My bike landed hard on my left ankle, fracturing it. Apparently, I made things a bit worse by trying to get to my feet and walking on the broken ankle. My solicitors are really encouraging me to settle the case, for about £3,000 or £4,000, but I know that my ankle still isn’t right.
Prior to my accident, I was keen on marathon running and martial arts. I’m still an Assistant Physical Training Instructor in the TA, and I know my ankle isn’t right. My solicitor sent me to a surgeon who said that I would have no problems after a year, but after 18 months I still have problems. I’ve looked at the medical report and apparently the surgeon hasn’t seen any of my X-rays, because he didn’t mention them. What should I do?
Name and address withheld
Do not settle your case. You get one chance to bring it to a conclusion. If you want to settle your case early and take the risk of having further problems with your ankle, then that is your decision. However, your solicitor needs to declare an interest. Because you got him from your insurance company, he’s unlikely to get paid until the case concludes. This will be when you get your money, so he has an interest to get your case settled more quickly.
We often deal with injuries where the surgeon has said, `You’ll be fine in a year,’ and the client comes back to us in pain a year later, when further injuries or early onset arthritis come to light. Your worry about the way the claim is being handled is one which I have to say I share with you.
Andrew Dalton
Fast Bikes Magazine