS01]

Hi I was in a car crash in Nov 2004 but was hit by a stolen lorry which is slightly different to your accident as it is being dealt with by the Motor Insurance Bureau. I worked for 35 years and finally had to give up in Sept 2008. My solicitor who was appointed by my insurer is looking at a big settlement which should compensate me for loss of earning etc until retirement age. Also for DIY jobs I can`t do anymore etc. I have already had an interim payment of 15K. My settlement if accepted would be on the region of £400.000 so I think you are being shortchanged. Even if it`s a tenth of that it`s more than your legal advisor can get. I will say though that this takes time,patience and medical evidence. Your Solicitor should be seeking a medical report from an ortopaedic Surgeon and psychologist at least.Good luck.

[NewSAHD]

Would this be thread be better off in the insurance forum.

 

Newshad i do think you need more advise about your claim.

 

My sisters solicitor had all 5 years of benefits included in the claim because the benefits office were claiming ALL the payments made to her back if her claim was successful.

 

I don,t know if they do that now but it is best if you found out.

 

For my part I was uncomfortable pursuing the claim, even though the other driver was completely at fault, as she was blind drunk at the wheel, mid-morning.

 

Yes, I "lost" three months, but I was young (as I still am!) and am happier now with work/life balance too. That last bit has nothing to do with her, of course, save that the accident helped me rethink a lot of what I'd been doing.

 

I may take some flak for this, but I thought, at the time, that she (the drunk driver) would not be personally compensating those who she hit - it would be her insurers. So, in turn, we would all end paying by way of increased premiums.

 

I appreciate this last bit may be flawed thinking, but I'm not sure what the answer to this is, as each year I see my house/car/bike/pet insurance increase too - that is, until I shop around and get cheaper quotes

 

Regardless of all this and for those who have been involved in more serious accidents than mine I hope matters do get sorted and that you are properly compensated as well.

 

Hopefully those with better experience will be able to point you in the right direction.

Edited November 10, 2009 by NewSAHD

[EYEBALLS01]

Also if you had legal insurance on your policy then this will help .

 

As for not claiming because of premiums increasing this thinking is definately flawed as if others more seriosly injured did not claim they would be on benefits for longer and thus a drain on the taxpayers.

[NewSAHD]

Eyeballs, interesting point.

 

In my case I had legal insurance, which paid for a solicitor, and also sought independent advice from a solicitor friend.

 

The offer from the other side was increased several times and I was glad to be able to bring it to a close; I was not on benefits at the time, already had a reasonable sum of money in the bank, a reasonably well paid job to go to, and a new family to take up my time as well .

 

I was out of action for "only" two to three months and felt, as I still do to a degree, that I was more interested in the drunk driver being properly prosecuted/banned, especially as her own brother said this had not been the first time.

 

The police were very good and one of their officers stayed in touch, only to later say he was stunned to find she had been fined £50 and been banned for 18 months :-| Several cars written off and the various drivers hospitalised / injured and off work. That last bit pains me more than thinking about the pros and cons of personal injury claims, but yours is an interesting point, will take this on board in future.

 

 

(Also occurs to me that may have inadvertently caused some offense, if so, apologies, was not intended!)

[EYEBALLS01]

No offense at all. The forum is for everyone for discussion and opinion although some (not you) have been pulled up before for being malicious.

It is nice to see someone who does not immediately think ``where there`s blame there`s a claim` but unfortunately there are some that have to. I`ve been involved in a couple of accidents before this one but it never occurred to me to claim as I was able to resume normal life. Unfortunately this one has had a profound effect on me and my family and I had no choice. Don`t worry about giving an honest opinion.

[NewSAHD]

Many thanks. ' where there`s blame there`s a claim` pretty much sums it up for me in some ways

 

Loss of earnings, impact on pensions, and the loss of DIY (which can occupy a lot of my time from time to time!) makes your situation sounds pretty dreadful though. Or, at least, it sounds like it had been dreadful, but is at least being sorted.

 

Life takes some pretty odd turns, as it has for our family, hope matters work out for you too.

 

Dare I ask what happened to the stolen lorry/driver?

[EYEBALLS01]

There were three of them,two in a car who pulled out in front of me from an industrial estate immediately followed by a 7.5 tonne lorry. The driver had left the keys in the ignition! He came running up afterwards 1shouting I`ll lose my job for this`. He hasn`t and I suppose for legal reasons the firm, a national one, never apologised for his negligence or answere any of my letters.

They went straight over the bonnet of our car and dumped the lorry up the road as they probably thought (rightly) that they had seriously hurt my wife and I or worse. Police came, gave ME a chit to produce my documents. Got a letter from them a week or so later saying that they were not able to progress the case!

It`s really strange how you can go along day to day full time job you actually enjoy, bring up 4 children have 2 holidays a year,walk the dogs,play sports etc when in a split second it can all change and you have to fight through work trying to get ill health retirement, the benefits system and insurance claim when you are at your worst!

Sorry about the rant but I have one once every so often. Nothing personal!

[geritelmad]

Hi,

Thanks for all your replies, sorry its taken me a while to come back on

To answer some points raised..

We are not claiming through an insurance policy, we were pedestrians when my husband was hit, intentionally I may add.

We are claiming through a no win no fee solicitor.

We have not yet been made an offer but I came up with 5-8k after looking on the internet, but from what you say is this too low?

prior to the accident my husband was a stay at home dad while I had the high flying job and worked full time. So although he has lost no income, our family has as I cant work because he cant look after himself or the kids. It is very likely he will never be able to work. he can hadly walk at the moment but this may change after surgery.

we do get dla and carers allowance

[NewSAHD]

Sorry about the rant but I have one once every so often. Nothing personal!

 

Didn't read it as a rant, or take it personally ; read your post and thought 'poor s*d' and 'there for the grace of...' go the rest of us .

 

Random acts such as yours and for the other posters here make me feel grateful for what we do have. Really hope it works out for you and your family. And the dogs, obviously. Our dog gets a walk once, often twice a day, and I forget how lucky we are to still have that kind of day to day minutia too. As I say, even posting here 'anonymously', hope it works out.

 

I take the point that "I suppose for legal reasons the firm, a national one, never apologised for his negligence or answere any of my letters." What was your solicitor's take on this?

 

Sorry to ask, but your situation sounds like it is, or, at least, had been pretty grim and it would be good to hear that a fairer and more just solution was now on the horizon.

 

( My youngest is ill today, sitting next to me quietly munching half a banana, so I have a quiet half hour or so to reflect on life's oddities. Then it's back to the grind )

[NewSAHD]

Hi,

we were pedestrians when my husband was hit, intentionally I may add.

 

he can hadly walk at the moment but this may change after surgery.

 

Intentionally? Surgery?

 

Sounds a horribly serious situation to find yourselves in. I'm pretty new to the CAG forum, but be worth checking that you're not in danger of prejudicing your position in any way by posting here.

 

Fully accept that you really do need to be fully clued up though, so, doubtless there is a way to easily continue posting here without giving too much away.

 

The sum you were thinking of, to me, now, in light of what you and others have said, seems very low. What has your solicitor indicated to you?

 

From their experience I would have thought they could guide you as to a general range of what to expect?

[wheresmyhairgone]

Hi

Sorry newshad my post #6 was meant for OP my mistake.

 

Geritelmad i think you should dump the no win no fee solicitor. He will only be interested in a quick settlement.

 

was the driver prosecuted?

 

My sisters story in short:

 

She was hit by a car whilst crossing the road, spent 4 months in hospital, 2 months in intensive care, 2 months in rehab.

 

Driver was found not guilty for driving without due care and attention!!!!

 

I went to a solicitor who couldn,t believe he was found not guilty.

 

Applied for legal aid, legal aid turned down.

 

Appealed, appeal panel couldn,t believe he was found not guilty and awarded £250.000 legal aid.

 

and then the fight for compensation started, barristers, private eyes, accident investigation experts, medical experts.

 

The solicitor sat me down and explained to me it would be a long drawn out fight, the insurers would try and grind us down and break our will. He told me they would give my sister three compensation offers.

 

after two years offered £120,000 i turned it down, after 4 years they offered £250,000, i turned it down and court date was set, i was really scared that i had let my sister down, she would never work again, was a single mother with two children, and i had turned down £250,000!!!. Many a sleepless nights for me.

 

Solicitor kept telling me not to worry there would be one more offer from insurers.

 

On the day of the court case i was approached as soon as i got into the building, taken to a private office and was offered £650,000 which i excepted.

 

I asked if i could be left alone in the office and i cried like a little baby, 6 years of worry, sleepless nights ect came pouring out.

 

See a proper solicitor who specialises in compensation claims and ask about legal aid.

 

It will be a long and drawn out process but If the driver was prosecuted and found guilty then you should be able to get an interim payment.

 

I,m telling you this not because of greed but because that is what your family deserves and is entitled to.

 

My sister got £650,000 after a long fight, she will be taking medication for the rest of her life, and she walks with a limp but otherwise she leads a normal life. 5-8k is nowhere near enough for his injuries in my opinion you have to take the future into consideration.

 

This was ten years ago and i know that the legal aid system has changed but it must be worth looking into.

 

GOOD LUCK AND DON,T GIVE IN

[EYEBALLS01]

wheresmyhairgone you are a credit to your sister and she is so lucky to have you. I have had many dark moments since my accident and have nwe become agoraphobic after spending 35 years dealing with the public in sometimes confrontational situations I can now hardly speak to or see friends I have known all my life!

 

Geritelmad I hope that these posts have given you some hope but don`t settle for such a paltry sum as you deserve if not for your husband but for you and your children to be financially secure. What about criminal injurys compensation or even the Motor Insurance Bureau. they cover drivers who are hit by uninsured or untraceable drivers but I don`t know if they cover pedestrians.

 

Customer Services

 

https://www.cica.gov.uk/Default.aspx?id=592

 

Remember it may be hard but patience is the key. Don`t worry about your husband not working as you have lost your wage. Try and get your GP and if you have one Consultant onside and make sure your Solicitor takes you seriously. As you said you got the 5-8k from the onternet so ask them what sort of compensation they`re looking at. If they say a low figure without mentioning loss of earnings, quality of life,future medical expenses et then I suggest you change. Mine was appointed by my insurance company and seem pretty good. If you want to PM me I`ll let you have their details.

[reallymadwoman]

Also check if your house insurance offers legal costs.

 

You can no longer get legal aid for personal injury claims.