Making a Claim Guideline
Starting the Claim
Once we have established that the circumstances of your accident indicate that someone else caused your injury through negligence and we have your authority to do so, we will send a letter of claim to the other party who are then permitted up to 3 months in which to investigate the claim and tell us whether they admit blame. If they fail to do so or provide us with documentation in support of their defence we can obtain a Court Order requiring them to do so. This is not usually necessary and we will often have the decision well within the 3 month `Protocol' period.
Obtaining medical evidence
Fiirslty we obtain copies of your medical records (only with your consent) unless the injury is relatively minor and our expert does not require sight of your medical history when compiling their report. We will then assess the appropriate type of doctor to report on your particular injury(s) and are obliged to send the other side a list oof our proposed experts. They in turn may wish to appoint their own and the parties will then either agree on an expert jointly or instruct their own. We generally prefer to instruct our own rather than one appointed by the insurance company but their is no hard and fast rule.
Collating financial loss information
This will typically include such things as obtaining any receipts you have kept in relation to specific purchases/expenses that have arisen because of your injury such as receipts for taxi fares, medication and replacement clothing for example. We will also ask you/your employer to provide copy payslips if a loss of earnings is being claimed.
Inviting an offer
Where the injury is not too serious and we have been able to obtain the medical report quicly and a further examination will not be required and any financial losses not already recovered have been documented as far as possible, we are then in a position to present the extent of the claim to the other side/their insurer and invite them to make a `global' offer; i.e an offer that takes into account your injury and also the financial losses arising from it. (`General' and `Special' Damages respectively).
The insurers will then make an offer (if they have first admitted negligence) and we will advise you whether we think the offer is within the range of likely awards that a judge would make if, hypothetically, your case went to Trial. Either way we we will attempt to negotiate on the most favourable terms and if settlement cannot be reached we would then consider issuing court proceedings and ask the court to decide. The majority of claims settle at this stage.
Issuing court proceedings.
Whether this is necessary because the other side have denied blame for the accident or we simply cannot agree with them on the amount of compensation you should receive, issuing court proceedings involves us sending the court a formal `Statement of Case' on your behalf. There is a fixed timetable set by the court for the case to then be prepared for a Hearing at which it will determine the issues in dispute between the parties. The vast majority of cases however in which court proceedings are necessary, settle before the Hearing; i.e `out of court'