Accidents On The Road

If you have been involved in an accident on the road, then you will be aware of the fact that the results of road accidents can often be seriously debilitating, both physically and mentally. Road injury claims are one of the most common types of personal injury claim because of the seriousness of these types of accident. However should it be the case that the accident in question was not your fault, or was partially the fault of another party, then you would almost certainly be in your rights to make a claim for compensation.

Can you put in a claim?

If you have been injured by any type of road vehicle, including a badly driven motorbike, then you may be entitled to make a road injury claim. To make a claim, you do not even have to have been driving one of the vehicles that were involved. Many claims come from people who were passengers in a car, van, minibus or coach for example that was involved in an accident. In these cases, the responsible party may be the driver of the vehicle which you were travelling in, or it may be a third party driver who caused the incident to occur. Even pedestrians may be entitled to make a claim, if they have been injured as the result of an accident involving a vehicle.

What types of injuries are covered?

One of the most common types of injury seen in road injury claims is whiplash injuries. These are usually caused by someone driving into the back of the vehicle you are travelling in. Even a minor bump can cause whiplash injuries, if the head is jolted suddenly. Other physical injuries include broken bones, crush injuries, spinal cord injuries, paralysis and even death.

Psychological injuries can also be sustained in a road traffic accident. For example, if a person starts to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of an accident which they were involved in, their overall quality of life may suffer due of this. This would certainly be taken into account in a claim for compensation.

What to do if you want to make an injury claim

If you want to make a claim for compensation after a road traffic accident, you will need to be able to prove that another person was partially responsible for the injuries which you sustained. If you are feeling well enough after the accident, try to gather the names and contact details of anyone who may have witnessed the accident. Also try to gather photographic evidence of the damage which occurred.

If the driver of a vehicle tries to flee the scene after the accident without providing valid contact details, the police should be informed because this is a criminal offence and you can read more on that here. Once you seek medical attention for your injury, you should take copies of all of the relevant documents (including prescription charges and additional travel costs) so that you can prove that the accident has caused you suffering and out of pocket expenses. Take your claim to a legal professional for the best outcome.