What Happens at a Medical Assessment?
An independent examination that decides what your injury claim is worth. Here is what actually happens and how to prepare.
An independent medical expert examines you and writes a report on your injuries, how they have affected you, and how long recovery is likely to take.
It is usually short - often 15 to 30 minutes - and it is not a test you can pass or fail. It is a factual record.
What happens on the day
They take your history
How the accident happened, what you felt at the time, and how symptoms developed since.
A physical examination
Movement, tenderness and range of motion, depending on the injury. Usually brief and straightforward.
Questions about daily life
What you cannot do now that you could before - work, driving, sleep, hobbies, caring for family.
How to prepare
Be accurate, not brave
Understating symptoms is the most common mistake. Describe a normal day honestly.
Bring a symptom diary
Dates, bad days, treatment, painkillers, appointments. It makes recall far easier.
Mention every symptom
Including sleep, anxiety or travel nerves. Psychological effects are part of the claim.
Say what you cannot do
Concrete examples carry more weight than general statements.
Questions about your claim?
We handle the vehicle side. If you are injured, your solicitor handles that part and we work alongside them.
Be straightforward. The expert is independent, not on anyone’s side, and they assess a great many people. Exaggerating is easily spotted and damages your credibility across the whole claim. Understating costs you money you were entitled to.
Common questions
Usually 15 to 30 minutes for a straightforward soft tissue injury. Longer where the injuries are more serious.
Rarely. You may be asked to demonstrate movement, so wear comfortable clothes. You can ask for a chaperone.
It is part of the claim costs, not something you pay for personally.
Yes. Your solicitor will send it to you and you can flag anything factually wrong before it goes further.
Say so. The report records how long it took to recover, which is exactly what the claim is valued on.
Terms and conditions apply to all services described on this page. Free recovery, storage and replacement vehicles are provided on the basis that the charges are recovered from the at-fault party’s insurer. We will explain the terms in plain English before anything is arranged.
Before we act for you we are required to verify your identity and to carry out fraud and anti-money laundering checks. This may include checks with credit reference and fraud prevention agencies, which will leave a record on your file.
Where fraud is suspected, information may be shared with fraud prevention agencies, insurers and law enforcement. Providing false or misleading information in support of a claim may mean your claim is refused, and can be a criminal offence.