Claiming For Passenger Injuries After A Car Accident
Being involved in a car accident can be a very traumatic experience for both the driver and the passenger. However, it is the responsibility of the driver to control the car in a safe manner, in the same way that all other road users have a duty of care. In the majority of road traffic accident cases the passenger is an innocent party, therefore it is very likely that they will be able to make a successful claim.
However, it is not as straightforward as that. In most cases the passenger will know the driver of the car, it may be a friend, colleague or a family member and they may be hesitant or apprehensive about making a claim. If it is a friend or a family member then it is worth remembering that if you do make a claim against them and their negligence is revealed, then the worst that will happen is that they will lose their no claims bonus. They will not have to pay any money towards the claim as their insurance company will pay out the compensation. It is your entitlement to claim compensation if you are injured as a passenger and the driver’s negligence was to blame.
It is important to remember that you are entitled to claim no matter how well you know the driver. In order to claim it will need to be proven that the driver was at least partly to blame for the accident. Either the driver of the vehicle in which you were travelling must be to blame or another road user. The same rules apply if you are travelling in a taxi. The taxi will have a license to carry passengers and you will still be entitled to compensation if the accident occurred as a result of their negligence.
It is slightly different if you are making a claim as a passenger in a company vehicle. It could be that you work for a removal company and you travel with a colleague to different locations or perhaps you work for the police and are a passenger in that way. If you suffer injuries from being a passenger in a company car then there is more than one direction that you could take your claim. If you report the accident to your company then you may be able to make a passenger injury claim on their business insurance. Alternatively you may be able to make an accident at work claim against your employers and make a claim in that way. However, if may be that a company is less than cooperative and could try to refute the claim or delay it in some way so that they do not need to claim off their own insurance. In this case it is advisable to take advice from an impartial legal company like Accident Consult. They will advise the best route that will ensure a successful claim and they also operate a ‘no win no fee’ system.
Tags: accident cases, bonus, car accident, colleague, duty of care, family member, insurance, insurance company, money, nbsp, negligence, road traffic accident, road users, taxi, traumatic experience |
