Out on the road, every single person is responsible for making the road a safe place for everybody who uses it. Car and other road users have a responsibility to drive carefully and safely. Councils and local authorities have a duty to keep roads in good order and your employer also has responsibilities relating to your well-being if you are on the road as part of your job.
Unfortunately, despite all precautionary measures, road accidents/ road collisions continue to happen due to various reasons.
Causes Of Car Accident Claims
The majority of car accident claims are caused because of rash drivers on the road, but that is not the only cause of road accidents.
Road accidents could also be caused because of bad roads, faulty or absent road signs or driving a poorly maintained vehicle. Whatever the reason, if you were injured in a car accident which was no fault of yours, but was caused because somebody else acted negligently or rashly, you could have probable cause to file a successful car accident compensation claim.
The First Thing You Should Do Immediately After A Car Accident
Your personal health and safety should be your first priority after any accident. If you have been hurt, nothing else is more important than getting the medical attention you need and making sure you are not seriously injured.
If your injuries are minor, find the nearest Accident & Emergency department or the nearest hospital as soon as possible and get yourself checked by a doctor. In case of more serious injuries, an ambulance should be summoned without delay.
Even if you do not feel that your injuries are all that serious, it is still advisable to seek immediate professional medical attention for two important reasons – one is to check the extent of your injuries, and the other is that this acts as a crucial part of the evidence in any car accident compensation case.
Getting a doctor’s certification stating that your injuries were attended to on the same date as the accident proves that the two are related. In case of a long delay between the two dates, you can expect your claim to be contested on grounds that your injuries were perhaps caused by some other event.
Other Important Things You Can Do To Support Your Claim
It is often difficult to think clearly after an accident, especially if it was a major one. However, to be able to file a successful accident claim, it is important to at least have a few basic things in place that will support your claim and boost your chances of winning.
Three of the most important things you should do for this purpose are:
- File a report at the nearest police station. This report will also act as evidence to support your claim.
- Get the contact details of witnesses at the scene.
- Get photographs of the accident scene. Include photographs of the number plate of other car/ vehicle that collided into you or of the bad road, or whatever it was that caused your accident and injury.
Financial Losses & Compensation In A Car Accident
After a car accident, most people often think of only two things – the injuries they have suffered and the extent of damage to their car. However, in serious car accidents the consequences can go beyond what is easily visible.
- You could find yourself off work for an indeterminate amount of time, which could add up to a considerable loss of income.
- You may need to make alterations in your home or vehicle to accommodate your short or long term mobility issues.
- You may need to pay for full-time care at home.
- Last but not least, there’s the mental anguish that you and your family members go through, which cannot be calculated.
If the car accident was no fault of yours, you have a legal right to claim compensation for all of the physical and psychological hardships that you had to go through after the accident. This means you should be awarded compensation at a level that will cover all of your medical, physical and care needs. This is where an experienced accident solicitor will be able to ensure that you get the highest possible compensation to cover your actual losses as well as your potential losses.
Most car accident solicitors operate on a ‘No Win, No Fee’ basis, which means you do not have to pay the solicitor an upfront fee to take on the case. You only make a payment if your claim is successful. The amount that you pay will be an agreed-upon percentage of the compensation you’ve been awarded. Under these circumstances, it is definitely worth consulting a solicitor rather than trying to file a compensation claim yourself in case of a car accident injury.
