The new procedure surrounding personal injury is streamlined and designed to encourage settlement before the case gets to court. This is because the courts do not wish to be flooded with personal injury claims – plus it’s expensive to take a claim to court in any event. It is in the Pre- Action Protocol, as set out in the procedure rules governing how a claim progresses, which is where a claim starts.
The Pre-Action Protocol states that a Letter of Claim must be sent to the Defendant; this letter (amongst other items which do not need to be the topic of this blog) must state what the claim is regarding, what the injuries suffered were, and enough further information to allow them to investigate the claim. The Protocol then gives the Defendant a period of 21 days to acknowledge receipt of the letter. Most defendants tend to adhere to this deadline and either pass the matter to their solicitors or insurers to deal with.
The solicitors/insurers then have a period of 3 months in which to investigate the claim. This could involve getting information from their insured, compiling reports, and asking for further information from your solicitor. Within this 3 month period the insurer/solicitor then states whether liability (fault) is admitted on behalf of their insured/client, or whether it is denied.
If liability is denied they must provide reasoning in support of it to allow your lawyer to then investigate and fight for your claim. If liability is admitted, we begin collating medical evidence and gathering up all your losses and information. It is once liability is admitted that, if needed by yourself, we can make applications for interim payments. Interim payments are payments which can be applied for from the other side to aid the claimant with any financial hardship they are suffering as a result of the accident.
In summary this is how many personal injury claims progress from the starting stages, through to welcoming offers from the other side. I say many personal injury claims as there is now a new protocol for road traffic accidents which is even simpler and quicker.
At The Injury Lawyers we work hard on your behalf to make your personal injury claim as stress and hassle free as possible – so feel free to get in touch for further advice about what to do and how to claim.