No Win, No FeeBeing injured in a hit and run car accident can be devastating and lead to long-term problems for the victim and their loved ones. You might think that claiming compensation for a hit and run isn’t possible because you don’t know who was responsible for the accident. However, it is possible you could be compensated for injuries involving uninsured and untraceable drivers through the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB). In this article, we’ll explain when you can claim compensation through the MIB for a hit and run and what information you’ll need to supply.
Our team can help with hit and run accident claims if you decide to take action. When you get in touch, they’ll review your case with you to check whether you’re eligible to proceed. They’ll also provide free legal advice about your options. If your claim appears to be viable, you’ll be introduced to one of our personal injury solicitors. Should they agree to take your case on, you won’t need to pay them upfront as they’ll operate on a No Win No Fee basis. All in all, knowing that you will only pay for your solicitor’s work if you are paid compensation should make the hit and run claims process a lot less stressful.
Do you want to start a claim straight away? If so, please get in touch by calling 0800 652 1345. Alternatively, please carry on reading to learn more about making a claim through the MIB.
What is classed as a hit and run?
When a Road Traffic Accident (RTA) occurs, all parties should stop and swap details with each other. This isn’t just common courtesy, it is the law. Section 170 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 states that drivers must stop if an accident results in damage or personal injury.
Additionally, they must provide their contact details to any other party involved in the accident if asked. Failure to do so is a criminal offence. If necessary, the driver must report the accident to the police as soon as possible if they cannot produce their details at the time of the incident.
When the other driver fails to stop at the scene of an RTA, it is often referred to as a hit and run accident.
Why do hit and runs happen?
Even though every driver has a legal obligation to stop at the scene of an accident, hit and run incidents still occur. There are various reasons why a driver may fail to stop and swap details including when they:
- Panicked because they were worried about the damage or injuries they’d caused.
- Were over the drink-drive limit and didn’t want to be breathalysed.
- Knew that they were an uninsured driver and didn’t want to be charged by the police.
- Were not aware they had hit you or your vehicle. This can be a problem for larger vehicles like a lorry or buses.
Whatever the reason, if you’re injured in a hit and run accident, all is not lost. You could be entitled to compensation through the MIB and we could help you to claim it.
What is the Motor Insurers Bureau?
The MIB is an organisation set up by the insurance industry. It keeps a record of all cars that are insured through its members. By law, all motor insurance companies must be a member of the MIB and contribute towards it. However, in reality, this means that law-abiding drivers who take out insurance will be paying a levy on their own premiums to keep the MIB running.
As well as helping with uninsured driver claims, the MIB can help with hit and run car accident claims. They use the phrase ‘untraced driver’ claims. Our solicitors can help you to claim through the MIB on a No Win No Fee basis.
Can I claim compensation for a hit and run car accident?
Claims through the Motor Insurers Bureau can essentially be made for anything you’d normally claim through a motor insurance policy. In normal road traffic accident claims, you’d need to prove that:
- The other driver was negligent and caused an accident to happen; and
- You were injured as a consequence of that accident.
For hit and run car accident claims through the MIB, you will also have to:
- Inform your own insurer about the accident; and
- Report the accident to the police.
Later on in this article, we’ll explain what proof you may need to provide to the MIB to make a successful claim.
Hit and run accidents you could be compensated for
You could claim compensation for any type of hit and run accident that has left you injured where the driver responsible has failed to stop at the scene. This means you could claim for:
- Lorry hit and run accidents.
- Hit and run accidents involving bikes or motorbikes.
- Public transport hit and run accidents.
- Hit and run accidents involving pedestrians.
- Foreign lorry hit and run accidents.
Our team can help if you do want to explore claiming through the MIB for any type of hit and run incident. Please get in touch if you’d like us to review your hit and run accident claim for free.
How much hit and run compensation could I claim?
If you claim against an untraced driver through the MIB, you would hope to receive the same amount of compensation as you would have had they stopped and provided their own insurance details. Any claim you make will look at any personal injuries (general damages) and any costs associated with your accident (special damages). When making a hit and run claim through the MIB, you could claim compensation for:
- Any damage to your vehicle.
- The loss of a no-claims bonus if you’ve had to claim through your own insurer and any excess fees paid.
- The pain and suffering your injuries caused. This could include a payment to cover distress, depression, anxiety or any other form of psychiatric/psychological injury.
- Loss of earnings.
- The time a loved one spent caring for you during your recovery.
- Medical expenses and rehabilitation costs.
- Future income losses if your injuries will reduce your earning capacity.
- The cost of making adaptations to your home improve your quality of life if you are left disabled.
You can only claim through the MIB scheme once for any given accident. As such, it’s important to consider all aspects of your suffering. If you work with one of our solicitors, they’ll carefully review your hit and run compensation claim with you in an attempt to ensure you are fully compensated for your injuries.
Providing proof for a hit and run accident compensation claim
The role of the MIB is to prove that the other driver involved in your accident:
- Was responsible for the accident and your injuries.
- Cannot be traced or is uninsured.
If both of these criteria are met, the MIB will process your claim. To help prove what happened, you should try to provide as much proof as realistically possible. This could include:
- Details of the other vehicle. You should provide as much information here as possible including the make, model and colour of the vehicle and which direction it travelled in when leaving the scene. If possible, you should try to provide as much of the car’s registration number as possible.
- Photographic proof. Taking pictures of the hit and run accident scene can be a good way of showing the road layout and where damage has occurred on your vehicle.
- Police reference numbers. Again, you must report hit and runs to the police if you want to claim through the MIB. This should be done as soon as possible and you should ask for a crime reference number.
- Medical evidence. If you are injured in a hit and run car accident, you should get treatment at a hospital or minor injuries unit. After you’ve been treated, you are able to request copies of your medical records to help prove the extent of your injuries.
- Witness information. To help prove what happened, the MIB may ask any witnesses for an account of what they saw. For this reason, try to safely collect the contact details of anybody else who was present.
- Dashcam footage. Similarly, if your accident was captured on dashcam, the footage could be provided to the MIB. Any footage could be important so try to secure copies as soon as possible.
It’s also a good idea to write everything down yourself. Start off with everything you can remember happening at the time of the hit and run. Then keep a diary of how your injuries have affected you and any costs that you’ve incurred as a result. If you’d like us to help you claim, we’ll review any proof you’ve secured so far as part of our free consultation.
Medical reports for a hit and run claim
As part of your claim, you’ll need to provide medical proof to clearly show the severity of your injuries. For this reason, you might need an independent medical assessment. A specialist will conduct the meeting where your injuries will be examined and discussed. Following your appointment, the specialist will prepare a report to set out your prognosis. Usually, our solicitors can arrange local medical assessments so you won’t need to travel too far.
Hit and run accident claims time limits
Any form of personal injury claim must be made within a 3-year limitation period. This will usually commence on the date of the hit and run accident. As there may be a lot of investigation required, we’d suggest starting the claim sooner rather than later. This should mean you’ll find it easier to remember how the accident has affected you and you’ll also allow enough time for evidence and medical records to be collected.
Hit and run claims involving children do not have the same time limit. It is possible for an adult (parent, guardian or friend) to become their litigation friend to manage their claim at any point before their 18th birthday.
The MIB aims to make decisions on low-value claims within 6-weeks. In other cases, they’ll try to decide whether you’ll be compensated within 3-months. Once they have decided, there will be a further period of time needed to decide how much hit and run compensation will be paid. The time this takes will depend on several factors including whether there is any dispute over the extent of your injuries and whether independent reports are needed.
No Win No Fee hit and run accident claims
It’s important to note that you can claim through the MIB on your own. However, we believe you could be awarded a higher amount of compensation if you have a personal injury solicitor on your side. So that you don’t have to worry about the cost of hiring a specialist solicitor, ours work on a No Win No Fee basis for hit and run claims that they take on.
If your case is accepted, and you decide to proceed with a claim, you will sign a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This will allow work to start on your claim without any upfront payment.
If you are compensated through the MIB scheme, a success fee will be deducted from your compensation as the fee. This fee cannot be any higher than 25% of your settlement when using a CFA because of caps set by the Ministry of Justice.
To find out if one of our No Win No Fee solicitors could help you to claim, please call today.
Start a hit and run accident claim today
The easiest way to find out whether we could help you to claim is to call our team of claims advisors on 0800 652 1345. During your call, a specialist will review everything with you and give you free legal advice on your chances of being compensated.
If your case is suitable, it could be passed to one of our personal injury lawyers. They’ll work for you on a No Win No Fee basis if your claim is accepted which should make the process a lot less stressful.
Please use live chat to get in touch if you have any more questions on hit and run accident claims, or head to this page to arrange a claims consultation by phone.
