Submitting the claim

In the first instance we will have an initial discussion with you to find out how the accident happened. We will then write to your employer, or whoever was responsible for the accident, submitting a claim and stating why we are making it. In addition, we will arrange for a Medical Report to be prepared. You will have to attend a medical examination.

Your employer will be compulsorily insured and will pass our letter of claim to his insurance company. In the case of a road traffic accident, the other party involved has to have insurance for your claim (called third party insurance) and he will pass the letter of claim to his insurance company.

If you are claiming against a private individual the situation can be more complex; if that person is not insured, then it may be difficult to recover anything unless he or she has substantial personal resources. Many private individuals, however, are covered for claims under their general household insurance policy. This is often the case in ’dog bite’ situations.

Once we have seen your Medical Report and obtained all the details of your losses we will try to negotiate a settlement with the insurance company. It may be some time before they are in a position to discuss settlement with us, as they generally like to investigate any accident fully, and can take several months to do so. In addition it may take time to obtain your Medical Report.

If we feel the insurance company is delaying, we can threaten them with Court action. This is the only way to achieve a settlement if (a) the insurance company is delaying for no good reason, (b) they refuse to pay at all, saying that they are not liable, or (c) they offer to pay an insufficient amount of compensation. In these circumstances, we have to raise an action in Court to force the insurance company to pay. Otherwise we would hope to agree a settlement with the insurance company.