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How Long to Settle a Personal Injury Claim?

We specialise in helping victims of injury claim the compensation they may be entitled to

How Long to Settle a Personal Injury Claim?

One of the most pressing questions people have when they start a compensation claim for personal injury is how long the process will take? It is not unreasonable to want to know when your claim will be resolved as, for many victims of personal injury, their ability to move forward with confidence depends on a compensation payment.

It is not possible to give an exact duration at the outset of your claim as there are two significant factors which will influence the timing: who is responsible and how clear the evidence is.

Liability

If it is evident exactly who is to blame for causing your accident and your injuries and the responsible party acknowledges their role, a claim will progress faster than if there is a debate over liability. In some instances, liability is split between the claimant and the defendant. An example of this is if a pedestrian was struck by a car, but the pedestrian did not find a safe place to cross or pause to adequately assess whether it was safe before they stepped into the road (“stop, look, and listen”).

Evidence

As with liability, the stronger the evidence is to support your claim, the less likely the responsible party is to deny their part or argue with a proposed amount of compensation, and the faster you will receive your payment. It is not the role of the defendant to prove they were not responsible for your injury. As the claimant, it is up to you, or your personal injury solicitor, to show how they were responsible and the nature and extent of your injuries.

A third influencing factor in the amount of time your claim will take to finalise is your medical prognosis. Until you have completely recovered from your injuries or you have had a comprehensive diagnosis and prognosis, it is not possible to accurately assess the impact of your injury. Settling a claim before this is complete may leave you at risk of receiving less compensation to which you would otherwise be entitled. It is why compensation requests for brain damage and spinal injury take longer than those involving simple fractures or sprains.

Although we cannot give you a specific timeline, we can give you an indication of how long your claim will take based on similar claims. Each of these timescales rests on the other party admitting liability, and your injuries healing within a reasonable amount of time.

  • RTA claim – between four and nine months.
  • Accident in the Workplace claim – between six and nine months.
  • Slips, Trips, and Falls – between six and nine months.
  • Industrial Illness and Disease – from 12 to 18 months.

Statutory Time Lines

There are certain statutory timescales for specific actions. If your claim is going to be submitted to a court, which is usually a last resort after all other negotiations have failed, you must do so within three years of your accident. The defendant has 21 days to acknowledge in writing your lawyer’s letter of claim, and a further three months from the date of this acknowledgement to send a full response either admitting or denying liability.

Compensation claims cannot drag on indefinitely. Your lawyer will certainly be doing all they can to secure compensation in the shortest possible time without cutting corners and jeopardising the amount of your payment.

If you want to know more about your particular circumstances, then talk to The Compensation Experts today.

    Start by speaking to our expert team now and find out how much your claim could be worth...

    Am I eligible?

    If you have been harmed physically in the last 3 years, due to someone else’s negligence, the short answer is yes.

    Exceptions to this are for instance industrial disease or if you were a child at the time of the accident. In these cases you may then have a longer period to claim.

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    How much could I claim?

    As every injury is different, the amount of compensation paid out can also differ case to case. Varying factors lead to the final figure. These include: extent of your injuries, loss of earnings, future losses and more.

    Our dedicated team of experts will give you an indication of how much you could potentially claim for.

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    How does the process work?

    We understand that when making a claim it’s important to know what to expect and when to expect it. That’s why we make the process as transparent & clear as possible.

    Your solicitor will gather all the evidence. They will then notify the negligent party that you wish to begin claim proceedings. With your solicitor negotiating on your behalf, you will be up to date every step of the way.

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