Immediate Needs Assessments (INA) and the Rehabilitation Code 2015.

One of the most concerning times for an injured party is the period in the first few months after the injury has taken place. The claimant will be in the process of recovering and, depending on the severity of their injuries, may find themselves unable to work and without the resources to access private treatment.

Despite some reported improvement recently with public NHS waiting list figures in England, many claimants still find themselves unable to access the rehabilitation and support they urgently need. What can be done to help with this?

Once the defendant has been formally notified of a claim, either by way of a claim notification form or a letter of claim, they will then have a set period to investigate the claim and confirm their response relating to liability. In many cases where prospects of establishing negligence are strong, either full liability or primary liability will be admitted at the first instance.

Although dependent upon the circumstances of the case, once the liability position has been established you would often seek the defendant insurer’s agreement to fund an immediate needs assessment (INA). An INA involves a qualified case manager or rehabilitation specialist meeting with you, performing an assessment of your injuries, current condition and prognosis and then preparing a report summarising what your immediate rehabilitation needs are. The assessor is often jointly instructed between the parties and therefore agrees to be neutral in proceedings. The sort of recommendations an INA assessor may make in their report would include:

• Urgent care and support needs;
• Professional treatment and therapy input;
• Equipment purchases; and
• Adaptations to existing accommodation.

It would then be a matter between the parties to agree to the funding of these recommendations and implement a privately-funded rehabilitation plan. It is usually in the best interests of both parties to do so; the claimant wishes to maximise their recovery and the defendant’s insurer would want to assist with this as far as they are able, so that the claimant’s overall compensation needs do not escalate.

It should be noted that the provision of an INA is voluntary and requires agreement between the parties. This option is also not always going to be available, for example it is unlikely that a defendant’s insurer would agree to fund an INA if they ultimately felt they were not going to be held liable to compensate you for your injuries.

One of the methods which can be used to specify the terms of the INA is to request it is done under the Rehabilitation Code 2015. The 2015 Code is an update to the previous 1999 and 2007 Codes and provides a framework for personal injury and clinical negligence claims within which both parties can work together collaboratively. The aim of the 2015 Code is to help the injured claimant make the quickest possible recovery and that their rehabilitation needs are addressed as a priority. Recommendations and timescales to complete actions are given to ensure steps are progressed at a reasonable rate.

The glossary at the end of the 2015 Code sets out ten 'markers' which should be considered when claimant’s rehabilitation needs are assessed. These are:

• age (particularly children/elderly);
• pre-existing physical and psycho-social comorbidities;
• return-to-work/education issues;
• dependants living at home;
• geographic location
• mental capacity;
• activities of daily living in the short-term and long-term;
• realistic goals, aspirations, attainments;
• fatalities/those who witness major incidence of trauma within the same accident; and
• length of time post-accident

The Personal Injury Team at Lanyon Bowdler are specialists in negotiating early rehabilitation access and interim payments from defendant insurers. If you would like to make an enquiry with our team, please make contact using the get in touch button below or email info@lblaw.co.uk