Sometimes if you’ve been involved in an accident which wasn’t your fault, the other party’s insurers will make an early offer to settle your claim, often at the same time that they accept liability for your accident.
A ‘pre-med’ offer is, as the name suggests, an offer to settle your claim before you or your solicitors have obtained any medical evidence on your injuries and the effect of those injuries on you. Third-party insurers make offers of this type to try and tempt you into settling your claim early because it saves them time and money. They often make these offers without any knowledge of your symptoms or the seriousness of your injury and how it might affect you in the longer term.
You should be very wary of accepting an early offer of this type. Whilst these offers can seem attractive because you can ‘take the money’ at the beginning of a claim without having to attend a medical examination, you run the risk of accepting an amount that is too low to compensate you for the injuries you have suffered. Not only that, but you will also be unable to recover other losses you might have suffered as a result of the accident, such as your loss of earnings, the cost of care, travelling costs and medical expenses.
We recently acted for a lady who had broken her wrist and was made a ‘pre-med’ offer of £5,000 by the third party’s insurers to settle her claim early which, of course, she was tempted to accept. However, we suggested she persevere with her claim and attend a medical appointment. The medical expert who examined her for the purposes of her claim stated that she had developed carpal tunnel symptoms as a result of her injury, which meant that her recovery would not be straightforward. We were consequently able to secure compensation of £12,000 in respect of the injury, plus compensation for her incidental losses, including costs for physiotherapy, travel to and from the hospital and help with domestic tasks.
Remember, the third party’s insurers will try and settle your claim as quickly and as cheaply as possible, in order to save money and maximise their profits. They do not care about you as an individual. Roythornes has the knowledge, experience and empathy to make sure that you receive the maximum amount of compensation you deserve.