Split Liability Car Accident Compensation Claims

Last Updated On 5th March 2026. You can make a split liability claim if you were partially at fault for your road traffic accident. The extent of your responsibility for the incident will be assessed and taken into account when calculating the compensation. For instance, if you are 50% responsible for the accident, then 50% of the compensation will be given to you. It will be necessary to show how exactly the other party is also liable for the harm you have suffered. For instance, you may provide CCTV footage and the contact details of eye witnesses in order to prove this.

There are a variety of scenarios where split liability may apply. An example would be a car crash that happens when one driver fails to give way and another driver is not paying attention to the road. Both drivers failed to meet road safety requirements, though the extent of each part’s liability for the accident will be determined by legal professionals.

Figuring out whether you can make a split liability claim can be difficult when you are not familiar with the eligibility requirements. However, our advisors offer free initial consultations to help you with this. By speaking with them, you can confirm whether a specialist solicitor from our panel can represent you. Enquire today to get the answers you need without any strings attached.

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What Is A Split Liability Claim?

A split liability claim is a type of personal injury claim where multiple parties share responsibility for an accident. For example, the liability of the claimants and the defendant could be split into 25% and 75%. This is then used to figure out how much compensation would be appropriate.

In a successful split liability road traffic accident claim, you can get compensation for the physical and psychological effects of a road traffic accident. It is also possible to recover some of the financial losses associated with your injuries.

To find out more about making a split liability car accident claim, speak with our advisory team today. They will explain what the claims process entails and the services that one of our solicitors could offer to support you.

Can I Make A Split Liability Car Accident Claim?

You could be able to make a split liability car accident claim if you can prove that another road user breached their duty of care and therefore is at least partly responsible for your car accident.

All road users owe a duty of care to one another while using the roads. This duty of care is the responsibility of using the roads lawfully in order to prevent anyone from being injured.

To adhere to this duty of care, road users must follow the rules, regulations, and recommendations that are in the Road Traffic Act 1988 and The Highway Code.

As such, the eligibility criteria for making a personal injury claim after a split liability car accident is as follows:

A road user owed you a duty of care.
Duty of care was breached by the road user.
You suffered an injury at least partly because of this breach.

If all of the above criteria applies to you, contact us today to find out whether you are eligible for compensation. Even if you were partly at fault for a car accident, you may still be able to make a claim if you can prove that at least one other road user is also partly at fault.

How Is Compensation Calculated In Split Liability Claims?

The proportion of liability determines how much personal injury compensation each party should receive. For example:

75%/25% liability. If you are only 25% liable for a car accident, you would receive 75% of the agreed compensation total if your road traffic accident claim succeeds. This is because whilst the defendant may have accepted the majority of the blame for the accident, your actions still contributed in a minor way.
50%/50% liability. If both yourself and the defendant are equally responsible for the accident, then you would receive half of the agreed compensation total if your claim is recognised.
100% liability. This is when the defendant is fully responsible for the accident and you did not breach your duty of care at all. In this case, you would receive 100% of the agreed compensation total if your claim succeeds.

Sometimes, it can be complicated to determine what percentage of liability lies where when more than one party is responsible for a road traffic accident. For this reason, we recommend working with a specialist personal injury solicitor from our panel. They can represent any negotiations on your behalf and ensure that road traffic accident claims are valued fairly and accurately.

What Compensation Could I Receive In A Car Accident Claim?

If your personal injury claim is successful, your compensation total will be made up of up to 2 different heads of claim. These heads of claim are known as general damages and special damages. General damages will definitely be awarded, and special damages might be awarded.

General damages covers the psychiatric and physical damages you are suffering due to a car accident. As such, these factors are just some that are looked at:

Lost amenity.
The seriousness of your injuries.
What your prognosis is and how long it will take for you to fully recover.

At some point throughout the process, you will be asked to have an independent medical assessment. The reports from this can be used with the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to help legal professionals work out how much your general damages should be worth.

The JCG is a document with guideline compensation values for different kinds of of psychiatric and physical injuries/illnesses.

Injuries Table

In the following table, we have taken some injuries and figures from the JCG (except for the top row) as just some examples of what could be suffered following a car accident. We’ve also included 2 examples of the tariffs found in the Whiplash Injury Regulations, which we explain below.

Please remember that none of the figures in the JCG are a guarantee for any claim as all claims are different. Additionally, in a split liability claim, the amount of compensation you would get for an injury would depend on the percentage of liability that lies with the defendant.

Injury	Severity	Compensation figures
Multiple serious injuries plus financial losses	Serious	Up to £1,000,000+
Brain damage	Very severe (a)	£344,150 to £493,000
	Moderately severe (b)	£267,340 to £344,150
	Moderate (c) (i)	£183,190 to £267,340
Back	Severe (a) (i)	£111,150 to £196,450
	Severe (a) (ii)	£90,510 to £107,910
	Moderate (b) (i)	£33,880 to £47,320
Neck	Severe (a) (i)	In the region of £181,020
	Severe (a) (ii)	£80,240 to £159,770
Whiplash Tariff	With psychological damage lasting 18-24 months	£4,345
	Whiplash lasting 18-24 months without psychological damage	£4,215

Special Damages

Special damages covers the financial damages you are suffering due to a car accident. This can include:

Loss of earnings for not being able to work during your recovery.
Medical costs, such as private surgery and physiotherapy.
Domestic care costs.

Keeping evidence of how you’ve financially been affected from an accident is crucial since special damages are not guaranteed to be awarded. Such evidence includes invoices, receipts, payslips, and bank statements.

For more information on how car accident compensation is calculated, particularly for a split liability agreement claim, please contact us today.

Whiplash Reform Programme

In certain circumstances, your split liability claim might be made through the Whiplash Reform Programme. If you were:

The driver or a passenger of a motor vehicle.
18 or older at the time of the accident.
Injured on the roads in England or Wales.
Suffered injuries valued at £5,000 or less (before any split liability or contributory negligence reductions are made).

Your claim will be made through the Whiplash Reform Programme, which was introduced when the Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021 were brought in. Furthermore, whiplash injuries will be valued in line with tariffs found in these regulations, regardless of whether your claim is made through the Reforms or in the traditional manner. Additionally, even if you did not suffer whiplash, but meet the other requirements, your claim will be made through the Reforms. For example, if you suffered bruised ribs, your claim can be made through the Reforms even without a whiplash injury.

How Do I Make A Split Liability Car Accident Claim?

In order to claim for a split liability car accident, you will need to provide evidence of the impact you have suffered and the negligent actions that led you to get hurt. Even if you were partially responsible for the accident, you will need to show that the actions of the other party also played a part in it.

You can do this by providing:

Your medical information- this could be a copy of your records (which your solicitor can help you to request)
CCTV or dash-cam footage of the incident
Photos of the injuries you have suffered
Insurance and contact information of other people involved in the car accident
The contact details of those who witnessed the car accident (your solicitor can later contact them to provide witness statements in support of your case)

If eligible, a solicitor from our panel could also help you by organising an independent medical assessment. They will discuss the details of this and ensure that you consent before it is organised. This can be a great way to show the severity of the harm you have suffered and how it may even impact you in future.

Discuss your car accident split liability claim for free with one of our advisors. They can clarify any points you are unsure of and advise you on the next steps to take.

Can I Make A No Win No Fee Car Accident Claim?

There are many things that are a part of our solicitors’ services to help you. As well as helping you with the collection of evidence, as we have previously mentioned, this includes:

Sending your correspondence to the defending party and their legal representatives.
Keeping you updated throughout all stages of the process.
Explaining any and all legal terminology to you.
Finding you legal representation if your case must go to court.
Making sure that your claim is filed on time and within the limitation period that is required for your case.
Making sure that your compensation is accurately and fairly valued.

If you’re eligible for compensation, you can make a No Win No Fee split liability claim with us. A lawyer from our panel, specifically, can offer you a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).

This is how a CFA works:

You will not pay any fees for the work your solicitor will do before the claim starts.
You will not pay any fees for the work your solicitor does during the process.
You will not pay any fees for the work your solicitor has done if you do not have a successful personal injury claim.

You will still not pay any fees directly from your pocket for the work your solicitor has done if your claim is successful. On the other hand, your solicitor will take a success fee out of your compensation award. Success fees are a percentage capped by law at a maximum of 25%. This ensures that if you’re successful, you will receive the largest share of the compensation award.

Contact Us 24/7 To See If You Can Make A Split Liability Claim

Contact us today if you feel like you could be eligible to make a personal injury claim on a split liability basis. Our friendly team can assist you with any questions you have and potentially connect you to our solicitors.

Ring us on 0800 073 8803.
Submit our online contact us form.
Access free advice with on-screen our live chat box.

Frequently Asked Questions

For answers to some of the questions you may have about making a split liability car accident claim, read this section.

What Is Split Liability In A Car Accident?

This is when the actions of more than one person caused the car accident.

What Happens If You Accept Liability In A Car Accident?

Once you accept partial liability, you agree to your compensation being calculated to reflect your portion of responsibility for the accident.

What’s The Most Money You Can Get From A Car Accident?

This varies in each case depending on several factors such as the extent of your liability for the accident, the severity of your injuries and what financial losses you suffered.

Learn More About Claiming For A Road Traffic Accident

The following guides about road traffic accidents may be relevant to your case:

Advice on what to do if a third party is not admitting liability for an accident.
Guidance on fatal car accident claims.

Additionally, you can read some extra pages which might provide you with helpful information:

THINK! – a UK Government road safety campaign that contains helpful road statistics.
NHS – an overview of first aid.
Gov.UK – claim Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) for taking time off work to recover from injuries.

Thank you for reading our split liability car accident claims guide. If you still have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask our team.

Split Liability Car Accident Claims

Meet Sharron Hallett

Can I Get Compensation For A Car Accident That Was Partly My Fault?