Car Injury Claim: Specialist road accident solicitor explains how to claim compensation following a vehicle collision at a set of traffic lights leading to multiple injuries
Car Injury Claim Victim Question
I was a driver in a company car travelling back to our offices in central London following a client appointment. As I was passing through a set of traffic lights close to Islington, which were on green, I was hit on the passenger side by a car which was speeding through a red light at around 40mph.
Car Injury Claim
I saw the car just before it hit. The police, ambulance and fire brigade attended and I had to be cut from my vehicle before being taken to hospital. I understand there were plenty of witnesses and the other driver, who was also taken to hospital, is being prosecuted for dangerous driving.
The company car is a write off and my employer’s insurer are dealing with the vehicle damage claim. I however have suffered multiple injuries, including severe neck pain and whiplash, a cracked vertebra in my lower back, a displaced fracture to my right wrist, a dislocated shoulder, chest pain, headaches, pins and needles in my fingers on both hands, sleepless nights.
I am also unable to work and only receiving SSP.
Do I have car injury claim and if so how can I calculate how much compensation my average payouts are worth?
Road Traffic Accident Solicitor Response
Determining legal fault for a car injury claim
The facts seem quite clear as to the other driver’s legal liability: the police will have compiled a police accident report with a diagram setting out the crash scene with statements from the witnesses and both drivers. There may well have been CCTV cameras at the accident scene, which can provide additional evidence if necessary.
In any event – the police clearly have sufficient evidence to support a criminal claim by the Crown Prosecution Service on behalf of the Crown (the state) for dangerous driving. The criminal burden of proof is a higher test (beyond reasonable doubt) than that of the civil car injury claim (on the balance of probability). As such a successful criminal prosecution can be relied on as evidence of fault for your car injury claim.
Click car accident claim to see the detailed article I have written about how to determine fault in a road traffic accident.
How to calculate the amount of compensation for your car injury claim
The amount of compensation that can be claimed will be determined primarily in two parts, known as: general damages and special damages.
General damages in a car injury claim
Describe pain and suffering and are calculated by a solicitor first obtaining independent medical reports from relevant orthopaedic, neurological and psychological experts setting out your various injuries. Such report will include a prognosis, in which the expert gives an opinion as to the time period of any ongoing symptoms together with the likelihood and extent of any permanent disability.
Once this report is obtained your solicitor can compare the injuries to those sustained by accident victims in car injury claims decided by the courts in the past and in this way your solicitor can value your general damages claim.
To see examples of compensation amounts for the car injuries you have described, click the following respective links below:
Psychological car injury claim / post traumatic stress syndrome
Please be aware when you suffer more than one injury you do not simply add together compensation for each individual injury type – instead click multiple injuries in a motor vehicle accident to see how to calculate.
Special damages in car injury claims
In addition to compensation for pain and suffering you are entitled to claim compensation for financial loss and expenses as a direct result of your accident, including: lost income, medical expenses, care and assistance, etc.
To see full details of the special damages you can include in a car injury claim click car accident compensation
Starting your car injury compensation claim
To discuss making a car injury claim with me in person or another road accident specialist solicitor or to make an online enquiry click car injury claim solicitor.
