Road Traffic Accidents (RTA’s) are normally quite straight forward in respect of assessing liability and fault for the accident – so claims for personal injury resulting from these accidents are usually also straight forward.
As with any claim the main issue is deciding who was at fault for the accident. In road traffic accidents claims, due to the amount of rules and regulations, traffic signs and road markings which determine how we should drive on the roads, liability is usually easy to resolve.
The most common and successful type of personal injury claims resulting from RTA’s are rear end shunts and pulling out of a side road.
Rear End Shunts
These accidents are the most common accident claims we deal with here at The Injury Lawyers. It involves you being hit from behind by another vehicle either failing to stop or failing to slow down in time causing a collision.
As you are unable to control the actions of the driver behind, this results in 100% of fault for the accident being held against the driver behind.
Pulling out of a side road
When you are travelling on a main road with junctions on either side it is always possible that a vehicle will pull out of one of the side roads without stopping at a give way sign or pull out when you are too close to avoid a collision.
These types of accidents are the ones that can cause the more serious type of injury, especially if the impact is side on. Again, as the vehicle should stop and ensure that the path is clear and that they have enough time to pull out safely, liability for the accident usually rests with the driver pulling out of a side road.
Finding fault for the accident does not necessarily mean that your claim will be successful however it is half of the battle.
Your injuries, usually whiplash type injuries in these types of accidents, need to be supported by medical evidence.
When making a claim for personal injury, you will be asked to go to an appointment with an independent medical expert. This expert will compile a report on your injuries. Your initial injuries, ongoing symptoms and the effects of the injuries on your day-to-day living.
The medical expert will confirm in his report whether the injuries sustained are attributable to the accident and provide his opinion on how long you will likely be suffering from your injuries.
So a successful claim will depend on finding and confirming fault for the accident and also your injuries being supported by an independent medical expert. There are other things that are to be taken into account, however these are the two main issues which will determine the success of your personal injury claim.
If you have been involved in any type of Road Traffic Accident and have been injured as a result, call our claims line for free legal advice on 0800 634 75 75.
