Road Traffic Accidents
Road Traffic Accidents (RTAs) are, unhappily, all too common. About nine people a day die on Britain’s roads, over a hundred are seriously injured, and another three hundred people suffer less serious injuries. This includes drivers, passengers, cyclists, horse and motorbike riders and pedestrians.
The law is on your side if you are injured in a Road Traffic Accident where another road user was at fault, but establishing whose fault an accident was can often be difficult and contentious. It is important that you get an experienced personal injury solicitor to represent your interests if you become the victim of a Road Traffic Accident. Drivers must by law carry insurance to pay compensation to people they injure in an RTA. Even if you are injured by an uninsured or hit-and-run driver, the insurance industry has a fund against which you can claim compensation for your personal injury.
The value of an RTA compensation claim depends on the severity of the injury and the extent to which the various parties were at fault. A more serious injury means a higher value claim, but the amount of compensation a court awards will be reduced if it finds you were partly to blame for the accident.
If you are a driver involved in a Road Traffic Accident where personal injury or damage is caused you must always stop and give your details to other parties. If nobody asks you, you must report the accident to the police within 24 hours. If you do not report the accident you could well be committing a criminal offence. You should also try to do as many of the following things as possible:
- Note the details of the location of the Road Traffic Accident, the road conditions, all the vehicles involved, all the parties involved, and any witnesses to the accident.
- Note the details of any drivers’ and riders’ insurance policies.
- If you have a camera, take a picture of the scene of the Road Traffic Accident. If not, draw a diagram of the accident scene.
- If you need to go to hospital, get copies of any medical reports that prove your injuries.







