As always, it really depends on the type of accident you’ve had. But I will try and help out with some general guidance as to what happens next once the Defendant has accepted liability for your personal injury compensation claim.
Accepting liability is essentially the Defendant agreeing that they owe you compensation for what has happened. They accept there’s been a breach of duty on their part.
When making a claim for compensation there are two hurdles to cross that make for a winning claim – liability and causation. So liability is that first part – proving someone is at fault – causation means proving that the fault has caused a loss to you.
So in essence, once liability has been accepted, the next step is to prove causation – i.e. prove that the breach of duty has resulted in a loss on your part. A loss is typically defined as your injuries and any literal loss of money or expenses.
General and Special damages
Your claim comes in two parts… General Damages which is for the injury and Special Damages which covers any monetary losses and expenses on your part. A classic example is lost earnings from time off work.
So with the liability hurdle out of the way, how do we prove causation and take that final step towards getting you the compensation you deserve for being injured in an accident that wasn’t your fault?
Simple – we get medical evidence
I’m not talking about information from your GP or a hospital from attendance you’ve had, I’m talking about a report from a suitably qualified medico-legal expert.
These experts are qualified to provide a report to a law firm that can be used as evidence to prove that your injuries were caused as a result of the accident.
For certain injuries, it’s fairly simple – if you fall over and break your arm as a result of the fall, I’m pretty confident that the expert will be able to confirm that the break was caused by the accident unless there were any other incidents you’d been involved in. However, certain injuries or symptoms could be more complex, which is where the medical evidence can prove (or disprove) whether symptoms are attributable to an incident.
The medical evidence also serves another very important purpose – it helps us value your claim!
The expert will provide a prognosis that confirms how long you’ve been suffering, and will continue to suffer for. This allows us to do our homework to put a value on your claim and settle when you’re ready to do so. The report may also help us to know if you need any more treatment or medical investigation (which we may be able to get funding for on a private basis).
One of the big questions is “how long will it take after liability has been accepted for the claim to settle?”
The answer depends on how long the medical expert says you’ll be suffering for… We normally advise it’s better to wait until you’re fully healed before you settle the claim. But if you don’t want to wait, we could always just settle based on the medical evidence.
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.
