Introduction – What are accident claims?

“Accident claims” is a term that has come to be freely used as a reference to certain types of claims in personal injury. The most common accident claims arise either as the result of an accident at work or an accident on the roads. Accident claims are made by persons (“Claimants”) who suffer accident injuries where the responsibility of the accident lies with other persons (“Defendants”). For example, a reckless driver of a vehicle who knocks down and causes injury to a pedestrian on a zebra crossing.
It is important to understand that there are two aspects in the above example that are vital for successful accident claims - that fault lies with the Defendant (in this case, the driver) and the Claimant (the pedestrian) suffered injury. These two essential elements are: Liability and Quantum.

2. An overview of the accident claims process - Liability & Quantum

Liability – who is responsible for the accident?

Liability is the legal responsibility for the accident. Of the two requirements, this is generally perceived by solicitors in the accident claims industry as more difficult to establish. For all accident claims, the Claimant must prove that the Defendant should be held liable for the accident. Specifically, the Claimant must convince the Court that the Defendant has (i) breached common law negligence and/or (ii) statute law.

(i) Common law negligence – the Claimant must prove that the Defendant owes a duty of care, the Defendant breached that duty and the Defendant caused loss that was reasonably foreseeable. For example, all drivers of vehicles have a duty of care to drive responsibly on roads; a road user would breach that duty by driving recklessly and; a road user should be aware that his reckless driving could cause harm to others.

(ii) Statute law – the Claimant must prove that the Defendant breached a statutory regulation. An example of accident claims arising as a result of a breach in statute law would be an employer’s breach of the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 - by not supplying his workers on a construction site with hard hats.

In some accident claims a Defendant may have breached both statute law and common law negligence. It is not necessary to establish a breach in both areas and a Claimant would satisfy the liability requirement for accident claims by establishing a breach of either negligence or statute law.

(iii) Partial Responsibility / Contributory negligence – in certain accident claims, a Defendant may seek to place partial blame on the Claimant for the injury the Claimant suffered by not accepting full liability. The contributory negligence of the Claimant will often lead to reduced award for damages against the Defendant at the accident claims conclusion. Such a situation may exist for example, when a passenger knowingly rides in a car that is driven by someone under the influence of alcohol who subsequently crashes the car. In accident claims scenario’s such as this, the contributing negligence factor would be that the passenger should not have gone into a car driven by someone who was drunk, thereby potentially avoiding injury altogether. Work based accident claims may include an element of contributory negligence if for example, an employee recklessly disregards his own safety by not using safety equipment provided.

B. Quantum – what can be claimed in accident claims?

The value for accident claims is a question of “Quantum”. When accident claims are initiated there will always be a claim for “general damages” – this is the claim for an award of compensation for the injury suffered (e.g. whiplash, broken bones, scarring). There may also be a claim for “special damages” – this is the claim for losses subsequent to the injury suffered (e.g. loss of earnings, prescription charges, physiotherapy costs).

General Damages: The level of compensation that is awarded to the Claimant for his injury is determined by medical evidence. Medical evidence is used to prove that injury was suffered and to show the severity of the injury. The accident claims process requires that all Claimants attend a medical examination by a medical expert before settlement can be achieved.
In many accident claims, relatively minor injuries may be assessed by a GP (e.g. minor whiplash, lacerations). Accident claims situations may arise where specialist or multiple experts are needed. For example, injuries of a broken leg, injuries to the mouth and psychological distress may require experts in three separate areas: orthopaedics, dentistry and psychiatry. When the examination of the Claimant is carried out, the medical expert will provide his/her opinion in a medical report. The medical report is relied upon as evidence of the injuries sustained.

The medical report is pivotal in the accident claims process, as it will have a direct effect on the potential value of the claim. It follows that that the more severe your injuries are, the more compensation you will likely receive.

For all accident claims, however severe, it is difficult to put a price on an injury suffered. There are guidelines (e.g. JSB guidelines, Kemp & Kemp, etc) that help provide an indication of the level of general damages likely to be awarded for a particular injury. An example of this is whiplash injuries with symptoms lasting a year are normally seen as worth approximately £2,000.00. In all but the most exceptional accident claims, there are guidelines and precedents for any injury.

Special Damages: Accident claims sometimes result in the Claimant suffering losses other than the injury itself. A Claimant may be off work for 2 weeks without pay, paid to attend physiotherapy and paid to take bus rides to the physiotherapist. All such expenses are recoverable under the accident claims process. The Claimant is required to show that he/she sustained the loss and must also show that the loss is quantifiable and calculable. The three major claims for special damages are: loss of earnings, specific losses and medical treatment.

Loss of earnings: In accident claims where reasonable time taken off work caused a loss in earnings, the loss will form a part of special damages. Obviously, the time taken off work must be proportional to the injury suffered and should be supported by medical evidence. The monetary value of the loss of earnings can be proved by a review of the Claimant’s wage slips (detailing wages earned before and after the accident) or bank statements.
Specific losses: These are generally one-off expenses or charges that the Claimant has incurred. There will be many accident claims where charges are incurred, this maybe repairs to a vehicle, prescription charges, damage to clothing, bus fares, etc. The charges are proved when a Claimant is able to submit appropriate documentation in support of the claim. Therefore it is important when pursuing accident claims for Claimants to keep hold of invoices, receipts, any prescriptions, etc.

Medical treatment: In certain accident claims, where there are long waiting lists under the NHS, the Claimant solicitor will be able to arrange and claim charges for private medical treatment (e.g. physiotherapy) that will help aid the Claimant’s recovery.

3. Common types of accident claims

(a) Road Traffic Accident Claims – in every year, there are approximately 300,000 casualty injuries in Great Britain that are a direct result of road accidents. Road accident claims may arise whether injured as a driver, passenger or pedestrian.

No different to other accident claims, the Claimant must establish that responsibility rests with the Defendant (liability) and that the Claimant suffered loss (quantum).

Road users have a legal duty to avoid causing injury to others where it may reasonably be anticipated. References are made to the Highway Code and relevant legislations (e.g. Road Traffic Acts) in assessing the responsibility for road accident claims. If the police attended or investigated the incident, they will produce a police report. Police reports are very useful in investigating accident claims as reports detail useful evidence and may give a good indication of where responsibility rests.

Note - Civil or Criminal? Accident claims remain strictly a civil matter. Accidents can result in either or both criminal and civil proceedings. The two proceedings are separate in nature - successful criminal proceedings lead to criminal charges against the Defendant; successful civil proceedings lead to compensation awards to the Claimant. Even if criminal proceedings fail (e.g. police fail to hold Defendant responsible), it is not to say that a Claimant will be unsuccessful in civil proceedings.

(b) Slip/Fall/Trip Accident Claims – the essence of such accident claims begin with the circumstances leading to the accident. What caused the slip/fall/trip that led to the injury? Accident claims commonly arise following a trip or fall on a council road or in a shop. What caused it could be a defect in the pavement, a missing drain cover or oily substances left on a shop floor. Accident claims may be initiated if it can be shown that the defect/substance was dangerous and was the responsibility of somebody other than the Claimant (i.e. the local council to maintain the roads in good condition, or the shopkeeper to keep the shop floors free of potential hazards).

A Defendant will be able to discharge their responsibility to the Claimant if it can be shown that the Defendant acted reasonably and by carrying out inspections, maintenance & repairs. Therefore a shopkeeper who regularly cleans the shop floors or responds immediately when spillages are reported will argue that he acted reasonably. A council may, by the same token, argue that regular road condition checks and repairs are done which amounts to a reasonable maintenance and inspection policy. In the end, it is for each individual case to turn on its own facts.

(c) Employers work based accident claims – employees who suffer accidents at work may pursue accident claims against employers if it can be established that the employer failed to take “reasonable” care of his employees’ health and safety.

The employer has a common law duty to exercise care and skill in three areas, by providing:

competent staff – competent co-workers;
adequate plant – machinery and equipment must be provided for job concerned and be in reasonable condition ; and
a safe system of work – clear instructions be given, appropriate warnings provided.

An employer will be liable if it can be shown that he did not provide the above 3 to a reasonable standard. What amounts to being reasonable depends on many factors that an accident claims solicitor will need to consider, such as the size of the company, the potential for such an accident to happen, what (if anything) the employer could have done and what the cost would have been.

The employer also has a statutory law duty to their employee's. Statute laws such as the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974, regulations under the 1974 Act & Approved Codes of Practice impose certain requirements the employer must reasonably do to reduce the chances of accidents occurring. The type/size of employer will also determine what statutory laws apply (e.g. Construction Regulations 1996 for employers in the construction industry).

Common questions that are raised in employment accident claims are:

Was the employee trained to carryout the work?
Was the employee provided with the appropriate equipment to do the work?
Did the employer take reasonable steps to ensure that accidents of this nature would be avoided?
Did the employer erect warning signs alerting employees of potential hazards?

If the answer is ‘no’ to any of the above, then it may be argued that the employer did not take reasonable care and is liable for such accident claims. Ultimately, for accident claims of a work based nature, it is for the judge to decide what amounts to being reasonable.

4. Limitation – When can a claim be made?

For all the accident claims that have been discussed above, the general rule is that a claim must be made within 3 years from the date of the accident. For the majority of accident claims, it is favourable to begin the claim as soon after the accident as possible, the reasons for this are to ensure that evidence can be gathered whilst fresh, witnesses are able to recount the accident details easier and there is ample time for the Claimant and Defendant to investigate the matter before proceedings are necessary.

5. Legal representation –Who pursues accident claims? Law firms or Claims Management Companies?

Accident claims can be complicated and can often require extensive legal expertise. It is therefore important to ensure that a reputable firm of solicitors with detailed knowledge of the accident claims industry is instructed to pursue the Claimant’s case. Some claims management companies do not have the requisite legal knowledge or qualifications to handle claims and do not keep the Claimant’s best interests at heart. Our panel of solicitors consists of law firms that have the requisite expertise, experience and resources in dealing with all types of accident claims. Indeed, all the law firms listed are regulated by the Law Society who require firms of solicitors to abide by a strict code of conduct and client care. Our panel of solicitors are encouraged to keep in close contact with the client from the outset and are always available to answer any queries in regards to accident claims.

6. Legal fees – “No win, no fee” – What is the cost of pursuing accident claims?

Our panel of solicitors operate on a “no win, no fee” basis. You will not be asked to pay or fund the cost of your claim. Should you be unsuccessful in your claim, you will not be asked to pay for the costs incurred. Should you be successful in your claim, the cost of your claim will be funded by the Defendant or the insurers for Defendant. You will receive 100% of the settlement award and no charges or fees are deducted from the money that you are awarded. All that we ask, is that you co-operate with the accident claims investigations and that you are honest in pursuit of potential accident claims.

No Win No Fee