You need legal representation here, this is most important and ASAP, i hate the no win no fee crew as much as the next man but unless you have a good union who will represent you it might be an option to explore.
Be prepared for a very long battle, and, assuming they accept responsibility (this is the question), they will use your need for the money to short change you.
Expect this to last upwards of 2 years, they may well offer you a derisory amount to bugger off out of court, this will be a joke figure, but too many working people accept at this point cos they haven’t got the funds saved or their weekly bills are too high to continue the fight.
My mate went through a similar struggle but he was off 12 months, luckily no debt and mortgage not worth mentioning, so he stood his ground, and was prepared for the long legal battle, too around 2 years after he returned to work before he got a serious settlement just before court, all his years lost wages plus substantial compensation for the real future problems he will have.
Dipper_Dave:
Good luck and let us know the outcome.
The trick is to be prepared to accept a reasonable amount and get the other party to refuse ‘whats reasonable’, then if it goes to court you are on a good footing and the other party is on the back foot before court proceedings begin.
By court- I mean you will be sitting round a desk with a mediator rather than a fully fledged courtroom drama (google small claims track for more info).
The key to engratiatiate yourself to the court is to be able to show you where willing to accept what was fair and in taking things to court the other party has been unfair, this will prove to be more lucrative than trying to hold them to ransome. In the end the other party must be convinced that you are willing to go all the way as any legal advice they seek will be based on that premise whether its true or not.
But don’t take an armchair lawyers advice like mine on this, seek independant advice to be sure.
Remember though you will need to be prepared for the other sides arguments so a good lawyer will interogate you on the events and try and counter every argument they can come up with.
Or maybe i’ve been watchin too much telly
You need to be aware that if they make a formal offer prior to court(I can’t remember the official name they apply to the offer) and you decline it and the court subsequently decides you’re entitled to less than their offer. You will end up being liable for their costs, if you’re using a solicitor you will probably end up paying your own solicitors costs as well.
