Large loss
Expert, experienced legal service dealing with claims involving
injuries of the utmost severity and more complex technical
insurance work.
When it comes to settling large loss claims, the stakes are, by
definition, very high. With the sums involved and the inherent
complexity of the individual cases, the level of legal and
negotiating skills required must be correspondingly high if
successful outcomes are to be achieved.
Weightmans’ Large Loss team handles claims reserved at a minimum
of £500,000, representing around £750 million of client reserves.
The majority of claims we deal with are motor, but we also cover
employers’ liability, public liability and product liability, as
well as substantial dependency fatality claims. Typical cases
involve brain, spinal and amputation injuries.
Our approach is focused totally on your objectives as a client.
Because each claim is unique, we devise a bespoke strategy and
individual tactical action plan to achieve an early and fair claims
resolution. At the same time, we ensure that the claimant’s
immediate and rehabilitative needs are met, working with their
solicitor to ensure a combined approach.
We manage every claim proactively and co-operatively, with our
team working alongside yours from first notification. We maintain a
dedicated database of experts and counsel and advise on the use of
your own database if required.
We obtain detailed information in order to inform early
reserving and where appropriate, to enable early settlement offers
to be made. We then prepare a detailed reserve calculation in
accordance with your reserving guidelines, together with a detailed
action plan, and conduct regular reviews to reflect any new
evidence that becomes available.
Depending on the circumstances of each case, we recommend
strategies on specific issues, such as interim payments and funding
contributions from the relevant Local Authority and/or Primary Care
Trust.
We also advise on the best way to make a settlement offer, e.g.
by round table conference, time-limited without prejudice offers,
Part 36 offers etc. This includes consideration of the format of
any offers, including periodical payments, combined periodical
payments and lump sum offers, top-up only offers for future losses,
reverse indemnities etc. Where appropriate, we advise on the
potential cost of impaired life annuity purchase versus self
funding, including issues of security.
A significant number of the claims we handle include
non-indemnity and technical issues. We advise the insurance market
on these issues, including advice on policy interpretation and
insurers’ obligations under the Road Traffic Act and Article 75. We
have been advising the Motor Insurers’ Bureau since the early
1990s, and we are one of only three main panel firms retained
following the Bureau’s tender process in late 2006.