If you have had an accident and you live in Moray, it should be easy to have a face-to-face meeting with your solicitor, if you wish.
(i.e. It’s key that you won’t have any difficulty having a face-to-face meeting with your solicitor if you want to meet with them face-to-face).
Since the Pandemic of the early 2020s, as well as the possibility of exchanging information with your solicitor by letter or email or having a ‘meeting’ with them by telephone, there are many available options which do not require you to the physical presence of your solicitor – e.g. online video platforms. such as Zoom or Teams.
Is it crucial to meet with your solicitor face-to-face?
It’s probably not crucial.
However, we know from experience that even meeting via online video does not give us all the verbal and non-verbal cues which we get if we are in the personal presence of the person to whom we are speaking.
An in-person meeting is probably always better because there is less chance of misunderstandings arising in the first place and, if they do, more chance that they will be recognised, addressed and resolved – quickly and fully.
When might be useful times to be able to have a face-to-face meeting with your solicitor during a personal injury claim?
- The “initial meeting” – i.e. when your solicitor needs to find out the details of the accident, your personal details and other information such as your GP and any hospitals attended.
- Whenever a medico-legal report is obtained in relation to your claim. (Medical reports in personal injury claims are important because they form the basis upon which your claim is valued. Do you understand the report? Do you agree that the expert has got the facts right? Do you agree with the expert’s opinion as to your present state of recovery and what the future probably holds (i.e. the prognosis)?)
- Whenever the opponent makes an offer in settlement of your claim. (There will need to be – possibly quite lengthy and complex – discussion about the pros and cons of accepting or rejecting the offer. Particular care is required when considering an offer in a court action made by Minute of Tender. Difficult issues can arise).
- Whenever there is any unexpected change of circumstances in relation to the claim. (This could include where new witness evidence comes to light which appears to change the likely cause of your accident or, in a medico-legal context, where newly-obtained medical evidence from a scan or x-ray changes a medical expert’s view about the nature and extent of your injuries which can be related back to the accident).
Where can we (at Moray Claims / Grigor & Young) meet with you face-to-face?
We can come and see you in hospital, if you wish. We can also visit you at home.
Our offices in Elgin and Forres both have good accessibility for persons with disabilities.
It is not essential that you have a face-to-face meeting with your solicitor. We sometimes complete personal injury claims for clients without ever meeting them in person.
However, where the client is local to us, it would be unusual for us to conclude a personal injury claim without meeting the client at least once. Often, that is not necessarily at the initial stage but, say, at the point where the first medico-legal report is obtained and, at the latest, at the point where the claim is in the process of being valued by us for presenting to the third party insurers.
To some extent, it depends on the severity of the injuries you have from the accident. If your injuries are serious and require a long recovery period, it is more likely that we will have multiple face-to-face meetings with you for various reasons at different stages of your claim.
In more serious / more valuable cases, it is also more likely that we will obtain independent expert legal help from an advocate (i.e. barrister) and there would usually be at least one meeting during the course of your claim to discuss your case – involving you, ourselves and the advocate.
How we can help
If you have any questions about matters raised in this article or if you would like to enquire about any aspect of our personal injury claims services, feel free to get in touch with us. We would be glad to hear from you.
All enquiries are free of charge and without obligation.
If we are not able to help you ourselves, we will probably know someone else who can – and point you to them.
You can contact us on 01343 544077 or by completing and submitting to us a Free Online Enquiry.
