Can you compromise personal injury claims

As a consequence, she would work her shift with little or no break. She sought medical treatment and was advised to avoid strenuous activities at work. She was signed off work before eventually being dismissed on medical grounds. As part of a settlement of her employment claim, my client was required to sign a compromise agreement and she sought advice from an employment specialist on this. They advised her about the terms of the settlement and were aware she had a potential injury claim against her former employers, but due to an oversight, that agreement excluded her right to bring such a claim.

My client who had limited grasp of English was being assisted by an advisor who spoke her language and relied on him to ensure the agreement protected her interests. This mistake only came to light after the parties had signed the agreement and my client effectively lost the right to bring an injury claim. My client instructed me to pursue a professional negligence claim against her legal advisor, who had by that time admitted their mistake.

The claim was for the loss of a chance to bring a successful injury claim. Additionally, if you opt to take your case to trial — which you can at any time before accepting a settlement — you run the risk of getting nothing if you lose. Settlement is a compromise between you and the person liable for your "damages". When you're injured, an insurance policy almost always comes into play, especially in the context of an accident where someone else may be at fault, whether a slip and fall, a car accident, or any other kind of mishap.

So, you might file a claim under your own insurance coverage and your insurer might turn around and seek reimbursement from the insurance carrier of the person who was at fault , or you might file a third-party claim directly with the insurance company of the at-fault party. In either case, for an insurance company, handling a claim is all about doing two things: minimizing costs and managing risk. An insurer is not going to let a personal injury case go to trial, where it can be put in the hands of an unpredictable jury, one that could just as easily award the plaintiff hundreds of thousands of dollars as it could absolve the defendant and the insurer of any liability.

You can get a ballpark estimate of your compensable damages by plugging a few key numbers into a damages calculator, and come away with a rough idea of the amount of compensation you might expect to receive.

In order to get the best estimate from any damages formula, you'll need to first get a sense of the universe of your damages. Get all your claim-related documents together -- medical bills, pay stubs, records of time missed at work, property damage estimates, and anything else that will give you a strong though not necessarily definitive sense of your losses so far.

This will give you an idea of your "actual" or out-of-pocket damages. But what about compensation for pain and suffering, emotional distress and other damages? Some insurance companies use a multiplier to calculate these "general damages. That means multiplying your actual damages by a number between 1. This number will be higher or lower based on factors like the seriousness of your injuries, your prospects for a complete recovery, the clarity of who was at fault for the accident, and the impact that your injuries have had on your day-to-day life.

Remember that resolution of any injury claim usually turns on far too many variables -- including the art and skill of successful negotiation -- for you to reasonably rely on numbers that have been crunched on a website.

Try our calculator out: Personal Injury Damages Calculator. In personal injury parlance, the different kinds of compensation you can receive are divided into two main groups: general damages and special damages. General damages are also sometimes called "non-economic" damages, and special damages may be referred to as "economic. Basically, general damages are the kinds of harm and losses that stem from the underlying accident or injury, but are not easily quantified and can be more subjective.

This includes compensation for any pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, lost companionship, disfigurement, and similar harm caused by the accident and resulting medical treatment. Special damages are losses that are easy or easier to quantify put a dollar figure on, in other words. This includes compensation for medical treatment, lost wages, lost income opportunity, property damage, and other economic losses resulting from the accident, medical treatment, and any resulting disability or limitation.

If you were injured in an accident, and you were not at fault — or at least, not "mostly" at fault — you should receive some amount of money for your pain and the impact the injury has had on your daily life. In accidents with minor, short-term injuries, it may be a small "token" amount. Yes, payment or reimbursement for payment of medical bills will be a component of any settlement that is reached in an injury-related insurance claim or lawsuit.

That includes reimbursement for medical bills already paid, and a plan for payment of all future medical treatment that will be necessary. One thing to be aware of when it comes to getting compensation for medical bills that have already been paid: Your health insurance provider may have a lien on part of your settlement, if your provider already paid some or all of the bills that you later get compensated for. No, there is no minimum or maximum amount when it comes to injury settlements.

Every case is different in terms of strengths and weaknesses, and what is at stake. The amount of a settlement in a personal injury case depends on a whole host of factors, including:. If you've filed an injury claim with an insurance company, or brought a personal injury lawsuit against the person who caused your injuries, you're free to reject any settlement offer you receive. It's true that most injury cases settle before going to trial, and a large number of claims even get resolved before a personal injury lawsuit is filed.

But there are a number of valid reasons to reject a settlement offer and take the case to court. Maybe you and the other side are too far apart on key issues like who was at fault for the accident, or the extent of your injuries. Maybe you just want your "day in court.

It is not necessary for ACAS to play any role in your settlement agreement but they provide a free conciliation and advice service by telephone to employers and employees. ACAS agreements are usually much simpler and less comprehensive than settlement agreements. There are limitations to the types of claim that may be settled using an ACAS agreement. This is why employers often prefer to use settlement agreements. Your solicitor should work with you to formulate a strategy for the negotiation.

At Truth Legal, we have a number of tried and tested tips that can help in any negotiation:. Another important tip is to ensure you have the right solicitors acting for you.

At Truth Legal, we have extensive experience of successfully negotiating settlement agreements. Basically, any money received that is part of your normal wages or salary should have tax and national insurance contributions deducted. So, any pay up to the leave date will be taxable as will any holiday pay. In addition, you will have to pay tax and national insurance in respect of your notice period whether or not this is worked.

This is called Post-Employment Notice Pay and there are rules around how this is calculated. This can be complex. It is no longer possible to argue that no tax should be payable in relation to a notice period.

Therefore, if no reference is made to the notice period, and notice has not been worked, tax will become payable on part of the termination payment. This will reduce the amount you will receive or you may be asked later to pay the tax or refund the employer any tax they have had to pay on your behalf.

That means if HMRC decide that any tax is due, you will be liable for it. The indemnity will usually state that you must reimburse your employer for any tax that HMRC claim from your employer. If they know that anything they say in these discussions cannot be used as evidence against them, it allows the parties to be more open.

The document must also be a communication made as part of a genuine attempt to settle an existing dispute. For example, you might have told colleagues about your negotiations before you saw the confidentiality clause and realised you were supposed to keep the existence of the agreement confidential. If you sign up to a clause that you have already breached or if you breach the term after signing it and your employer finds out about it, they might argue they no longer have to fulfil their side of the bargain.

They might refuse to pay the settlement payment or even try to reclaim money they have already paid to you. This information is no substitute for specialist legal advice on your situation. A settlement agreement is a contract which stops you bringing claims against you employer. Both you and your employer are able to suggest a settlement agreement. Here are some examples: Your post is redundant and your employer is using a settlement agreement to avoid having to go through a consultation process.

You might not get any extra redundancy pay — which you may have been entitled to under your contract or by way of statutory redundancy payment — but in return for signing the agreement you might be paid in lieu of working your notice. Your employer has evidence that you have committed gross misconduct or is concerned that your performance is inadequate. You are offered a settlement agreement as an alternative to being dealt with in line with the normal procedure, in return for you going quietly.

In this scenario, rather than money, your employer might offer to provide you with a basic reference, allowing you to find a new job without the stress of going through a hearing or risking a dismissal on your record. You have brought an unfair dismissal claim against your former employer. The evidence is overwhelmingly in your favour and the company wants to avoid the matter going to the employment tribunal.

A settlement agreement can be used to settle the claim for an amount agreed between the parties. This might not be for the full value of the claim, however.