INCREASING numbers of accident victims are applying for interim payments as they sue for compensation.
Interims payments are not just the preserve of large claims. They can also help those who have suffered minor injuries, say solicitors.
"It is often the case that an interim payment can be made available," said Carol Maunder, a partner at the Isaacs Partnership, Bournemouth.
"But if a request is not made to the defendant's insurance company, or an application is not made to the court, victims may be left without the interim award they are entitled to."
Earlier this year the Isaacs Partnership Solicitors settled a case for £1.73 million for a local man severely injured in a road traffic accident in Bourne-mouth in 1998.
Frederick Newman was left severely brain damaged following the accident.
Early in case it was agreed that the defendant's insurance company should pay £100,000, allowing purchase of suitable equipment.
Ms Maunder said: "As soon as the hospital was ready to discharge my client, the voluntary interim payment made it possible for us to locate and fund a place in a private care home which specialised in brain-injured victims."
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