Making a claim for a relatively minor road accident claim is a straight forward and simple process – well, it is now, anyway. I say this as for road accidents that occurred after 30th April 2010 and are between an estimated value of £1000 and £10,000, they are likely to go through the relatively new system. This new system will be the topic of the following blog.
Compared to the system of old, the new road traffic accident process is much simpler, more stream-lined, and most importantly; it is much faster. One reason for this is that it is all completed over an electronic portal over the internet, so all correspondence is sent and received simultaneously, therefore cutting out the time waiting for the post to arrive.
The new system is made up of 3 stages. The first stage begins with your solicitor filling out a Claim Notification Form (CNF), it is this form that sets out all the accident circumstances, and full details of the negligent driver. If you were unable to get all the details of the Defendant driver, this should not be a problem, as long as you have the registration number of the car – a search can be performed to gain the driver’s insurance details.
Once the CNF has been sent off, the Defendant’s insurers have one business day to acknowledge the claim, and 15 business days to complete their investigations and provide their decision regarding liability. This is in stark contrast to the system of old where the other side were allowed nearly 4 months to give their decision regarding liability.
If an admission of liability is received, which of course you would hope would be the case, then your claim moves to Stage 2 of the process. This means that your solicitor will gather evidence together in order to value your claim and invite offers to settle. This means that a medical report will be completed and for this you will attend a medical examination. At The Injury Lawyers we can arrange this at a time and place convenient for you so there the least amount of hassle possible.
If, on the other hand, liability has been denied on your claim, it does not mean it is the end. It is for your solicitor to decide whether the prospects of the claim are good and depending on that to proceed with your claim.
If you have any further questions regarding the above then please feel free to give The Injury Lawyers a call.
