Features

Making a motor vehicle accident claim

THOUSANDS OF JAMAICANS are injured in motor vehicles accidents every year on the roads in Jamaica.

The first order of business is to ensure that the injured person receives medical attention to attend to any injury or medical concerns.

When the person is well enough he may want to make a claim on the person or persons responsible for the accident. If the injured person is taken to a public medical facility, you must be familiar with the procedure to apply for a medical report.

Letter from lawyer

On most occasions most doctors and medical institutions require a letter from an Attorney-at-Law to request the medical report. This letter is usually signed by the lawyer and you, the patient, to give permission for the report to be released to the lawyer.

The report is usually sufficiently detailed to give the lawyer and court, if necessary, a very good understanding of the nature of the injuries, whether the injuries complained of were healed and the extent of the person's disability, if any.

While the medical report is being pursued, you must prepare all your bills, receipts and evidence of any payment made arising from the accident. These would include bills and receipts from the doctor, hospital, pharmacy, taxi or other means of transportation, helper, cost of replacement of clothing damaged during the accident or even bills relating to physiotherapy or special diet or even loss of income. These are called special damages.

The other aspect of the claim could be described as general damages. It includes but is not limited to amounts for pain and suffering, further medical expenses among other things such as loss of amenities of life.

The lawyer's skill is usually tested in his ability to carefully examine the medical and to make comparison with awards previously given by the court for similar injuries. This is so because there must be a determination of the basis that an individual should be compensated and what is a reasonable sum to compensate such individual. The reality is that the man whose injuries are permanent must now look towards a life of frustration and handicap.

No two cases are ever precisely the same but the principle is that comparable injuries should be compensated by comparable awards.

Many books are now on the market that will assist with this process but the two widely used tests are the Khan & Khan and Harrison's Assessment of Damages for Personal Injuries.

Inflation

The concern of many is about inflation. In this regard, the consumer price index is used as part of a formula where the present index is divided by the index at award and then multiplied by the award (previous similar award). In addition, an award can also be made for interest to be applied to the final award made.

As usual, if in doubt, seek the advice of an Attorney-at-Law or someone from the Claims Department of an insurance company.

Keith N. Bishop is an Attorney-at-Law and partner in the firm of Bishop & Fullerton.