Personal injury news

Insurance Pot to Pay Train Crash Compensation Bill
Compensation for victims of last month's Berkshire rail crash will be met from the costs of ordinary motorists' insurance because the driver of the car involved had no traceable policy, it was confirmed today.

The likely multi-million pound bill for the crash, which killed seven people and left dozens injured, will be paid out of a cash pot funded by the insurance industry from drivers' policies.

The Motor Insurers' Bureau - which is funded by all motor insurance firms - said today that it would pay in full all personal injury claims from victims of the accident at Ufton Nervet, near Reading, a month ago.

The tragedy happened on November 6 when the 1735 London Paddington to Plymouth service ploughed into Brian Drysdale's car on a level crossing at 100mph, derailing the train.

Insurers were unable to find a valid insurance policy for Mr Drysdale, a 48-year-old chef from Reading, leaving the industry facing the prospect of picking up the bill for claims.

After talks with Network Rail and transport firm First Group, which runs the First Great Western franchise, the MIB announced today that it would be meeting all claims in full both for surviving victims and dependants of those killed.

The payments are being made under the Uninsured Drivers' Agreement which meets the costs of personal injury claims both from drivers with no insurance involved in accidents and those whose policies are not valid under the circumstances.

In Mr Drysdale's case, insurance firms trawled through records of policies but could not find one in his name.

It may be possible that he was insured through some other route such as being an additional driver on someone else's policy but no record of this has been found.

But a spokesman for the MIB, which pays out hundreds of millions of pounds a year in claims, said that ordinary motorists are unlikely to feel a dramatic pinch.

Reports after the accident claimed that the total bill could exceed £30 million, leaving drivers up and down the country facing an increase of at least 50p on their premiums.

But the spokesman said: "In reality it's not going to see a sudden increase in policy costs - liability will be spread out over a period of time."

He said that, although no information was available on the total value of the claim, it is thought that the figure of £30 million is likely to be too high.

But he added: "It really is too early to tell."

The MIB revealed today that it had received 36 claims to date and had already made interim payments.

It has also made arrangements for counselling and rehabilitation for victims.

As well as Mr Drysdale, the crash killed 38-year-old Anjanette Rossi and her nine-year-old daughter Louella Main, from Steen, near Newbury; train driver Stanley Martin, 54, from Torquay, Devon; Barry Strevens, 55, of Wells, Somerset; Emily Webster, 14, of Moretonhampstead, Devon; and Leslie Matthews, 72, of Warminster, Wiltshire.