We deal with all types of personal injury claims and we are often asked about likely time scales for settlement. After you have been medically examined the medical expert will prepare a detailed medical report. Some cases may be brought to settlement shortly after obtaining medical evidence whereas other cases could drag out for some time.
In this blog I will attempt to explain why some cases will still take some time to settle. We always try to progress a claim as quickly and effectively as possible. In addition we try to recover you the maximum amount of compensation that you deserve.
Firstly, a medical expert will often give you a prognosis in the medical report. Say for example you have sustained a whiplash injury to your neck in a road traffic accident.
You may see the expert around 6 months after the date of the accident (again this is just for illustration purposes). The expert may give a prognosis that he or she would expect you to make a full recovery (from the injuries you sustained in the accident) around 12 months after the date of the accident.
In this scenario, the medical report may be disclosed whilst you are still suffering and within the prognosis period. If an offer is received whilst you are still suffering, we would not normally recommend acceptance.
Ultimately it is always your decision to accept or reject any compensation offer made to you, but if you are still suffering then there is a risk that you may be under-settling your claim.
You can still accept the offer if you wish, but it is our job to advise you that you may be under settling your claim.
The medical report may suggest that you receive further treatment, such as physiotherapy. We would recommend following the expert’s advice. Therefore we would not be looking to settle your claim if your symptoms are ongoing and if you are still receiving treatment.
In order to value and settle your claim, we would need medical evidence covering all of your injuries. It may be necessary for you to be examined by multiple experts. It may be necessary to obtain multiple medical reports. Without medical evidence covering all of your injuries, we are not able to value your claim. Therefore if you settle when the medical evidence is incomplete, there is a risk that you are under settling.
How long for compensation?
Every case is different! You can see from the above examples that we cannot say just how long your claim will take after medical evidence is obtained. A more complex case with more severe and multiple injuries is likely to take longer – as evidence will be required from multiple experts.
Once all medical evidence is obtained and disclosed, we could look to settle your claim if you instruct us to do so. Again if you are still suffering beyond the prognosis period suggested by a medical expert, we may suggest that you be re-examined.
When your claim is settled and an amount of compensation is agreed, it can still take a few weeks or more for the cheque to come in from the insurers. Unfortunately insurance companies can be unorganised and slow. We will always chase a compensation cheque if it has not been received within a couple of weeks.
If you have any queries about a potential claim of any kind, call The Injury Lawyers claims team free from a landline or mobile on 0800 634 7575. We will talk you through your claim and, if accepted, make sure that you receive the most compensation possible to give you peace of mind and help ease any financial worries you might have suffered as a result of your injury.
