compensation from car accident- advice needed

[SBParker99]

the accident happened in 2020 february, ongoing with solicitors since march 2020, i have my medical assessment today, to form the medical report and i was just wondering if anyone’s had experience and how long it will take from here to getting an offer (they’ve already admitted liability) this seems to be taking forever. i broke and permanently damaged my shoulder and broke 3 ribs. how long has anyone else waited and is there a quicker way round this

No quicker way unfortunately but you are certainly at the beginning of the end. The time can vary greatly depending on what the Doctor writes on the form and how quickly the insurance companies communicate with each other.

The injury needs to reach its end of the road with no further deterioration. Usually after this medical it is just months to wait.

I think I got a first offer about 6 weeks after my medical was submitted and I turned the first two down and accepted the third. The other party had already accepted liability in my case too

In my case it was 3.5 years from accident to payout.

2 or 3 medicals, 12 weeks of physio and 1 trip to a shrink.

have any of you had any experience with interim payments? thanks for all answers

20 years ago mine took over 3 years x

Interim payments, I got 2 of around a 1000£ each time.

A cheque sent in the post, final settlement was a posted cheque too.

@PurpleFadesToGreen was it hard to get? and is that a large fraction of your compensation? and what were the extent of your injuries if you don’t mind me asking

Has the injury resolved is your biggest issue. Unless you have said at the medical report that you have no pain at all now, they will give you a prognosis of when they anticipate it resolving. Then you need to decide whether to accept an offer based on that or wait it out and see if it does improve.

Nearly 5 years.

The insurer should do an interim of 1000, no questions asked.

@SpiderinaWingMirror i still have ongoing headaches from being unconscious and shoulder pain but told i only have one medical. would i still be able to get an interim payment? as this is taking so long and how do i go about it?

It took us almost four years.

does anyone know if your solicitor can refuse to ask? as mine really hasn’t been helpful so far

Mine (many years ago) took about two years, but they paid for physio in the interim.

I still have problems 20 years later so kind of wish I had held out.

has anyone ever been told they can’t apply for a interim payment? or been made an offer instead of interim

We were not offered an interim payment.

The crash was serious and the other driver was 100% at fault, they was no denying it, they accepted liability but were not forthcoming with a reasonable offer of compensation equivalent to the injury caused.

No quicker way unfortunately. The initial medical assessment may recommend that further specialist reports are needed. You may also need occupational health reports and employment reports depending on how severe the injury is. The other side may not wish to settle.

does anyone know how long a medical report takes when they already have medical records?

For us is was just over two months, which I think is fairly standard.

@JollyAndBright was that when they already had medical records? my solicitor keeps trying to tell me it will take 3 weeks at most

[quote SBParker99]@JollyAndBright was that when they already had medical records? my solicitor keeps trying to tell me it will take 3 weeks at most[/quote]
If they're saying that, they're fools. Never give timescales for things outwith your control.

Reports take a few weeks. Sometimes experts take what feels like forever to send them. (I've just had an expert sadly die in between examination and report provision, so we now need a further appointment!)

How long it takes thereafter depends on what the report says and what investigations / further reports are needed (if any). It's the how long is a piece of string question. Even if this is a final report, it could still take over a year if you can't reach agreement on damages and it has to go all the way to a Court hearing.

[quote SBParker99]@JollyAndBright was that when they already had medical records? my solicitor keeps trying to tell me it will take 3 weeks at most[/quote]
Yes, they had all medical record, they also had detailed notes from the surgeon about the injury and what would happen/need to happen in the future.
and a report from an independent physical that our solicitor (via insurance comp) recommend we get before submitting it all to save time in case the requested one.
Our solicitor was amazing and had everything expertly prepared so that it would be done as quickly as possible, it took 8 weeks and she said that was average.

If you make a PI claim, you have to get an independent - Part 35 - medical report (unless you get a pre-med offer) in order to be compensated. It isn't 'in case they ask for one', it's essential in the majority of cases.

My son suffered serious injury in an accident, motorist was convicted in criminal court. It's now nearly 3 years, hopefully end is in sight as insurance company won't want the costs of a court case. He's received £10ks of interim payments for private treatment, housing costs etc.

Be prepared for all medical examinations to be doubled up as the defence will also want their own experts reports.