How To Claim For A Road Rage Attack
How To Claim For A Road Rage Attack Injury Guide
By Stephen Hudson. Last updated 19th August 2022. Have you been the victim of a road rage attack? Do you need to find out how compensation can be claimed after another motorist assaulted you? This guide explains how you can seek damages through the government scheme called the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA), set up to provide help to victims of violent assault crime when there is no other avenue for you to claim compensation such as against the defendant.
Within this guide, we will address numerous popular questions regarding compensation claims for road rage incidents. These include:
- Am I entitled to compensation after a car accident caused by another party’s road rage?
- How is a road rage incident report made?
- How common in the UK are road rage incidents?
- What steps should be taken if you wish to claim for injuries caused by another party’s road rage?
Road rage is worryingly common and an attack can be extremely distressing. As well as the physical injuries, it can be possible to suffer psychiatric injury and emotional trauma that might make future driving a problem. The repercussions of the attack can leave people with an array of difficulties to overcome. Compensation could help with this. To learn more, speak to us now by:
- Calling our team on 0800 073 8804
- Contact us and request a callback online
- Also, our ‘live support’ option can offer immediate help
- Or please continue reading the sections below
Select A Section
- What Is A Road Rage Attack?
- Types Of Road Rage Attack
- What To Do If Injured In A Road Rage Attack
- How To Claim For Road Rage Incidents
- Road Rage Injury Claims Calculator
- Contact Us To Make A No Win No Fee Road Rage Injury Claim
What Is A Road Rage Attack?
A road rage attack is when another road user decides to either verbally or physically attack another motorist. The motivation for these attacks may be very petty. It can involve entirely avoidable acts of uncontrolled frustration at the driving of others or general congestion on the roads that boils over into violence.
Altercations such as these have the potential to get out of hand and in serious cases, there can be physical assault resulting in injury or even death as was the case with the Kenneth Noye and Stephen Cameron case.
Claiming damages for a road rage attack can take two paths. Firstly, if your attacker is in a financial position to pay meaningful damages it may be worth suing them directly. However, if they do not have sufficient funds or are never apprehended, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) can help. We have focused this guide on the latter.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/may/22/road-rage-killer-kenneth-noye-to-be-released-from-prison
How Common Is Road Rage In The UK?
Road rage is a term that loosely describes unlawful conduct whilst in charge of a vehicle. We have used statistics from the Office of National Statistics, that covers England and Wales for the year ending March 2020. The statistics are about violent crime as a whole.
- The police recorded 1.8 million violent attacks against the person during this period
- Violence without injury equated 41%
- Violence leading to injury accounted for 31%
- Harassment and Stalking 28%
- Unlawful driving that caused death or serious injury 0.05%
- Murders 0.04%
Types Of Road Rage Attack
Road rage attacks that cause injury can arise from an array of different scenarios. Some typical ones are listed below but if your attack is not detailed you can still have a valid assault claim after violence on the roads:
- A driver cuts you up causing you to stop and proceeds to assault you
- You are scared you are about to be attacked by a driver because they are becoming aggressive after an RTA.
- A driver pulls next to you and shouts threats and insults.
- Assault can occur when one driver physically attacks the other.
What To Do If Injured In A Road Rage Attack
Whenever you are injured in an attack or accident it is vital to seek out medical attention. Something that seems trivial like a small bump to the head can lead to serious health implications if not seen to by a medical professional.
Below we have listed action you can take if you are thinking about making a criminal injury claim for an attack following aggression on the roads. If you can assemble evidence that the other motorist took these actions, you could have a solid case. For example, perhaps you could obtain:
- CCTV or dashcam evidence
- Witnesses who are willing to provide a statement
- Photos or videos of the damage to you or your car
- Police or ambulance reports that support the claim
- Medical proof. You can sit for an assessment and request your medical records.
These pieces of evidence can help lay the foundation of both a private action and a CICA claim so get in touch to see which course of action is the most appropriate.
How To Claim For Road Rage Incidents
After a road rage assault, there are some practical steps that you can take to best position yourself to receive compensation. The CICA criteria to start a claim is summarised as follows:
- You must be a UK resident at the time of the road rage assault
- A claim to the CICA should normally be made within a two-year time limit from the date you report the incident to the police. The CICA usually expect this to be the same date the incident occurred. Exceptions can apply, but for a road rage incident you report, the time limit usually can only be different if you were under 18 at the time you were harmed in the incident. In such cases, the two-year time limit will instead start from the date of your 18th However, the CICA still encourages you to apply as soon as you can.
- A report of the road rage incident should be made to the police in a timely fashion, unless there is an exceptional circumstance that prevented you from doing so.
- Delays may be allowed for if the injuries prevented a claim being made at the time
- In addition, medical evidence is always required to prove the injuries
- You must confirm that the crime was reported to the police and you co-operated to seek a prosecution.
The CICA can award compensation without a suspect or a decision to prosecute from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). This frees victims from the stress or delay of a missing suspect or prolonged conviction.
Road Rage Injury Claims Calculator
If you decide to make a claim to the CICA the amount you are awarded for your physical or menial injuries will come from their set tariffs. And when the compensation is awarded by the agency the amounts are different to what are awarded in personal injury claims. The tariffs are set and come from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme. Obviously, there is the physical aspect and below we show an excerpt from the criminal injuries tariff of awards to acknowledge injuries:
| Type of Injury | CICA Tariff Award Bracket | Explanatory Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Teeth Damage | £3,500 | (A5) Loss to four or more teeth at front |
| Jaw Damage | £6,200 | (A7) A fractured jaw bone requiring an operation and causing significant ongoing disability |
| Jaw Damage | £3,500 | (A5) Dislocated jaw that causes significant disability |
| Eye Damage | £3,500 | (A5) Dislocation of lens in one eye |
| Eye Damage | £13,500 | (A9) Permanent double or blurred vision to a serious degree |
| Minor Injuries To The Head | £1,500 | (A2) Concussion and impaired balance issues lasting 28 weeks or more |
| Facial Scarring | £11,000 | (A8) Injuries that leave serious disfigurement |
| Scarring To The Head | £3,500 | (A5) That has caused serious disfigurement |
| Disabling Mental Injury | £13,500 | (A9) Confirmed in a prognosis lasting 5 years or more (but not permanent) |
| Mental Injury | £2,400 | (A4) A psychiatrist confirmed mental issue lasting 28 weeks – 2 years |
In addition to the physical or psychological harm, you may be in a position to prove the financial losses incurred. These are classed as special expenses and are only awarded under certain circumstances. For example to claim a loss of earnings you must be unable to work for 28 weeks before this will be considered.
It’s essential to provide bills or receipts and documentation that can prove these associated costs to you. So speak to our advisors and they can advise what costs you might be eligible to include. Or you can use our compensation calculator.
Contact Us To Make A No Win No Fee Road Rage Injury Claim
You can seek compensation through the CICA on your own or with the help of a criminal injury solicitor. Their insights and advice could help you maximise the amount you may ultimately receive. With this in mind at Legal Expert, all our criminal injury solicitors operate on a No Win No Fee basis.
Arrangements like this mean that it’s possible to hire a solicitor at no upfront cost or any charges as the case moves ahead. In addition to this, an unsuccessful case means there is nothing that needs to be paid to the solicitors. A successful outcome needs a percentage taken from your settlement to cover the solicitor’s success fee but this is capped by law. This is the payment to your legal team for their efforts in winning the case for you. Why not start now by:
- Calling our team on 0800 073 8804
- Contact us and request a callback online
- Or access our ‘live support’ option
Road Traffic Incident Claims
In addition to road rage attack claims, at Legal Expert we can also help with other road accident related claims for compensation, so please read more below:
- Help from the charity Victim Support
- As well as this, here is advice on reporting a crime
- In conclusion, a road rage report from the Government
Below, you can learn more about CICA claims via our other guides:
- A guide to criminal injury compensation claims
- Can victims of revenge porn make a claim?
- How long does a criminal injury claim take?
- Find criminal injury compensation solicitors for Scotland
- How to claim compensation for robbery victims
- Grievous bodily harm (GBH) claims
- Actual bodily harm (ABH) claims
- Can I claim compensation if no one has been convicted of the crime?
- Claims involving ABH
- Can I claim for criminal injuries without pressing charges?
- I was attacked when trying to stop a fight, can I claim compensation?
- Arson compensation claims
- Rape victim claims
- Domestic abuse victim claims
- Stabbing victim claims
- How to find domestic violence solicitors
- Criminal injury victim claims
- CICA compensation calculator
- How to claim compensation for rape
- Rape compensation claims in Scotland
- How much compensation can you claim for assault?
- How much compensation can you claim for being stabbed?
- Acid attack victim claims
- Sexual abuse compensation claims
- FAQs on sexual abuse claims
We hope this guide has helped. If you have any questions, such as on claiming for a road rage incident in the UK, call our team.
Guide By Waters
Edited By Melissa.
