How To Make A Passenger In A Car Accident Claim

If you’ve been harmed in a road traffic accident, you might be able to make a passenger in a car accident claim. However, you would need to show that your accident and subsequent injuries were caused by someone else’s negligence on the road.

All road users owe one another a duty of care. This means that they need to act in a way that reduces the risk of injury to themselves and others. This is set out in the Road Traffic Act 1988 and outlined in the Highway Code.

Our team of advisors can confirm to you whether you have a valid claim. Furthermore, if they feel your claim is likely to be successful, they could connect you with a lawyer from our panel.

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Passenger in a car accident claim guide

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Guidance On Making A Passenger In A Car Accident Claim
Calculating Compensation For A Passenger Car Accident
Explaining Passenger Car Accidents
What Could Lead To A Passenger In A Car Accident Claim?
Could I Start A No Win No Fee Agreement?
More Information On Making A Passenger In A Car Accident Claim

Guidance On Making A Passenger In A Car Accident Claim

In this guide, we will look at the process of making road traffic accident claims. You could be compensated if you’re injured as the result of someone else’s negligence.

You’re owed a duty of care by all other road users. This means that they need to act in a way that prevents you from being injured. As well as owing a duty of care to other drivers of vehicles, road users also owe a duty of care to passengers. This includes passengers on public transport, such as a coach or bus.

In this guide, we’ll look at the kinds of damages you can be awarded in a personal injury claim. We’ll address how claims are valued and the evidence that can be used to ensure you receive the amount you’re entitled to.

Furthermore, we’ll address how car accidents could happen as a result of negligence. This guide will include examples of injuries that could be sustained in these accidents, too.

If you have any questions about making a claim, speak with one of our advisors today for free legal advice. They could connect you with a lawyer from our panel if your passenger in a car accident claim has a good chance of success.

Calculating Compensation For A Passenger Car Accident

The Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) is a document that can be used by legal professionals to help value claims. It contains a wide range of different injuries with associated guideline compensation brackets.

This can be used to value the general damages head of your claim. This is the part of your compensation that relates to the pain, suffering and loss of amenity that your injuries cause. We’ve used values from the JCG to create the table below.

Injury	Compensation Brackets	Notes
Very Severe Injury Resulting From Brain Damage (a)	£282,010 to £403,990	A requirement for full time nursing care, little or no meaningful reaction to environment.
Kidney (a)	£169,400 to £210,400	Serious and permanent damage to, or loss of, both kidneys
Severe Back Injuries (i) (a)	£91,090 to £160,980	Most severe injuries of this nature involve damage to the spinal cord and nerve roots, leading to a combination of serious consequences not otherwise found in back injuries.
Amputation of arm (b)	£96,160 to £109,650	Below-elbow amputation
Deafness/Tinnitus (b)	£90,750 to £109,650	Total deafness but without speech deficit or tinnitus.
Severe (iii) Leg Injuries (b)	£39,200 to £54,830	Compound or comminuted fractures of joints or ligaments.
Chest Injuries (c)	£31,310 to £54,830	Damage to chest and lungs with continuing disability
Shoulder (b)	£12,770 to £19,200	Dislocation of the shoulder that damages the brachial plexus, resulting in shoulder and neck pain.
Less Severe Other Arm Injuries (c)	£19,200 to £39,170	There will be significant disabilities although with a substantial degree of recovery.
Digestive System- Damage Resulting from Traumatic Injury (a) (iii)	£6,610 to £12,590	Penetrating wounds, industrial lacerations or high-pressure seat belt injuries.

If your injuries are worth £5,000 or less, and you’re a driver or passenger of a vehicle who is over the age of 18, then this might impact how your passenger in a car accident claim is made. Get in touch for more details.

You could also receive special damages relating to the financial impact that your injury has had. For example, you could claim back:

Loss of income
Medical expenses
Adjustments to your home and vehicle that you need to make to cope with your injuries

You’ll need to provide evidence of your costs and losses in order for your claim to include them. For example, you could show receipts to show the money you’ve spent on things or payslips to demonstrate a loss of earnings.

Explaining Passenger Car Accidents

There are a number of different ways that you could be injured in a road traffic accident as a passenger. If you’re a passenger, you will make a claim against the at-fault party. This could be another vehicle on the road, but you could also claim against the driver of the vehicle you’re travelling in.

Some examples of how car accidents could occur include:

A driver fails to leave the appropriate stopping distance from the car in front. As a result, a rear-end collision occurs which results in a passenger in the car ahead experiencing a neck injury.
A vehicle fails to indicate before suddenly changing lanes. As a result, they collide with the passenger side of a vehicle in the lane they were changing to. This results in the passenger sustaining a broken leg.
A head-on collision occurs between a bus and a car because a drunk driver was travelling down the wrong side of the road. As a result, a passenger sustains a permanent disability.

There are other ways that a breach of duty of care could cause someone to be injured. If you’re not sure if the circumstances of your accident could entitle you to make a passenger in a car accident claim, get a free evaluation from our advisors today.

What Could Lead To A Passenger In A Car Accident Claim?

In order to claim, you need to show that a breach of the duty of care that you’re owed led to an accident in which you were injured. You will need to provide evidence in support of your claim.

There are certain steps you can take to strengthen your case. For example:

Seek medical attention- Primarily this is for your health and safety. However, it also provides a record of the severity of your injuries and any treatment that you needed.
Witness statements- Gather the contact details of any witnesses on the scene. When you make your claim, they can provide witness statements.
CCTV footage- You can request CCTV footage that you appear in
Photographs- Photograph your injuries and the scene if it’s safe and appropriate to do so.
Seek legal advice- Before making your claim, speak to our advisors. They can give you useful advice about whether your claim is valid.

If you are looking to file a claim contact our team of advisors. Available 24/7, they can give you a free claim valuation and may be able to connect you with a lawyer if your passenger in a car accident claim is valid.

Could I Start A No Win No Fee Agreement?

If you choose to work with a lawyer when claiming, you might be offered a No Win No Fee agreement. This is an umbrella term that Conditional Fee Agreements are included other.

With this kind of agreement in place, you won’t be asked to pay your lawyer up front or as the claim is ongoing. In the event that you make a successful claim, your solicitor will take a success fee from your settlement, which is subject to a legal cap.

If you aren’t awarded compensation, you don’t pay your lawyer for their services. This means that you won’t be left in a position where you’re paying large fees to your lawyer as they work on your case, but without any guarantee that you will be compensated in the end.

Speak with an advisor today to see if you have a valid passenger in a car accident claim. If you do, you could be connected with a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel.

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