Road Traffic Claim
How to claim for a road traffic accident
One of our expert personal injury solicitors can guide you through the process, making a claim for compensation as pain free as possible. We are experienced road traffic accident claim solicitors who have won millions of pounds in compensation for our clients and we work on a 100% no win no fee agreement so if you don’t win your claim, you pay nothing.
What if I don’t know who is at fault?
Our dedicated team of solicitors will assess your claim from the beginning and we will be honest with you if we think there is a problem. Even if you were partly at fault for the accident, you might still be able to make a claim for your injuries and your vehicle damage. Just remember that if the claim gets settled on a split liability basis (e.g. 50/50) you will only be entitled to recover the equivalent in your compensation and vehicle damage. So for example, if your injury was worth £3000.00 and your case was settled on a 50/50 split liability basis, you would be entitled to £1500.00 in respect of your injuries.
In this section & how we can help:
Motorbike Accident
Scooter and Moped Claims
Pedestrian Claims
Cycle Accidents
Bus Accidents
Accidents Involving Emergency Vehicles
What can I claim for?
Your car: Our comprehensive car accident claims’ management service includes getting your car repaired or replaced at a garage of your choice, dealing with the recovery or storage charges incurred and getting you a replacement car similar to your own while yours is off the road. You and your injuries: You may have sustained serious injuries; you may be suffering from whiplash. Whatever the problem, we will arrange the most appropriate treatment for you. We will also recoup any earnings that you may have lost through not being able to work – and we can get you compensation for any additional help that you’ve received or for loss of enjoyment of any hobbies or holidays. It’s important to us that you receive the road traffic accident compensation you deserve.
Compensation
Compensation is designed to help you get back to the same position you were before the accident took place. Understandably it can sometimes be confusing as to what you can and can’t claim for. Here, we have set out a brief guide explaining what you can claim for in addition to your claim for personal injury. Simply put, you are entitled to be compensated for all the financial losses that you have suffered as a result of the accident, which may include damage to your clothing and property, loss of earnings and any insurance excess you may have. If your car is off the road you can also claim for a replacement car. It helps us if you keep a record of all the expenses you incur and let us have receipts/invoices where available. You must act reasonably and keep your losses to a minimum. Remember, the aim is to put you in the same position as you were in before the accident. This is what is known as mitigation of loss and as a Claimant (the person making the claim for compensation) you have a duty to act reasonably and mitigate your losses. If you are at all unsure as to whether you can make a claim for a specific item just call us. Here are some examples of common losses that are incurred after an accident:
- Medical/treatment fees
- Loss of earnings
- Medication/prescription charges
- Travelling expenses to medical appointments
- Relatives’ travelling expenses
- Aids, equipment purchased etc.
- Household help and care from others such as family and friends
- Decorating/gardening/DIY expenses etc.
- Increased household bills if you have been home more
- Damaged clothing/ personal items
- Loss of enjoyment of a planned holiday
- Loss of enjoyment of leisure activities
- Miscellaneous expenses (e.g. postage & telephone calls)
Treatment fees
The cost of any treatment that you have to help your recovery from your injuries may be recoverable as part of your claim. To recover treatment fees the decision to undergo the treatment needs to be endorsed by medical opinion. It must also be reasonable to incur the treatment costs and treatment has to be shown to be required for the injuries you have sustained in the accident. Common treatment fees that are incurred by Claimants include physiotherapy, osteopathy and chiropractic fees. You must remember that you can only recover the cost of treatment for injuries directly caused by the accident. For example, if you already had problems with your back before the accident, it is unlikely that you would be able to recover the cost of any treatment for you back. However, if you had a back problem but you had injured your arm in the accident and were having treatment for that, there should generally be no problems in recovering those costs. When you organise treatment, make enquiries to ensure that you are paying an average price for any treatment. Ask for an assessment of how many sessions of treatment you may need. Most physiotherapists and osteopaths will normally give you this information as a matter of course but if they do not it is important that you obtain it from them. So that we can try and recover treatment costs from you, you will need to send us the invoice for the treatment together with proof of payment where you have already paid for it. Private medical treatment is recoverable. If you have a medical policy we would recommend that you use that policy to cover the cost of any treatment. You should ask the insurer to contact us directly and provide us with their details so that we can keep in contact with them. Sometimes, you may receive an offer from the Third Party Insurers for treatment for your injuries. You may receive this directly or, more commonly, through us. If you do receive such an offer directly, we would recommend that you contact us immediately to discuss this. If we receive an offer we will let you know about the details and discuss it with you. In most cases we would usually recommend that the offer is taken up. This is because the duty to keep your losses to a minimum applies not only to financial losses but to your personal injury claim as well.
Loss of earnings
You may be off work as a result of the injuries that you sustained in the accident and you can claim for any earnings that you lost as a result. Any claim for loss of earnings that you make must be well supported by documentary evidence. If you are employed we will normally require payslips for the 13 weeks or 3 to 4 months before the accident, plus those covering your period of absence. Sometimes the third party insurers ask to see 6 months pre-accident payslips, if you have copies of your wage slips, please send them to us. It will also usually be necessary to write directly to your employers for evidence of your earning/losses. Your company may pay you in full for your absence in accordance with the terms of their sickness policy. However, some companies require repayment of money paid if you make a successful claim against another person. It is therefore important that you tell us if you were paid during your absence so that we can make enquiries with your employers about this. If you are self-employed you need to advise us of your accountant’s details and provide trading accounts for the two years before the accident and, if possible, the accounts for the year covering the accident and absence. We may require further information, which we shall discuss with you where necessary. The claim will be based on the evidence of loss from the documents you provide so may only be estimated at this stage. To establish a claim for loss of income I am likely to need the following;
- Details of the nature of your business, the type of work you do.
- Your business structure – partnership, proprietor, or limited company.
- What is the loss – is it wages paid, extra help needed, loss of profit.
- Business accounts - needed if loss of business or profit, usually for the previous year, and includes tax returns as submitted to the Inland Revenue.
- Copy annual profit and loss accounts for the three years preceding the accident, the year of the accident and for subsequent years if they are available (and relevant).
- Copies of tax and VAT returns for three years before the accident and any subsequent year post accident if claim ongoing.
- Copies of agreed tax computations and assessments for the above years.
- Copy of the your order book/diary of work
Other Losses
If personal effects were lost or damaged in the accident you can claim for the cost of the repairs or replacements. You should keep the damaged items in case we or the Third Party Insurers need to inspect them. You will also need documentary evidence to support your claim. Original receipts for the purchase of the items are the best form of evidence. If they are no longer available you should provide us with details of the approximate date of purchase and cost. Sometimes it may also help if you can confirm the make of the items damaged. It also helps if you can provide an estimate of the cost of repair if an item is repairable. Where you are claiming for the cost of replacements, the amount you will actually recover is usually less than the actual replacement cost unless the item was brand new at the time of loss or damage. This is because the insurers will take into account wear and tear of items. You may be able to obtain a refund of your used tax disc where your vehicle is beyond repair or off the road for a considerable time. Providing you send the disc to the licensing authority whilst it is still current you should receive a refund of all-complete months unexpired. You will not be able to recover part of a month although this can be added to your claim. If you have incurred any of the other losses listed at the beginning of this document, please let us know. We will then be able to discuss this with you and let you know what to do and what information we need from you. It is important to notify us of all possible losses as soon as you are aware of them so that we can do our best to recover them for you. Finally, if you have any queries about anything contained in this document please do not hesitate to contact the person dealing.