If your accident occurred after the 29th April 2010, please be prepared for a long conversation with your lawyer because they will be obliged to submit your Claim Notification Form 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.
A quick and easy process if there is no dispute
The good news, however, is that once the Claim Notification Form 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, your lawyer will discuss the likely value of your claim and propose on-line a settlement figure (which they should discuss with you in advance) to the other driver’s insurers and upload the medical report along with any documents confirming your out-of-pocket expenses.
After the initial response to the Claim Notification Form, the insurers then have a further 15 Business Days to accept the offer or reject it 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 completed within three to six months and your legal
representative will be paid a fixed fee by the insurers of the other driver which will normally cover your legal costs. You should check to make sure that your solicitor is not proposing to make any charge to you in excess of the fixed fee.
Click this link for a more detailed article including all the information required in the Claim Notification Form (usually abbreviated to the CNF)
Artilce by Chris Lodge - Head of the Road Traffic Accident Department of Kaslers Solicitors LLP and represents the Motor Accident Solicitors Society in various Ministry of Justice working parties and committees relating to the new process described above.
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