Claimant’s Three Month Old Offer Accepted The Day Before Trial
Successful accident claim after road traffic collision
AWH Solicitors’s litigation advisor, Tom Xu represented the claimant in this case relating to a road traffic collision on 12 December 2015.
What was the case?
The claimant was the owner and driver of a Toyota Avensis vehicle, whilst the defendant was the driver of a Honda Accord vehicle.
This incident occurred as a result of a road traffic collision, which occurred on the 12th December 2015 at the junction of Westgate and Oxford Place, Leeds.
Liability was disputed by the defendant and in light of this, court proceedings were therefore issued in this road traffic accident claim.
The claimant contended that:
- The claimant was correctly positioned in the right-hand lane of Westgate intending to turn left onto Oxford Place;
- On the claimant’s approach to the junction with Oxford Place, the lights facing the claimant were green;
- The defendant’s vehicle had been positioned in the middle lane, which was marked left turn only, a short distance behind the claimant;
- As the claimant correctly proceeded to turn left, the defendant drove their vehicle into collision with the nearside of the claimant’s vehicle.
The defendant contended that:
- The defendant’s vehicle was correctly positioned in the middle lane of Westgate intending to turn left onto Oxford Place;
- The defendant was the first driver in their lane waiting at the lights at the junction, and had been stationary there for around two minutes;
- In the right-hand lane, there were two vehicles, the second driver being the claimant;
- As the lights changed to green, the defendant started to turn left, the vehicle in front of the claimant continued straight on, and as the defendant was turning left, the claimant entered into the middle lane and subsequently collided with the driver’s side of the defendant’s vehicle.
The claimant sustained the following losses:
- Pain, suffering, and loss of amenity in respect of soft tissue injuries to his upper and lower back, neck and shoulders, chest, and left hand
- Cost of vehicle repairs – £2,620.22
- Credit hire charges – £12,643.87
- Recovery and storage charges – £1,791.00
- Miscellaneous expenses – £30.00
Issuing proceedings
Proceedings were issued against the defendant on the 21 July 2016 and Hill Dickinson LLP defended the claim on behalf of the defendant.
A defence was filed neither admitting nor disputing liability, but rather putting the claimant to proof of the accident circumstances.
The matter was listed for Trial on the 4th May 2017.
The result
We put forward an offer to the Defendant to settle the matter in the sum of £10,600.00 on 30th January 2017.
On 2nd May 2017, the defendant put forward an offer of £10,000.00 to settle the claimant’s car accident compensation claim. Having made a costs protective order already, the claimant rejected this on the same day.
On 3rd May 2017 (one day before the trial) the defendant then accepted our client’s offer to settle the matter in the sum of £10,600.
The claimant, having made their settlement offer on a Part 36 basis, was entitled to their indemnity costs incurred from the 21st February 2017.
Making a settlement offer on a Part 36 basis informs the defendant and opposing parties of the costs and consequences they will face if they refuse a reasonable offer to settle.
Making a costs-protective offer early on in the proceedings puts pressure on the other side to reach a settlement, as well as realistically assessing the claim.
The defendant, in this case, had left it too late to put forward any settlement proposals which would put our client at any sort of costs risk.
