Road traffic accidents

The law differs depending on the type of accident as not all accidents are vehicle to vehicle.

 

You must stay at the scene if: -

• you have suffered a personal injury;
• there has been a vehicle-to-vehicle impact; or
• property (street furniture or a person’s garden wall) has been damaged.

 

Where there has been an accident: -

• Get yourself safe,
• DO NOT ADMIT ANY LIABILITY (EVEN SAYING SORRY) AS THIS WOULD INFER LIABILITY;
• Call an ambulance – shock may be serious but not present itself immediately, better safe than sorry;
• Call the Police if the road is blocked or you think the other driver is illegal in some way (drunk, under the influence of drugs etc);
• If physically able take photos of the damage to your vehicle (if another vehicle is involved take pictures of that too);
• If there are any witnesses then take their details;
• If another vehicle is involved then exchange details such as name, address, phone number, vehicle registration plate and insurance details; and
• Report the accident to your insurers, regardless of who was to blame

 

If the accident has damaged street furniture / private property you must call the Police. If an injury presents itself after the accident, and you had not sought medical help at the time you can still make a personal injury claim, however, we would always recommend getting checked over after an accident, this is not just to make making a claim easier but there may be something wrong that you simply do not notice. Adrenalin is a great painkiller and you may feel perfectly fine. At Lestons we would always suggest getting checked over and keeping records of every visit, prescriptions issued etc in a file, just in case.

 

How we can help

On the assumption that both sides are insured (if not then a claim to the Motor Insurance Bureau will be needed) then the results of the accident will need to be assessed, to assist our legal team with this we will appoint 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.

 

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. 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.