How long will my compensation for car accident take to come through?

How long will my motor vehicle accident claim take to finalise?

One of the most frequently asked questions at a first interview of a claimant for a motor vehicle accident claim is “When will my claim be over?”

It’s important, early on, to understand that an injured person has only “one shot” at bringing his or her claim.  Whenever a claim is finalised, it is on a “once and for all basis”.  It is virtually impossible to re-open a completed claim particularly if the argument to do so is that the injury has worsened or has not recovered the way you thought it would.

From a lawyer’s perspective, that is the perspective of someone trying to accurately assess a claim, we would much prefer that the injured person’s treatment has concluded.  The monetary cost of treatment is high and there is always an unsatisfactory amount of guesswork in anticipating the cost of future medical treatment.  We also need to understand whether the injured person has made a complete recovery from the affects of the injuries or whether they will be left with a permanent residual disability which is capable of being accurately assessed.

For these reasons we try and find the balance between not dragging claims out any longer than is necessary and of putting ourselves in a position where we can accurately assess an injured person’s full entitlements.

At first interview it is invariably impossible to answer the client.  It is of course, from the client’s perspective a perfectly reasonable question to ask.  In the general sense the best answer is that the claim will likely conclude when the injured person completes their recovery process.

So you can see it’s not a “cut and dry” answer we can give.  Although we’re hoping we’ve satisfied what you needed to know here, it may well be you’d like some further information about your car accident claim. If so, why not speak with today’s blog writer, Andersons Partner in Civil Litigation, Dion McCaffrie.

Please note, this Blog is posted in Adelaide, South Australia. It relates to South Australian legislation.

About these ads