Articles

Compensation for a Road Traffic Accident

Have you been in a road traffic accident that wasn’t your fault and you’ve suffered as part of this accident? If so you have a legal and civil right to claim compensation from the other party involved in the road traffic accident.

Most road traffic accident compensation claims involve two drivers the driver or passenger from the vehicle claiming compensation from the driver of the other vehicle. If there is evidence that the road traffic accident was caused by the driver’s negligence, your compensation claim will lead to legal proceedings. These may involve the drivers and passengers of both vehicles.

If the accident was due to poor road design the compensation claim is most likely to be against the local council, this may include poor maintenance of the road, the failure for proper road signs etc. If the accident is found to be a car defect the claim may be against a mechanic or garage if it’s found the vehicle was in an unsafe condition or even a claim against the car manufacturer due to poor design or a manufacturing defect which caused the accident in the first place.

It’s not only cars that are involved in road traffic accidents there are accidents involving: -

• Motorbike and Car Road Traffic Accidents – Motorcyclists are often known as wreckless drivers and therefore in a hearing they may not get a fair hearing as the jury may think they are just another wreckless driver even though they might be not at fault.

• Bicyclists and Car Road Traffic Accidents – Bicyclists are the most vulnerable on the roads as they are more likely to receive serious injury if they collide with a car. Bicyclists are often in the driver’s blind spot and therefore it was too late to see them and also cars and other vehicles opening door on them is another hazard.

• Buses and Car Road Traffic Accidents – Buses are large vehicles and therefore if a car collides with a bus the accident can be serious, not only for the driver of the car and their passengers but also for the passengers on the bus. The compensation claim will not only be against the driver of the bus but also the bus operator.

• Pedestrians and Road Traffic Accidents – If a pedestrian has a collision with any vehicle and they want to make a compensation claim it can be difficult as the conduct of the pedestrian is taken into account.

If a road traffic accident takes place and the driver who caused the accident drives off without stopping, it’s difficult for the injured party to make a compensation claim as they don’t have any details, they would have to make a positive ID of the person and they may not even know what the person looked like so a claim would be very difficult.

If there are witnesses at your road traffic accident take their name and contact details so you, the police or your compensation lawyer can contact them later, if you are able to take photographs of the scene take them with your camera or even your mobile phone. With these details you have a better outcome for your claim of compensation.
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Accident Consult is regulated by the Ministry of Justice and are authorised to undertake regulated claims management activities under the provisions of the Compensation Act 2006. They are specialists in dealing with Road Traffic Accident Compensation Claims.