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The responsible party has only 3 months and 21
days from the date of the
letter of claim, to
agree or deny liability. If they fail to come to a
decision in time they can be sued. The timescales
are very tight but the insurers (who handle the
claims for most employers) usually manage to
comply with this rule and liability investigations
rarely go beyond the three to four month deadline
in simple cases.
If
liability is disputed then that will lead to more
lengthy delays and indeed a prolonged debate which
may end up in court.
The employers insurers might also wish to raise
allegations of contributory negligence whereby
they suggest that a claimant was partly
responsible because of his / her own actions for
the accident occurring. This again, can prolong
the liability debate.
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