How Can Solicitors For Car Accident Claims Help You?
Throughout this guide, we discuss the benefits of working with experienced solicitors for car accident claims. Whilst it’s not a legal requirement to instruct a solicitor when making a road traffic accident claim, they can offer several services which could provide an advantage. For example, they could use their experience to guide you through the different stages of the claims process and keep you updated on the progress of your case. Additionally, they may offer to work on your claim under No Win No Fee terms which typically means no upfront fees will be required. Read on to learn more about how a specialised car accident solicitor could assist you.
Additionally, we discuss the eligibility criteria that need to be met in order for you to have a valid personal injury claim, the evidence you could collect to strengthen your case, and how car accident compensation is calculated.
For more information, please reach out to our advisors. They can offer a no-obligation initial assessment of your circumstances free of charge and can answer any questions you may have in relation to your potential claim. To get in touch, you can:
- Call us on 0151 375 9916.
- Ask for advice via our live chat service.
- Complete our “Contact Us” page.
Choose A Section
- How Can Solicitors For Car Accident Claims Help You?
- When Can You Make A Car Accident Claim?
- Evidence That Could Help You Claim For A Road Accident
- What Car Accident Claim Amount Could You Receive?
- What Are The Benefits Of Using No Win No Fee Solicitors For Car Accident Claims?
- Read More About Road Traffic Accident Claims
How Can Solicitors For Car Accident Claims Help You?
Making a personal injury claim can seem like a complex process. Solicitors for car accident claims can make that process a lot easier by:
- Helping you to collect evidence to support your case.
- Valuing your claim.
- Collecting witness statements.
- Sending important claims correspondence and documents on your behalf.
- Using their legal skills to present as strong a case as possible.
- Keeping you up to date regarding the progress of your claim.
Our car accident solicitors have years of experience in helping clients with personal injury claims and offer services similar to those listed above. Additionally, they can represent claims nationwide meaning you don’t have to worry about being local to a solicitor for them to represent you.
To find out whether you could be eligible to have one of our specialist solicitors represent your case, please contact an advisor on the number above.
When Can You Make A Car Accident Claim?
Road users must follow the Road Traffic Act 1988 and Highway Code in order to uphold their duty of care. This duty is to prevent one another from experiencing harm or damage on the roads. If there was a failure by another driver to do so, and this caused you to experience an injury in a car accident, you might wonder whether you could be entitled to compensation.
There are many ways a car accident could occur. For example, another driver may have failed to check their mirrors to ensure it was safe to change lanes. As a result, they hit you from the side and you sustain a severe head injury. Alternatively, you could be injured as a passenger sustaining a severe neck injury.
However, not all accidents will mean you are eligible to seek compensation. In order to have valid grounds to proceed with a personal injury claim, you must prove:
- You were owed a duty of care by another road user.
- They breached this duty.
- Consequently, you sustained a physical and/or psychological injury.
For more information on the eligibility requirements and an assessment of your potential case, please reach out to an advisor using the number above.
Evidence That Could Help You Claim For A Road Accident
When making a personal injury claim, evidence should be supplied to substantiate your case. Evidence can help prove who caused your accident and how you’ve suffered as a result. The following could be used to strengthen your case:
- Dashcam or CCTV footage of the accident.
- Photographic evidence of any visible injuries.
- Contact details for anybody who witnessed the accident.
- A diary of dates to establish when you visited a hospital or GP for treatment.
- A police report, if applicable.
- Medical records.
Our solicitors for car accident claims can assist you with gathering evidence to strengthen your case as part of the services they offer. Additionally, they could arrange for you to attend an independent medical assessment which will be required as part of the claims process. This assessment can produce a more in-depth report about the extent of your injuries and how they are likely to affect you in the future. It can be used to help value how much compensation you could be entitled to.
To find out more about the evidence required to support your case and how a solicitor could assist you, call an advisor on the number above.
What Car Accident Claim Amount Could You Receive?
Car accident claim settlements can comprise two heads of loss.
- General damages compensates for physical or mental suffering caused by the injuries you sustained, physical, psychological, or both.
- Special damages compensates for the financial losses incurred as a result of the injuries, such as lost income, care costs, and medical costs. Receipts, payslips and bank statements can help prove these costs.
To assign a value to general damages, solicitors can use the independent medical report alongside the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to help them. The JCG is a document that lists compensation bracket guidelines for a range of personal injuries. You can find a selection of these figures in the table below. However, the amount of compensation awarded can vary significantly to the figures listed. Therefore, these figures should be considered as guideline amounts only.
Also, the final two entries relate to whiplash claim amounts. These are taken from the tariff which can be found in the Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021. These fixed amounts are used to value whiplash injuries.
Compensation Table
| Injury Type | Severity | Compensation Guidelines | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Back | Severe (i) | £91,090 to £160,980 | These are the most severe back injuries where there is damage to the spinal cord and nerve roots causing very serious consequences including severe pain and disability. |
| Moderate (ii) | £12,510 to £27,760 | Injuries resulting in ligament and muscle disturbance causing back ache. | |
| Pelvis | Severe (i) | £78,400 to £130,930 | Fractures to the pelvis that are extensive with, for example, a low back joint dislocation and a ruptured bladder. |
| Neck | Severe (ii) | £65,740 to £130,930 | Where the discs in the cervical spine are damaged or fractured and give rise to considerably severe disabilities. |
| Moderate (i) | £24,990 to £38,490 | Neck injuries, such as dislocations or fractures, that cause immediate symptoms and might lead to spinal fusion. | |
| Knee | Severe (ii) | £52,120 to £69,730 | A leg fracture that extends to the joint in the knee resulting in constant and permanent pain. |
| Arm | Substantial and permanent disability(b) | £39,170 to £59,860 | Serious fractures in the forearm(s) cause permanent functional or cosmetic disability. |
| Whiplash | One or multiple whiplash injuries | £4,215 | Where symptoms continue for 18-24 months. |
| One or multiple whiplash injuries plus one or more minor psychological injuries | £4,345 | Where symptoms continue for 18-24 months. |
How Do You Make A Whiplash Claim?
Due to the introduction of the Whiplash Reform Programme, the way some road traffic accident claims are made has changed. Essentially, when an adult passenger or driver sustains injuries with a value of £5,000 or below, a different avenue for claiming is followed. Additionally, the tariff from the Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021 is used to value whiplash injuries, as explained above.
If the value of your claim is more than £5,000, the normal route for claiming can be followed. If any injuries are not covered by the whiplash tariff, the normal method of valuing your claim will be followed. However, the fixed tariff figures will still be used to assess the value of whiplash injuries.
To check how the reforms might affect which route your claim will follow and the compensation you’re awarded, please feel free to speak to a member of our team.
What Are The Benefits Of Using No Win No Fee Solicitors For Car Accident Claims?
Solicitors for car accident claims who offer their services under a No Win No Fee contract, such as a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) typically won’t require a fee to begin work on your case upfront. Nor will they require a fee for any continued work completed on your case, or any fees for their services if the case fails.
Should you succeed with your claim and receive a compensation payout, you will pay a success fee to your solicitor. They will deduct this as a percentage of your compensation. However, there is a legal cap on the percentage they can take.
For more information about working with a solicitor and making a car accident claim, please get in touch with an advisor via any of the contact details listed below:
- Phone 0151 375 9916.
- Use our live chat service.
- Complete our “Contact Us” form.
Read More About Road Traffic Accident Claims
More of our helpful guides relating to personal injury claims:
- Guidance on when you could claim for a road traffic accident on public transport and how much compensation you could receive.
- Information on when you could claim for an accident in a public place.
- Learn how to make a cycle accident claim and the steps you could take to secure a payout.
Also, here are some useful links to external resources:
- Information on how to claim Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) from GOV.UK.
- Guidance on road safety from Think!
- Advice on first aid from the NHS.
If you have any other questions about how solicitors for car accident claims can help, please call the number above.