Car accident compensation claims in the UK
Since the early 1970’s the number of car accidents on UK roads has risen steadily, mainly due to an increase in the number of cars on our roads. The good news is that the number of people being seriously injured, or killed in car accidents has fallen by 50%, mainly due to advances in car safety features, such as head restraints, airbags and crumple zones. The majority of car accident compensation claims in the UK , relate to whiplash injury, which, whilst it can be a painful injury, over 90% of people make a full recovery within a short period of time. See Whiplash injury, for more information.
If you have suffered a whiplash injury, cuts and bruises or a more serious injury such as a head injury, spinal cord injury or brain injury in a car accident that was not your fault, you can make a car accident compensation claim against the person responsible (in practice the claim will be made against their insurance company).
What can I claim compensation for?
If you’ve been injured in a car accident which wasn’t your fault, you are entitled to make a compensation claim for any expenses that were incurred as a result of the accident. These costs include the following:
- Cost of medical treatment
- Cost of prescription and medicines
- Travel expenses
- Loss of earnings
- Damage to property
- Compensation for pain and suffering
As far as possible, you should keep any receipts for all out of pocket expenses arising from the accident as they will be needed should you decide to make a claim.
How long do car accident compensation claims take?
Car accident compensation claims in the UK are usually settled without the need to go to Court, by both sides reaching agreement on the amount of compensation to be awarded. Given that the circumstances of every accident and the length of recovery time are different in every case, it is difficult to put a timescale on how long it will take for your claim to be settled. A straight forward claim, where the circumstances of the accident are not being disputed by the other side and where a full recovery is made within 4/6 weeks or so, will probably take 6/8 months. Other cases can take much longer, as they are far more complex and there are many more factors to be considered, such as treatment, rehabilitation, loss of future earnings, future care, modifications to accommodation or rehousing etc.
Once you have contacted us regarding your claim we will be able to give you an approximate idea of for how long your car accident compensation claim. See Claiming compensation, for more information.
How we can help
The Claim Solicitors work on a no cost, no win, no fee basis which means that you can pursue a car accident compensation claim knowing that if you lose you will not have to pay us, or your opponent's solicitor fees. We do not ask to you take out a loan to fund your case, nor do we ask for any money up front to pay for medical reports and other costs. We take the risk not you. If your claim is successful we recover our legal costs from your opponent. If it is not successful all legal fees will be written off and you will not be liable for any costs. We never take a penny of our client’s compensation. You are protected from costs at all times and will get 100% of your compensation without any deductions, guaranteed.
Call us for free legal advice without obligation
We understand that you may have a lot of questions and apprehensions about making car accident compensation claims in the UK. Please give our claims team a call now, for free and friendly advice without obligation, or if you would like to get your claim underway. We’re here to take your call 24 hours a day on 0800 197 32 32.
