Road traffic accident for self-employed carpenter

We were instructed as a court appointed expert on behalf of the defendant, an insurance company, in the case of a road traffic accident for a self-employed carpenter, the claimant.

The claimant’s legal team had argued a loss of earnings for the individual that were far in excess of what he was earning before the accident, following the provision of a forensic accountant’s report from an independent expert.

We reviewed the forensic accountant’s report and the information available. We were firmly of the opinion that the forensic accountant had mentioned, but not accounted for, other factors that could have accounted for a downturn in his carpentry business such as a the recent struggles of high street shops, rather than the claimant’s alleged inability to work.

Our comprehensive report analysed the other forensic accountant’s growth estimates and the lack of evidence that these were based on. We then provided our opinion of more realistic future trading levels, which resulted in the claimant’s loss of earnings being more than halved.