£10,000 Compensation For A Passenger In A Car Accident
Cyclist pursues successful car accident passenger claim after bus driver and passengers cause her to crash, fall from her bike and injure herself.
What happened?
Miss L was riding her bike in the cycle lane, on the way to work in good weather conditions. The roads were busy but at the point of the accident, the traffic was actually stationary. A bus, which was only a few metres away from a bus stop, opened its doors before reaching the stop to allow passengers to exit the vehicle. As the passengers got off the bus Miss L was forced to brake sharply to avoid them, causing her to fall off. The bus driver apologised after the accident but did not give his name. His name badge was concealed so that neither the claimant or witnesses had any record of who he was. The driver failed to report the incident to his employer. Miss L was badly hurt and as a result, had to take time off work to attend hospital for tests. In the days and weeks following the accident, Miss L’s quality of life was significantly affected. Miss L was unaware how to make a car accident passenger claim and did not know what would be the average compensation for a car accident passenger so she decided to contact a lawyer to discuss car crash passenger compensation payouts.
What injuries were sustained?
Miss L suffered cuts to her hands and widespread bruising. She experienced difficulty moving her left hand and had pain in her left wrist as a result of the fall. Her knees and thighs were badly bruised. Initially Miss L found it hard to lift a drink to her lips and struggled to dress herself. She is no longer able to cycle to work. Her lifestyle was adversely affected as was unable to sit down for extended periods and her sleep was disturbed due to the pain. She experienced problems in her day to day life as she couldn’t carry shopping or do any housework. She required her partner to help her with daily tasks for two months.
What did the claimant claim for?
In her car accident passenger claim, Miss L claimed general damages for injuries sustained, repair costs for her bike, travel expenses to and from medical appointments and care costs as her partner had been helping her with daily tasks. In the settlement, Miss L accepted the initial offer and was awarded £3500 damages within a week of the settlement, £205.97 for bike repairs, £110 in taxi fares and a reduced offer of £1015 for care costs. Miss L accepted this reduced offer as she accepted that it would be hard to prove the extent to which her partner had cared for her and had taken on tasks that he wouldn’t usually carry out.
Car accident passenger claims – how common are they?
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/648081/rrcgb2016-01.pdf
You may be able to make a car accident passenger claim if someone else is to blame for your road accident. Transport statistics show that in 2016 in the UK, there were 1792 fatalities, over 24,000 serious injuries and 134,491 slight injuries. This averages out at 66 people being seriously injured in traffic-related accidents on a daily basis. This gives a lot of scope for car accident passenger claims as in many of these cases, a passenger will be injured as a result of another person’s actions.
Establishing liability in passenger car crash compensation cases
To be able to establish car accident passenger compensation amounts in a car accident passenger claim, you need to be able to prove that the accident was someone else’s fault to a reasonable degree. You may then be able to claim against the person that caused the accident to happen. This may be a driver of the vehicle you were travelling in or the driver of another vehicle involved. It could also be a claim against a motorcyclist, taxi, train, bus or coach driver. It is also possible that multiple people could be held responsible. All drivers are, or should be, covered by third party liability insurance for this purpose. As a passenger, your car accident passenger claim should be reasonably straightforward as no blame can be apportioned to you as you were not in charge of a vehicle.
Common accidents leading to a passenger compensation claim
Car accidents often result in passenger back injury compensation payouts as head and back injuries are amongst the most common complaints. The impact of an accident can cause damage to the spinal cord as well as concussions and more serious brain injuries leading to a car accident passenger claim. A vast amount of information about how much money you should expect can be found on car accident compensation amount passenger forums from people who have experienced injuries following an accident. On these forums it will be possible to find out the average compensation for back injury car accident passengers and also find out information such as when claiming car accident passenger compensation, how long does it take?
Whiplash is also a common injury following car accidents. Whiplash is neck muscle and ligament damage caused by a sudden movement of the head and neck, for example from a rear end collision. It may be helpful to check out our passenger car accident compensation calculator to establish how much you could be entitled to if you have suffered a whiplash injury and wish to make a car accident passenger claim.
No win, no fee passenger accident claims, what’s involved?
No win no fee car crash passenger compensation is a way of making a car accident passenger claim that you are entitled to without paying any fees upfront. If you don’t win the case, you don’t pay any fees to your solicitor and if you do win, the legal fees are simply taken out of the compensation money. This is also called a conditional fee agreement.
Call us for free advice
If you think you may be entitled to claim compensation, please call us for free advice on how to proceed on 0800 073 8804. We’re here to help from 9am – 9pm 7 days a week. You can also use our online chat 7 days a week if you prefer.
