Road Traffic Accidents
- No Win No Fee, With No Hidden Extras
- Outstanding Results, 96.96% Success Rate*
- Highly Qualified Specialist Personal Injury Solicitors
- Friendly And Approachable
Personal injury solicitors
No win no fee, no hidden extras
As you may have been involved in a road traffic accident, you could be entitled to claim compensation. At Harris Fowler we specialise in getting you the compensation you deserve. This page will set out the elements of a claim we will need to prove and some hints and tips to help your claim go smoothly.
In order to make a claim for compensation following a road traffic accident you have to prove three things
- That the other party owed you a duty of care
- That the other party fell below the standard of care expected of them
- That their failure to meet the standard of care caused you injury and/or loss
The First Part – Duty of Care
For the most part this is the easiest part of a claim to establish as the courts have already established as early as 1832 that pedestrians and road users such as car drivers, motorcyclists, HGV’s or Cyclists owe each other a duty to take reasonable care.
The Second Part – Breach of Duty
The second part of a claim is to show that the other party has failed to take such care as is reasonable in the circumstances either by doing something or failing to do something.
The courts when considering what should reasonably have been done they will first consider what an ordinary, skilful, average motorist should have done and then consider whether the other driver has fallen below that standard.
Breach of duty in road traffic accidents is often established by showing the other driver has failed to act reasonably, for example by not checking their mirrors before pulling out, or by pulling out of side road without checking the road is clear. Each case is different which is why it is important to seek the advice of a specialist personal injury lawyer who will be better able to advise you on the facts of your case.
An interesting situation is that of a speeding driver, the courts have stated that speed alone is not sufficient to show breach of duty the reason for this is that the Claimant needs to show the other party has failed to take care in the circumstances. To illustrate, going 71 miles per hour on a motorway is unlikely to be considered a breach of duty, however, going 71 on a country lane with limited visibility, is very likely to be a breach of duty.
Whilst it is normally the Claimant’s responsibility to prove each element of their claim, If the other driver has been convicted of a criminal offence, for example “Driving without due care and attention” this reverses the burden of proof and the Defendant will instead have to prove that the offence for which they were convicted is not relevant as to whether they fell below the standard expected of them.
Hints and tips for early on
Because of the Claimant’s need to prove breach of duty it is often beneficial when involved in an accident to obtain and keep the following
- Pictures of the accident scene showing the vehicles after the accident
- Pictures showing the point of impact if the vehicles have been moved
- Pictures of the damage to both vehicles
- A picture of the other driver
- If a foreign vehicle both the rear and front registration numbers
- Details of the other driver including address and their insurance details
- (Please note the other party has a requirement to provide their insurance details due to S154 of The Road Traffic Act 1988) and if they refuse we would advise contacting the police as the other driver is committing an offence
If the other driver doesn’t have their insurance certificate to hand it is wise to check their details, this can be done from the roadside at www.askMID.com.
The Third Part – That breach caused loss
The third and final part of bringing a claim is demonstrating that the other driver is responsible for causing the injury and losses being claimed, whether this is personal injury or other financial losses such as loss of earnings.
Personal injury
With personal injury this would seem straight forward, another car hits you and causes you to have a bad back, it would seem obvious that the accident is the cause of your bad back. But this becomes more complicated when before the accident you already had a bad back or had underlying problems which you may not have even known about. Because of these complexities the court relies upon the opinion of independent medical experts as to what caused the injuries and how long they are likely to last.
If you have been injured in an accident it is important to seek medical advice as soon as possible to ensure you are getting the appropriate treatment for your injuries. In addition, as the medical expert will likely have sight of your records of attendance they will act as evidence as to the nature and extent of your symptoms and will help support your claim.
Because the court will rely upon the opinion of the medical expert it is important that the expert is aware of any previous health issues or accidents. In addition, as the expert will need to comment on whether any financial losses such as treatment received or time off work is due to the accident, it is important that you also discuss these with the medical expert.
Other losses
Once the medical expert has provided their opinion as to whether the loss (time off work/treatment etc.) is as a result of the accident we will then need to collect evidence to calculate what each head of loss may be and your highly experienced lawyer will advise what is needed in respect of each head of loss you are looking to claim.
The important thing to remember however is to keep receipts for any expenses you incur as it will help us prove the loss and recover the monies in respect of that loss.
As there is a lot to remember to do following an accident try and remember the following acronym
T = Take pictures of everything
O = Obtain medical advice from your G.P. or walk in centre as soon as possible
C = Check Askmid for insurance details at the roadside
K = Keep receipts for any purchases
S = Speak to the medical expert about all the ways the accident has affected you
“Harris Fowler are the only ones I would trust. They make everything clear, easy and always deliver total honesty – Thank you to all who worked on my claim.”
Mrs Wendy Filkins
Chloe Edwards
Associates
What do I do next?
To find out how much your claim could be worth, take a look at our Compensation Calculator
To find out if you have a claim call us on Freephone
0800 213 214, or fill out the claim form.