If you’ve been injured in a road traffic accident that wasn’t your fault, you could very well be entitled to claim compensation. This guide talks you through each step of the road traffic accident claims process, from what evidence you need to how your compensation may be calculated.
Key Takeaways In Road Traffic Accident Claims
- Negligence must have occurred in order to have a valid road traffic accident claim.
- After an accident, you should exchange details and gather evidence.
- Typically, you have 3 years from the date of the accident to begin a road traffic accident claim, though there are exceptions.
- Road traffic accident compensation can cover the physical effects of your injury as well as the financial losses the injury has caused, such as lost earnings.
- Even if you think you were partially at fault for the accident, you could still recover compensation.
- Our solicitors could connect with you on a No Win No Fee basis.
Our contact services are open 24/7. So, you can speak to us at any time for free to find out whether you have an eligible road traffic accident claim:
- Call 0800 073 8804
- Fill out our claim online form.
- Send a message in our live on-screen chat box.
Claiming For Road Traffic Accident Compensation
A road traffic accident claim is when someone makes a claim for compensation after being injured in a road traffic accident where another road user was negligent.
A road traffic accident is a collision between a vehicle with another road user, object, or animal that results in damage. Road users include:
- Drivers.
- Pedestrians.
- Cyclists.
- Motorcyclists.
- Horse riders.
You can make a road traffic accident claim as any type of road user.
Do I Have A Valid Compensation Claim?
You’re eligible to make a road traffic accident claim if negligence occurred. Negligence is when you are injured because someone breached their duty of care.
All road users owe a duty of care to one another to keep each other safe on the roads. To adhere to their duty of care, all road users must follow the regulations and rules that are in The Highway Code and the Road Traffic Act 1988.
As such, here are the eligibility criteria you must meet to have an eligible road traffic accident claim:
- Another road user owed you a duty of care while you were on the roads.
- The road user breached their duty of care by not adhering to road safety legislation.
- You were injured as a result of this breach.
If you believe you meet the above eligibility requirements, please get in touch with us today. Our advisors can confirm the validity of your claim once you discuss your circumstances with them.
Can I Still Claim If I Wasn’t Wearing A Seatbelt?
Yes, you can still make a road traffic accident claim if you weren’t wearing a seatbelt if you can prove the eligibility requirements set out above apply to your case. However, if you not wearing a seatbelt contributed to your injuries, this is considered as contributory negligence.
Contributory negligence is when you have been deemed to have contributed to your injuries and their severity. The argument could be made that your injuries would have been less severe had you worn your seatbelt.
For example, you were waiting at a set of red traffic lights without wearing a seatbelt, and another driver rear shunts your vehicle as they are exceeding the speed limit approaching the set of lights. While you didn’t contribute to the accident happening, your injuries were made worse by not wearing a seatbelt.
Contributory negligence can be used as a legal defence by the defendant to reduce the amount of compensation the claimant receives. The courts will decide what is fair in these circumstances and will also consider what the amount of compensation would’ve been if the claimant hadn’t contributed to their injury.
If you have any questions regarding liability in road traffic accident claims, you can contact our advisors.
What Kinds Of Road Traffic Accident Claims Can We Help You With?
We can help with all sorts of road traffic accident claims, such as:
- Pedestrian accident claims.
- Cycling accident claims, such as those on cyclists being hit by cars and injuries sustained using the likes of a Lime bike.
- Car accident claims.
- Public transport accident claims.
- Taxi accident claims.
- Motorbike accident claims.
Examples Of Road Traffic Accidents You Could Claim For
Additionally, here is how negligence could potentially occur for each of these types of claims:
- As a pedestrian, you are on a zebra crossing. A driver approaching the zebra crossing, however, is on their mobile phone at the wheel, therefore not paying due attention. They fail to notice you and run you over as a result, which leads to you suffering multiple serious injuries, such as paralysis and a moderate brain injury.
- You are cycling past a parked vehicle on the side of the road. The person in the parked vehicle fails to check whether it’s clear in their mirrors, and opens their car door right in front of you. As a result, you’re hit by the vehicle door, which gives you a concussion and soft-tissue injuries.
- There is a drunk driver on the other side of the road to where you’re driving. They swerve into your lane right in front of you, which leads to a head-on collision. From this, you sustain a back and arm injury.
- You are on a bus. The bus driver, however, drives through a red light. This leads to a T-bone collision with another vehicle at the junction. From this collision, you fall off your seat and fracture your forearm.
- You are in a taxi. The taxi driver, however, is exceeding the speed limit. Due to this, they lose control of the vehicle and skid into the lamppost on the side of the road. From this, you suffer a whiplash injury.
- While you’re on your motorbike on the road, a car pulls out right in front of you because they failed to check the oncoming traffic each way. This leads to you suffering a fractured leg as you ride into the side of their vehicle and fall off your motorbike.
Negligence can happen in numerous ways. So, please don’t worry if your circumstances aren’t the same as any of the above. We always recommend that you discuss your specific circumstances with our team for a clear answer on whether you’re eligible for road traffic accident compensation.
Proving A Road Traffic Accident Claim
When making a road traffic accident claim, having evidence is crucial. This is because it must be shown how another road user breached their duty of care, and how this breach caused your injury.
As such, the most useful types of evidence to have in road traffic accident claims are:
- Contact details from any witnesses to the accident.
- CCTV footage or dash-cam footage of the accident.
- Copies of your medical records, including copies of any scan images.
- A diary where you’ve recorded your symptoms and treatment.
- Insurance policy and vehicle registration details from the road user at fault.
- Photographs of any damage, the accident scene, and the visible effects of your road traffic accident injuries.
- A police incident report, if you reported the accident to the police,
It can seem daunting to have to collect all of the above types of evidence. This is why it is a part of our solicitors’ services to help their clients collect evidence. Contact our advisors today to learn more.
How Much Compensation Could I Receive?
If you’ve been in a road traffic accident, you are probably wondering how much compensation you could potentially be owed.
If you have a successful road traffic accident claim, your compensation could be made up of two parts – general and special damages. General damages will definitely be awarded, whereas there’s a chance special damages might not be awarded.
Compensation under general damages covers how the road accident has affected you physically and psychologically. These factors are looked at when general damages are being valued:
- How painful the injury is.
- Loss of amenity.
- How long it will take to make a full recovery, if a full recovery is possible.
Once the road traffic accident claims process has started, you might be asked to have an independent medical assessment. This is so that legal professionals can use the reports from this assessment, along with the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG), to help them value your general damages.
The JCG is a publication that has guideline compensation brackets for varying psychological and physical injuries.
Guideline Compensation Table
We have taken some injuries from the JCG that could potentially result from a road traffic accident. We have included them in the table below along with their guideline compensation brackets.
Please note, the top figure has not been taken from the JCG. Additionally, none of these figures can be guaranteed, since no two road traffic accident claims are the same.
The bottom two figures are also not from the JCG but from the Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021, which we discuss in more detail in a later section of this guide.
| Injury type | Severity of injury | Guideline compensation brackets |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple serious injuries plus special damages | Serious | Up to £1,000,000+ |
| Paralysis | Tetraplegia (a) | £396,140 to £493,000 |
| Paraplegia (b) | £267,340 to £346,890 | |
| Brain damage | Very severe (a) | £344,150 to £493,000 |
| Moderate (c)(i) | £183,190 to £267,340 | |
| Leg | Severe (b)(i) the most serious injuries short of amputation | £117,460 to £165,860 |
| Severe (b)(iv) moderate | £33,880 to £47,840 | |
| Arm | Severe (a) | £117,360 to £159,770 |
| Simple forearm fracture (d) | £8,060 to £23,430 | |
| Whiplash with psychiatric harm | Lasting between 18-24 months. | £4,345 |
| Whiplash | Lasting between 18-24 months. | £4,215 |
Can I Claim For The Financial Effects Of A Road Traffic Accident?
Compensation under special damages covers how your injuries and the accident have affected you financially. Some examples of the financial losses you could suffer after a road traffic accident include:
- Loss of earnings for requiring time off work to recover from your injuries.
- Medical expenses, such as prescriptions.
- Domestic or professional care costs.
- Travel expenses to and from medical appointments.
- The cost of childcare.
- The cost of home or vehicle adaptations.
Being awarded special damages can be greatly beneficial. Being reimbursed for your financial losses means you can solely focus on recovery without having to worry about your monetary position following a road accident. As such, please keep hold of any and all invoices, bank statements, receipts, and payslips that can support your claim.
To learn more about how road traffic accident compensation is calculated, please don’t hesitate to speak with us.
What Is The Whiplash Reform Programme?
The Whiplash Reform Programme changes how certain road traffic accident claims in England and Wales are made. If all of the following criteria apply, your claim must be made via a different avenue:
- You were injured in a vehicle as a passenger or driver.
- You’re 18+ years old.
- Your injuries have a value of no more than £5,000, such as whiplash injuries.
As such, if you meet the above criteria, your whiplash injuries will be valued in line with the tariffs found in the Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021.
Additional injuries you have suffered in your accident that are not covered under this tariff will be valued in the traditional way, with the JCG. If the overall value of your claim exceeds £5,000 due to these additional injuries, you will make your claim the traditional way, but the whiplash tariffs would still be applicable for your whiplash injuries.
If you have suffered whiplash injuries in a road traffic accident, please contact us for more information.
Why Make A Claim With Legal Expert?
If you’re eligible for road traffic accident compensation, there are many benefits that come with using one of our solicitors to help you make a claim. Our solicitors provide an array of services to put their clients at ease during the road traffic accident claims process, such as:
- Help with gathering evidence.
- Corresponding with the defendant on the client’s behalf.
- Ensuring the compensation is valued accurately and fairly.
- Ensuring the claims time limits are adhered to.
- Defining complex legal jargon.
- Regularly sending updates regarding the claim.
What’s more, these services are offered on a No Win No Fee basis, specifically under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).
When you’re offered a CFA, you don’t pay anything at all for your solicitor’s services:
- At the beginning of the claims process.
- During the entire claims process.
- If the claim is not successful.
If your claim is successful, your solicitor will keep a percentage of your compensation. This percentage is small and legally capped and is known as a ‘success fee’.
Get In Touch With Us Today
Making a road traffic accident claim with one of our No Win No Fee solicitors could greatly help you. You can focus on recovery while your solicitor does all of the hard work for you to claim compensation. To find out whether you can make a road accident claim today with us, please contact us at any time. We are available 24/7, and free-of-charge:
- Call 0800 073 8804
- Fill out our claim online form.
- Send a message in our live on-screen chat box.
More Information
Browse a few of our other personal injury claims guides:
- Advice on how to make a road traffic accident claim against an uninsured driver.
- Learn more about the car accident claim time limit and how long you have to make a road traffic accident claim.
- Learn how to make a merging traffic accident claim.
Alternatively, these pages might be useful for you:
- Police.UK – information and advice on road collisions and incidents.
- NHS – how to access your GP health record.
- THINK! – a road safety campaign with information on current road safety laws.
Thank you for reading our guide on road traffic accident claims.