Hmmm....... Maybe Ducati's definition of "near" is not the same as a normal person. If you are in say, Salisbury where my ST3 is, you are not very close to either Riders of Bristol, or Riders of Bridgewater. And Winchester is not exactly round the corner from Motocorsa. I imagine that they were p1ssed off by that...
As @JAT said above, your solicitor has to have your best interests at heart, and she will get the best deal she possibly can for you. IF they make a Part 36 offer (and they may not) and IF she recommends you accept it, I'd say accept it. She will have weighed up the pros and cons of rejecting the offer and taking them on in a court.
Yes. My impression, so far, is that she is not afraid to go to court - as she seems to be there every week - and so I would have to take her comments seriously. After all, if I don't trust my sol then I am getting it wrong. I've already been warned by others (not by my sol) that compensation for physical injury is not as great as imagined. That's a p1sser because it hurts every day - even after 17 months! And I've still got the row with my family to look forward to, when I get my Guzzi! I will take a mate's suggestion and not keep two Ducatis. I'll px one as I want some room in my garage! I'll lose out because both Fowlers, or Motocorsa, will only give me peanuts for my px. Either Ducatis are only going to be worth nothing. Either bikes are too old for them to sell
Learning useful stuff on beer! Hopback are in Downton, where my elder brother lives and my ST3 is at the moment. When I go down there, I almost pass their shop! Another reason to visit Downton! Or, if my brother visits me, I can ask him to stop off on the way!
And , there are TWO breweries in Downton! Hopback and Downton - there will be a lot more visiting to Downton when I can travel!
Both Hopback and Downton are in Downton - Downton used to sell through Hopback but they are separate concerns but with close ties both brewing in the same town although Hopback started life in Salisbury behind the Wyndham Arms - which was a local to most of the presenters on Time Team . A word of warning Summer Lightning is the most deadliest of beers !
ST3 is back! I used Anyvan. I could track the driver: The guy who did it says he's got (I think he said) 40-odd bikes. I am an amateur with only two - he didn't say that! But he put bike in garage where I asked him to put it and on centre stand Anyway, good service which I can't fault!
Gritchie beat Stroud Brewery! And Stroud is just down the road! But I'm not bothered as I've got lots of beer and the Stroud stuff will turn up before I've finished this lot! So enough talk about ST2 starting problems - I have beer to drink (that is more important to me - but to nobody else AND this is a Ducati forum where my distracting talk of coffee and beer is not of great relevance. With two Ducatis in the garage to fix (along with an overgrown garden) maybe I will shad-up...until my legs get tired and I need to sit down again!
Stroud Brewery came good. It was left outside in my Summer House. The box is so heavy that I couldn't carry it. There is a box of bottles that I couldn't face bringing upstairs so they can stay by the front door. In order to qualify for free delivery, I may of gone a bit over the top with my order! And now a friend tells me that the pub where I go every Wednesday (well did, before the lockdown) brews and delivers! I won't be going short! I've still go the two Downton breweries to try.....
Another hospital! My quest to visit every hospital in the county is proceeding well! This time it was Cheltenham for an eye test, which I failed! The DVLA test is done by SpecSsavers and the ophthalmologist thought that I might pass as this one was a lot stricter. Apparently, Specsavers might not even use an optician for the test! The ophthalmologist is in a similar position as she passed out when pregnant and lost her driving licence. Even if I could get it back, she thought that it might only be for a year and then I have to go through the whole process again. She confirmed that it is not an eye problem but nerve damage caused by the brain bleed. She did suggest just giving up and concentrating on going for maximum compensation, whilst admitting that she is not a lawyer, she thought that I do without the stress. I’ve emailed my solicitor the findings and said that I hope that even if I do pass the Specsavers test, this should add to the compensation because of the stress and worry this has caused me. I am not hopeful that it will make much difference as Hastings Direct still refuse to believe that I exist and are confident that the whole thing will go away if they keep their eyes shut. One could argue that I signed up to the accident by riding a motorbike, but I certainly did not sign up to the insurance rubbish. The other driver was prosecuted, to which she pleaded guilty, and they will know that my solicitor doesn’t get paid until she gets settlement. As this is all that she does, they would of dealt with her before and know this. Hastings Direct are a big insurance company but they are behaving like a small child. It just gets more and more bizarre!
Feel for you PL, be prepared to be in it for the long term though. I've been involved in two claims in the dim and distant past, one took 5yrs to resolve and another took 7yrs. But I won both cases in the end.
Sorry to hear about your eye test Perry, I understand the stress this must be causing you. You can never give up, you have to hang in there. Like you I find it incredible that liability is being disputed, the other side has been convicted!! Even if it means taking them to court I would be pushing the Solicitor to sort this liability issue out, it would relieve some of the stress you’re under which is not doing your health any good at all. I had a joint settlement meeting with my Solicitor and Barrister. Basically I was in one room the other side in the next and the barristers went into another room to thrash out the deal. Once sorted I was asked if I’d like to meet the other side and shake hands. I declined!! They had put me through 6 years of hell the b######s! Not a fan of insurance companies! Stay positive Perry.
Hey @PerryL is it both eyes or just one? I can't remember and this thread is so long now, I'm not going back to look. There's another member on here @apatchy with sight in only one eye and he rides Hope for you yet my man
It is not any eye. It is the nerve connections between eye and brain. So, it can't be fixed with glasses or any surgery. They are quite convoluted and the nerves go for around your head and cross-over, before connecting to the brain. So it fixes itself in time, or it doesn't.
My sol is in no hurry to settle and has been proved right. I would like to ride again but that is health issues rather than legal. Yes, it won't conclude in any hurry. My sol is in no hurry and she thinks that the only thing that will make Hastings wake up will be taking them to court. Even if I wasn't called as a witness, I will go and watch probably (depending on location) as I would be interested to hear what shit that they would dare come up with. Although I would say that any solicitor or barrister would tell them not to be so effing stupid, I know that insurance companies don't listen. My solicitor will only take case that she is pretty sure that she will win, yet she seems to be in court most weeks!
I think I may have posted this already here Perry, but attrition is one of the Insurer's tactics/weapons in situations like this. The longer they drag it out the more you get frustrated and want to get it finalised and paid out. You have a direct emotional attachment to the claim, they don't; they have an impartial claims handler dealing with it who doesn't give a toss about you or the situation. They will drag it out for as long as they can. wearing you down, then at the 11th hour they'll chuck out a Part 36 lowball offer. It's all about minimising the amount they have to pay out. They know they're are liable to pay you something they're just arguing about the extent of that liability. It may be immoral but in the Insurer's eyes money trumps morality. Hang on in their, patience is your solution to getting the best result.
That makes sense. I think that may be why my sol is happy to play the long game with them, rather than try to hurry them up, she is busy looking at physio's reports and now will get the brain injury stuff from Cheltenham Hospital, where I was yesterday. The thing that I think is funny, is that their delaying tactics have backfired on them roundly. I would of settled in December for what we be a much smaller amount than I would not now. Delaying things has played into my hands. Now that the eye thing has come up, my sol and physio are busy arranging for me to see other consultants about my injuries. And what is even more funny is that the other side paying for it! apromotion Fannying me around, will cost them another £100,00, at least! If they come up with some Part 36 offer that is sh1t, I know my sol will say to them - in legal language - to f right off! So, poor little innocent insurance co are shafted! The driver got prosecuted and pleaded guilty and so she can't help them. They delibrateley p1ssed of my sol and so she will be baying for blood, plus I will only settle for any offer if advised to by my sol. I am quite happy to wait for them to be taken to court as my sol concentrates on getting medical reports regarding my injuries. If they don't realise they are shafted (which they won't) then it will dawn on them one day! If some little bright spark at Hastings was thinking that they would get promotion out of effing me over, then I've managed to ruin that career - so, all good!
