I Evidence

We have vast working knowledge of the requirements under the Civil Procedure Rules and can guarantee a case specific, fully detailed statement of evidence, regardless of whether this is a low value, quantum only RTA, a matter involving serious fraud issues, or a high-end multi-track case.

All statements will be correctly formatted and can be adjusted to meet with your requirements. We appreciate that one style, does not suit all. Please contact us for specimens of statements in any of the below categories, and we will be more than happy to provide them.

The majority of statements will be taken by telephone, and appointments will be arranged as quickly as possible, subject to clients availability. We can offer late evening and weekend appointments to suit most clients.

We have a particular speciality in the following areas:

(I) Multi-track and high-end fast-track.

In our experience, the tendency with most claims handlers and fee-earners dealing with such cases, is to prepare statements of evidence themselves. In theory, this is probably what should happen, and a competent fee-earner will be well capable of preparing an adequate statement that will serve a purpose.

The rationale behind this, is that the fee-earner will know the case and the issues involved, and therefore should be able to do a better job than any outsourcing company. We do not doubt this for one minute but it really depends upon two things; the experience of the fee-earner, and the experience of the agent they instruct

It is a fact that many current fee-earners will never have been in a court room, and will not have seen first hand, the critical importance of accuracy and thoroughness of a detailed statement. Knowing the issues does not guarantee that the statement will be sufficiently detailed.

With our experience, we can review a case with a fresh pair of eyes, no matter how complex, and delve as deeply as possible into each and every issue, to get the detail that we need. In many cases we often find that there are losses that will only come to light during our lengthy conversation with your clients.

Regardless of experience, most fee-earners just do not have the time to spend hours on end, reviewing the case, discussing it in detail with the client, and then drafting a detailed statement. This would be the ideal scenario, but it is not the way it works in practice.

For example, we would estimate that in an average multi-track case, for statements that may be in excess of 20 pages, this would require up to 10 hours of fee-earning time. The majority of fee-earners would not be able to make this time available, no matter how well disciplined they are.

We specialise in these types of cases, and can take the burden of finding that time away from you, with no impact upon your profit margin.

As with all of our statement we would, by default, take the statement over the telephone, but we would way this up on a case by case basis, subject to the value of the claim, and the issues involved. We do favour a personal attendance on high value claims, subject to clients availability.

(II) Fraud and LVI

Again we have vast working knowledge of these types of cases and all of the issues involved. It is more often than not, that these cases turn exclusively on the credibility of the Claimant. On that basis, the Claimants statement of evidence becomes even more critical to the case.

The level of cross-examination in these matters, far exceeds what your client would usually experience in most civil cases, and the statement needs to pre-empt those awkward questions that may be raised, once the client is in the witness box.

Prior working knowledge of these allegations is essential in our view, and we have plenty of this to draw upon. We believe that this knowledge gives us the edge over our competitors in this respect.

As with multi-track cases, we would by default take the majority of cases by telephone, unless of course you require a personal attendance. In saying this, if there are multiple passengers, or phantom passenger allegations, we would almost always attend the clients personally

(III) EL/PL

There are different complexities involved in these cases and from the point of view of your own risk, we appreciate that the stakes are very high indeed, once the matter is heading towards a final hearing.

We will include the same level of detail in each statement regardless of complexities, to include a full background of the Claimants working history, the training provided and of course the accident circumstances themselves.

We are experienced in all areas of Health and Safety and other Legislation, surrounding workplace accidents. We have considerable experience in cases that involve complex issues including the CPA conditions of Hire, and Construction law generally.

We do offer a two tier service in respect of these matters, which will hopefully assist with your risk assessment, and also help to keep costs to a minimum.

Tier 1 – Liability and causation statement

We would normally recommend that this be obtained at the earliest opportunity, and certainly pre-issue. We offer this as part of our initial sign up package. This will be a statement including all background of the Claimant, the relevant Health and Safety issues, and the accident circumstances.

Tier 2 – full liability/causation and quantum statement

An essential post issue requirement. In the event that a liability and causation statement has been obtained under our option 2 at the outset of the claim, the statement will be updated to incorporate:

Detailed commentary upon any allegations raised within the defence
Anything raised as a consequence of disclosure
Quantum in detail.

(IV) Fast Track/Credit hire

We have seen significant changes in both of these areas over the years, and we are very much up to speed in terms of the requirements from an evidence point of view in both respects.

We offer a very reasonably priced service, both for quantum only and liability dispute cases in the fast track, and we will be continuing to do so, on quantum only cases, under the new MOJ scheme.

In respect of credit hire, we are familiar with the requirements of all the main credit hire companies, and the different evidential burdens that me be associated with their hiring policies.

We have vast experience of proofing clients from all walks of life, both in respect of non-prestige and high-end prestige vehicles.

(V) Fibromyalgia

We have prepared many statements involving this complex condition, and subject to the nature of your medical evidence, we can offer a comprehensive service, that apart from everything else, will detail the clients full medical history, both pre and post accident.