Making a road traffic accident claim

Once we have gone through our initial assessment call with you and collected all the relevant information, then your claim is registered with us. Depending on your injuries, we may instruct our rehabilitation provider to contact you and arrange an initial assessment.

As the legal partner of your motor insurer, we are representing you in relation to your personal injury claim. Should any other organisations attempt to contact you about your claim, please refer them back to us.

Financial losses you incur as the result of your injury can be included as part of your settlement. It is important at this stage to keep receipts and document damaged items – you can upload this evidence directly to your INK account. We also recommend taking photos of any visible injuries and where the damage is on the vehicle involved in the accident.

For more complex cases, like an accident with a foreign vehicle or a hit and run driver, these timeframes may differ. No further actions are required from you while awaiting a liability decision.

An assessment with an independent medical expert is an important step in every personal injury claim, allowing us to evaluate the extent of your injuries and provide evidence which will be used to establish your level of compensation.

For most injuries the assessments can be as short as 10 mins but, for more complex injuries, your appointment may take longer, and you may be asked to attend more than one session.

If you are clinically vulnerable to Covid-19 you can request a remote appointment from the medical agency. If you are attending a remote medical you will need a quiet, well-lit area and a laptop, tablet or mobile with a working camera and microphone.

After you attend a medical assessment the expert will prepare their report that will be used to help value your claim. It is normal to be referred first to a GP but, for more complex injuries, they may make recommendations for you to be assessed further by a specialist.

You will receive a copy of the report which you will need to review and approve. When you receive a medical report to approve you must read the report carefully to check for any missing or incorrect information. It’s important the report accurately reflects your injuries.

Depending on the nature of your injuries you may require further treatments or therapies provided by our specialist rehab experts or via your own arrangements with NHS or private clinics. It’s important to submit any receipts or invoices from any private treatment you receive so we can look to recover these as part of your settlement.

Preparation to submit all aspects of your case to the other side includes documenting your losses, medical evidence and our proposed offer for settlement based on your injury valuation.

Please submit any remaining losses as this is the last opportunity to add these before we submit your claim. Any losses added once your claim has been submitted cannot be included in any settlement offer.

One of our agents will call you before we submit your claim to go through some important information with you.

Having submitted the claim, we wait for a response from the other side. They usually respond within 15 working days, but it can be longer. No further actions are required from you while we await their response.

In some cases, the initial offer of compensation we have made is disputed. If so, further negotiations take place that may involve a series of offers between ourselves and those responsible.

If you have granted us authority to negotiate on your behalf in line with your injury valuation we will continue to negotiate with the other side. When an appropriate settlement has been reached, we will contact you.

If you have not granted this authority, we will contact you with details of any offers we receive from the other side, so we can take your instructions on how you would like us to proceed.

The majority of personal injury claims do not go to a final hearing with a settlement being agreed without the need to go to court. Where court proceedings are necessary this is usually on the basis that liability has been disputed or we have been unable to agree an appropriate settlement for your injuries.

However, if you are representing a minor (aged under 18) you will be required to attend an infant approval hearing. If you are required to attend a hearing, you will be supported with legal representation throughout the process.

During this time, we will update you with progress on your claim and we may need you to review and sign certain documents.

Through negotiations or through a court decision at this stage we will have reached an agreed settlement. We will send a breakdown of your settlement as well as outline any costs that are to be deducted.

We then have to wait for the other sides representative to release payment which can take 4-5 weeks depending on the representative. These timeframes can differ in more complex claims, like those dealing with a foreign insurance company.

There is nothing more for you to do at this stage however, it is a good time to ensure that we have your up to date bank details.

When payment has been received from the other sides representatives there may be fees or disbursements that need deducting. Throughout your claim we will have discussed if this applies to you as you may be covered by motor legal protection in your insurance policy.

Depending on if you choose BACs payment or cheque your payment may take up to 7 working days to clear through the banks.