If you’ve been injured in an accident that wasn’t your fault, you might need to bring a personal injury claim to secure the compensation you deserve.
When they first contact Mooneerams, our clients are usually eager to know how long their claim will take. Well, rest assured, nobody (not even your lawyer!) wants to be embroiled in personal injury litigation for any longer than is absolutely necessary.
That said, we have to point out that pursuing a successful claim takes time. Gathering evidence, arranging medical appointments, and taking the other steps required to get you the compensation you’re entitled to, will take months, not weeks. However, other factors may be at play if things seem to be dragging on excessively.
Here, we give the lowdown on 10 of the most common reasons your personal injury claims might be subject to delays.
1. The other party disputes liability
Sometimes, a case is so clear-cut that the other side accepts responsibility early on. When that happens, the lawyers at Mooneerams can concentrate on securing the maximum compensation possible for you.
However, not all accident circumstances are clear-cut, leading to arguments between the parties involved over who was at fault. So, when the other party denies liability for an accident, we must gather evidence and prepare a compelling case proving they were to blame.
As a result, building your claim can take longer to resolve. Most accident claims don’t go to a court hearing, as they settle beforehand. However, if a case does go to court, it’s often likely to be because neither party will back down on liability.
2. Gathering evidence
The success of your personal injury claim will hinge on the evidence you and your solicitors obtain. To prove your case, you will need different types of evidence. This includes getting witness statements from people who saw how the accident happened, expert evidence from medical professionals (and possibly from experts in other fields), and proof of any financial losses you want to claim.
Any delays in gathering the evidence will have a knock-on effect on how long it takes to resolve your case. For instance, your witnesses may prove elusive, or your medical expert may have planned a holiday that means they’ll take longer than usual to prepare their report. Mooneerams are used to dealing with issues like these, and we do our best to minimise any delays they cause to our clients cases. However, sometimes, some delays are simply out of our control.
3. You sustained serious injuries
When the amount of your compensation claim gets decided, either through negotiation or by a judge in court, your claim will end. You can’t usually come back at a later date asking for more because your condition has worsened (the exception being that in some very serious injury cases, something called provisional damages may apply, meaning you may be able to get more compensation).
Accordingly, it’s vital to ensure you know the full extent of your injuries and claim everything you’re entitled to before settling your claim or arriving at court to have it heard by a judge.
Where your injuries or condition are severe, your personal injury solicitor will likely obtain significant medical evidence regarding your condition and prognosis. This might involve you seeing several medical experts and undergoing procedures like MRI scans.
Only once they have a clear picture of your injuries’ extent and likely impact can your solicitor claim everything you deserve. Gathering this evidence may take a little time, but it’s a price worth paying to ensure you receive maximum compensation.
4. Pre-action requirements
When you instruct Mooneerams Solicitors to pursue a personal injury claim for you, we’ll first try to achieve settlement by presenting details of your claim to the insurers or solicitors of the person (or organisation) that caused the accident. If the other side delays in responding, appears to be dragging their heels or denies liability when we believe they have no valid grounds for doing so, we’ll advise you that we need to issue court proceedings to inject some urgency into the claim.
Before issuing your personal injury claim, we must follow the ‘Pre-action Protocol’ applicable to your case. The Protocols detail a series of steps the parties must take before resorting to litigation.
Looking at it from your position, we understand that once you’ve decided to seek compensation, holding off from issuing your claim while you go through the Pre-action Protocols can be frustrating.
The protocols are intended to increase the chances of a settlement without needing court proceedings by encouraging the parties to discuss the issues openly away from a court setting. Even if a claim is still issued, the measures the parties have taken to comply with the Protocol often narrow the issues in dispute, allowing the matter to progress more quickly.
5. You don’t know who to sue
Before starting your personal injury claim, you must know who to sue. Sometimes, finding out who was to blame is easier said than done.
Say, for example, you were involved in a road traffic accident. In most cases, working out who was at fault is easy. The other driver might even accept responsibility and provide you with their contact details to get the ball rolling.
Other times, however, getting to the bottom of who caused the accident can be more complicated. If the driver you believe was to blame tries to pin it on someone else, your personal injury solicitors might need expert evidence, such as an accident reconstruction report, to establish who to sue.
6. The claims process
Like all court claims, personal injury cases take time to resolve. Even those matters that proceed without complication must go through the legal process, which might involve locating and disclosing documentation, preparing witness statements, and seeking an expert’s opinion.
Accordingly, it’s important to understand that your matter won’t be resolved overnight. However, rest assured that at Mooneerams our personal injury solicitors will do all they can to progress your claim as quickly as possible.
7. The insurer drags their feet
Unfortunately, it’s not unusual for insurers to deal with personal injury claims slowly. This could be because the staff is overworked or inexperienced. It might also be part of their strategy to slow down claims intentionally.
For example, they might delay, hoping you’ll become frustrated with the delay and settle for a lower sum. If your claim is complex or potentially of high value, the insurance company’s lawyers will likely raise as many issues as possible to reduce their client’s liability.
At Mooneerams, we deal with insurance companies and their lawyers every day. We know all the ploys they use to delay claims and how to overcome them and keep our clients’ claims on track.
8. Court delays
Last year, the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers delivered a damning verdict on the state of the Court system, noting that it is ‘fraught with delays [and] short staffed’. The report states that the time it takes for some claims to reach trial has risen by 62% since 2016.
Sadly, as personal injury lawyers, we can do little to combat Court delays. However, the vast majority (95%, as an educated guess) of personal injury claims are settled without litigation. We are expert negotiators and resolve most clients’ cases on excellent settlement terms through discussions with the other side.
9. Unexpected issues with your claim
Unfortunately, some cases throw up unexpected issues that delay their resolution. For example, your initial medical examination might uncover a pre-existing condition that needs investigating to see how it relates to your current injuries and, if so, the effect it could have on your claim.
Quite often, after obtaining a further medical report, a scenario that initially looked unfavourable for the client turns out not to be. However, unexpected issues take up valuable time, and third-party insurers will doubtless pick up on any issues of this nature to try and devalue or even invalidate your claim altogether, even when the evidence is in your favour.
10. Your legal team is inexperienced
Regrettably, some law firms focus on keeping their running costs to a minimum, to the detriment of their clients’ cases. Firms that adopt this approach usually employ inexperienced claims handlers to deal with personal injury claims. At the same time, the claims handlers may be expected to take on large caseloads, and, unsurprisingly, delays (and mistakes) ensue.
At Mooneerams, we do things differently. We only act for personal injury claimants; everyone we employ is a personal injury specialist. By ensuring that our client’s interests remain at the heart of our practice and striving to resolve cases as swiftly as possible on the best possible terms, we have grown steadily year on year. We attract clients not with gimmicky promises but through personal recommendations and superb client reviews.
If your claim seems to be going nowhere, perhaps it’s time to look at your current legal team and consider moving to a specialist firm like Mooneerams. We’ll review your case and give you our honest opinion on its merits. If we believe your claim and you decide you’d like to switch solicitors to Mooneerams, we’ll take on your injury claim on a no win no fee basis, so you only pay us anything if you win, and nothing it you don’t.
