Written by: Garbis Kolokossian A personal injury claim is built on evidence. Establishing what happened, who was responsible, the extent of your injuries and the losses you have suffered takes time, investigation and careful assessment.
While some parts of this work may happen quickly, others depend on your recovery, medical assessments, expert opinions and information from third parties. This is why two people with seemingly similar injuries can have very different claim timelines.
Understanding what happens behind the scenes can help explain why your matter may take months, or sometimes years, to resolve. More importantly, it helps explain why a claim should not be rushed simply to create the appearance of progress.
How your claim progresses
Every matter is different, but personal injury claims generally move through a series of stages, including intake, investigation, and recovery monitoring. Some stages overlap, and others may take place more than once as new evidence becomes available.
Step 1: Initial intake and early case setup
Once your matter is opened, the first priority is making sure your legal team has the information and authority needed to begin progressing your claim.
This may include:
- Completing your initial conference and New Client Information Sheet
- Collecting signed authorities so relevant records can be requested
- Recording and diarising key limitation dates
- Identifying any outstanding information or documents
- Confirming the lawyer and legal team responsible for your matter
- These early steps establish the foundation for the work that follows.
Step 2: Investigating liability
Establishing liability means determining who may be legally responsible for your injury and gathering evidence to support that position.
Depending on the circumstances of your claim, this may involve:
- Issuing a letter of demand to the proposed defendant
- Requesting incident reports, witness statements, photographs, CCTV footage, cleaning records or security records
- Conducting ASIC or title searches to confirm the correct legal entity, where required
- Requesting Government Information Public Access (GIPA) or equivalent government records relating to matters involving public authorities, including incident histories, maintenance records, complaints, and works documentation
- Taking detailed statements from you and relevant witnesses
- Obtaining workplace or workers’ compensation records where relevant
- Seeking advice from counsel (barrister) in more complex matters.
In straightforward cases, responsibility may be relatively clear. In more complex matters, liability may need to be carefully investigated and supported by expert evidence.
The objective is to establish the factual and legal basis of your claim before determining the appropriate pathway forward.
Step 3: Gathering medical evidence
Medical evidence is central to understanding a personal injury claim.
Your legal team needs to establish not only what injuries you sustained, but how those injuries have progressed, what treatment you have required and what impact they are likely to have in the future.
Depending on your circumstances, this may involve obtaining:
- Medical records from treating practitioners and hospitals
- Specialist reports
- Imaging and diagnostic results
- Treatment records
- Independent medical assessments
- Expert opinions about your prognosis and future needs.
Early medical records help establish the initial diagnosis, treatment and losses associated with the injury. Further medical records and specialist evidence may be obtained as your recovery progresses, particularly where the extent of the injury or its impact on your future needs is not yet clear.
This is important because the full extent of an injury is not always clear immediately after an accident. Some conditions improve significantly with treatment, while others result in ongoing symptoms, restrictions or the need for future treatment.
Example
For example, following a motor vehicle accident, a person may initially be diagnosed with soft-tissue injuries and expected to recover within a few months. If their symptoms continue or develop into more significant restrictions, further medical assessment may be required to understand their prognosis and future treatment needs. This may also provide evidence of the ongoing impact on their ability to work and perform everyday activities, as well as any associated financial losses.
Step 4: Monitoring recovery and medical stability
Your recovery can have a significant influence on when your claim is ready for final assessment.
In many matters, it is not appropriate to assess the full value of a claim while your condition is still changing. Your legal team may therefore continue to monitor your recovery before obtaining a final medical opinion.
Generally, a clearer assessment can be made once:
- Your injuries have stabilised
- Treatment has substantially concluded, or your future treatment needs are clearer
- Your long-term functional impact can be properly assessed
- Your future medical and financial needs can be considered
- More serious injuries, particularly those involving surgery, may require a longer period of recovery before a reliable assessment can be made.
This can sometimes feel like a delay, but waiting for your medical position to become clearer can be an important part of ensuring your claim reflects the full extent of your injuries.
What 'building your case' means
You may hear your legal team refer to “building your case”. This describes the work involved in establishing three fundamental parts of your claim: liability, injury and loss.
1. Establishing liability
Your legal team needs to establish that another party was legally responsible for your injury.
This involves examining the circumstances of the incident, the obligations that applied, the conduct of the parties involved and the evidence available to support your position.
Where liability is disputed, additional investigation and expert evidence may be required.
2. Proving the extent of your injury
A diagnosis is only part of proving an injury claim.
Your legal team needs to understand how your injury affects your life, including your ability to work, perform everyday activities and participate in the things that matter to you.
This may require evidence from treating practitioners, specialists and independent medical experts.
The focus is on understanding both the injury you have sustained and its potential long-term consequences.
3. Calculating your losses
Your claim may also include financial and other losses arising from your injury.
Depending on your circumstances, these may include:
- Past and future medical expenses
- Lost income
- Reduced future earning capacity
- Care and assistance
- Other expenses associated with your injury
- Pain, suffering and loss of enjoyment of life, where applicable.
Each component needs to be supported by appropriate evidence. More complex future losses may also require specialist evidence to establish their likely impact.
Key takeaway
Building your case is not a single task completed at one point in time. Liability, medical evidence and financial losses are often being investigated and developed at the same time.
Why do some personal injury claims take longer than others?
It is natural to compare your claim with someone else’s.
You may know someone whose matter resolved within a few months while yours is still being investigated. However, a different timeframe does not necessarily mean that one matter is being handled more efficiently than another.
The time required to build a claim can depend on:
- The type and complexity of the claim
- The number of medical providers involved
- Whether liability is clear or disputed
- The severity of your injuries
- Whether your injuries have stabilised
- The responsiveness of insurers, medical providers and other third parties
- The complexity of your financial losses
- Whether expert evidence is required.
For example, a motor vehicle accident involving relatively straightforward injuries and clear liability may be capable of progressing to settlement much sooner than a complex medical negligence claim involving disputed liability and multiple experts.
The important consideration is not simply how quickly a claim can be resolved, but whether there is enough evidence to properly understand its value and determine the appropriate path forward. Your legal team will give you an honest assessment of your expected timeline as early as the picture allows, and that assessment will be updated as the matter develops.
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The importance of medical stability
For many personal injury claims, the timing of medical assessment is closely connected to your recovery.
A final assessment may not provide a reliable picture while your condition is still changing. Your legal team may therefore wait until your injuries have stabilised and your long-term position can be assessed with greater confidence.
As a general guide, major surgery cases may require around 12 months of recovery before a final assessment, while minor surgery cases may be reviewed within six to nine months. These are general guides only and can vary depending on the injury, treatment and individual recovery.
For example, if you undergo spinal fusion surgery, your legal team may need to allow substantial time for recovery before obtaining an assessment of your long-term condition.
Your lawyer will provide an indication of the expected timeframe as your medical position becomes clearer and will update that assessment as your matter develops.
Key takeaway
The timing of a medical assessment can have a significant impact on how accurately your long-term injuries and losses can be understood. A claim should not be rushed simply to create visible progress.
What you should be doing while your claim progresses
Your legal team manages the legal work, but there are several things you can do to support your claim while it develops.
1. Focus on your treatment
Attend your recommended appointments and follow your treatment plan.
Your medical records provide an important record of your injury, treatment and recovery. If your condition changes significantly, make sure your legal team is aware.
2. Keep records and documentation
Keep copies of relevant medical correspondence, referrals, prescriptions and other documents relating to your injury.
Use a symptom diary or maintain a note on your phone after a difficult day. What you could not do, how much pain you were in, and what you missed all become valuable evidence later. The gap between injury and settlement can be years. Your memory will not be enough on its own.
3. Keep track of expenses
Keep receipts and records for expenses associated with your injury, including medical appointments, prescriptions, travel, treatment, equipment and care or assistance.
Your legal team can advise you about which expenses may be relevant to your claim.
4. Keep your legal team informed
Tell your legal team about significant changes to your circumstances, including changes to your condition, treatment, employment or treating practitioners.
Even changes that may initially seem unrelated can sometimes affect how your claim is assessed or progressed.
How can you tell if your claim is progressing?
Progress is not always marked by a major event. Many important steps happen through correspondence, evidence requests, investigation and preparation behind the scenes.
Signs that your matter is progressing include:
- Medical records being requested or received
- Authorities and consent forms being completed
- Expert appointments being arranged
- Reports being obtained and reviewed
- Correspondence being exchanged with insurers, defendants or other third parties
- Further evidence being identified and requested.
If you are unsure where your matter is up to, you can contact your legal team or Client Liaison Officer for an update on its general progress.
Read more: What to expect in the first 90 days
When should you reach out?
You should never feel that you are “chasing” your legal team simply because you want to understand what is happening with your matter.
If you have a question, your circumstances have changed, or you are unsure about the next stage of your claim, it is appropriate to get in touch.
Your Client Liaison Officer can assist with general progress questions, including what information has been requested, what has been received and which stage your matter is broadly at. Your lawyer remains responsible for legal advice, case strategy and decisions about how your claim should proceed.
