Pedestrian injuries

If you are a pedestrian who has been injured by a motor vehicle of any sort, a claim can be made if the driver was at partial or total fault, for instance: -

• Driver fails to stop at a red light or crossing;
• The driver was distracted by their mobile phone;
• Driving recklessly; and
• The driver was under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

 

IN THE FIRST INSTANCE YOU SHOULD CALL THE POLICE, THEY WILL CHECK TO SEE IF THE DRIVER WAS FIT TO DRIVE (DRINK / DRUGS ETC) AND TAKE PLENTY OF PHOTOGRAPHS, ESPECIALLY OF THE VEHICLE INVOLVED AND A GENERAL VIEW THE ROAD ITSELF. IF IT IS DARK THEN TAKE THE SCENE PICTURES THE NEXT DAY. IF YOU HAVE ANY INJURIES THEN PRESENT YOURSELF TO HOSPITAL (MAKE SURE YOU DETAIL WHO SEES YOU AND WHAT TREATMENT YOU RECEIVE AS IF THE MATTER IS PROGRESSED YOUR MEDICAL CONSULTANT WILL NEED THESE) – DO NOT ASSUME YOU ARE OK AS SOME INJURIES MAY BECOME APPARENT LATER ON.

 

According to reports from the Department for Transport (2018), pedestrians accounted for 14% of all road casualties in Great Britain that year. If you find yourself as a pedestrian injured by any motor vehicle on the road, you must first seek medical attention. If the vehicle did not drive off after the accident, make a note of their phone number, name, insurance information and driving license details.

 

It is recommended that you then proceed to gather witness accounts, photos of the vehicle(s), photos of the injuries sustained and any other information you deem important. Unfortunately, some pedestrians suffer fatal injuries as seen in the case of Kim Briggs who was knocked down by a cycle courier. It is important to note that you can make a personal injury claim on behalf of someone if, their injuries were serious and/or fatal.

 

How we can help

One of the issues with injuries from such situations is proving that the driver was at fault, most motorists have encountered situations where pedestrians run out into the road without warning or they are driving at night and see cyclists dressed in black with no reflective surfaces etc. The criteria for a claim depends on proving an element of negligence by the driver. On the assumption that you have already called the Police then please include your incident number to your caseworker, when you instruct us, we would need to see the photographic evidence.

 

To gain our assistance you need to open a case, this is done by taking advantage of our free consultation service, activated by the link at the top of the page, should you wish to start a case the caseworker will send you the suitable payment link. To quantify compensation our legal team will appoint medical consultants to assess your situation, they are privately contracted by us (and therefore their cost would be classed as a disbursement). To quantify the potential claim in regard to mental trauma we would suggest an additional report from our psychological team.

 

The claim will consider two types of damages:

• General damages- this compensates the victim for the pain and suffering endured, and for the loss of enjoyment of life as a result of the negligent act.
• Special damages- this compensates the victim for any personal costs incurred as a result of the negligent act. It can also cover any additional costs required in the future such as remedial surgery to remedy the mistake, mental suffering and so on.

 

Please note your caseworker can only give generic advice, their role is to prepare your details for handling by our legal team and medical consultant and to act as your point of contact, they will also issue you with your Password and PIN, these will be needed to log onto your client dashboard. From your dashboard you will be able to manage and view every aspect of your case, upload documents, images, files etc.