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Road Accident Passenger Claims

If you or a member of your family is suffering from injuries sustained whilst a passenger in a road accident or motorway accident, our specialist personal injury lawyers may be able to help you claim compensation. Contact us today on 0800 032 8511 for claim advice, or by completing a claim enquiry form.

Road Accidents Involving Passengers
Passenger Safety
Specialist Personal Injury Lawyers
Successful Passenger Compensation Claims
Steps to Take After a Car Accident
Bus Accident Passenger Claims
Making a Passenger Injury Compensation Claim
Compensation

How Much Compensation am I Likely to Receive?

Road Accidents Involving Passengers

Drivers and motorcyclists have a duty of care to act with consideration for other road users and this includes any passengers that they may be carrying and the passengers of other vehicles. Failure to obey the law and highway code can amount to a breach of this duty, which in some circumstances may amount in law to negligence.

If a passenger in a bus, car, taxi or tram, or a pillion passenger on a motorcycle sustains a personal injury in a road accident that was caused by the negligence of someone else, the passenger should be entitled to claim compensation.

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Passenger Safety

There are certain safety measures that you can take as the passenger in a vehicle (or as a driver carrying or supervising passengers) to reduce the risk of suffering a personal injury.

You should always make use of any restraints provided (i.e. seatbelts), ensure that children are seated correctly, on the relevant type of child seat if applicable, and remain as calm and quiet as possible during the journey to avoid disturbing or distracting the driver. The regulations relating to seatbelts and child restraints are as follows:

• Children Under 3 Years: Must use the correct, well fitted child restraint, whether in the front or rear seat.  If there is no restraint available in a taxi, the child may travel unrestrained.   No rear facing seat should be used in the front of a vehicle protected by active air bags.
• Children up to 12 Years or 1.35m in Height (whichever they reach first) : Must use the correct, well fitted restraint, whether in the front or rear seat.  If in a taxi, on a short journey of unexpected necessity or if 2 occupied child seats prevent a third from being fitted, the child must wear an adult seatbelt if available.
• Children over 1.35m in Height or of 12 or 13 Years: Must wear an adult seatbelt if available, whether in the front or rear seat.
• Adults and Children of 14 Years or Over: Must wear an adult seatbelt if available, whether in the front or rear seat.

Anyone over the age of 14 is legally responsible for wearing their seatbelt. For children under the age of 14, the driver is responsible for ensuring that the correct restraint/seatbelt is worn.

Drivers should ensure that their passengers only open doors when the vehicle is stationary and it is safe to do so (i.e. there are no passing vehicles).

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Specialist Personal Injury Lawyers

The Legal Line’s lawyers have extensive experience in recovering compensation for passengers suffering injuries caused by road accidents. They can provide expert claim advice on all areas of making a claim and offer the assistance and guidance that you need on a completely cost free basis.

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Successful Passenger Compensation Claims

Our solicitors have assisted many injured passengers in recovering compensation.  See below some examples of successful cases:

• Kathleen James was awarded £1,705 with help from The Legal Line - A passenger in her husband's car at the time of the accident, she was injured when another driver hit them in the rear at speed.
• Rachel Held received compensation of £2,100 - Rachel was a front seat passenger in a vehicle involved in a head on collision with a van.  She was hospitalised with her injuries and appointed our solicitors to represent her.
• Lisa Shuck recovered £2,500 with help from The Legal Line - In this case the claimant was a passenger in a taxi when the driver lost control and hit a traffic island.
• Andrew Jones recovered £1,750 with the help of The Legal Line - Another vehicle collided with the car that Andrew was in, causing him to suffer a personal injury.
• The Legal Line helped Claire Coulson recover £3,000 - When the driver of a vehicle Clare was a passenger in lost control, she was injured and required hospital treatment.
• Compensation Claim for Bus Passenger - A woman injured due to the negligent actions of a bus driver is awarded compensation.
• Road Accident Passenger Receives Injury Compensation - After suffering multiple injuries in a serious accident, a passenger was awarded damages.
• £80,000 Compensation for Road Accident Passenger - We assisted a woman badly injured in a car accident in recovering compensation.

You can find details of some successful passenger compensation claims in our success stories section and below:

• Our client in this road accident claim was a passenger in a car which was hit from behind. The driver in the second vehicle failed to take any action when the car in which our client was travelling, had to slow down for traffic. The driver admitted liability and that he had been travelling at excessive speed at the point of collision. As a result of this car accident, our client sustained several injuries, including concussion, injury to his knee, and whiplash injury to his neck and back.
  
  Admitted to hospital, our client was unable to return to work for several months, and had to undertake light duties for a further two month period on his return. He underwent several courses of treatment during his recovery including physiotherapy, use of a tens machine to aid his pain management, and osteopathic treatment to help remedy the whiplash injuries. He even had to undergo dental work to repair damage sustained in the car accident. Immediately following his release from hospital, he had to rely on care and assistance from family and friends for the normal every-day tasks we take for granted, including shopping, cooking, and household chores.
  
  Almost two years after the car accident, our client suffered a reoccurrence of the back pain. Investigation proved the problem was due to the original injuries sustained in the car accident. Our client had to take a further two months off work.
  
  Our client has always been keen to progress his career and had registered for a training course which would cement his skills in his current role, and pave the way for further training courses which were required to aid promotion. As these are only held annually, all of these ambitions had to be deferred for a year as a result of his involvement in this road traffic accident.
  
  Although liability had been admitted immediately following the car accident, our personal injury lawyers, Thompsons Solicitors, who specialise in this type of car accident claim, entered into detailed negotiations with the defendant’s representatives and were able to secure over £20,000 in car accident compensation for our client.
• Our client was a front seat passenger in a car accident that occurred on the A14. The driver of the vehicle she was travelling in was slowing down, as there was stationary traffic up ahead. At this point another car suddenly collided with them from behind, as its driver failed to pay sufficient attention to the traffic in front of her and did not maintain a suitable braking distance.

  As a result of this road accident, our client suffered whiplash injuries and bruising to the back of her head. She required time off from work and physiotherapy treatment and could not ride the horse that she shares for a month.

  Our specialist personal injury lawyers acted on her behalf in a compensation claim against the responsible party. They admitted liability for the accident and our client was awarded £4630.67 in damages in respect of her injuries and losses.

• At the time of her road accident our client, a child, was a passenger in a stationary vehicle at a set of traffic lights. She suffered a personal injury when another driver proceeded through a junction where he did not have right of way, collided with a third vehicle and then spun into the car she was in.

  Our client suffered whiplash injuries as a result of the collision and experienced pain in her neck for around 2 months. She also sustained bruising around her chest and was affected psychologically.

  As experts in road accident claims, our specialist personal injury lawyers were able to recover £2275.00 compensation on her behalf.

• Our client was a passenger in a vehicle with some colleagues, travelling along a dual carriageway. Their driver braked, however the driver of a vehicle behind them failed to heed this and collided with the rear of their car at around 70mph.

  As a result of this road accident, our client suffered multiple injuries, including a dislocated hip which was also fractured in 2 places, ligament damage to his foot and a damaged front tooth. He was treated in hospital for over 2 weeks then received further treatment as an outpatient. Our client was unable to attend work for several months. In addition to his physical injuries he was also anxious when travelling on roads for some time after the accident.

  Our specialist personal injury lawyers were appointed to assist him in making a claim and secured damages of £40,202.24 on his behalf. This was to compensate him for not only his injuries, but also other losses including travel and medical expenses, damage to his personal property and the costs of care, assistance and services he required because of his injuries.

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Steps To Take After A Car Accident

If you are unlucky enough to be involved in a car accident, you will naturally be left quite shaken. It is easy under these circumstances to forget details of what has happened or become confused, so below you will find some pointers on what to do after an accident has occurred:

1. Try to record as much information as possible about the accident. This could include the exact time, date and location, details of any other parties and their vehicles, insurance information and witness contact details.
2. If you are able, take photographs of the vehicles and accident location.
3. If anyone is injured, it is essential to call the police. They will record details of the accident and the parties involved in order to compile a report. This will be important in any following claim or legal action.
4. In the time following the accident, retain details and receipts of any medical treatment or injury related expenses you may incur.
5. Obtain the advice of a specialist personal injury solicitor.

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Bus Accident Passenger Claims

If you were a passenger on a bus and sustained a personal injury as the result of an accident or the negligence of the driver, you should be entitled to claim compensation.

Bus drivers have a duty to drive carefully and at a reasonable speed to avoid injury to their passengers.  They are permitted to drive away gently from a stop whilst passengers are finding their seats, unless extra care is needed (for example in the case of a frail, elderly person).

You should report your injury to the driver and provide your details, maintain your ticket as evidence that you were on the bus and report what happened to the bus company so that they have a record of the incident.  If there were any witnesses, it is also helpful to take their contact information.

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Making a Passenger Injury Compensation Claim

For most types of road accident, any claim for injury compensation made by a passenger will be paid by the insurance policy of the responsible party, usually a driver or motorcyclist. This may be the insurance company of the driver of a third party vehicle, or the driver of the vehicle that you were a passenger in, if they were at fault.

In some cases however, the accident may have been caused by the local highway authority. An example of this would be an accident caused by ice or snow on the road, where the authority had failed to take safety measures such as gritting, in accordance with S.41 of the Highways Act 1980.

In every case, medical evidence will be required, and it is necessary to show that the person you are making a claim against owed you a duty of care, that they breached that duty of care (were negligent), and that the injury you sustained was a reasonably foreseeable consequence of that negligence. Your lawyer will be able to compile all of the necessary information and evidence to support your case and advise on the best way to proceed.

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Compensation

There are two elements to a compensation award. The first is for the pain and suffering you may have gone through and what is known as loss of amenity. This is called general damages and compensates you for your injuries and the ways in which your life has been affected by your injuries. It will take into account your inability to do things after the accident that you used to be able to do before, e.g. play sports, take children to school, DIY projects, etc. The award will take into account the period of suffering which may be for a few weeks or may be a permanent injury.

The second element of a compensation award is for your losses and expenses and is known as special damages. This reimburses you for any actual losses, such as any loss of earnings or injury related costs, e.g. travel or medical expenses. It is important to keep receipts for any expenditure you have related to the accident, so that these can be reclaimed. The aim is to put you back in a position financially as if the accident had never occurred. You are also able to claim for financial losses that you will incur in the future provided that the medical evidence supports this.

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How Much Compensation am I Likely to Receive?

The details of each case are assessed individually, as a number of factors affect the amount of compensation awarded in a personal injury claim. These include the extent of the injury, recovery period, any loss of earnings, other losses related to the injury (for example medical expenses and care costs) and whether or not the victim was partially to blame.

Awards made in previous claims of a similar nature are used as a guideline however, together with general guidelines from the Judicial Studies Board. Our ‘How Much’ section provides further information and you can find details of previous settled cases in our news and success stories sections.

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