In April 2010 a new system to deal with road traffic accident claims was introduced and has made claiming quicker and more straightforward. Before April 2010 the claims process could be a little bit slow – it could take nearly 4 months for the Defendant to admit liability in the most straightforward of cases, and then could take several more months, maybe a year or so, to get settled. Now you could have your claim settled in just a few short of months!
Under the new system, if you have been involved in a relatively straightforward road traffic accident you will need to submit what is called a Claim Notification Form. If you have the right injury lawyer on your side they will do this for you. In any event it is quite straightforward and just outlines what happened in your accident and details those involved.
Once ready, this gets submitted online via the Ministry of Justice Portal to the Defendant’s insurer who has just one business day to acknowledge it. The Defendant’s insurer then has a further 15 business days to come back with their position on liability – in other words, whether they admit or deny fault for the accident. Compared to the old system which could take several months, this is a vast improvement.
At The Injury Lawyers we only take on claims that we genuinely believe will be successful, so here’s what happens where liability is admitted.:
Once liability is admitted it is a matter of setting you up with a medical appointment so that your claim can be properly valued. This could be described as the most important part of your claim because the diagnosis and prognosis which your medical report provides means that your injury lawyer can properly value your claim.
Generally, the more severe your injury, the more it is worth. If you are happy with the medical report, your injury lawyer will submit it to the Defendant’s insurer with an offer, and then it’s a matter of negotiation to get you the maximum compensation you deserve. In the rare case that both parties cannot agree your compensation, court proceedings can be issued, but this is a last resort!
If you have been involved in a road traffic accident and have got injuries as a result and want to know if you can make a claim for compensation, get in touch with us at The Injury Lawyers today for free and we will be more than happy to assess your claim and if you want could even get the ball rolling the same day.
