Personal injury solicitors for clients throughout England & Wales
England & Wales
If you were injured on the road because of another road user's negligence, our personal injury solicitors can look at what happened and explain whether you may have grounds to claim compensation. We help drivers, passengers, motorcyclists, cyclists and pedestrians throughout England and Wales.
Road traffic claims are the most common kind of personal injury claim, and most of them follow a fairly predictable path. What makes the difference is getting the evidence early, while it still exists, and being clear from the start about who was responsible and what the injury has actually cost you.
You can make a claim if you were injured in a road traffic accident that was caused, in whole or in part, by another road user's negligence, and the accident happened within the last three years. Negligence here means that another driver, rider or road user failed to take reasonable care and that failure caused your injury. If the accident was partly your fault, a claim can often still be brought, with compensation reduced to reflect your share of the responsibility.
In practice, most road traffic claims turn on two questions. The first is who was responsible, which is usually established from the accounts of those involved, the damage to the vehicles, the position of the vehicles after impact, and any independent evidence such as dashcam footage or a police report. The second is what the injury has cost you, both in terms of the injury itself and the financial consequences that follow it.
You do not need to prove everything yourself before speaking to a solicitor. Our lawyers assess the circumstances, tell you honestly whether there appears to be a case, and explain what evidence would be needed to support it. There is no charge for that first assessment and no obligation to take it further.
A road traffic claim is not only for the person driving. Anyone injured on the road because of another road user's negligence can bring a claim, and the evidence that matters differs depending on how you were travelling when it happened.
Drivers
Injured where another road user caused the collision, including at junctions, roundabouts and on motorways. Damage patterns and vehicle positions often do much of the work in establishing fault.
Claims for driversPassengers
Passengers can claim against the driver responsible, whether that is a friend, a family member, a taxi driver or a stranger. The claim is met by the driver's insurer rather than by the driver personally.
Claims for passengersPedestrians
People struck by vehicles, or injured because of unsafe road conditions such as defective surfaces or poor lighting. Pedestrian claims often need careful reconstruction of what the driver could and should have seen.
Claims for pedestriansMotorcyclists
Riders injured by drivers emerging from junctions, turning across their path or pulling out without looking. Motorcyclists are among the most vulnerable road users, and injury severity is often higher.
Claims for motorcyclistsCyclists
Cyclists injured in collisions with vehicles, by car doors being opened into their path, or by road conditions that were unsafe. Evidence from cycle cameras and local authorities is often important here.
Claims for cyclistsPeople injured by larger vehicles
Collisions involving lorries, vans, buses and coaches. These cases raise additional questions about driver hours, maintenance, load security and the responsibilities of commercial operators.
Serious injury claimsMost road traffic claims are reasonably straightforward. These are the situations where the law or the evidence makes things more complicated, and where a solicitor's involvement tends to make a real difference.
Where the driver who caused the accident had no insurance, a claim can be made to the Motor Insurers' Bureau. The scheme exists precisely for this situation, but it has its own procedure and its own requirements, and claims are dealt with under the Bureau's own agreement rather than through an insurer.
Where the driver left the scene and cannot be identified, a claim can again go to the Motor Insurers' Bureau as an untraced driver claim. Prompt reporting to the police is essential here, and the time limit is shorter than the usual three years, so these cases need to be looked at quickly.
Lower value road traffic injuries, including whiplash, are now subject to a fixed tariff under the Official Injury Claim rules, and most of these claims go through a separate online portal. The tariff sets amounts by injury type and duration, which changes both the process and the likely value.
Where a collision causes brain injury, spinal injury, amputation, multiple fractures or another life changing injury, the claim is considerably more involved. It needs evidence from several medical specialists and has to account for rehabilitation, care, equipment and future lost earnings.
Claims against haulage companies, delivery firms and bus operators raise questions beyond the driving itself, including driver hours, vehicle maintenance records, load security and the operator's own duties. Those records can be requested, and they are often revealing.
Where a collision resulted in a death, certain dependants and family members may be able to claim, and a claim may also be possible on behalf of the deceased person's estate. The limitation period in these cases runs from the date of death rather than the date of the accident.
The rules for lower value road traffic injuries changed in 2021, and the tariff amounts are updated periodically. Any advice we give reflects the rules in force at the time, and we will explain how they apply to your particular injury rather than to road traffic claims generally.
Road traffic claims are usually decided on the balance of probabilities, which means the question is whether it is more likely than not that another road user was responsible. That does not require proving the case beyond reasonable doubt, but it does require evidence.
The most valuable evidence is often the evidence that disappears quickest. CCTV and dashcam footage is frequently overwritten within weeks. Vehicles are repaired or scrapped, which destroys the damage evidence. Witnesses move on and their recollection fades. This is the main reason we encourage people to make contact early even if they are not yet sure whether they want to proceed.
We will tell you what would genuinely help in your case rather than sending you a generic list. If you have nothing at all to hand, that is not a barrier to a claim, and much of what is needed can be requested from insurers, the police or the DVLA with your authority.
After the free assessment, where a claim is accepted the solicitor writes to the other driver's insurer setting out the claim and the basis on which responsibility is alleged. The insurer investigates, usually by taking a statement from their policyholder, and then either admits responsibility, denies it, or makes a partial admission.
While that is happening, medical evidence is arranged. An independent expert examines you, reports on the injury and gives a prognosis. Where the injury has not yet settled, a further report may be obtained later so that the claim is valued on the injury as it actually is rather than as it first appeared.
The financial losses are then worked through and the claim is put to the insurer with a figure. Negotiation usually follows. If responsibility remains disputed, or the valuation cannot be agreed, court proceedings can be issued, which protects the claim and often brings the other side to a sensible position.
Compensation is built from two parts, and both have to be evidenced. What is recoverable depends on your individual circumstances rather than on the kind of accident you had.
Pain, suffering and loss of amenity
General damages for the injury itself and the effect it has on your life, including the activities, hobbies and everyday tasks you can no longer manage as before.
Loss of earnings
Pay for time taken off while recovering, and where the injury affects your ability to work in future, the difference between what you would have earned and what you can now earn.
Medical and treatment costs
Treatment you have paid for, prescriptions, physiotherapy and any private care, along with the cost of treatment you are likely to need in future.
Care and assistance
Help with household tasks, childcare, gardening and personal care while you recover, whether provided by professionals or by family members who have stepped in.
Vehicle and travel costs
Repair or replacement costs, vehicle hire, and the additional travel expenses the accident has caused, including the cost of getting to medical appointments.
Future losses
Where the injury has lasting effects, compensation can include future treatment, ongoing care, equipment, and the longer term effect on your earning capacity.
We do not publish figures for particular injuries, because compensation is not decided by the injury name alone. Two people with the same diagnosis can receive very different awards depending on severity, how long symptoms last, the medical prognosis, and the financial losses each has suffered. Any reliable figure has to come from the medical evidence in your own case.
How personal injury compensation is assessedFor most road traffic accident claims in England and Wales, the limitation period is three years from the date of the accident. There are exceptions: for a child, the three years runs from their eighteenth birthday, and where someone lacks the mental capacity to bring a claim the time limit does not run in the ordinary way. The date of knowledge can also be relevant where an injury emerged later. Anyone close to a deadline should take advice immediately rather than assume.
Often yes. Where an accident is partly your responsibility, compensation is usually reduced to reflect your share of the blame rather than refused. This is known as contributory negligence. It might arise, for example, if you were not wearing a seatbelt or were partly across a junction. The reduction is expressed as a percentage and applied to the total value of the claim.
You may still be able to claim. Where the driver is uninsured, or cannot be traced at all, a claim can be made to the Motor Insurers' Bureau, which exists to compensate the victims of uninsured and untraced drivers. The rules and the evidence required differ slightly from an ordinary claim, and strict time limits apply, so advice should be taken early.
A criminal prosecution and a civil claim are separate processes. You can bring a civil claim whether or not the police prosecute, and whether or not any prosecution succeeds. A conviction for careless or dangerous driving can be useful evidence in the civil claim, but it is not required, and a decision not to prosecute does not prevent a claim. An acquittal does not defeat one either.
Compensation has two parts. General damages compensate for the injury itself, including pain and the effect on your day to day life. Special damages cover the financial losses the accident caused, such as lost earnings, treatment, travel, vehicle related costs and care. Both are assessed on the medical evidence and on what can be proved, and neither can be valued properly until the injury has been assessed.
Yes. A passenger can bring a claim where the driver, whether it was a friend, a family member or a stranger, was responsible for the accident. The claim is met by the driver's insurer rather than by the driver personally, so it does not usually cost them anything and does not require you to pursue them. It is normal to worry about this, and worth mentioning at the outset.
A straightforward claim where responsibility is admitted and the injury settles within a few months can conclude in around six to nine months. Claims that are disputed, or where the injury is more serious and the prognosis is not yet clear, take longer. If court proceedings become necessary, the case usually takes on a longer timetable, although many claims still settle before a hearing.
By law, a driver involved in an accident causing injury or damage must report it to the police if their details were not exchanged at the scene. For a claim, a police report is helpful evidence but it is not essential in every case. If the police attended, or you were given a reference number, tell us, because the report can be requested.
The answers above explain the position generally. Every claim turns on its own facts, and the applicable rules, including the whiplash tariff, are those in force at the relevant time.
Injury Law Specialists is a marketing and advertising platform and is not a law firm or a provider of regulated legal services. All personal injury legal advice, legal services, casework, representation, legal support, and any free initial assessment or consultation promoted or arranged through Injury Law Specialists are provided by MB Solicitors, a trading name of MB Legal Solicitors Ltd.
MB Legal Solicitors Ltd is a company registered in England and Wales under Company Number 12281731. The firm is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) under SRA ID 8000764 and is a member of The Law Society. Injury Law Specialists does not itself provide legal advice or carry out reserved legal activities. Any solicitor-client relationship arising from an enquiry will be directly between the client and MB Legal Solicitors Ltd.
Read our Regulatory InformationTell us what happened and a member of our team can explain whether there may be grounds to claim, what evidence would be needed and how the process would work. The assessment is free, and speaking to us does not commit you to anything.
