Steps to Make a Personal Injury Claim

In order to make a claim for personal injury, you should comply with certain procedural requirements, a brief description of which has been given as follows:

Report and notify about the accident and the injury sustained: The foremost essential requirement in the claim process is to report and notify about the accident caused and the injury sustained by you to the relevant person or authority. Injuries sustained at the work place should be reported to the employer. Similarly, if you are a victim of motor vehicle accident, the same should be notified to the Police and accordingly a Traffic Incident Number (TIN) should be obtained. In case you have received a personal injury in a public place, you should notify about your injury to the concerned local authority.
Seek advice of your Doctor: Medical and diagnostic reports including medical certificates obtained from your doctor are the evidences which can actually support your claim. Therefore consulting your doctor is imperative both for your well-being as well as for making a claim for compensation.
Lodge a claim: You should lodge a compensation claim with the relevant authority in the appropriate manner. You may lodge a claim in the specified format to your employer if you are claiming for workers’ compensation. To lodge a claim for motor vehicle accident, you should apply in the specified format with the insurance company of the owner or the driver of the motor vehicle at fault. With regard to public liability claim, you should lodge your claim in a manner as specified by the insurance company of the person or the authority at fault.
Seek legal advice from a personal injury specialist to be aware of your legal rights and entitlements in a personal injury claim, how to proceed with while making such a claim and how long the entire process might take. Acceptance or rejection of your claim: It might take up to 28 business days for your claim to be either accepted or rejected. In case your claim is accepted by the appropriate insurance company, you may receive:

a weekly wage, the amount of which depends on the State where the accident happened or the injury was caused;
out of pocket expenses;
repayment of your medical expenses; and
referrals to medical specialists and rehabilitation providers.

However, if your claim is rejected, explore the options available with your personal injury lawyers to advice you further on those options and how to obtain compensation. Your claim may be rejected due to non-disclosure or partial disclosure or wrongful disclosure of facts.
Receive necessary medical treatment: You should get all the required medical treatment you need while pursuing a claim for personal injury.
Settlement: Damages are awarded for the pain and suffering, loss of income, medical treatment expenses, domestic care and assistance and other losses which may arise in a particular claim. Seek your Solicitor’s advice in case you receive any monetary compensation against your claim for personal injury. This will prevent you both from relinquishing your right to a further claim of damages or receiving an amount lesser than your actual entitlements. Moreover, your Solicitor can assist you in obtaining other compensation by filing a Common Law claim.

Limitation to Make a Personal Injury Claim

Claim for personal injury should be brought within 3 years from the date of occurrence of the injury. This 3 year period also includes your time for complying with the Pre-Court procedures that you ought to follow before commencing legal proceedings such as informing the Police and/or lodging complaints with the appropriate authorities. Your failure to commence Court proceedings within the limitation period will take away your right to claim compensation.

You can bank on our advice at Owen Hodge Lawyers for any matter relating to personal injury claim.

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Steps To Make A Personal Injury Claim