Interim Payments and Rehabilitation for Personal Injury – What Are They?

Interim payments and rehabilitation are essential in helping injured people on the road to recovery.

Serious injury claims can take months, if not years, to settle and during that period of time the injured individual will require certain treatments, which can be expensive, to help aid their recovery.

What is an Interim Payment?

An interim payment is an upfront payment that is paid for by the defendant to the injured person, usually via their insurance company, before their personal injury claim has settled. This sum would then be set off against the final payment of a claim.

The Defendant usually agrees to an interim payment where they considers themselves at fault in full or partly for the injured party’s accident.  The amount of money received in interim payments will entirely depend on each specific case, but it should not be more than the overall amount of compensation that is likely to be paid at the conclusion of the claim.

There are no restrictions as to the number of interim payment you can make, but the total must be considered reasonable and not to exceed the value of the claim itself. A solicitor will be able to advise you as to what can be considered reasonable when requesting an application for an interim payment.

How to apply for an interim payment?

An interim payment can be made following a request from the instructed solicitor. The Defendant can either accept or reject the proposed voluntary interim payment.

If the Defendant refuses the solicitors request to make an interim payment, an application can be made to the Court, requesting an Order setting out sum which will be paid to the injured person by the Defendant.

Why do people get interim payments?

Individuals who bring personal injury claims may have severe and significant injuries which will affect their ability to earn and take care of themselves. An injured person can, therefore, be left in a difficult financial situation.

For example, the injured person may have suffered a spinal cord injury that prevents them from returning to their job. As a result, they have not been able to pay the mortgage or general household expenses.  An interim payment may help the injured person to pay the mortgage payments and other household costs.

Additionally, an injured person may require care and assistance from a specialist care provider. That individual may also require treatment such as physiotherapy or counselling which can be paid for by the Defendant’s insurer from the outset to aid their recovery.

Rehabilitation

In the immediate aftermath of a serious injury, the treatment provided is nearly always dealt with by the NHS. The injured individual is then discharged and sent home with advice on how to manage their injury by themselves.

Depending on the serious nature of the injury, the injured person may be concerned as to how they will manage on their own especially if they live alone or have young children to take care of.

The 2015 Rehabilitation Code

The solicitor for the injured party will, in most cases, speak to the insurance company under the Rehabilitation Code 2015 to ask whether the insurer will arrange a Case Manager who can assess the client’s immediate needs and thereafter produce a report with recommendations for treatment and care to help bring about their recovery.

The claimant’s solicitor then works together with the insurer and case manager to arrange funding for the recommended treatment as early as possible.

The ultimate aim is to ensure a speedy recovery where possible and to support the injured person to recover as far as possible their independence and to return to the position they would have been prior to the accident. Interim payments and rehabilitation are vital in reaching recovery alongside the settlement and payment of full financial compensation.

A personal injury solicitor will help you navigate the sometimes challenging and difficult process of securing early interim payments and accessing treatment and other care.