What is the impact of the lockdown on Personal Injury Claims?

As we arrive in 2020, few of us might have expected that COVID-19 will wipe the world as fast as it has done, and that it would have such a serious effect on many.

The lockdown has affected everybody in many different ways across all walks of life. In the world of personal injury COVID-19 has undoubtedly brought about slower progress across the landscape of litigation in general.

While the number of new claimants has slipped around the board, we expect an explosion of claimants that would emerge from the pandemic.

While personal injury cases are still reported and those that were filed before COVID-19 are making significant progress, this scenario is affected by several obstacles.

Personal Injury Lawyers provides some of the ways the COVID-19 could impact personal injury claims:

1. Delays in medical treatment

It is necessary for us to seek prompt medical attention anytime someone is involved in a car crash or suffers some other form of personal injury. Therefore, it is always important to obey the guidance of those who concern for you, which involves attending all of your follow-up appointments and following them along with diagnoses and procedures as directed by the doctor.

You have a legal responsibility to prevent your losses if you file a personal injury claim, which means doing something that healthcare experts advise to recover or achieve maximum health care improvement. You will also need to have paperwork showing the full magnitude of your injury issues to recover your reasonable and true compensation.

The Coronavirus epidemic has posed a range of problems in terms of medical care for victims of personal injury. Firstly, people are naturally anxious about visiting a doctor who is infected with COVID-19. This can result in them wasting precious consultations and not getting the treatment they need to get onto the road to recovery.

Please note that all the appropriate steps are taken by the open clinics and hospitals to ensure that patients are healthy, and the danger is very small compared to the risk of failure to obey up on the care Protocol.

1. Restricted access to court cases

Court hearings in all federal courts are put on hold until the pandemic subsides. Non-jury trials were allowed to proceed, at the judge’s discretion, with only attorneys, their clients and extremely important witnesses in a position situation can appear.

In some cases, videoconferencing is also used for pretrial hearings and other gatherings. How all that adds up to is that you should face substantial delays in the process, should you lodge a personal injury case.

However, there are drawbacks that video conferencing will not be suitable in every situation. It may also be particularly difficult to use video conferencing in the sense of psychological disorders where the injured party still feels depressed and may not feel comfortable talking about such sensitive issues via a video link.

We can feel awkward doing so at home, during lockout, in household with other family members, kids etc.

1. Pressure to Settle down Quickly

Personal injury claimants are likely to face greater pressure to resolve their lawsuits due to delays in the trial and stricter finances. With the chance to wait several months for a jury trial, many people will now be tempted to take the money.

Insurance providers are now mindful of this, and would definitely benefit from the situation. An insurer intends to pay out as little as possible on a claim for an accident and give a lowball deal to a patient realizing other people need the money immediately.

Those most seriously affected would-be plaintiffs who have no legal assistance since most are untrained with the procedure or traditional techniques of compensation used to mitigate a lawsuit’s costs.

1. Insurance compensates lapses:

Owing to the deepening recession certain drivers might not keep up with paying their insurance premiums. That may contribute to the lack of evidence that could exacerbate the condition of a victim following a traffic crash.

A rider injured by an uninsured vehicle may not be able to take out insurance from the estate of the driver.

Their only option may be to obtain cover from their insurer in spite of their uninsured motorist scheme

A defendant must keep in mind that their trustee is an unfavourable party in these proceedings and will definitely not resolve a lawsuit without challenge. First-party claims can be as contentious as third-party lawsuits, and assistance from an attorney can be nearly as necessary.

1. Impact on Employment

COVID-19 has, and will continue to have, impact on the work force. In certain cases, this could help to reduce the value of claimants not only in terms of demand for wage loss but also in terms of knock-on impact.

There will be problems of sick leave, unemployment and other cost-cutting steps to be addressed, such as wage cuts, pay freezes and unpaid leave. It will also require professional evidence to consider the medium to long-term impact on whichever sector of employment a pursuer works in.

Bio-

Mitchell is an experienced personal injury lawyer in Gold Coast. He is a Senior Associate and was admitted to the Queensland Supreme Court in December 2012.