Involving the Court
Sometimes it may be necessary to start court proceedings on your behalf against the wrong doer. This might be done for a number of reasons:
- To protect your legal position. The law provides that in cases involving personal injury, court proceedings must normally be started within 3 years of the accident. It is shorter for some type of accidents. There is no requirement that claims be settled within this 3 year period. It is quite common for cases to be settled by negotiation after court proceedings have started. One of the most common reasons for starting court proceedings is because the injuries are such that you have not made a full recovery or sufficient recovery for us to get a firm opinion from the medical expert as to when your recovery may take place.
- Where the other party disputes the accident circumstances or denies they were to blame. This is called a liability dispute. In this case where the parties simply cannot agree, we have to ask the court to step in and decide who is right.
- Where the other party's insurance company fails, for whatever reason, to agree a sensible figure for settlement of your claim. This is often where they admit that they are responsible for your injury but they either dispute the extent of the injury or simply disagree on how much it is worth. Once again, we then have to ask the court to step in and listen to both sides before making a decision.
Court proceedings are started in the county court. We normally use Northampton as it is easier to manage the case locally. The final hearing, if one is needed, will be heard at a court more convenient to you.
We will prepare the court papers which will include a document called the Particulars of Claim. These set out the accident circumstances, give details of your injuries and your expenses and losses. To start court proceedings we must have a medical report detailing your injuries. It is therefore important that you attend all medical examinations so that a report can be prepared in good time.
You will need to sign a "Statement of Truth" confirming that the contents of the Particulars of Claim are true. It is therefore essential that you read this document very carefully when we send them to you for approval. If you sign the Statement of Truth knowing the contents are untrue, you could get into trouble with the court. This can take the form of making you pay for some of your own or your opponents legal fees or in the worst case scenario, a fine or imprisonment.
