Help with medical
Welcome to the Official Injury Claim (OIC) Help Hub. In this section we will guide you through the stage of arranging your medical appointment and what to do after your medical report has been uploaded to the portal. Here you will find useful resources to assist with this stage of the claim process. These include:
- Hints & Tips
- Support Guides
- Walkthrough Videos
- FAQs
- Sample Forms
Hints & Tips
The latest data* from October 2024 tells us that on average it takes 27 days from the time that a claimant selects a medical expert, arranges an appointment and attends an examination to the expert uploading the report, ready for you to then check it.
You can help keep your claim on track by:
- Being prompt to answer any in-system messages telling you there is action for you to take
- Log into the system and take action
*Data from unrepresented claimants.
Support Guides
To provide support with your claims process, we have created a suite of guides which contain step-by-step guidance on how best to navigate various stages during your journey through the OIC Portal.
Here are the support guides available for the Medical stage:
Medical Provider Selection - This guide covers how you can select your medical provider who will arrange your medical appointment/examination.
Reviewing A Medical Report - This guide covers how to review your medical report once the medical expert has shared this with you.
Obtain A Further Medical Report - This guide covers how you can obtain a further medical report if required.
Waiting Out Prognosis - This guide covers how you can choose to wait out your medical prognosis.
Proceeding To Offer - This guide covers how after reviewing your medical report, you can proceed to request an offer from the compensator.
Guide to making a claim - This guide, available in English and Welsh, explains all the legal terms and procedures you may come across when making a claim if you need further help.
Walkthrough Videos
We understand that sometimes it is easier to watch a process in order to best understand it. That is why we have created a range of walkthrough videos which lead you through certain steps in your claim journey. There are different videos for each stage of a claim in the OIC Portal, so be sure to check each area of the Help Hub for more walkthrough video content.
Medical FAQs
Please take a look below for our most frequently asked questions surrounding the Medical stage of the claim process. If you do not find the answer to your query here, please check further down this page for additional supporting documentation which may assist you.
Why do I need a medical report when I have already sought medical attention?
For whiplash injuries, the compensator needs to see a medical report. This is often necessary for non-whiplash injuries as well. This report must be provided by an approved set of medical experts and the portal will guide you through the process.
Can I use my own GP for a medical report?
No. You will not be able to ask your GP to provide a medical report for your injuries, as the report will need to be provided by an independent medical expert who has the right accreditation in place.
If I am arranging my own medical examination outside of the portal, who pays for this?
This would need to be paid by you. You would need to add this as a fee to claim back from the compensator and may wish to speak with the compensator before arranging the medical examination.
Who pays for my medical examination?
The medical examination is usually arranged through the portal and paid for by the compensator.
What is an uplift and can I make a claim for this?
Where you have a whiplash injury or whiplash injury with minor psychological injury and the injury/injuries you have sustained is/are exceptional, you may be entitled to an uplift of up to 20% of the tariff sum (uplifts not applicable to non-tariff injuries). To be exceptional the injury must be exceptionally severe and/or your circumstances have increased your suffering as a result of the whiplash injury (and those circumstances are exceptional). The medical expert may have commented within your medical report as to whether they view the injury/injuries you have sustained is/are exceptional.
Can I arrange a medical outside England and Wales?
Yes, you can. You can obtain your medical report from a person who is recognised by the country in which they practise as a medical expert with the required qualifications for diagnosis and prognosis.
How can I find the right medical expert outside of England and Wales?
You will need to source an expert with the correct qualifications who can assess the injuries you have. An internet search may assist with providers or medical experts who could support you. Alternatively, your local GP may be able to advise a suitable medical expert.
I live outside England and Wales, can I have my medical within England and Wales?
Yes, you can. The portal will assist in facilitating this. You can enter a postcode within England and Wales. This postcode will be used as where you will travel from for you to reach your appointment.
What is the difference between an MRO and a DME?
A Direct Medical Expert (DME) is an individual expert willing to take instructions directly from you. They will examine you and produce a medical report. The expert will communicate directly with you in relation to organising your appointment time and venue. The expert will also deal with any queries/complaints about the medical report. You (the person making the claim) must contact the DME before selecting them to ensure they can accommodate an appointment for you.
A Medical Reporting Organisation (MRO) is an independent organisation that you can instruct to assist you with the appointment of a medical expert to examine you and produce a medical report on your behalf. An MRO will have a range of medical experts, venues and appointments available and can make the arrangements for you. The MRO will assist you in queries/complaints about the medical report.
I have selected my preferences to arrange a medical examination and no search results have been returned. Why is this?
Please set your travel radius as far as is possible, a Medical professional should be available. If after searching using the maximum distance of 30 miles no results are returned, please contact the portal support centre.
Should I call the DME or MRO I wish to use to book a medical?
When booking a medical, you must contact the DME to confirm availability and appointment date before selecting the medical Professional on the portal. If you choose an MRO you may find it useful to contact them first to confirm availability and appointment date before selecting the medical agency on the portal.
Why can’t I change my mind after selecting MRO?
The reason it is not possible to switch back from an MRO search is because an MRO will have a panel of medical experts and can usually offer you a choice of locations and times from which they can arrange a suitable appointment for you.
What do I do if I need to change my appointment?
If you wish to change your medical appointment, please contact the selected Medical Expert or Organisation who may be able to arrange another appointment for you.
How long will it take for me to complete my medical and get a report back?
It might take a few weeks to organise your medical examination and receive a report. Most claims will only require one report, but some might need more which will take longer.
I need to upload a medical document, how do I do this?
You can upload documents by signing into your portal account and selecting "Upload Documents" on the Claim Overview screen. You will need to select the category of your document uploaded to either 'medical report' or 'medical document'.
The medical report mentions prognosis of my injuries, what does 'prognosis' mean?
The prognosis is the length of time a medical expert feels it will likely take for you to recover from your injuries.
There's a factual error in my medical report, what can I do?
You can ask the expert to amend factual errors. You must check for any errors such as an incorrect date of birth, an inaccurate description of the accident or any failure to include something you told the accredited medical expert.
I do not agree with prognosis given by the medical expert in my medical report, what can I do?
The medical expert’s opinion on how long it will take you to recover from your injury (prognosis period) is not a factual error and you cannot request an amendment. You can ask the expert to amend factual errors. You must check for any errors such as an incorrect date of birth, an inaccurate description of the accident or any failure to include something you told the accredited medical expert.
The medical expert has recommended to obtain a further medical report, how do I do this?
You will be given two options via the portal if a further medical report is needed; you can either obtain this yourself outside of the portal, or you can ask the compensator to arrange this for you.
I have the option to 'wait out prognosis' what does this mean?
If you choose to wait out prognosis, your claim will not progress until you return later to confirm either: you would like to proceed to offer (for example, when you have recovered from your injury), or you have not recovered from your injury by the end of the recovery prognosis period detailed in your medical report and you would like to request a further report.
I have now been asked to check my losses/fees, why is this important?
If you have added losses/fees, you need to check these are correct. This is your last chance to add or update any new losses/fees before requesting an offer. This includes losses that were or are ongoing.
What file types can I upload to the portal?
File types/Description
AVI - Audio video interleave
WMV - Windows media video
MOV and QT- QuickTime format
MK - Matroska open-standard multimedia format
MP4 - MPEG-4 Part 14 Video file
AVCHD - Advanced Video Coding High Definition
BMP - Bitmap
JPEG/JPG - Joint Photographic Experts Group
GIF - Graphics Interchange Format
TIFF - Tagged Image File Format
PNG - Portable Network Graphics
PDF - Portable Document Format
DOC/DOCX/ODT - MS Word
TXT - Text file
RTF - Rich text format
HTM / HTML - www format
PPT / PPTX - MS Power Point
XLS / XLSX - MS Excel
EML, MSG, PST - Email message
Please note: The file size limited is 30MB
Sample Forms
Please see below sample versions of forms which will be generated by the OIC portal during this stage of the claim journey. We have supplied these so that you can be best prepared for how to populate them or understand their content in advance.
Medical Instruction Form - This will be generated by the OIC Portal once you have selected your medical preferences. This instruction form is then shared with the medical agency or expert you have selected.
Medical Instruction Form (Exceptional Circumstances) - This will be generated by the OIC Portal once you have selected your medical preferences and also selected that there have been exceptional circumstances with regard to your injury. This instruction form is then shared with the medical agency or expert you have selected.
If you are at a different stage in your claim or haven't found what you were looking for, please refer to the Help Hub home page for further guides and support.