Medical Assessments in Personal Injury Claims Explained

What Will Be Done With the Medical Report?

Following your medical assessment, the independent medical expert will send their report to your Personal Injury Solicitor. Your Solicitor will then use this to work out how much your claim is worth - in other words, what would be an appropriate amount of compensation for you. Once you are happy with the medical report, and with your authority, we will disclose the medical report to the other side (defendant) as evidence of the value of your claim.

If the defendant doesn’t admit liability (fault) or we cannot reach an agreement on how much your claim is worth, your personal injury claim may end up going to Court, in which case your medical report could be presented as evidence. However, only about 1% of personal injury claims in the UK reach Trial, with the defendant usually preferring to settle out of Court.

Do I Just Need One Medical Assessment?

That depends on the complexity of your claim and the precise nature of your injuries. In many cases, our Personal Injury Solicitors will obtain a medical report from a single independent medical expert.

However, it is sometimes the case that we need to obtain more than one report, produced by specialists from a range of medical disciplines. While this can mean it takes slightly longer to settle your claim, it does mean that any compensation settlement you receive will be more accurate and genuinely reflective of your short and long-term rehabilitation and care needs.

What About My Privacy?

Ensuring sensitive data relating to you and your claim remains secure is a top priority for us. So we won’t obtain any of your personal details, such as your medical records, and pass them on to an independent medical expert without your knowledge and your consent. Rest assured that we adhere to strict data protection requirements, so any sensitive data will be stored and handled in line with GDPR.

What Does the Medical Assessment Cost?

As we stated earlier, our Personal Injury Solicitors may be able to handle your claim on a No Win, No Fee basis. The costs of any medical assessment will be included as part of the legal costs in your claim so, if you win, it will be recovered from the defendant. If you do not win, the medical report fee will be paid by an After the Event (ATE) insurance which we will take out on your behalf so that if you’re unsuccessful, you won’t have to pay us a penny.