Swansea Nightclub Injury Claim Succeeds as Insurance Shortfall is Overcome
Injury solicitor, Mike Clarke reports on a hard fought victory against an insolvent defendant and its insurers
Ms Toni Watts of Swansea suffered a nasty ankle fracture and soft tissue injuries when she slipped on drinks spillage in Sin City nightclub in Swansea. The club’s insurers initially denied liability for the accident, as is often the case with such claims.
After thorough investigation and some tough negotiation, Slee Blackwell Solicitors secured an admission of liability and managed to agree a fair sum of compensation for Ms Watts’ injuries. It was then that the trouble really started…. the Swansea nightclub had gone into liquidation and its insurers wanted to deduct the £1,000 excess on its policy from the amount they had agreed to pay Ms Watts.
Usually, even if there is an insurance excess, this would not affect the claimant in a personal injury claim. In practice, the defendant’s insurers would pay the full amount of compensation agreed and claim back the excess from their insured, either as a one-off payment or by adjusting the following year’s premium. Legally, the insurers are only obliged to indemnify their insured; ie. to stand in their shoes and pay any money on their behalf. It was certainly arguable that in this case, the insurers were only obliged to pay the net amount and the club would have to pay the excess, leaving our client £1,000 out of pocket and with no realistic chance of getting that money back from the liquidator of the club.
After some more hard bargaining, we managed to agree with the insurers that they would increase their overall offer to offset this unfairness to our client. This particular problem is on the rise in claims where the defendant is a firm, a business or a limited company. The current economic climate means more businesses are going bust, leaving innocent injury claimants suddenly facing a shortfall on their rightful compensation, even when the defendant is covered by insurance.
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