PERSONAL INJURY
ROAD TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS
Claims for Drivers
Do I have a claim?
You will be able to claim if the accident was caused by another driver.
All vehicle drivers have a legal duty to drive in a way that does not endanger other road users. If a person causes an accident by driving recklessly or without due care and attention they are almost certain to be legally liable for that accident.
It is quite often obvious who is to blame for a road traffic accident. Straightforward cases might be where another car hits you from behind, where a car pulls out from a side road and causes a collision or where a car overtakes or changes lane in a dangerous fashion. In each of these examples you would have a very strong claim.
Other accidents may be less clear cut. Your solicitor will be able to advise you in these cases.
Yes. It is very important that you obtain the other driver's name and address. Even if you cannot get this, you should try to get the other vehicle's registration number, make, model and colour.
The other driver's insurance details are not absolutely essential but may help to speed up your claim. If the police have attended the accident scene they will have obtained all these details.
It is very helpful if you can prepare a drawing showing the road layout and the position of the vehicles at the time of the accident. It can also sometimes help if you obtain photographs of the place where the accident occurred; this is not absolutely necessary, however.
Claims for Passengers
The major difference is that, as a passenger in a vehicle, your claim is almost certain to succeed. If there has been an accident it will be the fault of either the driver of your car or the driver of the other car. Your claim will be made to the insurers of whichever of the drivers is at fault.
It makes no difference. You are entitled to claim against your spouse's insurance if he/she was responsible for the accident. This is a situation that arises fairly often.
As explained above, it is very helpful if you can obtain the details of the other driver.
You are still entitled to make a claim. The first thing to establish is whether the accident was the fault of the bus driver or another driver. If the bus driver was at fault then the claim will be against the bus company. In some cases (such as when the bus brakes too sharply or pulls away from a stop too quickly) there are no other vehicles involved; those claims are obviously addressed to the bus company.
In cases where another vehicle is at fault we can obtain the necessary details from the bus company and can then address the claim accordingly.
Yes. You should, however, make sure that you get the details of the taxi driver and his vehicle as well as the details of the other driver and vehicle involved.
Uninsured and Hit and Run Claims
Yes you can. These claims are dealt with by an organisation called the Motor Insurers' Bureau (MIB). The claim proceeds in exactly the same way as if the other driver had insurers acting for him. The only difference is that the MIB will pay your compensation and will then take steps to recover this from the uninsured driver.
The only drawback with these cases is that they can take slightly longer to conclude than cases where the driver is insured.
Yes. Claims in these circumstances are also dealt with by the MIB.
If the details of the car/driver that hit you are known, the claim will be against his insurers. In hit and run cases the claim would be dealt with by the MIB.
Please contact our personal injury department at either of our offices in Harrow (020 8427 6262) or Rickmansworth (01923 776211.)
We will be happy to arrange a free interview in order to advise you on your potential claim.
