with Andrew Dalton, White Dalton Motorcycle Solicitors
‘I fear that action for my accident claim is too slow. Should I switch solicitor?’
Q I WORK AS a service engineer for ramps and lifting equipment. My day involves a mix of driving, eating crappy food and moving big lumps of metal around in enclosed spaces; I should have tried harder at school. But that isn’t why I am asking for advice.
I had a nasty motorcycle accident when I hit a slick of mud on the exit to a large building project. The builders’ insurers have denied liability and pointed me towards the local council, on the basis it should keep the roads free of mud. The council has sent my solicitor a long and legalistic letter, the top and bottom of which is ‘sue the builders or sling your hook’.
My solicitor seems very relaxed about this. He says we will commence court proceedings once I have recovered and have been back at work for a few months. I have hand and back injuries, which might make my job difficult, and I have an injury to my tailbone that means my driving is limited, but the accident was only four months ago. My mates are telling me (and so are a few people on forums) that my solicitor needs to get on and sue the council.
I get the feeling my solicitor is hanging on because he doesn’t know what to do. Is my sinking feeling justified? Do I need to find a solicitor who will take more action? I’m OK for money as my employer has taken out a form of insurance that pays 85% of my wages for when I am off sick to a maximum of 24 months.
A I HAVE READ the advice letters your solicitors have given you and the advice is sound, but overly complicated. You don’t need to swap solicitors, but maybe the senior solicitor involved in your case might want to stop with the legal phrasing and try writing in, you know, English. However, the advice is good.
He has notified the builders and the council of your claim. Personally, I wouldn’t have written to the council because it is not liable for temporary danger on the highway – this is really well-established law.
The builders are liable – and your evidence is excellent. You have pictures of the scene with your bike, on its side, in what looks to me to be a thick coating of a mix of clay soil and mixed aggregate with a trail leading straight back to the building site, with tracked ‐vehicle tracks also clearly visible in the thick mud. Your tyres are both mud slicks. This is an easy case.
Your solicitor – and I translate from legalese into English – has said
