Claiming for passenger injuries following a car accident

Over 7,000 car accidents occurred during 2005 and, although personal injuries are decreasing as safety technology improves, YouClaim still receives thousands of passenger injury claims every year. Many of these are for whiplash but some are also for a wide range of other injuries including head wounds, broken bones, brain damage and spinal cord injury.

While it is possible for anybody inside a car to be harmed during a car accident, it is more likely that front seat passengers will suffer significant injuries. Passengers in both private vehicles and company vehicles are at risk of sustaining personal injuries and it is their right to make a compensation claim for any pain, suffering, distress and financial losses they might have suffered.

Private car accident - your entitlements
Many of us share lifts with friends, neighbours, family members and colleagues on a daily basis. This is a great idea as it cuts down traffic congestion and, in turn, reduces the risk of car accidents. However, many are involved in car crashes while travelling as passengers in private cars and are unsure about what steps to take, if any, in order to recover passenger injury compensation.

You are entitled to make a claim for passenger injuries sustained in a car accident, regardless of how well you know the driver. However, in order to pursue a claim against the driver, they must have been at least partly to blame for the car accident. That is, if you were passenger in a car accident that resulted from the negligence of the driver of the car that you were travelling in, or the negligence of another road user, then it likely that we can help you to make a passenger injury claim.

If a friend or family member was at least partly to blame for the car accident, you should not worry about making a personal injury claim against them. What you must remember is that, while they might lose their no claims bonus after they make a claim to their insurance company, your personal injury claim won't cost them a penny.

Any compensation that you are awarded for your passenger injuries will not come out of their own pocket but will be paid by their insurance company. Similarly, they will not be responsible for paying any costs or fees that may arise from the case. This is because their personal injury solicitor can take out after-the-event insurance on their behalf if necessary.

Company car accident - your entitlements
More than one third of road traffic accidents and around 1,000 deaths a year, involve someone who is working at the time. Those who drive for a living include couriers and postal workers but they mainly work alone. Some jobs, however, involve two or more colleagues travelling together to different locations in company vehicles. These may include removal persons, police officers, builders and recovery operators.

If you suffer passenger injuries in a company vehicle then there is more than one avenue that you can take to pursue personal injury compensation. The car accident should be reported to the company that you work for and you may be able to make a passenger injury claim on their business insurance. You may also be able to make an accident at work claim against your employers and pursue personal injury compensation that way.

However, some companies may not take any further action once an accident has been reported to them, may try their hardest to brush claims of this kind under the carpet, or could try to draw the claims process out for as long as possible. Therefore, it may be worth your while pursuing a compensation claim through Law Society approved personal injury specialists, such as YouClaim, who guarantee that the claims process both cost-free and hassle-free.

Compensation awards
The amount of money awarded for your passenger injuries very much depends on the type of injury that you sustain, the severity of the injury, your age at the time the injury occurred, whether permanent effects such as a disability are expected, as well as many other related factors.

However, the provision and use of safety features in the car at the time of the accident can also have a significant impact on the amount of compensation that you are awarded. For example, if a seatbelt was fitted in the car and you neglected to wear it, which is not only against the law but may have also resulted in you sustaining more serious passenger injuries, your compensation may be reduced accordingly.

Making a no win no fee claim for passenger injuries today
If you have suffered passenger injuries that were either not your fault or for which you were only partly negligent, then YouClaim are here to help.

We can help you to recover costs for lost earnings, prescriptions and transport to and from the hospital. We can even arrange for you to receive top medical treatment in your area.

We work on a no win no fee basis and also guarantee that the claims process is completely cost-free and that you will receive 100% of the compensation awarded to you.

If you would like to find out more about our services or would like to start a claim for passenger injury compensation today, give us a call on 0800 10 757 95.

You can also request a call back, fill in one of our quick claim forms or even chat online to an expert road accident claim experts who can answer all your questions.