In an earlier article on this Blog we looked at whether a claimant whose claim had settled should sue their solicitor for negligent advice.
The Law Society Gazette recently highlighted the rise in negligence claims against personal injury firms who under settle claims. Regrettably, the problem is growing at an alarming rate. This is perhaps not surprising given that most claims these days are processed through sausage factory ‘panel solicitor’ operations, employing vast numbers of staff with no legal qualifications and little experience, working from a script in call centre-style operations. Yet these operations are still entitled to describe themselves as ‘solicitors’.
We continue to see horrific examples of claims settled for peanuts at a lightening pace, irrespective of whether the claimant has recovered, requires medical treatment, has continuing lost earnings etc, etc. Most of these sausage factories impose strict settlement targets on staff, so there is absolutely no incentive to achieve the best result for the claimant.
The message that has to be broadcast loud and clear is that a claimant does not have to put up with this. They do not have to agree to be processed through the sausage factory. There are good, experienced solicitors out there who will advise you properly, like to meet their clients and still get a kick out of achieving the best possible result for their clients.
Rant over!