In the majority of our serious injury claims we are able to obtain funding for our client’s rehab from the defendant’s insurer.
We aim to secure rehab funding as soon as possible after the injury to avoid any delay or gaps in our client’s treatment between NHS acute care and rehab.
Where possible, we work collaboratively with the insurer under The Rehabilitation Code 2015 to ensure our client’s needs are met, whilst acting in our client’s best interests, and supporting their family, at all times. The Rehabilitation Code encourages injury claims lawyers and defendant insurers to prioritise the injured person’s rehab in any compensation claim.
If an insurer unreasonably refuses or delays responding to our request for rehabilitation funding, we escalate our request to someone with higher authority within the insurance company, following The Serious Injury Guide. This ensures that our request for rehab funding is considered quickly by someone within the insurance company who has authority to take action. In most cases where the defendant’s liability for our client’s injury is clear, we are able to get our client’s needs assessed and their rehab underway with Rehabilitation Code insurer funding.
Occasionally, if full liability for our client’s injury is strongly disputed by the defendant, the insurer may refuse to provide Rehabilitation Code funding but agree to make an interim payment.
An interim payment is a part payment of compensation paid to the claimant in advance. The client can use their interim payment to pay for their rehabilitation.
The advantage of Rehabilitation Code funding is that it is always paid in full. Interim payments are advance payments of part of the final settlement, which may be reduced (discounted) for risks, such as contributory negligence. A discounted final settlement reduces each part of the compensation recovered by amount of the discount. This includes any rehab costs paid from interim payments. We believe that rehabilitation should always be a priority. In our experience, we usually recover our clients’ reasonable past rehab costs, along with the rest of their compensation, in their final settlements.
Rehabilitation following serious injury is a lifelong process. It’s rarely ‘all done’ in the first few months or years following the accident. Clients may need ongoing help to adapt to changes in life circumstances, house moves, jobs, prosthetics or ongoing counselling and therapy during tough times. We keep our clients’ rehab needs under review throughout their claim and ensure that their settlement provides for any ongoing or further rehab that they will need in future.
Throughout our care of our client, our experienced solicitors can help ensure that our clients receive their full entitlement to benefits and social care.
