By Marlon Marquardt. Last Updated 28th November 2022. Welcome to our guide on 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 difficult undertaking. However, this article has been produced so that you can be guided through the process of making a car accident compensation claim if you have been injured in a road traffic accident caused by the negligence of others.
We’ll be covering topics such as the evidence you can present, what to do at the scene of an accident and why getting medical advice for any injuries is vital. Additionally, the article will cover how much your claim could be worth following a car crash.
Car accident compensation
Read on for this information and more. You’ll also find our contact details just below. Our advisors are standing by to offer you free legal advice at any time of the day.
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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
- Time Limits To Start A Claim
- 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
Every road user which includes pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, e-scooter users and drivers all owe each other a duty of care as per the Highway Code. Also, the Road Traffic Act 1988 plays an important part when talking about the duty of care road users have not to cause unnecessary accidents.
In order to be able to make a personal injury claim following a car accident or any road traffic incident, it is vital to establish liability. To be eligible to make a personal injury claim it must be proven that you were owed a duty of care. This duty will have been breached and the cause of the accident. Finally, you will need to have suffered harm in order to make a personal injury claim following any accident.
To prove the above it is key to gather evidence. By law, you must stop at the scene of a road traffic accident if injury or damage has been caused to anyone but yourself. Firstly checking that you are not injured then checking that others are not if this is safe to do so. If you are able to then you can start to gather evidence. Photographs of the scene along with any injuries. Collecting contact details from anyone involved in the accident is really important and this can also include any witnesses to the incident.
Always seek medical advice following an accident such as a road traffic incident. This is not only vital so that your injuries can be looked at regardless of how minor they are but also records your injuries within your medical notes. This can be used as evidence if you are eligible to make a personal injury claim.
In addition, 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 because of a personal injury, you’ll need to gather evidence to present during the process. Without proof, you’ll find it much harder to succeed. Some examples you could gather regarding your personal injury claim include:
- Medical appointments – these reports will contain detailed information regarding what treatment you required and the severity of your injuries
- Police report
- Photographs/CCTV – visual evidence is always useful to have when making a claim
- Witness Details – statements from witnesses may need to be taken later on in the claim
- Details of those involved – names, addresses, contact details, and insurance details
There are other forms of evidence you could obtain. For more examples and information, get in touch with us today.
Make Sure You Get Medical Care As Soon As Possible
It is important to seek medical attention for your injuries. Even minor ailments may be a sign of a deeper-lying problem. Additionally, you may have no initial symptoms. It’s always best to be cautious following a car accident and have a medical professional take a look at you. Very often medical conditions may not present themselves soon after an accident it may be a little while later when you notice the effects so always get checked out.
Not only is being treated a benefit to your physical wellbeing, but it can also be helpful in your attempts to claim for injuries after a car accident. 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 type of injury may worsen over time and it is important to keep a record of this.
It is important to keep your doctor updated 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). This government portal was introduced due to the high volume of whiplash claims being processed by insurance companies.
Despite the name, it can be used for any road traffic injury valued at £5,000 or lower. It isn’t exclusively for whiplash claims. However, these new rules only apply to drivers and passengers over the age of 18.
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
If you are not a driver or passenger over 18 you’ll just need to make a road traffic accident personal injury claim in the traditional way.
Time Limits To Start A Claim
To successfully make an injury claim following a car accident, you should ensure that you start your claim within the limitation period.
This may either be:
- Three years from the date of your accident
- Three years from the date you were made aware of your injuries
If someone under the age of 18 is injured due to negligence and wishes to claim accident compensation, they are unable to represent themselves in legal proceedings. The time limit will therefore be frozen until their 18th birthday, at which point the usual 3 years will then apply.
A litigation friend can be appointed to represent them during the suspended period.
A similar exception is in place for people mentally unable to start a claim. The limitation period will be frozen indefinitely unless they recover. A litigation friend could represent them at any point during this time.
Please reach out to one of our advisers to learn more about how to make a car accident personal injury claim.
Calculating Car Accident Compensation Payouts
The figures that we are about to discuss are different if you are claiming through the Whiplash Reform Program. These figures are for those who have suffered a personal injury and are making a claim in the traditional way.
The figure awarded to account for your physical pain and mental injuries are known as general damages. They are calculated by legal professionals with the assistance of the Judicial College guidelines (JCG).
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 suggests. The actual amounts you could receive may exceed or fall short of the figures suggested.
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
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. These figures can include things like:
- 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 hiring a solicitor for their personal injury claim. Although you are not legally required to have a solicitor they do offer a better chance of the claim succeeding. It is possible to hire a solicitor without paying any upfront or hidden fees.
Why not opt for a No Win No Fee solicitor? You won’t be responsible for paying them if your claim is unsuccessful. You would be required to sign a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).
When working in this way, 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.
To see if you could use a No Win No Fee agreement as a way of funding the services of your solicitor, get in touch with us today. Don’t hesitate. Personal injury claims often have a time limit. Don’t let your window of opportunity expire.
- 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,
- You can request CCTV footage of yourself as evidence.
- Read about how a litigation friend can be appointed to claim on your behalf.
- Road Traffic Act 1988
- Motor Insurers’ Bureau MIB – for accidents that involve untraced drivers
Thank you for reading our guide on claiming car accident compensation.