Road Traffic Accident
It is mid-August which means summer is coming to an end soon, and most importantly, a new academic year is on the horizon.
For the past year and a half, most students have gone from going to school for classes to attending classes for their GCSE, A-Levels and university courses from their desks at home. However, as coronavirus restrictions ease and face-to-face classes resume in the UK, students will have to start commuting to their schools/universities again.
As exciting as this sounds, many of us may need some time to get adjusted to navigating busy roads, especially during rush hours as we are beginning to feel the “old normal”.
Some of us might have got used to the new normal of the quiet town/city centres and have forgotten about the real dangers of the accidents if we are not careful enough as pedestrians.
This brings us to the touchy subject of road traffic accidents. As unfortunate as it is and this isn’t something that we want to have happened to us. In 2019 alone, the number of pedestrians aged 16 to 24 killed or seriously injured in road accidents in Great Britain is 941.
If you are moving to a new city/town for university, especially if you are an international student, you might want to take more caution as a pedestrian. A research done by Sussex Research Institute in 2008 found that overseas visitors are three times more likely to get into road traffic accidents compared with local residents. Therefore it is vital to be careful when crossing the roads, no matter how busy you might be.
But what if you, unfortunately, get into a road traffic accident and have been injured by a motorist? At Chan Neill Solicitors LLP, our experienced personal litigation team will be able to assist you in your matter to ensure that you will receive the compensation that you deserve.
The process is as follows:
- First, you (or a representative of you if you are physically or mentally incapable of doing so) need to speak to a solicitor specialising in personal injury to enquire whether you have a claim or not. After the solicitors agree to take on your case, they will begin collecting more information from you regarding the road traffic accident to build your case.
- The most crucial thing in a personal injury claim is negligence. In order to have a successful claim, we have to be able to prove that the other party (the motorist in this case) has the duty of care and that the duty of care has been breached – in this instance, it would be that a motorist should follow the Highway Code and ensure the safety of other road users including pedestrians, and they failed to do so which resulted in causing your injury in the road traffic accident.
- Once we can show that there is negligence, we (as the claimant) can issue a claim against the motorist (as the defendant) detailing the defendant’s liability and damages.
What happens next:
If the defendant admits that the accident is their fault, they can accept the claim and pay the damages.
However, there is always a chance that the other side will contest the claim or the amount of damages, and the defendant could make a counteroffer.
In some scenarios, if there is a dispute as to which party is at fault, i.e. the defendant rejects the claim that they had negligence, and you have exhausted your settlement options, you will go to court. Your solicitor will then instruct a barrister to represent you in court.
Most solicitors provide services on a conditional fee agreement (also known as a “no-win-no-fee”) basis, which means you only have to pay for the legal services if you win the case. For example, at Chan Neill Solicitors LLP, all personal injury claims are charged on a no-win-no-fee basis.
We hope that this article has reminded you of the possible dangers you may encounter as a pedestrian and that you have found this helpful in learning the basics about the personal injury (road traffic accident) litigation process.
Chan Neill Solicitors LLP is one of the leading law firms in London which houses an established Personal Injury practice. Our experienced team of lawyers can offer specialist advice and provide solutions. If you would like to learn more about our Personal Injury practice, please visit https://www.cnsolicitors.com/practice-areas/personal-injury/.
If you have any enquiries, you can fill in and submit the contact form at https://www.cnsolicitors.com/contact-us/. You can also contact us at +44 020 7253 7781.