This guide will explain how to make a car accident injury claim.
A guide to making a car accident injury claim
Have you been injured in a car accident that was not your fault? Then you may be eligible to claim compensation for your injuries. You can claim compensation for minor injuries caused by a car accident. Or you can claim compensation for serious injuries, such as permanent brain damage.
If you want to make a car accident compensation claim, Public Interest Lawyers can help you. We can assign a skilled lawyer from our panel to work on your compensation claim. And, you will have the option to make a No Win No Fee claim.
Please contact us today using the details below to see if you can begin your car accident claim.
- Call our claims helpline on 0800 408 7825.
- Or contact us via our website.
Select A Section
- How Do Car Accident Injury Claims Work?
- What Do You Need To Make An Injury Claim?
- How Long After A Car Accident Can You Claim For A Personal Injury?
- What Injuries Could I Claim For?
- How Much Could I Get For My Injuries?
- Get Help With Your Car Accident Injury Claim
Get Help With Your Car Accident Injury Claim
According to the Road Traffic Act 1988, every driver has a legal duty of care towards other people who use the roads. Therefore, road users should adhere to the standard care and skill expected of the average road user.
If you were injured because of another road user’s negligence, you could make a car accident injury claim.
If you were injured because of poor road maintenance, you may be claim compensation from the party responsible for ensuring the road is safe. This might involve your local council, for example.
Will The Whiplash Reform Program Affect My Claim?
The government introduced the Whiplash Reform Programme on 31st May 2021. The rules of the Whiplash Reform Programme apply to you under the following circumstances:
- You were involved in a car accident on or after 31st May 2021.
- Your injury claim is worth less than £5,000 and the total value of your claim is worth £10,000 or less.
- You are over eighteen and you were the driver or passenger of a vehicle. Therefore, people involved in pedestrian, motorbike, or bicycle accidents are exempt.
If the above applies to you, you will have to make your claim through the Offical Injury Claim portal. Of course, it can be difficult to know how much your compensation claim is worth. Please feel free to call us. We can value your car accident claim and recommend the best action to take.
Whiplash Claims Statistics
The government introduced the new whiplash claims reforms to cut the high number of whiplash claims made.
Indeed the rate of road traffic accident claims in the UK is 40% higher than in 2006. And, in 2020, there were 550,000 whiplash-related compensation claims.
What Do You Need To Make An Injury Claim?
Before you make a car accident injury claim, you can collect evidence to support your case. Below are some examples of evidence you could provide:
- Evidence of the accident, such as CCTV footage and dashcam footage. You can also provide images of any damage to your vehicle.
- Evidence of your injuries. For example, your medical records and photographs of your injuries.
- After your accident, a copy of the police report could help too.
- Please keep the receipts for any purchases you made relating to your accident, such as a medication receipt.
How Long After A Car Accident Can You Make A Claim For A Personal Injury?
You may be wondering, ‘how long after a car accident can you claim for personal injury?’ According to the Limitation Act 1980, the time limit is generally three years to start a car accident injury claim. The time limit begins on the date of the accident or the date of knowledge. The date of knowledge is the date that the claimant became aware of negligence at least contributing to their injuries.
However, there are some exceptions to this rule. For example, if a child is injured, they cannot claim compensation until they are eighteen. Therefore, the personal injury claims time limit will begin on the day of the child’s eighteenth birthday and last for three years.
Alternatively, a litigation friend could claim on their behalf before the child turns eighteen. They would need to be appointed and should act in the child’s best interests.
If someone lacks the mental capacity to claim, a litigation friend could claim on their behalf. However, if a claim hasn’t already been made and the person recovers capacity, they’d be able to start a claim within 3 years of the date of recovery.
What Injuries Could I Claim For?
Unfortunately, many people are killed or seriously injured in car accidents every year. You could make a car accident injury claim if the accident that caused your injuries was due to another road user’s negligence.
Here are examples of injuries caused by car accidents:
- Soft tissue injuries, including sprains, strains and dislocation
- Organ injuries, such as a head injury
- Fractures and broken bones
- Whiplash injuries
- Open wounds
How Much Could I Get For My Injuries?
We are often asked, ‘how much should I ask for pain and suffering from a car accident?’ How much compensation you receive depends on many different factors.
Firstly, if your injury is valued below £5,000, you would make your claim through the government’s official injury claim portal. The amount you could claim this way would be determined by a pre-set tariff.
You can also only use the portal if:
- You’re 18 years old or more.
- You were a passenger or driver of a vehicle.
However, if your injuries are valued above £5,000, you weren’t a vehicle passenger or driver or you wish to claim on behalf of a child, you could make a personal injury claim.
You can receive up to two heads of claim if the claim is successful:
- General damages compensate you for the pain, suffering, and loss of amenity caused by your injuries.
- Special damages compensate you for any financial losses caused by your injuries.
To prove special damages, you’d attend a medical assessment as part of the claims process. An independent medical professional would check your injuries and create a report. This report could be used as evidence. It can also be used alongside the Judicial College Guidelines, which is a publication that lists injuries alongside potential compensation amounts.
You can use the table below to estimate how much compensation you could claim under general damages.
| Location Of Injury | Severity | About | Possible Damages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chest Injury | (d) | Where the person suffered a single penetrating wound to the chest. This has caused some permanent tissue damage. | £11,820 to £16,860 |
| Digestive system | (a) (iii) | In car accidents, these could be caused by seat-belt pressure or by penetrating stab wounds. | £6,190 to £11,820 |
| Kidney Damage | (c) | Where one kidney is lost and the remaining kidney is not damaged. | £28,880 to £42,110 |
| Shoulder Injury | Serious | Such as a fractured humerus that restricts shoulder movement. | £11,980 to £18,020 |
| Shoulder Injury | Moderate | A frozen shoulder injury which limits movement in the shoulder. The symptoms may last for 2 years. | £7,410 to £11,980 |
| Shoulder Injury | Clavicle Fracture | Where the person has sustained a fracture to the clavicle. | £4,830 to £11,490 |
| Neck Injury | Moderate (i) | Dislocations or fractures that leads to spinal fusion. | £23,460 to £36,120 |
| Neck Injury | Moderate (iii) | Where existing injuries to the neck have been made worse or have been accelerated. | £7,410 to £12,900 |
| Pelvis and Hip Injuries | Moderate (i) | Whilst the person sustained a significant pelvic injury, it should not cause permanent disability. | £24,950 to £36,770 |
| Pelvis and Hip Injuries | Moderate (ii) | The person could need a hip replacement. | £11,820 to £24,950 |
In addition to general damages, you may be eligible to claim special damages. Examples of special damages can include the following.
- Medical costs (such as prescriptions)
- Travel expenses (to and from hospital, for example)
- Mobility equipment costs
- Home adaptation expenses
- Loss of earnings after a car accident
To prove special damages, you’d need to provide documents such as invoices or payslips.
Our advisors can value your claim for free if you get in touch on the number at the top of the page.
Get Help With Your Car Accident Injury Claim
We can help if you wish to make a car accident injury claim. Our advisors could connect you with a knowledgeable solicitor from our panel to handle your claim. What’s more, they offer their services on a No Win No Fee basis.
How Do No Win No Fee Claims Work?
You would sign a Conditional Fee Agreement, the formal term for a No Win No Fee agreement. Under this agreement, you would only pay your solicitor’s fee if your claim is successful.
If your claim wins, the solicitor would deduct their success fee from your compensation payout. However, this fee is capped by law. You’d also be free to discuss it with your solicitor before agreeing to use their services.
Should your claim lose, you wouldn’t need to pay the solicitor’s fee at all. There are also no upfront or ongoing solicitor fees to pay during a claim made under No Win No Fee.
To see if you can begin your car accident compensation claim, contact us today using any of the details below:
- Call our claims helpline on 0800 408 7825. A claims advisor will be happy to help you.
- Please type a question into our support chat on the bottom right-hand corner of your browser.
- Contact us via our website with your query.
How Else Could Crash Victims Get Help?
If you have found this guide to claiming compensation after a car accident helpful, you can learn more by reading these guides.
How To Make A Cyclist Claim Against A Motorist
Public Road Accident Claims Guide
Car Accident On Public Property
Road safety information from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA)
A guide to road safety laws from Think!
If you need any more advice about making a car accident injury claim, don’t hesitate to reach out to our advisors.
Article by AH
Publisher UI