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Read this helpful guide to learn about all the stages of the personal injury claim. Our legal experts have explained how personal injury claims work stage-by-stage so you know what to expect during your claim. If you have relatively minor injuries, we may be able to skip stages four and five.
If some faulty equipment caused your injury, we may claim against the equipment manufacturer instead. It sometimes takes some extra investigation to find out who these insurers are. For mesothelioma cases, we can sometimes claim against an insurer even if the company responsible for your mesothelioma has stopped trading.
This brings us to stage two. To start with, you can help us with this by telling us everything you can remember about the accident:. In some cases, we may be able to get a copy of an accident report from the Health and Safety Executive.
We can sometimes get video evidence from nearby CCTV cameras. They send interrogatories a fancy word for questions and document requests to each other, and take depositions of all relevant parties and witnesses , generally beginning with the plaintiff and defendant. This process can last six months to a year, depending on the court's deadlines and the complexity of the case.
As the discovery period ends, the lawyers will generally start talking settlement. Sometimes the lawyers can settle just by talking among themselves, but, in other cases, they will go to mediation, a process in which both clients and both lawyers get help from a neutral third party mediator to try to resolve the case.
Learn more about mediation of personal injury claims. Mediation often works, but if it doesn't, the case is scheduled for trial. A personal injury trial can last a day, a week, or even longer. The length may be increased because, in many states, trials are held for only half a day instead of over a full day. That doubles the length of a trial, but also lets the lawyers and judges get other things done in the afternoon.
One important thing to know about trials is that just because a lawsuit is scheduled for trial does not mean the trial will actually occur on that date. Trials often get pushed because of the judge's schedule. If your trial gets moved, you should not automatically assume that something unfavorable is happening. Trials are delayed all the time, and for the most innocuous of reasons.
For details on this stage of the process in the context of one of the most common types of injury cases, learn what happens when a car accident case goes to trial. The information provided on this site is not legal advice, does not constitute a lawyer referral service, and no attorney-client or confidential relationship is or will be formed by use of the site.
The attorney listings on this site are paid attorney advertising. In some states, the information on this website may be considered a lawyer referral service.
Please reference the Terms of Use and the Supplemental Terms for specific information related to your state. Grow Your Legal Practice. The insurance adjuster, then, generally has the job of getting the claimant to accept the lowest settlement offer possible, without filing a lawsuit. In personal injury cases , insurance adjusters usually consider the same factors that juries would look at in deciding what the claim is worth.
These factors include:. Some of these damages those for actual expenses and lost income are fairly easy to determine. Losses like "pain and suffering", on the other hand, are much more subjective. Learn more about "pain and suffering" in a personal injury case. Insurance adjusters also consider two other key factors: policy limits and the strength of the plaintiff's case.
An insurance company is never going to pay more than the maximum amount of the insurance policy. If your damages exceed the at-fault person's coverage limits, you'll need to collect the difference directly from them. If the plaintiff has a really solid case like a medical malpractice claim where a doctor left a surgical instrument inside the plaintiff then the insurer is more likely to offer a larger settlement, because a plaintiff's victory in court will be almost certain.
If a plaintiff's case is fairly weak, then the insurer is likely to offer much less, since the claimant is likely to go to court and get nothing. Learn more about how the insurance adjuster determines a settlement offer.
Once you have an understanding of how insurance companies work and the motivation of the insurance adjuster is, you can use that information to your advantage to negotiate the best personal injury settlement possible. There are a few key things to consider. Typically, claims can be made using a no win no fee arrangement between you and your personal injury lawyer.
The benefit of this is that there is no financial risk to you - if you don't win your case, you don't pay a penny. It's as simple as that. Our no win no fee personal injury solicitors will explain how this process works, but here are some of the main points to note:.
I was in agony… if you have something you love doing and you can't do it anymore, it does hit you. More than anything, National Accident Helpline were really friendly and understood everything I was going through. It was really easy. The time it takes to reach a settlement in a successful personal injury claim can vary significantly. It depends on how complex your case is, the type, severity and circumstances of your injuries, plus the time it takes to gather all the necessary medical evidence.
An injury claim duration is also affected by things like whether or not you know the identity of the other side and if the other side admits liability - or challenges it in court. A clear-cut road traffic accident claim may be settled in just weeks whereas a complicated medical negligence case may take up to three years or more.
As a rule of thumb, an uninsured driver claim takes three or four months. Other road and work accident claims may take four to nine months, trips and slips six to nine months, industrial disease claims between one year to 18 months and clinical negligence one to three years plus.
Yes, there is. The personal injury claim time limit is three years from the date of the incident, when you originally noticed your condition or it was first diagnosed. There's a formal administrative procedure your personal injury lawyer must follow to register the compensation claim. If you're nearing the three-year deadline, call us on without delay. Not usually. We strive to make your personal injury claim hassle-free and this includes ensuring it doesn't take up lots of your time.
The solicitor we pair you with will do all the legal heavy lifting. This enables you to concentrate on the important things like recovering from your accident. All you need to do is provide the information they need as promptly as you can by signing and returning documentation quickly and being ready to attend any medical assessment they book for you. The personal injury lawyer handling your claim will sort out all the rehabilitation you need if you need it.
The medical assessment they arrange for you will state any further treatment you may need. It'll make sure the costs of any and all ongoing treatment you need is paid for by the other side. In short, it's clear and compelling evidence that establishes beyond doubt that the other side's negligence caused your accident injury - either wholly or in part. Even if the other side denies liability, a sound injury claim with good evidence stands a strong chance of being settled in negotiation.
I've been a GP for over 40 years and have treated thousands of patients. Recovering after a personal injury isn't just about the physical recuperation - it's about bouncing back mentally too.
Whether a person is hurt on the road, at work or in a slip or fall, how they then react to the aftermath has a direct bearing upon the speed and extent of their recovery.
You can, but only if you have reasonable grounds for switching. If you've got any concerns with how your personal injury claim is being handled, raise them with your solicitor first. A good solicitor will make every effort to address them. If they can't sort things out and you're still unhappy, get a second opinion from another law firm.
You're within your rights to do so. You won't be charged for that second opinion. We regularly and carefully track the service standards of all the solicitors we work with. This goes a long way to helping ensure you don't experience such unwanted problems. Good detail and accurate records will help your solicitor build the case for your personal injury claim. The specialist solicitor we pair you with will need to know all the important basic information.
This includes:. We all recover from injuries in different ways and at different speeds. Taking photos and recording your symptoms in a diary as you recover will paint a clear picture of your injuries.
Good quality close-up images are very helpful - especially if you've suffered a facial injury. If the injuries are hard to reach - say on the back - ask a trusted friend or family member to help. It's also very useful to get statements from witnesses or friends and family after the accident. This is particularly relevant to your personal injury claim if they've helped you recover or get about while you've been hurt.
As your compensation claim progresses, it's likely you'll be asked for specific dates relating to your accident. If you haven't jotted down the key dates and times already, it's a good idea to record them as soon as you can. That way they'll be ready to hand over when your personal injury solicitor needs them. Letters and documents that relate to your accident and injury will almost certainly help add the extra detail needed.
Please make sure you keep any relevant correspondence somewhere safe. We know that recovering from your injuries is paramount, but personal injury damages can help with the healing process. It could give you access to better treatment or help you take more time off work to make a full recovery.
When you contact us, we'll take the time to get to know you and the details of your incident. We'll provide free and honest advice, with absolutely no obligation to proceed with your claim if you don't feel as though the time is right.
When you're ready, we'll put you in touch with an expert from our nationwide panel of personal injury payment specialists. When you're ready, call or fill in the callback form below and our friendly team will be in touch at a time that suits you. First name.
Last name. Phone number. Accident type Accident type I agree for National Accident Helpline to contact me. Call me back. Information on how we handle your data is in our Privacy Policy. Excellent 4. Speak to us now on or request a call back First name. What is a personal injury claim? Typically, you can make a personal injury claim if you or a loved one has been hurt in any kind of accident in the following circumstances: You were injured within the last three years The injury resulted in you suffering financially as well as physically The injury was caused wholly or partly by somebody else Nobody expects to be injured and it can be a real shock to the system if it happens.
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