Prior to April 2010 claims for compensation from road accidents could take months or sometimes years. The Defendant had a period of 21 days to acknowledge your claim and then a further 3 months to investigate it; and that was just to provide an admission or denial of liability.
Things have changed thankfully. Now, what is required is for you to submit what is known as a Claims Notification Form or ‘CNF’ through an online portal on the Ministry of Justice website. Once your lawyers have done this on your behalf the Defendant must acknowledge the CNF within one business day and then they have a further 15 business days in which to admit or deny liability. This is wholly different from before. Liability could be admitted for your injuries within 16 days; whereas under the old system, investigations into your accident may not have begun at the same point. It really is a fast and straightforward process nowadays and an injury lawyer will be more than happy to take you through the process and make sure everything is done correctly.
Where liability is admitted for your accident you will be required to attend a medical appointment so that a legal medical report can be compiled by a medical expert. At The Injury Lawyers we always arrange this for as close to you as possible and at a time most convenient for yourself. You are required to attend this appointment because the medical report is the key to valuing your claim. The medical report will, with your permission, be disclosed to the Defendant and then settlement can be negotiated. Without a medical report it is likely that your claim will not be settled or under-settled. There is nothing to worry about either, but should you have any questions, your lawyers will be on hand to tell you what is likely to happen.
If you are thinking of making a claim for injuries arising out of a road accident it really should not take that long, and it is not the hassle it once was. When deciding on who to instruct, have in mind that you do not want to be charged any fees for their work, and it may be a good idea to see if they can offer you some free medical treatment as well as this will speed up your recovery.
Get in touch with The Injury Lawyers today for a free no obligations chat.