Road Traffic Accident Claim FAQs
In this article, we’ll discuss when you could be eligible to make a road traffic accident claim. Some of the topics we’ll cover include the duty of care that road users owe one another, claiming for whiplash or soft tissue injuries, and time limits you must consider before starting your claim. We’ll also provide information about how compensation is calculated for this kind of personal injury claim.
Road Traffic Accident Claims Guide
Later in the article, we’ll provide details about using a No Win No Fee agreement to work with a solicitor. These kinds of arrangements mean that you typically don’t have to pay for the solicitor’s services if your claim fails. Instead, you would usually pay a success fee at the end of the claim, but only if it succeeds.
Keep reading for more information about claiming for road traffic accident injuries. In addition, our team of advisors are available 24/7 for a free consultation. They can listen to the circumstances you describe and provide advice about the merits of your potential claim. For more information:
- Complete our website’s ‘Contact Us’ form
- Phone 020 3870 4868
- Speak to an advisor using the chatbox below
Choose A Topic
- Who Could Make A Road Traffic Accident Claim?
- What Evidence Could Support My Road Traffic Accident Claim?
- How Long Do I Have To Claim For A Road Traffic Accident?
- Road Traffic Accident Injury Compensation Calculator
- Start Your No Win No Fee Road Traffic Accident Claim
- Learn More About Road Traffic Accident Claims
Who Could Make A Road Traffic Accident Claim?
Legislation known as the Road Traffic Act 1988 determines the duty of care that is owed on the road. Accordingly, all road users must behave in a way that reduces the risk of harm occurring. This is true for drivers, cyclists, pedestrians, passengers, and other road users. Also, the Highway Code provides guidance and rules for road users, some of which are backed up in legislation.
To begin a claim, you must be able to prove negligence. You can do this by asking yourself the following questions:
- Did a road user owe me a duty of care?
- Was this duty of care breached?
- Due to this breach, did I sustain physical or psychological injuries?
If you can answer ‘yes’ to all of these questions, then negligence has occurred, and you may be eligible to begin a road traffic accident claim.
Can You Claim If You Caused The Road Traffic Accident?
You may be eligible to begin a road traffic accident claim even if you were partially responsible for the incident. The claim may become what is called a split liability claim, meaning that you and the other driver have agreed you were each partly responsible for the incident.
After a successful split liability claim, you will receive a percentage of the compensation you would have received if the other party had been entirely responsible. For example, if you were 50% responsible for the accident, your compensation would be reduced by 50%.
Read on to learn more about evidence that may help demonstrate who was at fault in a car accident.
What Evidence Could Support My Road Traffic Accident Claim?
To make a personal injury claim following a road traffic accident, you must demonstrate how another driver acted negligently. For instance, you could do this by providing:
- Footage caught on a dashcam or CCTV
- Contact details for anyone who witnessed the accident
- A diary tracking your symptoms following the car accident injuries you sustained
Speak to our advisors if you have questions about locating or acquiring evidence for a road traffic accident claim. Not only can they provide advice, but also our team may be able to put you in touch with one of the solicitors on our panel, who can help you collect evidence.
How Long Do I Have To Claim For A Road Traffic Accident?
After a road traffic accident, you typically have 3 years to start a personal injury claim. This is established in the Limitation Act 1980.
bb However, there are some exceptions. The time limit is suspended for children under the age of 18, as well as adults who do not have the capacity to claim. In each of these circumstances, the time limit is suspended until a child turns 18 or a person regains the required capacity.
When Could I Claim On Behalf Of Someone Else?
Certain individuals cannot claim on their own behalf. For instance, children under the age of 18 and adults without the required capacity. Rather, the courts may appoint a litigation friend to claim on their behalf. However, when a child turns 18 or an adult gains the required mental capacity, they may then start a claim if a litigation friend has not already done so for them.
Speak to our advisors if you would like to know more about the time limit or its exceptions.
Road Traffic Accident Injury Compensation Calculator
A successful personal injury car accident compensation claim will award general damages, which compensate you for the physical and emotional suffering you experience. Solicitors will usually assess this head of claim using the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG).
This publication provides compensation brackets for different forms of injury a person could experience. We’ve recreated these figures in the table below, though they are only intended as a guide. Your circumstances will include real-world personal details that the JCG cannot account for.
What Special Damages Could You Claim For?
In addition to being compensated for your pain and suffering, you may also receive an award for your financial losses. This head of claim is known as special damages. For instance, it may help you recoup:
- Lost earnings, including future earnings, if you cannot go back to work
- The cost of making adaptations to your car or home
- Certain medical expenses required for your rehabilitation
Please note that you must provide financial evidence of these losses in order to receive a payment for special damages. For example, you can provide proof of your income by producing payslips.
General Damages
| Injury | Brackets/Tariffs | Further Injury Information |
|---|---|---|
| Very Severe Brain and Head Injury (a) | £282,010 to £403,990 | This individual will need full-time care following the injury. There may be little, if any, meaningful response to the environment and little or no language function. |
| Tetraplegia Paralysis Injury (a) | £324,600 to £403,990 | Tetraplegia injuries, which receive an award that considers how much pain the individual is in and the awareness they have of their disability. |
| Paraplegia Paralysis Injury (b) | £219,070 to £284,260 | Paraplegia injuries, which receive an award considering the presence or risk of increasing paralysis. The presence of other significant injuries may take the case above this bracket. |
| Leg Amputation (a) (i) | £240,790 to £282,010 | Both legs are lost above the knee; or one leg is lost high above the knee and the other is lost below the knee. |
| Leg Amputation (a) (iv) | £97,980 to £132,990 | Below-knee amputation of one leg. The top end of this award bracket considers traumatic amputations in which the individual remains fully conscious. |
| Severe Leg Injuries (b) (ii) | £54,830 to £87,890 | Injuries that create permanent mobility problems, such as a life-long need for mobility aids or crutches. |
| Loss of One Arm (b) (ii) | £109,650 to £130,930 | An above-elbow amputation with an award that considers the amount of arm remaining and the potential difficulties using a prosthesis. |
| Severe Neck Injury (a) (ii) | £65,740 to £130,930 | These injuries give rise to conditions that are of considerable severity, such as substantial loss of movement in the neck and loss of limb function. |
| Minor Psychological Injury and One or More Whiplash Injuries | £4,345 | Physical injuries and psychological harm that lasts longer than 18 months but no more than 24. |
| Minor Psychological Injury and One or More Whiplash Injuries | £3,100 | Physical injuries and psychological harm that lasts longer than 15 months but no more than 18. |
Understanding The Whiplash Reform Program
The table above also contains entries found in the Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021. These are set tariffs that came into law as a part of the Whiplash Reform Programme, which affects how drivers and passengers over the age of 18 may have to claim for whiplash and soft tissue injuries. According to this programme, these individuals must make their soft tissue or whiplash injury claim in a different way if the injuries are valued at £5,000 or less.
On the other hand, if passengers or drivers over 18 suffer injuries that take the claim’s value over £5,000, they may begin their road traffic accident claim using the traditional method. While whiplash injuries would still be assessed according to the tariff in the 2021 Regulations mentioned above, other injuries would be valued traditionally.
Start Your No Win No Fee Road Traffic Accident Claim
It may be worth seeking the help of a car accident claim solicitor from our panel. These professionals have a great deal of experience handling this kind of claim, so you wouldn’t be navigating the claims process alone.
Our panel of road traffic accident solicitors typically offer their services under a type of No Win No Fee agreement known as a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). By agreeing to these terms, you would not have to pay service fees while the claim is ongoing. Additionally and most crucially, you wouldn’t have to pay for the solicitor’s services if your claim fails.
Instead, your lawyer would take a legally capped success fee at the end of the process. However, they only do this if the claim succeeds.
Contact Us
Speak to our team if you have questions about making an injury claim after a car accident. They can provide information about the claims process and may be able to put you in contact with a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel. Find out more today:
- Complete our website’s ‘Contact Us’ form
- Phone 020 3870 4868
- Speak to an advisor using the chatbox below
Learn More About Road Traffic Accident Claims
Further guides that you may find useful:
Careless Driving vs Dangerous Driving
How To Claim For A Fatal Car Accident
When And How To Report A Car Accident
Other information related to road traffic accidents:
Request CCTV Footage – UK GOV
About Brake – A charity dedicated to ending road deaths and injuries
A Guide To The MIB – Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB), a non-profit organisation that compensates the victims of uninsured or untraceable driver accidents.
Thank you for reading this information about beginning a road traffic accident claim. For guidance about the claims process, contact our team of advisors using the information in the banner above.
