Road traffic accidents now come under the road traffic accident protocol, industrial disease claims (e.g. industrial deafness, vibration whiter finger etc) come under the disease and illness protocol and most other personal injury claims (e.g. work accidents, trips/slips etc) come under the more general personal injury protocol. Note that road traffic accidents differ slightly in the sense that a claim can “fall out” of the road traffic accident protocol. This is because road traffic accident claims are submitted through an online portal and should insurers fail to respond to the claim in time (within 15 business days) then the claim falls out of the road traffic accident protocol and continues under the more general personal injury protocol. This means that different time frames are then in operation. This also has cost consequences as Solicitors are only entitled to recover fixed costs for claims dealt with on the online portal under the road traffic accident protocol.
Under the personal injury protocol your Solicitor will prepare a formal letter of claim to submit to the Defendant. The letter of claim details the circumstances of the accident as well as allegations of fault. The letter of claim will also document relevant documents that should be provided in the event that liability (or fault) is denied. As soon as the letter of claim is submitted the Defendant or the Defendant’s insurers or representatives have a period of 21 days to respond. This response is simply to acknowledge that a claim has been submitted and that the matter is being investigated.
Following the acknowledgement of the claim (which should be made within 21 days of the letter of claim) the Defendant has a period of 3 months in which to investigate the claim and provide a response. If liability is admitted (in full) by the Defendant then there is no requirement for the Defendant to provide disclosure of documents. If liability is not admitted in full or if liability is denied, then the Defendant must provide documentary evidence in support of the denial. It is not enough for the Defendant to deny liability without providing supporting documentation. Documentation is required so that your Solicitor can consider the case and advise you as to the prospects of successfully recovering compensation.
If the Defendant simply tries to ignore the claim or fails to respond in time (in accordance with the protocol) then action can be taken. Your Solicitor can consider making a formal application to Court. Such an application is known as a Pre-Action Disclosure Application (or PAD for short). This is to ask the Court for an order to force the Defendant to disclose relevant documentation. A PAD application is not a quick fix but it is a useful tool at our disposal.