Welcome to our guide on claiming car accident compensation. Knowing the processes involved in making a personal injury claim can be very helpful. Making a claim for compensation can seem like a daunting prospect. However, we are here to help you understand as best we can.
We’ll be covering topics such as the injuries you can claim for and the evidence you can present. Additionally, the article will cover how much your claim could be worth following a car crash.
Read on for this information and more. You’ll also find our contact details below. Our advisors are standing by to offer you free legal advice at any time of the day.
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Car accident compensation claims guide
Select A Section
- Report And Record Your Car Accident
- Collect As Much Evidence To Support Your Car Accident Compensation Claim As You Can
- Make Sure You Get Medical Care As Soon As Possible
- Calculating Car Accident Compensation Payouts
- Keep A Record Of Costs, Expenses And Losses
- Get Help With Car Accident Compensation Claims
Report And Record Your Car Accident
Apart from any required medical treatment, one of the most important steps in making a car accident claim is to report its occurrence. Firstly, you’ll need to stop at the scene of the accident. This is a legal requirement if you have been involved in a collision. Turn off your engine, and turn on your hazard lights.
You should also exchange details with the other road user(s) involved in the accident. If someone were to withhold these details from you, then you can call 101 from the scene of the accident.
If you’re unable to give your details at the scene of the accident, you should report this to the police. This needs to be done within 24 hours, and you can do this at a police station.
You should also inform your insurance provider as soon as possible. If the accident took place on privately owned land, then the owner of the land may also need to be informed.
Collect As Much Evidence To Support Your Car Accident Compensation Claim As You Can
In order to make a successful claim for car accident compensation, you’ll need to gather evidence to present during the process. Without proof, you’ll find it much harder to succeed.
Some examples of evidence you could gather to support your road traffic accident claim include:
- Medical reports – these reports will contain detailed information regarding what treatment you required and the severity of your injuries. As part of your claim, a medical appointment with an independent expert will be arranged. The report from this will be used to value your claim.
- Police report
- Photographs/CCTV – visual evidence is always useful to have when making a claim
- Written details- so that a statement can be taken at a later date
- Details of those involved – names, addresses, contact details, and insurance details
There are other forms of evidence you could obtain to strengthen your claim. For more examples and information, get in touch with us today.
Make Sure You Get Medical Care As Soon As Possible
Seeking medical attention for your injuries is really important. Even minor ailments may be a sign of a deeper-lying problem. Additionally, you may have no initial symptoms, but find that you develop some in the days or weeks following the incident.
It’s always best to be cautious following a car accident and have a medical professional take a look at you. Otherwise, your injuries may only become apparent at a later date and may have progressed to a point where they are more difficult to treat.
Not only is being treated a benefit to your physical and psychological wellbeing, but it can also be helpful in your attempts to claim car accident compensation. When you receive medical treatment, official records are generated as a result. You can use these records as evidence during your claim.
Keep Your Doctor And Solicitor Updated With Changes To Your Injury
Even if you’re diagnosed with a specific injury after a car accident, the severity of the injury can change. For example, you may have sustained whiplash during a collision. This could initially be a minor injury. However, it may become worse over time.
You need to keep your doctor apprised of this progression so that they can accurately monitor your health. Additionally, you‘ll also need to update your solicitor if this were to happen. This is because it could affect the value of your car accident compensation. In other words, you could be owed more money than originally thought.
Whiplash Reform Program (WRP)
There is now a new way to claim for certain injuries sustained in a road traffic accident. It is known as the Whiplash Reform Program (WRP).
As the injury can have a relatively low value when compared to others, the portal was introduced to streamline the process. Despite the name, it can be used for any road traffic injury claim valued at £5,000 or lower. It isn’t exclusively for whiplash claims.
The other things that must be true in order to claim using the WRP are:
- The injury must have been sustained in England or Wales
- You must be a driver or passenger (cyclists and pedestrians are ineligible to claim in this way)
- The accident must have occurred on or after 31st May 2021
Not meeting these criteria does not make you ineligible to receive car accident compensation for your injuries. You’ll just need to make a claim for them in the traditional way.
We can still help you process a personal injury claim made through this channel. Furthermore, you might assume that you need to claim through the online portal, but are actually under-valuing your injuries. Speak to one of our advisors today to find out more.
Calculating Car Accident Compensation Payouts
The figure that’s awarded to account for your physical pain and mental injuries is known as general damages. It’s calculated by legal professionals with the assistance of a publication known as the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). It’s made up of various injuries and what they could be worth in compensation.
We’ve included some example figures from the JCG in the table below. However, it’s important to keep in mind that these figures are only guidelines, as the name of the publication suggests. The actual amounts you could receive may exceed or fall short of the figures in these guidelines.
Injury Description Amount
Brain damage (c) (i) Moderate to severe intellect deficit, change in personality, senses affected and a significant epilepsy risk £140,870 to £205,580
Tinnitus (iv) Mild tinnitus with no associated noise-induced hearing loss . Around £11,000
Chest (A) (d) - When there’s an injury of a relatively simple nature that still causes some lasting tissue damage, but lung function is not affected on a long-term basis to any significant degree £11,820 to £16,860
Digestive system (iii) For example, where a self-belt pressure injury has caused damage £6,190 to £11,820
Neck (a) (iii) - fractures/tissue damage/dislocations that result in significant and lasting disability £42,680 to £52,540
Shoulder (a) Severe - can often be associated with neck injuries £18,020 to £45,070
Clavicle (e) Clavicle fracture £4,830 to £11,490
Pelvis/hip (b) (i) Moderate - injury of a significant nature but without a lasting disability or great future risk £24,950 to £36,770
Arm (E)(b)(iii) Amputation below the elbow £90,250 to £102,890
Wrist (e) Uncomplicated Colles’ fracture In the region of £6,970
For more information on what you could receive, get in touch with our team of advisors today. They can offer you free legal advice and may also be able to offer you an accurate assessment of the value of your car accident compensation claim.
Keep A Record Of Costs, Expenses And Losses
There are also other sums that can be added to your compensation total. They are known as special damages and cover any financial losses or costs that your injuries result in.
Special damages can include:
- Loss of earnings – if you have missed time at work due to your injuries then you could lose out on wages. The money you would have earned over this period can be reimbursed to you.
- Medical expenses – for example, prescription costs or specialist medical care that wasn’t available for free on the NHS.
- Adaptations to property – if the injured party has had their mobility reduced then they may need things like wheelchair ramps fitted in their home.
It’s important to maintain detailed financial records so that you can prove these expenditures. For example, you’d need to present payslips to prove your loss of earnings.
For more information on how your compensation can be calculated, talk to our advisors today.
Get Help With Car Accident Compensation Claims
Some people may worry about the financial impact of making a claim for car accident compensation. However, it is possible to hire a solicitor without paying any upfront or hidden fees.
This way of making a claim is known as a No Win No Fee arrangement. All of the personal injury solicitors on our panel operate in this way. When you work with a solicitor with this kind of agreement in place, you also won’t be responsible for paying them if your claim is unsuccessful.
You will only be obligated to pay your solicitor if you are successfully awarded compensation. Then, your lawyer will take a small percentage of your compensation as their payment. This is legally capped, meaning that you won’t be overcharged.
To see if you could start a No Win No Fee agreement, get in touch with us today. It’s important that road traffic claims are started within the correct time limit, so we recommend getting the process started right away.
You can:
- Call us on 0800 408 7825
- Contact us through our website
- Chat to us using the pop-up window
Other Ways A Solicitor Could Help You
Here are some additional links that may prove useful.
- Here is our general guide on road traffic accident claims.
- An article on claiming as a passenger.
- How to make a motorcycle accident claim
- If you’ve had an accident with an uninsured driver, or if the offending driver has fled the scene before exchanging details, you could make a claim through the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB). You can head here to check out potential payout amounts.
- You can request CCTV footage of yourself as evidence.
- Read about how a litigation friend can be appointed to claim on your behalf.
- Think.gov is the government’s road safety campaign
- For more advice on how to claim compensation, check out this guide here. You can learn all about compensation payouts and how the claims process works.
Thank you for reading our guide on claiming car accident compensation.
Article by AI
Publisher ET