“How long will my claim take?” is the most common, if not the first, question we receive from clients within the personal injury department at Stephensons.
How quickly a claim settles depends entirely on an individual’s circumstance, as an injury claim could take anywhere from a few months to several years to conclude. At Stephensons we like to assess each individual claim and gather as much supporting evidence as possible before providing a timeframe.
The two main factors we take into consideration when we are trying to predict the lifespan of any claim is first, liability and second, medical evidence.
If liability has been admitted, meaning the other party has accepted fault or responsibility for the event which led to your injuries, then your claim may be relatively straightforward and, as such, we may be able to provide you with a more accurate timeframe. Alternatively, liability could be denied, meaning the other party are not accepting fault or responsibility for your injuries, and we will need to provide evidence to prove they are responsible, thus making the process longer.
The second factor is obtaining medical evidence. When obtaining medical evidence it is your duty to prove that the accident caused your injuries. This would be established by obtaining a medical report which Stephensons would arrange on your behalf. Some accidents can leave clients with more than one injury and Stephensons may recommend that you see different types of medical experts to fully support your claim. The medical expert will provide our client’s with a prognosis period which could be weeks, months or, depending on the severity of the injuries, years.
We advise our clients not to settle their claim until they are fully recovered or they are happy with the prognosis period. Settling your claim prematurely could result in you realising you have further injuries which are a direct result of the accident and you will be unable to receive any further compensation.
Please remember that you only have three years to make a personal injury claim which is either from the date of the accident or whenever you discovered you had an injury linked to that accident. If you wish to make a claim with Stephensons then please call 01616 966 229.
By Courtney Brennan, graduate paralegal int he personal injury team
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