Forensic Accounting

28 02 2010

A FORENSIC ACCOUNTANT OR A LOSS ADJUSTER IN FORENSIC ACCOUNTANT’S CLOTHES?

Guest blogger Richard Forth of Forth Associates in Leeds describes some concerns about the use of forensic accountants by some insurers

As many Claimant Personal Injury Practitioners will be aware, ithe managing director of Leeds basedt has become the increasing practise of many Insurance Companies, over the course of the past couple of years, to utilise the services of certain firms of Forensic Accountants to consider loss of earnings / loss of profits claims presented by them, in the pre issue phase of cases, to arrive at an assessment of such Claimant’s losses. 

Whilst, ostensibly, it could be argued that the formulation of an independent assessment of such losses, in the pre issue phase of the case, is useful, we have listened to our Claimant Personal Injury Practitioner clients and note that many have voiced significant concerns, with the way certain purportedly independent firms are undertaking this practise, for a number of different reasons, the often quoted ones being:

a)         Disproportionate requests for significant financial information in small loss cases.

b)         Perceived arbitrary assessment of losses, hidden behind a purported Expert opinion (so called spurious academia) with no detailed specified reasons as to why that assessment has been made.

c)         A perception that, in effect, the Forensic Accountants are not undertaking a full and comprehensive forensic task, rather adopting a loss adjusting type approach for the benefit of their insurance clients.

Our Claimant Personal Injury Practitioner clients have identified a number of cases where their clients have been absolutely adamant that the assessment of losses, provided by the independent Forensic Accountant in their case, was understated and we have seen a significant number of instances where we believe that this is potentially the case.

The moral of the story is beware the wolf in sheep’s clothing and, should you encounter a situation where there is a structured adamance by a Claimant that he or she is correct then full consideration should be given to instructing your own Expert in rebuttal of the other Expert’s evidence.

Richard Forth is the Managing Director of Leeds based Forth Associates offering forensic accounting services to Claimant Lawyers and Insurers alike

 


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Categories : Forensic Accountants, General accident matters, Guest blogs

Mitigation of loss

23 02 2010

If you have an accident which is not your fault you are nevertheless obliged to keep your losses to a minimum. 

An example of this is hiring another vehicle whilst your own may be driveable or allowing storage charges to accumulate at a garage when the vehicle has been written off.

This also applies to inury related matters such as loss of earnings.   If the injuries such that the Claimant cannot continue in their chosen occupation, they will have to look for alternatives that they are physically capable of doing.


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Categories : Fleet matters, General accident matters, Write offs

Memorandum Of Understanding

8 02 2010

This means an agreement between motor insurers that their “outlay” – in other words what they pay for their policyholders’ repairs or total loss value, will be excluded from the amount claimed in any civil Court proceedings between the drivers.

The intention is primarily to ensure that the claim remains wherever possible within the Small Claims Track thus reducing Court Fees and the likelihood of legal fees becoming payable to the successful driver’s solicitors.


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Categories : General accident matters, Split settlements

Tips for Lady Drivers

28 01 2010

I was asked to write a blog on this subject for the excellent Birds On the Blog website,  so with some trepidation, I accepted the challenge.   Much of this article is based on that piece.

In my experience, women seem to have less accidents than men and certainly cause fewer, because they frequently drive slower and take less risks.

The drawback is that as a consequence of that lower involvement, women may have less experience as to what to do when an accident happens.

THERE’S ALWAYS HELP AVAILABLE

 Mobile as a must

Whilst you certainly shouldn’t be using a handheld whist driving, there’s no doubt that a mobile is an absolute essential in a crisis.

Whether you are stranded in a quiet country road and need urgent help or just need to talk to a friendly voice.  If it has a camera, it will enable you to take plenty of photos!

Exchanging information

 Accidents can be very unnerving for anyone and whether you have just rear-ended a trucker the size of a sumo wrestler or he has just ploughed into you, you may want to keep conversation to a minimum! 

 As you are obliged to exchange some information in any event, a printed form with your name, address and insurance details (to keep in your glovebox) can be helpful to hand to him through a slightly open window.

Registration numbers

It’s always a good idea to take a careful note (or better still a photo) of the other driver’s registration number so that your legal or insurance representative can establish the identity of his insurers immediately through the MID.

The benefit of photos

As you will notice, throughout this article, I am suggesting taking photos (albeit discretely).  Nothing is ever clear cut, so photos of the damage on both /all vehicles, their registration numbers, the location, any nearby buildings, and the foliage (which changes rapidly) are of enormous assistance. 

However, if you get out of your car, to take the photos make sure you don’t expose yourself to being run over by another motorist in the process!

Call the police?

Unless you feel there is risk they might prosecute you, you may want to call the police to be on the safe side (and if they arrive take a photo of their registration number.  It may help, when your legal adviser is asking for a copy of any police report).

Witnesses

Even in the most clear cut of accidents, witnesses are essential!  It is always wise to get the names, addresses and telephone numbers of anyone kind enough to stop.  Your representative may never need to involve them but it is far better to have them available in case.

See also WHO CAN BE A WITNESS?

Out of Pocket Expenses

If you have to spend money to sort out the aftermath of a road accident, a great idea is to keep all the receipts in one place and if possible, maintain a spreadsheet of all the costs on your PC which can be updated whenever needed.

Your legal adviser will thank you for it!

DRIVING TIPS

Roundabouts

Lorries and buses need to be given a wide birth as they need more room.  If you don’t and have an accident as a result, you probably won’t win your claim in full.

See also – 50/50 & SPLIT SETTLEMENT CASES

Car parks

Normal rules don’t apply but if there’s an arrow on the lane, best not to go in the opposite direction.! 

Be very wary of vehicles reversing out of a parking space into your path.

..and as my wife always advises me, don’t park next to 4x4s whose large door will dent your pride and joy of a car without leaving a note!

 See also – PARKED CAR ACCIDENTS

IF THE ACCIDENT IS NOT YOUR FAULT

Car Hire

If your vehicle is undriveable after the accident or during the repair period, you should be entitled to another vehicle of the same size as yours, either provided through the other driver’s insurers or through a reputable credit hire company.  Your legal adviser should be able to arrange this.

So if you have five kids and a dog to take to school in the morning, you don’t need to shoehorn everyone into a mini!

Injury

 The key to a complete recovery (where possible) is early medical treatment.  Your legal adviser should discuss this with you in any event and can probably advise how it can be funded at no cost to you – often paid for by the insurers of the other driver.

GET SOME LEGAL HELP

Dealing with the aftermath of an accident, can be a pain in the neck (all too often, literally).  Coping with insurers, repairers, medical advisers can be time frustrating, time consuming and in most non-fault cases, you can let an experienced professional do the job for you.

If you would like to ask a question about a road accident or need legal representation just go to our On-line Enquiry Form.


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Categories : Car Hire, Driving tips, General accident matters, Parked car accidents, Personal Injury, Rear end shunts, Witnesses

Road Traffic Accidents in snow

18 12 2009

With the bad weather suddenly hitting many parts of the country recently, for those not used to driving in snowy conditions, it always worth remembering that your car will have a mind of its own and behave quite differently than you may expect.

Keep a safe distance from other vehicles especially lorries which have tendency to jacknife, brake slowly and try to avoid hills.

If you are a pedestrian, be wary of drivers losing control of their vehicles and if you go to the aid of a drive who has got stuck, make sure you don’t injure yourself in the process or indavertantly push the vehicle you are helping into another vehicle or solid object. You might be held liable!

If you are not yet a client of Kaslers RTA department but would like initial free advice on any matter relating to a road traffic accident in the UK, whether relating to an injury or vehicle damage, click here for our New Enquiry Form


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Categories : General accident matters, Snow & ice, Uncategorized

Potholes

18 09 2009

Liability for damage or injury caused by potholes will depend on whether the property is privately or publicly owned.

Publicly owned property

Generally, councils will have a defence to damage caused by potholes so long as they can demonstrate that they maintain a regular inspection and repair schedule of every road, pavement or other land under their control. 

Quite understandably, they are unable to repair every pothole or damage to surfaces as soon as they materialise but the liability position may change if it can be established that they made fully aware of the defect prior to the incident where the damage or injury was caused.

Privately owned property

Here the situation is quite different as normally the property will be occupied or managed on a day to day basis so the facts of each case must be considered carefully and on their own merits


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Categories : General accident matters

Motor Insurer Database

10 07 2009

All insurers, the Police and most other organisations involved in representing the victims of road accidents (including specialist road traffic accident solicitors) will have access to this central database – known as the MID, which provides the insurer name and policy number of every vehicle registered in the UK along with limited contact details or telephone number of the insurer.

The authorised user types in the registration number on line and in most cases within a matter of seconds the information is to hand.

There are strict rules relating to the use of the site and the user may be required to justify why an enquiry was made.  For example solicitors can only enquire in relation to an alleged at fault vehicle and must site the accident date and their reference number.

Non subscribers can normally pay a one-off fee of £3.50 on line for the same information.

What happens if an at fault  driver does not want to involve his or her insurers?

As the Third Party representative will most like have access to the MID, the at fault will probably have little choice in the matter, as the insurers of the vehicle will be obliged to pay any court judgment made against the at fault driver, so long as the relevant notice has been served on them at the time of issuing the proceedings.

Consequently, many Third Party representatives will correspond only with the insurers of the at fault driver.

Other consequences

If no insurer details are disclosed, the person making the enquiry immediately becomes aware that the at-vault vehicle may be uninsured and an application to the Motor Insurers Bureau, as well as notfication to the police may follow.

For more information, see the askMID website – www.askmid.com


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Categories : General accident matters, Uninsured

Accidents caused by animals

20 06 2009

A claim is regarded as a fault claim if the Claimant’s insurers cannot recover the amount they have paid in repairs or a total loss from any other person.

Consequently if a wild animal like a fox causes an accident by running out into the road, there is nobody against whom a claim can be brought, so the claim will be treated as a fault accident even though the driver was not negligent.

However, where a pet such as a dog or horse is the cause, the pet owner may be liable IF he has been negligent in allowing the animal to behave in such a way as to cause the accident.

Having said that if the negligent owner has neither pet insurance nor a house contents policy which covers damage caused by pets, it is normally very hard to recover whatever compensation is awarded.


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Categories : General accident matters

Etyres

12 05 2009

When one gets good service, it’s nice to be able to recommend.

I needed two rear tyres and was told that Etyres offered competitive prices and would fit them and my workplace or home – and indeed they did with no call out cost!

Whilst they are not an emergency service, they operate as a local franchise with a central operations centre.

They were very efficient, quick and helpful and above all very reasonably priced.

I was very impressed.


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Categories : General accident matters

Road accident victims settling too low

10 02 2009

This article from the Times On Line dated 5th February demonstrates a concern many experienced road accident lawyers have where a Claimant deals direct with insurers.

Of course, many settlements of this nature never become known but wherever we have been instructed by a Claimant after he or she has been dealing direct with insurers, we have negotiated a better settlement figure and at no cost to the Claimant as the legal fees have been payable by the insurer.


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Categories : General accident matters

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