How long will the claim take?

There is no single answer to this. The length of your claim will be determined by a number of factors such as the complexity of the claim, any unforeseen complications, the severity of your injuries and length of recovery. In some serious injury cases such as spinal or brain injuries, it can often take several years to conclude. Taking these factors into account, your claim could take anything from 6 months to several years (2-5 years) for serious cases, although this can be longer in cases involving children or where complex issues arise. If liability (blame) is disputed it may be that a liability trial is held to determine who was to blame for the accident (in whole or part). This may result in delays in investigating the value of your claim until such time as a judge has made a ruling on apportionment of blame / fault. Once the issue of liability / blame has been resolved, a vital part of the claim is assessing how much compensation you are entitled to. Valuing the claim involves assessing what impact your injuries have had since the accident and the future. We need to be in a position for the medical experts to advise on prognosis (your future medical situation) as well as the need for further treatment / surgery in the future. Often the medical experts need to wait for the injuries to “settle” and for the customer to undergo treatment / rehabilitation before offering such an opinion. The timescale for concluding your claim is therefore governed by the level and complexity of your injuries and recovery period. Our job as your solicitor is to assess all past and future damages / losses resulting from your injuries. For example, some customers are able to return to work following their accident whereas others are unable to do so. Detailed calculations sometimes need to be undertaken in order to assess the long-term financial impact of no longer being able to work. Likewise, sometimes our customers have complex care needs and these need to be assessed and valued for the rest of their lives before the claim can be concluded. Unfortunately, it can take time to build up this picture and gather the necessary evidence although we always strive to conclude cases as soon as possible and without delay so that you can move on with your life. Whilst the case is ongoing we try, as far as possible, for it to have minimal impact on you day-to-day, giving you the space and time to re-build your life.