Passenger Injury Claims

I was injured as a passenger in a car accident. Can I make a passenger injury claim?

Passenger injury claims have one of the highest success rates in personal injury cases. Unlike drivers, passengers can never be at fault in car accidents, and will always be able to recover the full amount of damages for their injuries. If you were a passenger in a car accident, you may be able to sue the driver of the car that you were in, the driver of the other car, or even both drivers at once.

Whether you are simply looking for friendly advice after being involved as a passenger in a car accident, or are all set to institute a passenger injury claim, the full panel of accident claim specialists at Free Legal Justice is here for you. With years of accident claim know-how and experience, our panel of solicitors and trained team members will listen to what you have to say, and guide you through the passenger injury claim process.

What If I Was A Passenger In The Car That Caused The Accident?

There are many misconceptions when it comes to passenger injury claims. Many people think that if you are a passenger in a car that caused an accident, you can’t claim compensation for the injuries that you have suffered as a passenger. This is simply not true! As an innocent party in the accident, you will always be able to claim compensation for personal injuries that you have suffered. You won’t even lose your right to claim compensation if, for example, you knew that the driver was using a cell phone while driving, or that they had been under the influence of alcohol at the time of the car accident.

If you were a passenger in a taxi at the time of the accident, you may be able to make a taxi accident claim if the incident was not your fault. Taxi drivers have to have sufficient car insurance and public liability insurance to cover cases of this nature. These cases can get very complex however, so you will need to contact an expert personal injury lawyer to help you make your compensation claim.

If your passenger injury claim is against a driver who is a friend or family member, you need not feel  awkward or nervous about making your passenger injury claim. You are legally entitled to compensation and you have a fundamental right to access justice for the harm caused. Don’t feel guilty about using your basic human rights. Our experienced passenger injury claims team has dealt with this situation many times before- it is more common than you think. If you have any concerns about making a passenger injury claim, Free Legal Justice will be happy to provide the necessary support and discuss your options with you in a free consultation.

How Do I Make A Passenger Injury Claim?

If you think you might be eligible for a passenger injury claim, it is important to take steps as soon as possible to start your compensation claim. The first step in finding out if you have a valid passenger injury claim is to speak to one of Free Legal Justice’s friendly team of personal injury experts. Our passenger injury claim specialists will help you through the entire claim process, from beginning to end. Free Legal Justice will help you to collect all the necessary details and information about the car accident, and quickly be able to assess the best way to help you make your passenger injury claim and get the justice you deserve.

If you contact a member of our injury claims team in the UK now, you will receive free professional advice on the merits of your passenger injury claim, so that you can appreciate your legal position before you take steps against those who caused you injury. To correctly advise you on the merits of your passenger injury claim, your friendly Free Legal Justice claims handler in the UK will need as much information as possible about the car accident. We will ask for as much information as possible in your free consultation with one of our injury claims experts, including details such as:

• How the car accident happened, and nature of the injuries suffered or damage caused as a result of the car accident;
• The car registration details;
• The name, registration number, and contact number of the individuals involved in the car accident;
• Any police reference numbers or emergency service attendance details; and
• Location of where the car accident happened.

As a standard part of the passenger injury claims process, we will refer you to an independent doctor for examination. The medical officer will conduct a full assessment and write a medical report based on the injuries that you have suffered as a passenger in the car at the time of the accident. This independent medical report will be used in support of your passenger injury claim and will help us to value the amount of compensation that you are lawfully entitled to.

Once a solicitor from Free Legal Justice has started your passenger injury claim, we will also ask you to share any possible evidence that you may have gathered from the accident scene with us. This evidence will support your passenger injury claim, and may include:

• Details of any witnesses to the accident;
• Photographs of the accident scene and the damage to the cars involved in the accident
• Photographs of any injuries;
• Details of medical appointments that you have attended;
• Details and receipts of any medication that a doctor has prescribed to treat your injuries.

In addition to this, it is important that you keep a record of all other medical reports, documentation and receipts which could be used in support of your passenger injury claim. Don’t worry if you don’t have all of this information right now. With a single call to Free Legal Justice, our accident claims team in the UK will be able explain the merits of your passenger injury claim based on the information that you can provide us with. Get in touch with a Free Legal Justice claims handler as soon as possible- as soon as we have the details of your case we can get started on your passenger injury claim and help you get the justice that you deserve.

How Do You Calculate Compensation Amounts in Passenger Injury Claims?

Your legal right to compensation is based on getting you back to the position you were in before you were harmed as a passenger in the car accident. In passenger accident claims generally, compensation sums are calculated with reference to the severity of the victim’s personal injuries, and the type of care that the victim may need going forward to be able to live with their injuries. We will also include a claim for out-of-pocket expenses that you have incurred as a result of the accident.

Passenger Injury claims include general and special damages. In summary, general damages are compensation for the personal injuries the passenger has suffered, whereas special damages are compensation for additional expenses incurred by the passenger as a result of the accident. A member of Free Legal Justice will be sure to go through your calculation of general and special damages with you in detail once you’ve agreed to make a passenger injury claim.

There are specific rules of how much can be claimed as general damages for different levels of injuries in passenger injury claims. Your general damages will be calculated by matching your independent medical report with the sums given in the official Judicial Board Guidelines for the Assessment of General Damages in Personal Injury Cases. The compensation that you will receive at the conclusion of your case will be influenced by details such as how serious your injury was and how long you will take to recover from your injuries.

You will need to hold proof of all of the additional expenses or costs you have incurred to date, or will incur in the future, as a result of the accident. These costs will be included in the broad category of special damages. Special damages can range from travel costs, costs of medical and rehabilitation appointments, childcare, loss of income, and broader medical expenses such as prescriptions, physiotherapy, counselling, physical home adjustments, to the cost of any special equipment that you might need during the recovery process.

Examples of General Damages In Passenger Injury Claims

Head Injuries

A head injury is a very serious issue and must be dealt with carefully. If a passenger has sustained any form of head injury, there is a risk that they have suffered some form of brain injury and should make sure to seek medical attention immediately. In passenger injury claims, the amount of compensation that you will be entitled to in respect of head and brain injuries will depend on how serious the head or brain injury is. A person suffering from minor head injury, with no injury to the brain, may be entitled to claim compensation of between £3,000 and £6,000. If serious harm is caused to the head and the brain, the passenger may be entitled to over £20,000 in compensation. In the most serious cases where the victim is left completely unresponsive and has suffered permanent severe brain damage, compensation claims can total over £200,000.

Mental or Psychological Injuries

As with other forms of injury, the extent of compensation allowed for mental and psychological harm is dependent on the severity of the injuries. If as a passenger in a car accident, you have suffered temporary psychological harm, and things in your life are expected to return to normal soon, your compensation claim can total anything between £4,000 and £10,000. Where mental and psychological injuries are more severe or permanent, the compensation payout can be up to £50,000 in valid passenger injury claims.

Upper Body Injuries

If you have suffered minor injuries to your upper body, including your neck and shoulders, you may have a passenger injury compensation claim of up to £6 000, depending on the level of injury. If you have suffered severe upper body injuries, such as a dislocation or fracture, then you could be able to claim up to £29,000 from your wrongdoer. The largest passenger injury claims will be for very severe or permanent injuries such as paraplegia, where claims can total anything between £35,000.00 and £200,000.

Back Injuries

Back injuries need to be dealt with seriously, as they are risky, painful and draining. If your back has been injured in a car accident, there is a high risk of spinal damage and it is important that you get a medical assessment immediately to prevent any further potential damage. Back injuries can cause decreased mobility, and in serious cases can even result in paralysis. Passenger injury claims for minor back injuries reach £9000 in value, while the most serious and permanent back injuries to the nerve root or spinal cord can result in compensation of up to £200,000.

Hands, Arms, and Wrist Injuries

It can be tricky to determine the loss that a person has suffered as a result of a wrist or hand injury. Less severe hand and wrist injuries could result in compensation claims of between £3,000 and £5 000, while permanent injury or disability in passengers can lead to compensation payouts of £30,000.

Lower Body Injuries

Injuries to your lower body include all kinds of injury to ankles, knees, hips and legs. The amount that you can claim for lower body injuries will again be determined by the nature and seriousness of the injuries. Compensation for minor lower body injuries can reach up to £10 000. If you have suffered lower body injuries leading to permanent disability, loss of limb, or consistent pain, you might be entitled to compensation of up to £25 000.00.

Your experienced passenger injury claims solicitor will be able to give you a general estimate of your claim’s value once you have provided them with all the details and reports about the injuries that you suffered due to the accident. It is important that the amounts mentioned above are merely used as a broad guideline to possible compensation claims, and must not be seen in any way as fixed compensation amounts available to passenger injury claimants. Free Legal Justice will assess the value of your passenger injury claim in a completely free, confidential consultation once you have provided one of our claims handlers with the details of your accident.

Examples of Special Damages In Passenger Injury Claims

To make a claim for special damages in a passenger injury claim, we will need to present sufficient proof of the additional expenses or costs you have incurred as a result of the injuries that you have suffered as a passenger in a car accident. This includes expenses that you have already incurred, as well as those that you will incur in the future. Special damages which are sometimes included in passenger injury claims include:

• Damage to possessions;
• Insurance excess costs;
• Prescription medication costs;
• Medical care, including physiotherapy & rehabilitation costs;
• Travel expenses, including travel to medical appointments and parking costs;
• Loss of past and future earnings, which is directly related to the incident and injury;
• Any loss of job opportunities, promotions, bonuses or pensions directly related to the injury; and
• Costs relating to the adaptation of your home, necessary to be able to live with your injuries.

For a completely free assessment of the value of your passenger injury claim, contact Free Legal Justice at any time of day, on any day of the week, by filling out the short online form and waiting for us to call you back for free, or by calling one of our friendly accident claims handlers on 0800 567 7074. If you would like to discuss your case from the comfort of your own home, please request a complimentary home visit from one of our friendly accident claim handlers.

How Long Do I Have To Make My Passenger Injury Claim?

Generally, you need to make a claim for compensation within three years of the date of the car accident, or of the date that you became aware of your injuries. There are exceptions to this rule, for example you may be allowed a longer time period if you are claiming on behalf of a child or protected person. On the other hand, if the car accident was the result of criminal activity such as a hit and run, time limits may vary if the claim is instituted through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority.

Can You Make Passenger Injury Claims If You Were Not Wearing a Seatbelt?

Yes, you can make a passenger injury claim even if you were not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the car accident. If someone else is to blame for the injuries that you have suffered as an innocent passenger in a car accident, you will almost always be able to make a claim for compensation. You are not disqualified from claiming simply because you were not wearing your seatbelt. That being said, if the evidence shows that by not wearing your seatbelt, you effectively made your injuries worse than they would have been had you been wearing a belt, then your compensation amount will be reduced by how much you are deemed to have contributed to your injuries. You will be found partially to blame for your injuries and your compensation payment will be reduced by your percentage of your blame.

What Do Passenger Injury Claims cost?

Free Legal Justice handles every passenger injury claim on a No Win No Fee basis. This means that clients will not pay us a thing unless their passenger injury claim is successful, and they receive some form of financial compensation for their injuries. Free Legal Justice will carry all the upfront costs of instituting the passenger injury claim, meaning that you will only be charged a success fee if we help you to win your compensation case. For victims of car accidents, No Win No Fee agreements are a great funding option for our clients to pursue compensation claims, without the risk of being left out of pocket.

No Win No Fee Agreements for passenger injury claims

A No Win No Fee agreement lets you make your compensation claim on the condition that if the claim is unsuccessful, you won’t owe us any legal fees. Put simply, it is a way for you to take legal steps necessary to claim compensation for your injuries, without any financial risk of legal fees weighing over your head. Our highly skilled accident claims solicitors are happy to offer No Win No Fee agreements to all clients seeking rightful compensation for personal injuries, because they are extremely confident in their legal abilities and they have a track record of successful passenger accident claims behind them.

A No Win No Fee agreement is a stress-free, financially-savvy way to claim compensation for passenger injuries. Once you have discussed the details of your case with an accident claims solicitor, and given them the go-ahead to continue with your claim on a No Win No Fee agreement, your work is basically complete. You can then sit back, relax, and let your dedicated Free Legal Justice team do the hard work for you!

How Much Will I Be Charged If My Claim Is Successful?

The good news is that you will never pay us any legal fees in advance. A No Win No Fee agreement means that Free Legal Justice will only get paid if your passenger injury claim is successful.

Our accident claims solicitors nationwide work on an average success fee of 25% of the total compensation received. Your designated accident claims solicitor will make sure to discuss the success fee upfront before you make your passenger injury claim, and this will be confirmed in writing between the parties. If Free Legal Justice helps you to win your claim, we will receive the success fee as payment for the legal services that we have provided. Once you have agreed to make a claim, your dedicated accident claim solicitor in Glasgow will be able to answer any questions that you might have on the success fee.

What Happens If My Claim Is Unsuccessful?

Free Legal Justice carries the risk of your claim being unsuccessful. In the unlikely event that your compensation claim is not successful, Free Legal Justice will not charge you any legal fees for the work done by your designated accident claims solicitor.  That means that you will not need to pay us a thing if you don’t get some form of financial compensation for your injuries.

To ensure that you are fully protected and have peace of mind over your finances, the Free Legal Justice team will help you to secure ‘After the Event’ insurance. This insurance covers you in the event that you are unsuccessful with your claim, and in case the court rules that you need to pay a part of your opponent’s legal costs during the case.

How Long Does a Passenger Injury Claims Take?

Every car accident is unique, as is the compensation claim process that follows the accident. Claims can take a few months, or in rare cases even a few years.  The amount of time needed to resolve your matter will depend on the facts specific to your case. Our experienced accident claims solicitors have handled many passenger injury cases before, and will be able to give you good idea of how long your claim is likely to take once they have been through the details of your claim.

In general, the length of time it takes for your passenger injury claim to complete will depend on how complicated it is. Passenger injury claims can become more complicated if your injuries are extremely serious, if there is a dispute over the facts and over liability, or if you were involved in a ‘hit and run’ accident, as this may make it more difficult to prove legal responsibility.

No matter how the car accident happened or who you think is to blame for the accident, it is important that you speak to a passenger injury professional from Free Legal Justice as soon as possible, to determine whether you have a valid passenger injury claim. Our experienced accident claims team processes every car accident claim through a fast-track assessment and allocation procedure; so that we can help our clients get the compensation they deserve as soon as possible.

Our team of accident claims solicitors will be able to give you an idea of how long your case is expected to take, once they have been through the details of your case with you. The sooner you get started on your passenger injury claim, the sooner you will get the justice that you deserve. Contact Free Legal Justice now for a free, no-obligation consultation with one of our accident claims lawyers today!

Why Choose Free Legal Justice To Help You In Your Passenger Injury Claims?

Claim Justice only works with personal injury claims. Our skilled personal injury solicitors have broad knowledge and experience in all kinds of personal injury claims, and they know exactly how to help our clients get the maximum financial compensation possible. Our respected personal injury solicitors will protect your privacy and safety, and ensure that your passenger injury claim is handled diligently, efficiently and discreetly. We aim to make the entire compensation claim process as easy and stress free as possible for our clients. You can rest easy knowing that you have an expert personal injury solicitor working hard on your passenger injury claim, to get you the maximum compensation you deserve.

By working with Claim Justice on a No Win No Fee compensation claim, we promise that: 

• You will receive free legal advice from one of our expert personal injury solicitors as to how best to proceed with your passenger injury claim;
• A member of the Free Legal Justice Team will be available to speak to you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to help you with any questions that you might have regarding your passenger injury claim;
• If you are unsuccessful in your passenger injury claim, we will not charge you any legal fees for the work that we have done on your case;
• You won’t pay a thing from your own pocket;
• We will do all the brainwork and run around work for you, including all the paperwork and administration involved in the day to day management of legal cases;
• We will help you to recover the maximum amount of compensation in the shortest possible time; and
• We will manage your case efficiently, keep you updated on its progress, and will try to make the entire compensation claim process as stress-free as possible for you.

Contact Free Legal Justice at any time of day, on any day of the week, by filling out the short online form and waiting for us to call you back for free, or by calling one of our friendly accident claims handlers on 0800 567 7074. If you would like to discuss your case from the comfort of your own home, please request a complimentary home visit from one of our friendly accident claim handlers, so that you can start your passenger injury claim as soon as possible.