Bar association flags decade-long delays in injury claims

It’s taking more than a decade to settle some personal injury claims in Barbados – and no single sector is shouldering the blame.

President of the Barbados Bar Association (BBA) Kaye Williams says the legal, medical and insurance systems are all contributing to the prolonged wait for justice, with some cases dragging on for over ten years.

“We are finding that personal injury matters are taking well over five years, I’d say even ten-plus years; that should not be happening,” she said. “We are waiting on too many things in order for the claimant’s matter to proceed.”

Williams was speaking at the opening of a two-day workshop titled From Interview to Judgment: Winning Strategies in Personal Injury and Civil Practice, at Sandals Royal, where she stressed the financial and emotional toll of the delays.

“Potentially hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars, are being tied up in the system because, for the insurance side, as well as for the legal side, claims are not being processed in a timely fashion,” she said.

One major bottleneck, she noted, is the time it takes for medical reports to be produced, a concern echoed by both the BBA and the General Insurance Association of Barbados (GIAB), who have been meeting with the Barbados Association of Medical Practitioners (BAMP) to address the issue.

“We understand and appreciate that doctors are professionals who are burdened with a heavy schedule, but a client should not have to wait for years for a medical report,” Williams said.

GIAB President Andrea Walton agreed that collaboration is key to breaking the gridlock.

“We normally would work in isolation,” she said. “What we have found is that we now have to collaborate a bit more… to ensure that the medical reports that insurance companies receive are adequate for us making decisions to assist with settling personal injury claims.” (JB)