Pedestrian Accident Claims – How Much Compensation Can I Claim?

Pedestrians can suffer serious injuries if they’re hit by a car in a hit and run or other accident. That’s because, unlike other road users, they have very little protection which leaves them vulnerable during any type of collision. According to figures from the Department for Transport (DfT), 4,251 pedestrians were killed or seriously injured in Great Britain during 2020. If you or a loved one have been injured as a pedestrian, this claims article could help. We’ll explain when pedestrian accident claims could lead to you being compensated for your suffering and how to start a claim.

We can help if you do decide to seek damages for your injuries. To start, we’ll review what happened with you during a free consultation. As part of your call, we’ll explain your options and offer you free legal advice. If there’s a reasonable chance that you’ll be compensated, our team may connect you with one of our personal injury lawyers. Should you wish to proceed, they’ll represent you on a No Win No Fee basis if they take your case on. That means you won’t be asked to pay any solicitor’s fees unless you are awarded compensation.

To talk to us about starting a pedestrian accident claim straight away, call our team now on 0800 652 1345. To find out more about the claims process before getting in touch, please continue reading.

Can I claim compensation for a pedestrian accident?

If you would like a personal injury solicitor to represent you, they’ll review your account of the accident in detail before accepting it. That’s so they can check that:

• The other party (the defendant) owed you a duty of care; and
• Because they were negligent, an accident occurred; and
• You were a pedestrian injured as a direct result of the accident.

To summarise, you could be entitled to compensation if you were injured as a pedestrian in an accident that was not your fault. In most cases, all road users owe each other a duty of care so this isn’t something you’ll need to be too concerned by. In fact, the law has recently been tightened and new rules added to the Highway Code to protect vulnerable road users like cyclists and pedestrians. Your solicitor will verify this before a pedestrian accident claim proceeds.

Therefore, your main responsibility will be to provide details of how the accident happened and how you were injured. This will involve providing evidence so we’ll explain what you can use later on in this guide.

What injuries could I be entitled to compensation for?

The number of different injuries that pedestrians could sustain following an RTA is massive so we won’t list them all here. However, we have added a list of some of the common injuries that often lead to pedestrian accident compensation claims below. They include:

Whatever form of pedestrian injury you’ve sustained, we could help you to claim compensation. Please get in touch if you’d like more information about your options.

What types of careless driving could lead to a pedestrian injury claim?

Similarly, there are too many potential pedestrian accidents caused by careless/dangerous driving to list in this guide. However, you could be entitled to compensation for pedestrian injuries caused by a driver that:

• Failed to stop at a zebra crossing.
• Didn’t see you because they were using their mobile phone.
• Was drunk over the drug-drive limit.
• Failed to observe a red traffic signal.
• Was speeding or driving aggressively.
• Mounted the pavement whilst parking.
• Didn’t observe a stop sign and come to a complete halt.

If you believe you’ve got a valid pedestrian accident claim, please get in touch on 0800 652 1345 to see whether we could help you claim compensation?

How much compensation for a pedestrian accident can I claim?

Any compensation that’s paid during a personal injury claim aims to cover any pain you’ve had to deal with (general damages) and any costs you’ve incurred (special damages). In pedestrian accident claims, you could seek damages to cover:

• The physical suffering you endured during and after the accident.
• Any psychological harm such as that caused by depression, anxiety or distress.
• The time a loved one spent caring for you while you were injured.
• Any loss of income if your injuries prevented you from working. You could also claim for future lost income for long-term injuries.
• Travel expenses relating to medical appointments for example.
• The cost of changing your home or vehicle to help you cope with a disability caused by your accident.
• Rehabilitation and medical expenses.

If you work with one of our personal injury solicitors, they’ll make sure everything is considered before sending your pedestrian accident compensation claim to the defendant. In all cases, they’ll try to make sure any settlement offer is fair and compensates you for all of your suffering.

Fatal injury claims

If a loved one is killed in an RTA, no amount of compensation will make things better. However, at some point, you might decide to claim to help cover the financial impact of the accident.

You could claim compensation if you were financially dependent on the deceased. Furthermore, you could be paid a bereavement payment as well as an amount to cover costs like funeral expenses. Additionally, a claim could be made on behalf of the deceased’s estate to claim compensation on their behalf (instead of a normal personal injury claim).

We can help if you do decide to claim for fatal injuries and we will always try to work at a speed that you’re happy with. Please get in touch if you’d like to review your options.

Claiming compensation if you’ve been hit by a car in a hit and run

If a pedestrian is injured in a hit and run, there is a scheme that could compensate them. The Motor Insurers Bureau (MIB) is a scheme operated by the insurance industry on behalf of the government. It allows claims against untraceable drivers.

If you’re interested in claiming through the MIB, we can help. Simply contact us with as much information about the vehicle involved (colour, make, model, number plate etc) and we’ll review your options in a free case review.

Providing proof for a pedestrian accident compensation claim

The importance of evidence in a pedestrian accident compensation claim cannot be understated. That’s because most cases are handled by insurance companies rather than the defendant. As such, you’ll need to convince them that the accident was caused by the defendant and show them the full extent of your injuries. There are several pieces of evidence that can help with this including:

• Dashcam footage. If any vehicle that stopped at the scene of the accident was fitted with a dashcam, ask the owner to supply any relevant footage. Similarly, if there were any CCTV cameras in the area, ask for footage to be forwarded to you.
• Details of any witnesses. Also, if anybody else was present when you were injured, make a note of their contact details. In certain cases, they may be asked to provide a statement by your solicitor if there is an argument over liability for the accident.
• Police reports. In accidents that were attended by the emergency services, your solicitor could request copies of any reports that were filed to try and understand how the incident occurred.
• Medical notes. You should always seek medical advice about your pedestrian injuries so that they can be treated properly. If you were treated at A&E, a doctor’s surgery or a minor injuries unit, you could obtain copies of your medical records and any relevant scans to help prove the extent of your injuries.
• Photographic proof. If you’re able to, it’s a good idea to take photographs at the scene of the pedestrian accident. The best time to do this is before anything is moved. If photos aren’t possible, you should try to sketch the accident scene to help you recall what happened later on.
• A list of dates and costs. Finally, it’s a good idea to keep track of everything by taking notes throughout your recovery. Keeping track of any expenses is a good idea. It’s also useful to note the dates you could not work or attend social activities because of your injuries.

Once you’ve collected as much proof as possible, you can call us for free to have it reviewed. An advisor will assess the merits of your pedestrian claim with you and let you know if further evidence is needed.

Is a medical assessment required for my pedestrian accident claim?

As part of the claims process, it’s a normal procedure for the claimant to see an independent medical expert. You shouldn’t worry about this as it’s quite a straightforward meeting that our solicitors can usually arrange for you at a local venue.

The specialist will discuss how you’ve been affected and then examine your injuries. After this, they’ll review your medical notes and write a report to detail your prognosis and list your injuries.

Is there a time limit in which to make a compensation claim?

The legal time limit for personal injury claims in the UK is 3-years. For pedestrian accident claims, this will usually begin on the date of your accident. You shouldn’t wait too long to begin though as you’ll find it harder to recall exactly what happened. If you make an early start to the pedestrian accident claims process, your solicitor should have plenty of time to collect evidence and medical reports.

Another reason to begin the claims process early is that your solicitor could ask the defendant to pay for you to receive private medical treatment. This is called an interim payment that might be made if liability is agreed upon but before the claim has been finalised.

If a child pedestrian is injured in an RTA, the claims time limit does not apply. A guardian, friend or parent can represent them in a claim at any time before their 18^th birthday. If that doesn’t happen, the 3-year limitation period will begin when they turn 18-years old.

We can’t say exactly how long your claim will take as each case is different. However, straightforward cases where liability is admitted early can be processed in a number of months. If there is any argument over who was to blame or how serious the injuries were, the process can go beyond 1-year.

No Win, No Fee injury claims

We believe that any pedestrian who has been injured in an RTA as a pedestrian stands a better chance of winning their compensation claim if they’re represented by a personal injury solicitor. We also realise that nobody wants to risk paying for a solicitor and then losing their case. For that reason, our expert solicitors offer a No Win, No Fee service for any pedestrian injury claim they take on.

No Win, No Fee means you won’t be asked to pay your solicitor for their work in advance. It also means you don’t need to pay them if your case is lost. That should give you a lot of peace of mind during your claim.

As you’d expect, you’ll sign a contract to formalise this agreement. It’s called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). Your CFA will confirm the fact that your solicitor will represent you without being paid upfront. It will also explain when you’ll need to pay a ‘success fee’.

This fee is a percentage of your compensation that’s deducted to pay your solicitor for their work and to cover their costs. So that you can’t be charged too much, success fees are legally capped at 25% when using a CFA.

To see if you could claim on a No Win No Fee basis, please contact our team today.

Start a pedestrian accident claim today

There’s no risk involved with calling our claims line on 0800 652 1345 as you’ll get free legal advice no matter what you decide to do next. You’ll be under no obligation to proceed but if you do, and your claim is accepted, you’ll be represented by one of our team of personal injury solicitors. What’s more, they’ll provide their services on a No Win No Fee basis.

If you need to ask any additional questions regarding pedestrian accident claims, please request a consultation on this page or use live chat to contact a specialist.