What a road accident claim timeline looks like
You want an honest picture of the stages ahead, not a guessed number of months.
A road accident claim moves through a fairly fixed set of stages, but how long each one takes genuinely differs from case to case. This page lays out what happens at each stage and what tends to affect its pace, without guessing at a number of weeks or months that would not honestly fit most readers.
What this timeline shows
Rather than a single estimate, this compiles what typically speeds up or slows down each stage of a claim. Use it to understand where the pace is within your control, and where it genuinely is not.
The stages, and what affects each one
| Stage | What generally happens | Tends to move faster when | Tends to move slower when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scene and immediate treatment | You get medical help and gather what evidence you safely can. | Photos, witness details and a report are secured early. | Evidence is not gathered and has to be reconstructed later. |
| Police report | You lodge a report, generally within 24 hours.[1] | The report is filed promptly with clear details. | The report is delayed or details are incomplete. |
| Notifying insurers | You and, where relevant, your employer are told about the accident. | Notification happens as soon as reasonably possible. | Notification is left for weeks with no explanation. |
| Ongoing medical treatment | You continue treatment until your condition stabilises. | Your injury is straightforward and recovery is steady. | Your condition is complex or still changing. |
| Specialist medical report | A specialist assesses your injury, treatment and prognosis. | You attend appointments promptly and records are complete. | Records are scattered across several providers. |
| Insurer’s investigation | The insurer’s loss adjuster reviews liability and the likely amount. | Liability is clear and documents are complete. | Liability is disputed or documents are missing. |
| Negotiation | Both sides discuss a settlement figure. | The offer roughly reflects your documented losses. | The offer is low or repeatedly delayed. |
| Filing suit, if needed | The claim moves to the Sessions Court if it cannot be agreed. | Pleadings and evidence are already well organised. | New evidence gathering is needed at this late stage. |
| Pre-trial and trial, if needed | Case management, possible mediation, and trial if unresolved. | The court’s own schedule allows an earlier date. | Court backlog or repeated adjournments occur. |
Why no page can honestly give you a number
A claim with agreed liability and a straightforward injury can move through several of these stages without much friction. A disputed or serious case can genuinely take much longer, for reasons that have nothing to do with anyone doing something wrong. How long a claim takes explains the main drivers of pace in more depth.
Where the legal deadline fits in
The stages above are about realistic pace, not the legal limit. Your ordinary injury claim generally has six years from the accident as an outer deadline.[2] Claim deadlines explained sets out how that compares with a fatal claim’s much shorter period.
What to do with this
Find the row that matches where you currently are, and use the next column as a rough sense of what is coming. The claim process step by step covers each stage in full detail if you want to prepare for what follows.
Common questions
Why does this timeline not give a number of months?
Because a made up number would be wrong for most readers. Two claims with the same injury can take very different amounts of time depending on liability, the insurer's response and how treatment progresses, so a single figure would mislead rather than help.
Which stage usually takes the longest?
Waiting for treatment and prognosis to settle enough for a specialist medical report is often the longest stretch, since it depends on your own recovery rather than paperwork. Court, if a case reaches trial, adds its own schedule on top.
Can I personally speed up any of these stages?
You can remove avoidable delay: reporting promptly, keeping documents organised, and answering requests from your insurer or lawyer quickly. You generally cannot speed up your own medical recovery or a court's schedule.
What if my claim has stalled at one stage for a long time?
A stall with no clear reason is worth raising rather than accepting quietly, particularly at the negotiation or adjuster stage. Tell us where things have stopped moving and we will help you see what a reasonable next step looks like.
Sources
- Road Transport Act 1987, s.52 (Ministry of Transport) (accessed 2026-09-22)
- Limitation Act 1953, s.6(1)(a) (Government of Malaysia) (accessed 2026-09-22)