Claim Notification Form Assistance

1 05 2010

WELCOME TO CLAIM NOTIFICATION FORM ASSISTANCE FROM KASLERS SOLICITORS LLP

All  personal injury claims arising out of Road Traffic Accidents in England or Wales which occurred after 29th April 2010 must be notified to insurers using the formal Claim Notification Form or CNF as it is otherwise known.

The process is more fully described in this article.

However before the claim can be submitted, a large amount of detail must be submitted electronically to the insurers of the driver responsible by sending the CNF via the web portal.

The form cannot be submitted and your claim cannot be progressed unless all the relevant formation is available.  For details of the information required, please click here.

If you need help with regard to completing the Claim Notification Form, just complete our short on-line form by clicking here and we will guide you through it.

CLAIM NOTIFICATION FORM ASSISTANCE is part of our Car Accident Advice service.


Comments : 1 Comment »
Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Categories : Claim Notification Form, Personal Injury, Rear end shunts, Whiplash

The new process for Low Value Road Traffic Accident claims

30 04 2010

If you instruct us to act for you in a claim for personal injury arising out of a road traffic accident after the 29th April 2010, please be prepared for a long conversation with us because we are obliged to submit your claim to the insurers of the driver who caused the accident on-line to a secured website operated by the Ministry of Justice.The amount of detail which needs to be provided is extensive.

This only applies to claims where the value of the injury or injury related claims such as earnings loss or private medical treatment is likely to be  less than £10,000.00.

On the same day as we submit the form to the insurers, we must send a hard copy to the other driver and in printed form, the claim will generally be about eight pages long.

The form has several sections and it will be helpful if you can have the following information available when we speak.

Your Personal Details

Your full name Address and postcode

Telephone numbers & e-mail address (for our records only)

Your date of birth

Your National Insurance number

Your occupation

Whether you wre wearing a seat belt

Details about your injury

Full details about your symptoms

The name (and address) of any hospital visited following the accident (and reference number if available)

Whether you have received any treatment such as physiotherapy or if this has been recommended

Whether you have been unable to work and the dates of your absence

Whether you have been involved in any other accident in the last three years (for our records only)

Details about the vehicles involved and of the driver responsible

The make, model (where known) and registration numbers of all vehicles involved

The name and address of the other driver or the owner of the vehicle

The number of people in the vehicle in which you were travelling

If you are the vehicle owner

Whether you are comprehensively insured or Third Party Fire & Theft

Who is repairing the vehicle (if not written off)

The name, address and reference number of any company that has provided a hire/replacement vehicle

The dates of hire

If you were a passenger

The name and address of the driver

Accident Details

Description of the accident circumstances

The date, time and weather conditions

The names of any witnesses

The details of any other driver/vehicles involved

Why you think the other driver is at fault

Other Information

Whether you have any legal expenses insurance (legal protection) sold with your motor policy or house contents policy or even travel insurance

If you were injured on public transport, the name of the bus or coach company, the Route number if any and whether you have proof of ticket purchase for the journey, along with the approximate number of other people on the bus or coach.

If it appears that the other vehicle was uninsured, a description of the driver . 

If you don’t have all the information to hand, we may not be in a position to submit your claim and advance your case until you do! However the person taking the information on our behalf will be able to advise you further about this.

A quick and easy process if there is no dispute

The good news, however, is that once the claim has been submitted to the other driver’s insurers they have only 15 Business Days (three weeks) to concede liability and save themselves considerable legal cost if they accept that their insured was to blame. If they miss this deadline, the claim will leave this streamlined process and be dealt with under the much slower and more costly system which has applied up till now.

On the other hand, undisputed claims will progress very quickly from the early provision of physiotherapy or similar treatment to a brief medico-legal examination by a local GP at an appropriate time. The GP then prepares a report in a standard format and if you agree the contents, we will discuss the likely value of your claim and propose on-line a settlement figure (discussed with you in advance) to the other driver’s insurers and upload the medical report along with any documentation confirming your out-of-pocket expenses.

The insurers then have a further 15 Business Days to accept or reject the offer and enter into negotiations over further 20 Business Days to avoid the matter proceeding to a court hearing.

In less serious cases, claims will be capable of being finalised within three to six months and we will be paid a fixed fee by the insurers of the other driver which will cover your legal costs


Comments : 1 Comment »
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Categories : Claim Notification Form, New Process for injury claims, Personal Injury

Quantum Assessment Tool

23 02 2010

This is a software package utilised mainly but no longer exclusively by insurers to evaluate a personal injury

How does it work?

Basically, medical reports prepared by independent GPs or consultants must contain key indicators in order to comply with the Court Practice Rules.

These elements are fed into the software to enable the insurers to offer what they consider to be a reasonable sum in regard to the injury.

There are several QATs on the market and they tend to use different criteria so in theory the same medical report could be sent to 10 insurers each of whom would make a different offer.  The offer usually uses data on settlements previously made by that insurer so even if the same QAT is used by several of the sample 10 insurers, there may be a variation in the offer made.

Will insurers increase their offers?

Most QATs will suggest an upper and a lower limit so frequently the first offer sent by the insurer is not their best offer.  However, some insurers come in with their highest offer from the outset and the claims handler has no authority to improve upon it.

If the first offer is at the lower end, often any claims handler in the department may have an authority to increase the offer to the upper limit but most insurers refuse to offer anything above that amount.

What happens if the offer is too low?

Ultimately a decision must be made as to whether to issue court proceedings.  The Court will in no way be influenced by a QAT and will decide on the facts.  Consequently if the Claimant’s representative feels there is a sufficiently wide gap between the offer made and the sum likely to be awarded at court, issuing proceedings is often the best answer as otherwise there is no room for negotiation. 

This will however delay settlement for several months and often the gap is insufficient to merit the risk of proceedings

Who pays the cost of the proceedings?

Invariably offers made by insurers are in Part 36 form which means there is a substantial risk that you or more likely your legal expenses insurers will have to pay your opponent’s costs if you are not awarded at court a sum greater than the amount offered.


Comments : Leave a Comment »

Categories : Personal Injury, Quantum Assessment Tool

Tips for Lady Drivers

28 01 2010

I was asked to write a blog on this subject for the excellent Birds On the Blog website,  so with some trepidation, I accepted the challenge.   Much of this article is based on that piece.

In my experience, women seem to have less accidents than men and certainly cause fewer, because they frequently drive slower and take less risks.

The drawback is that as a consequence of that lower involvement, women may have less experience as to what to do when an accident happens.

THERE’S ALWAYS HELP AVAILABLE

 Mobile as a must

Whilst you certainly shouldn’t be using a handheld whist driving, there’s no doubt that a mobile is an absolute essential in a crisis.

Whether you are stranded in a quiet country road and need urgent help or just need to talk to a friendly voice.  If it has a camera, it will enable you to take plenty of photos!

Exchanging information

 Accidents can be very unnerving for anyone and whether you have just rear-ended a trucker the size of a sumo wrestler or he has just ploughed into you, you may want to keep conversation to a minimum! 

 As you are obliged to exchange some information in any event, a printed form with your name, address and insurance details (to keep in your glovebox) can be helpful to hand to him through a slightly open window.

Registration numbers

It’s always a good idea to take a careful note (or better still a photo) of the other driver’s registration number so that your legal or insurance representative can establish the identity of his insurers immediately through the MID.

The benefit of photos

As you will notice, throughout this article, I am suggesting taking photos (albeit discretely).  Nothing is ever clear cut, so photos of the damage on both /all vehicles, their registration numbers, the location, any nearby buildings, and the foliage (which changes rapidly) are of enormous assistance. 

However, if you get out of your car, to take the photos make sure you don’t expose yourself to being run over by another motorist in the process!

Call the police?

Unless you feel there is risk they might prosecute you, you may want to call the police to be on the safe side (and if they arrive take a photo of their registration number.  It may help, when your legal adviser is asking for a copy of any police report).

Witnesses

Even in the most clear cut of accidents, witnesses are essential!  It is always wise to get the names, addresses and telephone numbers of anyone kind enough to stop.  Your representative may never need to involve them but it is far better to have them available in case.

See also WHO CAN BE A WITNESS?

Out of Pocket Expenses

If you have to spend money to sort out the aftermath of a road accident, a great idea is to keep all the receipts in one place and if possible, maintain a spreadsheet of all the costs on your PC which can be updated whenever needed.

Your legal adviser will thank you for it!

DRIVING TIPS

Roundabouts

Lorries and buses need to be given a wide birth as they need more room.  If you don’t and have an accident as a result, you probably won’t win your claim in full.

See also – 50/50 & SPLIT SETTLEMENT CASES

Car parks

Normal rules don’t apply but if there’s an arrow on the lane, best not to go in the opposite direction.! 

Be very wary of vehicles reversing out of a parking space into your path.

..and as my wife always advises me, don’t park next to 4x4s whose large door will dent your pride and joy of a car without leaving a note!

 See also – PARKED CAR ACCIDENTS

IF THE ACCIDENT IS NOT YOUR FAULT

Car Hire

If your vehicle is undriveable after the accident or during the repair period, you should be entitled to another vehicle of the same size as yours, either provided through the other driver’s insurers or through a reputable credit hire company.  Your legal adviser should be able to arrange this.

So if you have five kids and a dog to take to school in the morning, you don’t need to shoehorn everyone into a mini!

Injury

 The key to a complete recovery (where possible) is early medical treatment.  Your legal adviser should discuss this with you in any event and can probably advise how it can be funded at no cost to you – often paid for by the insurers of the other driver.

GET SOME LEGAL HELP

Dealing with the aftermath of an accident, can be a pain in the neck (all too often, literally).  Coping with insurers, repairers, medical advisers can be time frustrating, time consuming and in most non-fault cases, you can let an experienced professional do the job for you.

If you would like to ask a question about a road accident or need legal representation just go to our On-line Enquiry Form.


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Categories : Car Hire, Driving tips, General accident matters, Parked car accidents, Personal Injury, Rear end shunts, Witnesses

What happens when your employees are injured

26 01 2010

OK, so it wasn’t their fault – does it really matter to you? After all, even if they were off work for a month, you can get the wages you pay them back from the other driver’s – right? WRONG!

Most companies large or small fall into this trap. Only your injured employee has the right to claim loss of earnings and any wages you pay them either contractually or out of the kindness of your heart cannot be recovered by you.  

WHAT’S THE SOLUTION?  

Any earnings paid by you can be recovered from the negligent driver but only if your contracts of employment provide for this. Ask your company solicitors’ employment department to draft the necessary wording and this could result in your company recovering substantial sums without your employee suffering financially. This can include all the wages you would normally be obliged to pay under the contract of employment.  

Alternatively, if your contract of employment does not yet provide for this, you agree with your employee to pay them not a penny over their contractual entitlement but you can then enter into a loan agreement with them (preferably drafted by your lawyers) for the same amount as their wage (or any other amount to tide them over) on the basis that they will repay you when they are paid by insurers of the other driver. This must not however be paid as wages. It should be simply a repayable loan.  

WHAT HAPPENS WHERE THE EMPLOYEE IS FULLY OR PARTLY TO BLAME

 If your employee caused the accident,  they cannot recover any loss of earnings, in which case nor will you, the employer. If however, fault is split between your employee and the other driver, they will each recover a percentage of their losses and normally (depending on the wording of your contract) you would only be entitled to recoup that same percentage of the wages paid. If  you are entering into a loan arrangement, you will need to consider carefully whether your employee can recover all the lost wages.

 In reality, motorcycle couriers are more prone to split liability accidents than van drivers.

GET PROPER PROFESSIONAL ADVICE  

Before embarking on any of these suggestions, get legal advice to ensure that the wording used protects you and your employee.

If your employee is using the same solicitors as you (assuming there is no conflict of interest), the employee can sign a form so that wage loss is paid directly back to you.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE ADVICE FOR YOUR FLEET OF VEHICLES (NO MATTER WHETHER YOU HAVE 2 OR 2000), USE OUR ON-LINE FORM TO ASK A QUESTION.

    


Comments : 2 Comments »
Tags: , , , ,
Categories : Fleet matters, Personal Injury

Rehabilitation – A chiropractor’s view

20 01 2010

Scott Gilchrist of The Back Place  in Tunbridge Wells explains the role of chiropractic treatment following an RTA.

Chiropractors are known for treating health problems relating to muscles, joints and nerves – the so called neuro-muscular-skeletal aspect of pain and dysfunction.

The main types of problem treated by chiropractors are lower back pain, neck pain, shoulder pain and headaches. Many of these problems can affect a person’s ability to sleep, work and perform activities of daily living and thus can have a huge impact on overall health and wellbeing.

After taking a thorough history and undertaking an extensive physical examination of a patient’s problem the chiropractor will provide an explanation of the problem and what progress can be reasonably expected. Chiropractors use a technique called spinal manipulation to restore function to problem areas and this may be augmented with other techniques and exercise advice. Treatment is tailored specifically to an individual’s complaint.

The term “whiplash” is used convey what happens to the body during a road traffic accident. Large and sudden forces are transmitted through and dissipated by the body’s tissues within a fraction of a second. This shock wave results in the “whiplash” injury which may then manifest as any combination of the symptoms outlined below:

neck pain, headaches, jaw pain,lower back pain, dizziness,  vision problems.

The symptoms may start immediately, several hours, days or weeks after the accident and this should be borne in mind. Many tissues and structures in the neck can be injured in whiplash.

It is very helpful for a chiropractor to have as much information about a collision as possible

This will include:-

Was the collision head on or from the side?

The speed and size of impacting vehicle,

Was the patient looking straight forward or was the head turned?

Any awareness that the collision was due to happen?

Were the head restraints in position correctly?

Were seat belts being worn?

There are two distinct phases to treatment – the first is managing the acute phase of pain and dysfunction and then ensuring that the body’s repair and recovery phase occurs optimally. Those that have been involved in collisions must bear in mind that if tissue around the spine has been injured then this takes at least 12 weeks to repair. Indeed this may explain why some symptoms persist for many months following an accident.

The best course of action following a collision is to document some of the information detailed above and keep a pain diary of when and how badly symptoms start to appear. This will be useful when seeing a primary health care practitioner if suffering from a whiplash injury.

Car Accident Advice is most grateful to Scott for his insight.  We cannot give medical advice and Claimants should always speak to their GPs as to the best course of treatment.


Comments : 1 Comment »
Tags: , , , , , , ,
Categories : Guest blogs, Personal Injury, Rear end shunts, Whiplash

Whiplash

17 01 2010

The most common injury in any road accident is that usually known as whiplash and it most frequently occurs after a rear end shunt.  Indeed in the CNF (Claim Notification Form), the mandatory format for notifying  injury claims to  insurersresulting from any road accident after 5th April 2010 , requires the Claimant to state whether or not they suffered whiplash.

In very simple terms, upon impact your neck is jerked forward and then snaps back.  Pains in the neck often spreading to the shoulders and upper & lower back are a natural consequence, sometimes with headaches, sleeplessness and other symptoms.

It may not be immediately noticeable

Many people will leave the scene of a road traffic accident with no apparent symptoms only to find that their necken stiffens up in the course of the next few days.

Medical evidence

Go to your GP or the Accident & Emergency Department of the nearest hospital.  If nothing else, the injury will be independently recorded and advice given as to what you should do. In more severe cases, X rays may be taken and advice provided as to whether you ar fit for work.

If you have previously suffered from an injury to the neck or back, you are likely to be more vulnerable than someone who has not so the degree of suffering by individuals involved in the same accident may very widely.

Early treatment

The key to a swift and, if possible, complete recovery is treatment (technically known as rehabilitation).  This is usually from a physiotherapist, osteopath or chiropractor.  The CNF requires infomation as to whether the Claimant reqyires rehabilitation and frequently this will be funded by the insurer of the at-fault party.

Consequently, the Claimant and their lawyer should always discuss rehabilitation needs and where appropriate the means by which the Claimant should be assessed for treatment.  However, the Claimant should always confer with their GP.

The medical report

If a claim for compensation is being made, the Claimant will normally be examined by an independent GP or in more serious cases, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon or similar.  The report will set out the circumstances of the accident, the symptoms, how long the Claimant has suffered from them or will continue to do so, the rehabilitation treatment provided (if any) and the effect on the Claimant’s ability to work.

Key elements from this report will be used to evaluate the amount of compensation the Claimant should receive as a result of the accident.

If you would like to ask a question about Whiplash  or need legal representation just go to our On-line Enquiry Form.


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , ,
Categories : Personal Injury, Whiplash

Getting it right – a brand new process for Road Traffic Accident injury claims

4 01 2010

After being injured in a road accident, the last thing anybody needs is long drawn out legal process.  Fortunately, in the very near future, the waiting time for most of these cases is going to be dramatically shortened – if the lawmakers have finally got it right.

With effect from 30th April 2010, a completely new process for road accident injury claims becomes compulsory and where the insurer of the driver responsible for the accident admits liability immediately, the claim should normally be finalised in a matter of a few months.

Here’s how it works

Stage one

First, the injured person’s lawyer will have to email a very detailed Claim Notification Form to the insurers via a central website operated by the Ministry of Justice.  

Once they have received the form, the insurers have only fifteen business days to state whether or not they accept liability.  If they do AND comply with certain other time limits, the claim will be dealt with under the new procedure.  The insurers will benefit because the legal costs they have to pay will be much reduced and the injured person will benefit from a far simpler and faster process.

Stage Two

If the injured person owns the car driven in the accident, then his or her lawyer will probably arrange for either the repairs, or an inspection and valuation if the vehicle is a write-off.  As far as injuries are concerned, the lawyer will arrange to have the person assessed for treatment and an examination by an independent medical practitioner who will prepare a medical report in the format required by the new process.  This will cover the extent of the injuries and their likely ongoing effects on such things as the ability to work and go about normal daily activities.

This medico-legal report, together with further details of the claim, must be emailed to the other driver’s insurers within fifteen business days of it being approved by the injured person.

  

The Final Settlement Pack

When the claim is ready to be settled, the lawyer must discuss and agree with the client the amount of compensation to be sought.  Clearly, this must be a realistic figure based on the lawyer’s expertise in personal injury work.  The compensation claim, together with a list of the injured person’s out of pocket expenses, will then be submitted electronically through the central website to the other driver’s insurers in the form of a Settlement Pack

The insurers then have a further fifteen business days either to agree the amount sought or make a counter offer.  After that, a further twenty business days are allowed to enable negotiations to continue.

 

The Interim Settlement Pack

If the medical report indicates that further medical evidence may be needed at a later date before the claim should be settled,  the injured person’s lawyer should ask for a payment on account of the claim of £1000.00, which cannot be refused.  (They can seek more than this where valid reasons are provided).  The claims process is then put on hold until they can produce the final medical evidence at which point the Final Settlement process is followed.

What happens if the claim leaves the process?

If the insurers do not accept liability; do not comply with the time limits described above; deny that the symptoms referred to in the medical report were caused by the accident; or if they allege fraud, the claim leaves the new process and the matter is then handled by the current more lengthy and expensive process.

Generally, it will not be in the interest of insurers to allow the claim to leave the new process as the legal costs they will have to pay, if the claim succeeds, will be far greater.

 

What happens if the value of the claim cannot be agreed?

 Stage 3

If no agreement about the value of the claim has been reached after the period allowed for negotiations has expired, it remains in the process, but the insurers must pay the value of their last offer and Court proceedings are then issued.   These can take the form of an oral hearing, or (if both sides agree) by means of detailed written statements sent to the court so that the District Judge can value the claim.

Whilst the District Judge at the Court will be aware that settlement offers have been made by both sides, the amount of the final offers will be kept in a sealed envelope until after the amount to be awarded has been decided.

Getting it right here is very important because if the District Judge awards more than the insurer’s highest offer, the insurer must pay both sides’  legal fees of the Stage 3 process, plus the court fees.  However, if the amount awarded is less than that offered by the insurers in Stage 2, the injured person will be liable for the costs of both sides of the Stage 3 process.  Plainly, it is essential that the injured person’s lawyer has ensured that they have adequate legal expenses insurance (legal protection) to cover them in case this happens and that the legal expenses insurers have agreed with the lawyer’s recommendation that the claim proceeds into Stage 3.

 

Getting the right advice

A single word of warning.  Generally the new process will be far better for accident victims than the current one as both sides are both obliged and incentivised to proceed very quickly.  However there is the risk that, because the legal fees will be so much lower, shortcuts may be taken by legal representatives.  Their clients may even advised to accept offers well below the true value because lawyers will receive no additional payment for the extra work put in, or the additional time necessary to pursue claims through to their proper conclusions.

Chris Lodge has specialised as a Road Traffic Accident Solicitor for over 25 years and sits as a representative for the Motor Accident Solicitors Society on a Ministry of Justice working party testing and piloting the electronic notification form described above.


Comments : 1 Comment »
Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Categories : New Process for injury claims, Personal Injury, Whiplash


Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.