Could I Claim Compensation After An Accident On Public Transport?

If you’ve suffered an accident on public transport, you may be entitled to compensation. This guide will explain how you could make a public transport accident claim, under what circumstances you may receive compensation and answer questions such as, “can you sue public transportation?” 

Should you have any questions about transport accident compensation, you can contact our advisors for free legal advice. They’re available 24/7 and can inform you quickly and easily if you’re able to claim compensation. Additionally, they can also put you through to our panel of public transport accident compensation solicitors who could work your case on a No Win No Fee basis. 

Please remember that you’re under no obligation to use our services if you contact us. You can do this using the details below. 

  • Call us using the phone number above. 
  • Contact us through our website. 
  • Tell us your query using the chat window on your screen. 

Read on to learn more about how proving another party’s negligence is crucial to making a successful public transport injury claim. 

accident on public transport

A guide to claiming after an accident on public transport

Select a Section

  1. The Definition Of An Accident On Public Transport
  2. How To Build A Valid Personal Injury Claim
  3. What Could Cause An Accident On Public Transport To Happen?
  4. Calculate Your Personal Injury Compensation Settlement
  5. Use A No Win No Fee Solicitor
  6. Talk With Us About A Claim After An Accident On Public Transport

The Definition Of An Accident On Public Transport

An accident on public transport is any unintentional injury caused while using public transport, leading to some form of pain and discomfort. Whether you want to make a bus accident claim or a train accident claim, the principles for claiming are the same: a party that owed you a duty of care, such as the company responsible for ensuring the public transport is safe, was negligent and this led to your injuries. 

If your injury was caused by negligence, it’s understandable that you’d want to receive compensation for a public transport accident. To see if you’re eligible for compensation, you can contact us at a time that works for you. To do this, please use the details above. 

How To Build A Valid Personal Injury Claim

As previously mentioned, proving another party’s negligence is vital to making a successful personal injury claim. Certain parties have a duty of care. This includes road users (under The Highway Code) and occupiers of places accessible to the public, as defined in The Occupier’s Liability Act 1957

Road users should adhere to the standard care and skill of the average road user. Those in control of places accessible to the public (such as public transport companies) should ensure those places are safe for visitors. 

With this in mind, there are three basic principles to any successful personal injury claim. 

  1. That the party had a duty of care. 
  2. Secondly, they breached this duty. 
  3. Thirdly, these actions caused your injury. 

Therefore, if you’re claiming for a road traffic accident (RTA), for instance, you would need to prove all three of these aspects to receive compensation. 

Gathering evidence is another vital aspect of receiving compensation. As the person making the public transport injury compensation claim, the onus is on you to prove that the other party’s negligence caused your injury. Evidence you could use includes:

  • Photographic evidence of your injury and the scene of the accident
  • Witness statements
  • Copies of medical records
  • CCTV footage

Statistics

accident on public transport statistics graph

You may be wondering how often an accident on public transport happens. The Department for Transport provides public transport accidents statistics for Great Britain. Above is a graph detailing the total number of reported bus and coach occupant casualties from 2016 to 2020.

The statistics above show how often people have been injured on public transport. Casualties can range from cuts and bruises to severe fractures and head injuries. As you can see, there were 4,246 casualties reported in 2016, with only 1,506 reported in 2020. The figure for 2020 could partly be caused by lockdown regulations. 

Overall, there were 16,874 casualties reported on buses and coaches across the five years. These statistics don’t state how many casualties resulted in a public transport injury claim. However, they are still significant. 

Therefore, don’t assume you won’t be able to make a public transport accident injury compensation claim. If you’re able to prove that your injury was caused by negligence, you may be able to receive transport accident compensation. Contact us to see if you can claim using the details above. 

What Could Cause An Accident On Public Transport To Happen?

We’ve already established that certain parties have a duty of care, such as road users or those in control of public transport. You might be able to claim compensation for an accident on public transport if another party’s negligence caused your injury. Examples of incidents you may be able to claim for include: 

  • Road traffic accidents caused by a driver’s negligence. Regardless of whether the driver is the bus driver or another driver on the road, if they’ve been negligent and caused your injuries, you may be able to claim. For instance, a bus you’re on could swerve into another lane without indicating, resulting in a multi-car pile-up. 
  • A slip, trip or fall in certain circumstances. For example, if there’s a faulty step on the bus that the company are aware of but don’t attend to, you may be able to claim if you’re injured because of it. 
  • Suffering an injury because of a malfunction. For instance, the train door could trap your arm if the door is faulty but the train company have done nothing about it, despite being aware. It could result in you suffering a crush injury. 

As with any accidents involving public transport that result in a successful claim, it’s important to remember that you need to prove that your injury was caused by another party’s negligence. 

Calculate A Compensation Settlement

The amount of compensation you could receive for an accident on public transport is based on many factors. These include:

  • The length of your recovery period
  • The severity of the injuries
  • Whether you’ve suffered any permanent damage
  • The nature of the accident

There are two potential types of compensation for a public transport accident. Firstly, general damages relate to the pain and suffering caused by the injury. The amount you receive for this is dictated by factors such as the ones listed above. Furthermore, special damages relate to the financial losses suffered due to the injury. This means you could claim for: 

  • Loss of earnings
  • Travel costs (to and from hospitals, for example)
  • Loss of future earnings
  • Private healthcare costs if the NHS couldn’t provide the care
  • Adjustments required for your home because of the injury

The Judicial College can give you a greater understanding of what you could receive for general damages compensation. They analyse previous payouts based on the severity of the injury. By doing this, they’ve created compensation brackets which you can see below.

Injury TypeSeverityCompensation AmountDescription
BrainLess Severe£14,380 to £40,410Injuries in this bracket will lead to the injured person having a good recovery, including being able to return to work and take part in normal social life. However, there may be persistant problems like poor concentration and memory.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Moderately Severe£21,730 to £56,180This bracket includes PTSD symptoms that lead to a better prognosis than with more severe types of the condition. However, the effects will most likely still lead to significant disabilities for the foreseeable future.
BackSevere (iii)£36,390 to £65,440Injuries in this bracket includes disc fractures or lesions or soft tissue injuries causing chronic conditions that lead to continuing discomfort and severe pain, impaired sexual function and potential personality changes.
ShoulderSerious£11,980 to £18,020This bracket is for injuries such as shoulder dislocation and lower brachial plexus damage leading to neck and shoulder pain.
Injuries to the Pelvis and HipModerate (i)£24,950 to £36,770This bracket is for a significant injury to the hip and pelvis. However, there will be no major permanent disability caused with any future risk not being great.
ArmSimple£6,190 to £18,020This bracket is for simple forearm fractures.
ElbowModerate or MinorUp to £11,820Most elbow injuries fall into this bracket, including tennis elbow syndrome, simple fractures and lacerations.
Severe Leg InjuriesModerate (iv)£26,050 to £36,790Injuries in this bracket include severe crush injuries, usually to a single limb, and multiple or complicated fractures.
KneeSevere (iii)£24,580 to £40,770This bracket includes injuries that will result in less severe disabilities that could still cause continuous symptoms including movement limitation.
AnkleModerate£12,900 to £24,950This bracket is for injuries such as ligamentous tears, fractures and injuries that cause less serious disabilities.

These are similar figures to those you would receive if you use a personal injury claims calculator. However, please remember that these brackets only indicate what you could receive for an accident on public transport. They aren’t guarantees. 

Every claim is unique so, should your claim be successful, the compensation amount can be dictated by many factors. To learn more about this, please get in touch with us at a time that works for you using the details above. 

Use A No Win No Fee Solicitor 

The benefits of using a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel when making a public transport accident claim include: 

  • No hidden fees or costs. If you want to use a Conditional Fee Agreement (the formal term for a No Win No Fee agreement), the solicitor will clarify all potential costs before you agree to use their services. 
  • Not paying your solicitor’s fee whether during the claims process or upfront. 
  • Only paying your solicitor’s fee once a settlement has been reached. Your solicitor’s fee will be a small, legally capped portion of your compensation. 

Furthermore, the solicitors from our panel are experienced in claiming compensation for an accident on public transport. 

Talk With Us About A Claim After An Accident On Public Transport

Our advisors are available 24/7, offer free legal advice and can answer any questions or queries you have about claiming for an accident on public transport. They can also tell you quickly and easily if you’re eligible to claim, and, if you want, they can also transfer you to a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel so they can begin building your compensation claim. 

However, please remember that you’re under no obligation to use our services if you contact us. Please do so using the details below.

  • Call us using the phone number above. 
  • Contact us using our website. 
  • Tell us your query using the chat window.  

Further Resources

Would you like to know more about claiming compensation for an accident on public transport? If so, please use the below links. 

If you’ve suffered psychological trauma, talking therapies could help you. To learn more about this, please refer to this NHS webpage. 

More road traffic accident statistics for Great Britain can be found on the Department for Transport website. 

Have you suffered a foot injury and would like medical guidance? If so, please read this article on the NHS website. 

Why not check out more of our personal injury claims guides below:

To know more about receiving compensation for an accident on public transport, please contact our advisors using the details above. 

Written by DUR 

Published by VIC