Bailer twine across road to guide cows - I hit it !.. Advice pls

[hemo]

Farmer or family influence probably expecting to give Op the brush off/run around hoping it would go away.
Well done for persevering.

[alexnharvey]

Hi been waiting for solicitor, they have admitted liability, so got to send them details of what expenses I have incurred.

Sounds like progress. And it seems a bit silly that they didn't just sort this out on the day, at the farm gate. Make sure you don't miss anything off.

Yep, more fool them and their kin.

[Lox]

Update solicitors have been in touch the farmers insurance company have offered £5,000 to settle I have accepted thanks to everyone for their input.

[iandusud]

Update solicitors have been in touch the farmers insurance company have offered £5,000 to settle I have accepted thanks to everyone for their input.

Well done for pursuing this and getting compensated. You deserve it.

[slowster]

Thank you for coming back and providing the update. It's good to learn of the positive outcome. It's upsetting enough to have your clothes and bike suffer damage which you can ill afford and to suffer physical injuries as well, but the farmer's behaviour was disgraceful and showed contempt for you, for the injuries he had caused to you, and for the damage to your property.

Clearly you were absolutely right to use no win-no fee lawyers, since it seems that even after their fee is deducted the compensation will be a lot more than you were originally seeking. I presume most of the amount relates to the injuries, and that they have been diligent in using their knowledge of the standard/typical amounts awarded by courts to get everything you were entitled to.

I would also hope that this outcome will result in the farmer taking much better precautions to warn road users of the presence of any barrier. If he had been able to get away with just paying you the amount he offered originally, he would probably still carry on using the twine. The size of the award and the fact that it is being paid by his insurers should ensure that he takes more care and arranges for better signage/warnings. Even if it isn't now patently obvious to him that he must do so, his insurers are likely to tell him to do so.

[Cowsham]

Well done -- a no brainer from the start and impressed but not surprised by the award

[Lox]

Ye I was also surprised, I would of been happy with £500. Solicitors want me to go have medical and keep it going but I'm ending it as it is a good offer.

[slowster]

Ye I was also surprised, I would of been happy with £500. Solicitors want me to go have medical and keep it going but I'm ending it as it is a good offer.

The offer will be "in full and final settlement" of your right to compensation arising out of the incident. That means you would not be able to claim for anything else later on. That can be very important for personal injury claims, because the nature, extent and lasting impact of the injuries may not be apparent or clear for some time. If a claim is settled prematurely, it will not be possible to ask for more later if it becomes evident that the injuries were worse than originally thought.

If by now you have not completely recovered, then I would strongly recommend that you do as your solicitors suggest and have the medical examination. The long term effects of an injury can sometimes not be immediately apparent, and yet be far worse than the immediate effects. I think it's not unusual for some broken bones to cause arthritis to develop later at a much younger age than might otherwise have been the case, and I imagine that some bad tears of tendons or ligaments might have the potential for similar chronic long term effects.

[Lox]

Ye I was also surprised, I would of been happy with £500. Solicitors want me to go have medical and keep it going but I'm ending it as it is a good offer.

The offer will be "in full and final settlement" of your right to compensation arising out of the incident. That means you would not be able to claim for anything else later on. That can be very important for personal injury claims, because the nature, extent and lasting impact of the injuries may not be apparent or clear for some time. If a claim is settled prematurely, it will not be possible to ask for more later if it becomes evident that the injuries were worse than originally thought.

If by now you have not completely recovered, then I would strongly recommend that you do as your solicitors suggest and have the medical examination. The long term effects of an injury can sometimes not be immediately apparent, and yet be far worse than the immediate effects. I think it's not unusual for some broken bones to cause arthritis to develop later at a much younger age than might otherwise have been the case, and I imagine that some bad tears of tendons or ligaments might have the potential for similar chronic long term effects.

Ye my elbow still gives me grief when I apply pressure to it feels a bit lumpy and grindy when I move my fingers over it but with covid I'm reluctant to go to docs or for medical but your point is a very good one. I did know about final settlement but 5k seems fair Evan if there is some lasting damage, and if it turns out it's nothing they might offer less?(unsure of that)

[chris_suffolk]

Agree with the above re getting a medical examination. I had an off a while back, and car driver's insurer offerred £1500. I refused, and got a medical, which showed long term, and irreperable damage to my hip. Doesn't affect me day to day, but stops me doing impact sports like badminton. Eventually settled for £8500 (nearly 6x more) - so yes - follow solicitor advice.

[slowster]

Ye my elbow still gives me grief when I apply pressure to it feels a bit lumpy and grindy when I move my fingers over it but with covid I'm reluctant to go to docs or for medical but your point is a very good one. I did know about final settlement but 5k seems fair

I would definitely get the medical examination in that case. What might now seem minor or trivial might be an indicator that it could or will get worse. Sometimes particular long term injuries can significantly affect people's ability to perform their usual employment so much so that they have to change to other lower paid employment, and/or the injuries can significantly affect their quality of life, e.g. not being able to undertake a particular sport or hobby because of the pain or discomfort. In those situations £5,000 might prove to be a very poor settlement.

Evan if there is some lasting damage, and if it turns out it's nothing they might offer less?(unsure of that)

Until you sign on the dotted line, the other party can withdraw or reduce their offer at any time. However, in practice that is not going to happen: they've made an offer based on the information provided by you/your solicitors. If they thought you were overstating your injuries, they themselves would have insisted on a medical before making an offer. I would not therefore worry about them suddenly and capriciously withdrawing or reducing the offer: insurance companies don't act like that.

Equally I would not worry about them offering less if the medical examination is very favourable. Firstly the £5,000 offer is probably based on the acute injuries which you have demonstrably suffered, not the possibility that you might suffer chronic long term effects. Secondly if the medical examination is undertaken at your own choice/on the advice of your solicitors, there is no requirement for the results to be disclosed to the other party/their insurer. You would only have to disclose the results if the case went to court.

It's not unusual for the settlement of personal injury claims to be delayed for months, or even years for the worst case injuries, to see whether or not a full recovery will be made, and if not to assess the impact of any permanent or long lasting effects.

I suggest you discuss this further with your solicitors before accepting the offer.

[pete75]

Who else has encountered rope across the road in the dark with no warning... Did you see it and stop with ease your perspective seems one sided as no one expects rope across a road anytime of the day, to say I wasn't in control is unfair. It's not just 300 pound that was a guess, 1 day off work is 150 pound new brakes are prob 150 front and back my waterproof jacket was 100 pound trousers 30 how much is a new Yamaha computer and labour on top. Your missing the point he was willing to give me 75 pound of the bill, not acceptable, as long as I get more than 75 pound from compo then it was the better choice for me

Someone putting another perspective may appear 'one-sided', perhaps. It is alarming to hear someone who consults no-win, no-fee lawyers who will bleed them of anything they might win - seemed to me that another perspective might have been helpful. It's clearly unwelcome, so I wish you every success in your action for 'compo'. Take good advice, and go carefully on those lanes in the half-light.

They don't bleed the person of anything they might win, the losing side pays their costs. There's nothing wrong with using no win no fee lawyers and since civil legal aid was virtually abolished it's the only option for many people. If someone through their actions causes a person loss it's right that they be made to make good that loss.

Some years ago my son suffered an accident causing similar injuries and damage to his bike when he was knocked off it by a lorry carrying bales from a farm. Bike damage was about £300 - Campag stuff is expensive and he had various cuts and bruises. Initially the owner was going to pay for the damage but then said he wouldn't so we contacted his insurance company(NFU) who said they wouldn't deal with us only with another insurance company or solicitors. Went to a well known no win no fee company who advise reporting the incident to the police. The end result was my son received almost £4000 and the driver was prosecuted. He pleaded not guilty which may have been why he was fined £550 plus prosecution costs and given 6 points. All this could have been avoided if either he or the insurance company had just stumped up the £300 asked for.

[eileithyia]

Great to see an update.

[pete75]

Re cattle crossings, there's a prescribed sign, which at busy locations may be reinforced with flashing lights. And a fat lot of good... is probably a fair assessment. Dodgy memory but I'm pretty sure there used to be this feature on the A1 North of Wetherby and there was at least one, possibly more on the A65 which may still be there.

UK_Traffic_Signs_Manual_-_Chapter_4_-_Warning_Signs._2013.pdf.jpg

I've also found an old traffic advice TA 56/87 running to 18 pages in pdf format

Hazardous Cattle Crossing: Use of Flashing Amber Lamps

Perhaps that should be Hazardous Cattle-Crossing, but who knows or cares? (To save everybody looking, there's no mention of bailer twine etc.)

http://www.ukroads.org/webfiles/TA56-87 ... ossing.pdf

Kirk Deighton. It was there until they built the new A1M.

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,

Agree with the above re getting a medical examination. I had an off a while back, and car driver's insurer offerred £1500. I refused, and got a medical, which showed long term, and irreperable damage to my hip. Doesn't affect me day to day, but stops me doing impact sports like badminton. Eventually settled for £8500 (nearly 6x more) - so yes - follow solicitor advice.

YES Get All You Can!

I can tell you from bitter experience..............................as you get older it will all come back to haunt you.
I have a permanently partial dislocation of my collar bone........my doctor at the time said lucky you weren't older it would be permanently problematic....it has been all my life. £1500 35 years ago.

Then there's the scar in my artery post opp post splenectomy add two more opps, which has resulted in PAD..........I might still lose my lower leg before I die!
Not to mention the Clinically Vulnerable status............................. £8500 in early eighties.