HGV Accident Claims - I Was Injured In A HGV Accident, Can I Claim?

If you were hit by an HGV, you may be able to file a personal injury claim against the driver. This is possible if they are responsible for the accident. When you are injured in an HGV accident, you could be seriously injured. If you were the driver of the heavy goods vehicle and the accident was caused by another liable party, you could seek damages. If the accident was caused due to poorly maintained road surfaces, the local authority responsible for the roads could be liable.

HGV accident

It is important to mention that there have been recent changes to the law on how drivers and passengers inside vehicles can make a personal injury claim. If you were to suffer an injury valued at £5000 or less, it would fall under what is referred to as the Whiplash Reform Programme. That said, some road users are excluded which includes cyclists, motorcyclists, pedestrians and sidecar passengers. We can explain this process to you if you give our advisors a quick call.

Our guide explains how to go about making an HGV accident claim, and how this type of accident could happen. You’ll also find information on the sort of damages you could seek when you make a successful personal injury claim.

To find out more about HGV accident claims, and to see whether your claim could be valid, please click on the sections that follow. Alternatively, if you want to speak to an adviser, please do so by calling our freephone number 0800 408 7825.

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What Is A HGV Accident Claim?
Types Of Heavy Goods Vehicle Accidents
Causes Of HGV Accidents
Pedestrian Collisions With HGV’s
HGV Accident Compensation Claims Calculator
Begin Your HGV Accident And Injury Claim

What Is An HGV Accident Claim?

You could be injured in an HGV accident when you are the driver of the vehicle or as another road user. You could be driving another car, walking on a pavement, or you could be on a bike or a motorbike. The accident could happen due to a number of reasons which includes:

Poorly maintained road surfaces
Adverse weather conditions
Driver error
Unroadworthy vehicles
Speeding
Driving without due care and attention
Drivers are under the influence of drugs or alcohol
Cyclists making dangerous turns
Pedestrian running out into the road.

However, not all of these causes above will mean a personal injury claim can be made when someone is injured. To make a valid personal injury claim for harm caused after an accident these three points must be proven;

You were owed a duty of care, and
This duty was breached, that
Lead to an injury being caused because of this negligence.

You may be able to file a personal injury claim against the party responsible.

Call an adviser for more details on how to go about seeking compensation. A member of our team will review your case if they can see that another party was liable for your suffering or part of it then they could connect you to a personal injury solicitor.

Road Casualties and Left Hand Drive HGV Accident Statistics

According to statistics released by The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) for road accidents involving HGV’s reported to the police in Britain during 2019, there were:

251 deaths
1,111 severe injuries
4,172 minor injuries

Of the total number of accidents reported, RoSPA found that accidents involving foreign-registered left-hand drive HGVs accounted for:

7 deaths
32 serious injuries
146 minor injuries

To find out if your accident that caused your injury involving an HGV could mean you may be eligible to claim compensation call our advisors for free legal advice. They will assess your case and provide you with the best course of action to take.

Types Of Heavy Goods Vehicle Accidents

A heavy goods vehicle accident could happen for a variety of reasons as detailed above. That said, a claim could be possible if you get injured in the following ways:

An HGV driver was at fault and caused the accident
Bad road conditions were the cause of an accident which may mean a local authority could be responsible
Another driver caused a road traffic accident involving an HGV
An HGV failed to stop at a crossing and a pedestrian was injured.

Causes Of Heavy Goods Vehicle HGV Accidents

Causes of an HGV accident can vary. There are different parties who could be responsible for a road traffic accident that involves an HGV. If you are in an accident as an HGV driver or another road user it is vital that you collect evidence. You will need to prove where liability lies. So only if it is safe to do so collect evidence at the scene for example; images of the scene and cause of the accident, CCTV footage or Dashcam footage, witness contact details and always seek medical advice even if you only think you are minorly injured.

Below is a list of examples that may cause a road traffic accident:

Driving without due care and attention
Driver fatigue
Drug and alcohol abuse
Sickness
Tailgating
Distractions
Unroadworthy vehicles
Cyclists who do not wear visible clothing
Pedestrians who do not cross at a designated crossing
Motorbike users that drive through red lights.

Were you injured in an HGV accident? Then, please get in touch with one of our friendly advisers. They can review your case and put you in touch with a solicitor from our panel.

Pedestrian Collisions With HGV’s

All road users, vehicle drivers, motorbike users, cyclists, pedestrians, those who use mobility scooters all have a duty of care to keep each other safe. This is part of the Road Traffic Act 1988 and the Highway Code. When a road user breaches its duty of care this makes others vulnerable to harm that could have been avoided.

Pedestrian collisions with HGVs can leave a person severely injured. Their lives could be changed forever. To be able to make a claim because you have been injured as a pedestrian in an HGV accident you must be able to show that the HGV driver was at fault or at least partially at fault for causing the accident. When the accident is totally the pedestrian’s fault then no claim can be made. If you are wondering whether you could make a personal injury claim after this type of accident you should seek legal advice. Call our team today to see if you can make a pedestrian accident claim against the party deemed liable.

Call us today and find out whether you have grounds to sue. A member of our team will answer all your questions. When we determine you have a strong claim against a liable party, we could introduce you to a personal injury lawyer from our panel. They could represent you on a No Win No Fee basis.

HGV Accident Compensation Claims Calculator

It’s not possible to offer an exact figure on the sort of compensation payout you may receive. You will be invited to medical assessment as part of your personal injury claim. This will determine the length of your pain and suffering as well as the impact on your quality of life. This will help to calculate what you could be awarded in general damages.

We can, however, provide you with amount brackets. The amounts we’ve included in our table are taken from the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG), and they cover general damages.

Type of injury	Severity of the injury	Further notes	Potential general damages awarded based on the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG)
Toe	Moderate	Claimants sustain a fractured toe or an injury they already have is made worse	Up to £9,010
Foot	Moderate	Claimant sustains a displaced foot fracture resulting in ongoing symptoms pain and discomfort	£12,900 to £23,460
Ankle	Moderate	Claimant sustains soft tissue damage, fractures, ligament tears that cause issues with stability on uneven ground.	£12,900 to £24,950
Knee	Moderate (1)	Claimant sustains dislocations, meniscus tears or torn cartilages.	£13,920 to £24,580
Leg	Moderate	Claimant sustains complicated or multiple fractures to one leg	£26,050 to £36,790
Finger	Little fingers and ring finger	Claimant undergoes the amputation of a little finger and ring finger	In the region of £20,480
Wrist	(d)	Claimant sustains soft tissue damage or fractures that take a long time to recover from	Rarely exceed £9,620
Hand	Less serious	Claimant sustains crushing injuries and loses some degree of mobility in a hand	£13,570 to £27,220
Elbow	Less severe	Claimant sustains an injury where reduced function is evident but surgery is not needed	£14,690 to £30,050
Arm	Permanent and substantial disability	Claimant sustains a severe fracture to one or both forearms resulting in a permanent disability	£36,770 to £56,180

The table below provides information on compensation payouts which are in line with the Whiplash Reform Program.

Time injury lasted	Compensation under Regulation 2(1)(a)	Compensation under Regulation 2(1)(b)
Less than three months	£240	£260
Greater than three months, but no longer than six months	£495	£520
Greater than six months, but no longer than nine months	£840	£895
Greater than nine months, but no longer than twelve months	£1,320	£1,390
Greater than twelve months, but no longer than fifteen months	£2,040	£2,125
Greater than fifteen months, but no longer than eighteen months	£3,005	£3,100
Greater than eighteen months, but no longer than twenty four months	£4,215	£4,345

You could also be entitled to special damages when you make a successful HGV accident claim. Special damages are based on ‘actual’ losses and expenses you incurred as a direct result of your injuries. As such, you must provide proof of your out of pocket expenses. The sort of special damages you could seek may include the following:

Medical costs
Loss of income and future earnings
Home and vehicle adaptations
Care costs
Travel expenses

A personal injury lawyer from our panel will review your case. When they determine you have a strong case, they could represent you on a No Win No Fee basis. Call an adviser today and find out if you could make a No Win No Fee personal injury claim.

Begin Your HGV Accident And Injury Claim

Call an adviser today and find out whether you can make a No Win No Fee HGV accident claim. A solicitor from our panel will first review the details of your case and if they agree to act on your behalf, they will send you a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). Once you sign and return the CFA, the solicitor will immediately start work on your claim without asking for an upfront fee. A No Win No Fee agreement is a legally binding contract that sets out the following:

You pay a solicitor a success fee when you win your HGV accident claim
If your claim fails, you don’t pay the success fee

Call us today and find out how we can be of assistance. A personal injury lawyer from our panel could take on your claim on a No Win No Fee basis. You can speak to an adviser by: