A shocking story

[219]

and some tales of human kindness .

There is a thread running on Pistonheads , regarding a tragic crash which has left a three year old boy orphaned , details as below .

I'll paste the opening post for those who just want the basic facts , and a link below to the full thread .


"I wouldn't mind getting some feedback on this situation.

The short version is that my brother was driving his wife and toddler home last month when a LR Discovery came over a hill on their side of the road and hit them head on, apparently having lost control.

My brother and his wife were killed but their three year old son survived. Those car seats are amazing. The emergency crews got him out of the car and straight to intensive care. His legs were smashed up, he was covered in cuts, he was without oxygen for a few minutes and he had a big smack on the head so it remains to be seen what long term effects there will be but he's making an astonishing recovery so far and looks set to be discharged within the next week or so. We're hopeful he'll make something close to a full recovery.

What I would like to know is how these things usually play out - what sort of things we should prepare for over the next few months (and years...?). We do have excellent legal support but they obviously have to watch what they tell us whereas you lot aren't involved so can be more honest

The main things I'm unsure of are:
- two post-mortems were carried out and an inquest has been opened and adjourned so does this mean a prosecution is likely?
- what sort of timeline should we expect if that happens?
- my brother's car insurance company haven't been brilliant so far so tips on how to deal with them would be most welcome.
- the solicitor mentioned a possible personal injury claim on behalf of the toddler but stressed it was not their area of expertise. My only exposure to that world is the awful "ambulance chasers" but this is obviously a bit more serious than a dubiously sore neck, so is this something we should look into?"


and the full thread can be read here -

Major car accident - what happens next? - PistonHeads

 

[grober]

Pay for the best expert legal and medical advice. Pursue this independently of the insurance company. Blame or no blame one of the insurance companies involved will have to pay huge amounts of money for the loss of both parents and personal damages. I believe compensation payments can be staged under certain circumstances with interim payments to cover immediate costs without a final figure being agreed. I think you have up to 5 years to lodge a personal injury claim after an accident so it may be wise to wait a year or two before even applying for damages till a more accurate long term prognosis can be determined for the youngster. Normally damages are offered as a " full and final settlement" by insurance companies meaning no further claims can be made later even if damage were related to the accident emerges .

 

[DuFFmAn]

Slightly incorrect Grober...

The damage to the parents vehicle should be covered in full by their own Insurers subject to it being comprehensively insured.

The Insurers of the Land Rover may pay out for damage to both vehicles and personal injury to the parents and child if it is found that the incident was the fault of the LR driver.

The child should be able to benefit from the amounts owed to the now deceased parents as well as own injury.

This will be a complex case and you are entitled to solicitor costs etc... If the OP has the funds, he/she should also consider employing expert accident investigators to support the case.

 

[Scott_F]

I really don't want to know about the tragic misfortunes of others and of toddlers being orphaned. There are too many problems and difficulties in this world without worrying about the circumstances of complete strangers that I can do nothing to change.

Instead I want to hear a story about a Good Samaritan who stops to help an old lady who has broken down by the side of the road. She turns out to be a wealthy widow and grants the young man a substantial share of her fortune.

To show her gratitude further, she also introduces him to her granddaughter who is irresistibly attractive and the two of them get on famously.

The young lady then hands over the day-to-day running of her brewery to a trusted lieutenant so that she can spend more time with her new man searching for a tropical island where they can both live happily ever after.

Or something.

There, that's better.