It’s not unusual to receive a pre-medical offer nowadays. A pre-medical offer is an offer made in respect of your injuries before you get a medical report. The usual claims process is for you to attend a medical appointment with a medical expert once liability for your accident has been admitted so that a legal medical report can be obtained.
If you are happy with this, it will be disclosed to the Defendant and they will have a period of 21 days to make you an offer of compensation and negotiations can go from there. More often now, we are coming across Defendant’s making offers to settle your claim prior to you getting a medical report.
Is this a problem?
Yes and No. It is usually important get a medical report as this is how your claim is properly valued. No-one can tell you exactly how much your claim is worth without a medical report and the reason is simple. A medical report lists your injuries, relates them to your accident and says how long a medical expert believes you will suffer for. To value a claim an injury lawyer needs to know the full extent of your injuries and how long you are likely to suffer for.
Generally the more severe your injuries and the longer your suffer, the more your claim is worth. A medical report is therefore vital to valuing your claim. So, if someone makes you an offer before you have a medical report, how do you know if this is a good offer? You don’t. At the same time, if you accept a pre-medical offer, your claim is settled and the matter is done and dusted.
Why do Defendant’s make pre-medical offers?
Simple – it gets rid of your claim as fast as they can. Once you accept a pre-medical offer, there is no going back asking for more compensation. If you accept a pre-medical offer the Defendant will likely save money. They don’t have to do any more work, your claim may be worth more than their offer, they don’t have to pay any more of your injury lawyers’ fees and they don’t have to pay for your medical report. They could save hundreds, if not thousands, of pounds.
Should you accept a pre-medical offer?
Your injury lawyer should always provide you with expert advice based on numerous years of experience. There are several things you should consider before you accept a pre-medical offer:
- Are you still suffering? If you are, do you know when the pain will stop? If not, you will probably under-settle your claim. You cannot go back and ask for more compensation if you are still suffering six months down the line for example!
- Do you need treatment? If you do, and you accept a pre-medical offer, you will have to pay for any future medical treatment. The Defendant has settled your claim and there is no obligation on them to pay for any treatment you may require.
- Is it really worth settling now? I often hear people saying they need the money, but what you have to consider is that if you have not had the accident, you would not be getting this money! Why not wait a few more months and get the true compensation you deserve? Yes, your claim would be settled, bit if it was me, I would rather get the maximum compensation I deserve even if I had to wait a little bit longer.
If a Defendant makes you an offer always seek expert legal advice. There is nothing wrong with accepting it if you are making a properly informed decision, but remember, that is your claim settled once and for all.
For some further free, no obligations legal advice, give our friendly and expert team a call today on 0800 634 75 75.
