The purpose of this accelerator is to support the planning and management of initial needs assessments (INAs), through the use of a tailored work type.  The INA work type is designed to be a child work item to a parent matter work type. The INA work type will provide a phase plan to track the stages of the INA process, capture information and participants involved in the INA, such as the Case Manager and Claimant. Being designed as a work type (rather than simply data capture) it allows for the capture of multiple instances, supporting the use cases for multiple INAs being carried out.

Context/Background

In complex personal injury cases (e.g. catastrophic injury, brain injury, spinal cord injury, serious orthopaedic or amputation cases), an Initial or Immediate Needs Assessment (INA) is a structured, multi-domain evaluation of the claimant's immediate and future needs. It forms the evidential basis for interim relief applications, rehabilitation programmes, and schedule of loss preparation.

An INA is a face-to-face, thorough, clinically reasoned, and holistic assessment. It is carried out with claimants who have sustained an injury or illness, providing an in-depth look at how the injury or illness has affected various aspects of their lives. This includes physical, emotional, and psychological impacts.

User Journeys

Once the defendant has been formally notified of a claim, either by way of a letter of notification or a letter of claim, they will then have a set period to investigate the claim. Although dependent upon the circumstances of the case, once the liability position has been established, and the need for an INA identified,  the claimant  will usually seek the defendant insurer’s agreement to fund an immediate needs assessment (INA). The assessor is usually jointly instructed between the parties, but can be instructed by just one side.

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.

The INA involves the case manager gaining a detailed history of the injury or illness, and based on that, formulate short-term rehabilitation goals. These goals are developed in accordance with the Rehabilitation Code 2015, a set of guidelines designed to ensure that rehabilitation is handled efficiently and in the best interests of the client.

After the INA, the case manager writes a detailed report outlining their findings and recommendations. This report includes proposed interventions such as therapy, equipment, or additional specialist support that may be required. The case manager coordinates these services to ensure that the rehabilitation plan is implemented smoothly and effectively. It’s important to note that this report is not admissible in court but serves as a guide for the rehabilitation process. It helps all parties involved—solicitors, insurers, and healthcare professionals—understand the claimant’s needs.

Using the work type phases as milestones in the INA process, workflows will guide the user through the stages and include assistive action plan tasks to provide easy access to steps whilst maintaining flexibility.

The user experience will primarily be via the INA work type aspect (blade):