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How long after an RTA (road traffic accident) can you make a personal injury claim in the UK?
In law, there are limitation periods that apply which mean a person can only bring a claim within a particular period of time. The length of that timeframe is normally dependant on where the accident happened, the circumstances, and the age of the person at the time of the accident.
For a road accident that happened in England and Wales, you normally have three years from the date of the accident to bring a claim. This means you must either settle the claim or issue court proceedings within the three year period. Failure to do so may mean you are statute barred from claiming. This normally means you will face difficulties making a claim as your opponent can raise a defence under the Limitation Act 1980.
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The Road Traffic Accident Portal Procedure for Whiplash Claims
The Road Traffic Accident (RTA) portal was brought in for low value RTA claims, valued between £1,000 and £10,000 initially, and now the upper limit is £25,000. Most whiplash cases will fall within these brackets and will follow the three stage procedure which is outlined below.
Stage 1…
Stage one of the process provides notification of the claim to defendants and insurers. This is done by sending a Claim Notification Form (CNF) to either the insurer after the Claimant or Claimant’s solicitor has completed the statement of truth. It is important for the Claimant’s solicitor to complete every box in the CNF to obtain their fees.
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Driver’s Duty of Care to Passengers
Drivers owe a duty of care to their passengers just as much as they do to other users of the highway – whether this be to other drivers or pedestrians. One of the main things to know is that, as a passenger in a collision, you probably have a guaranteed claim for personal injury compensation.
As a passenger, unless you did something reckless and crazy like distract the driver or pull on the handbrake, the collision was likely out of your control. As such, you’re innocent. Either the driver of the vehicle you are in or another road user was responsible for what has happened, so you can claim of either party depending on who is at fault.
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Cyclist Hit by a Car Claim – Injury Lawyers Advice
Here at The Injury Lawyers we deal solely with personal injury claims. We aim to recover the compensation that you deserve. We have dealt with many claims on behalf of cyclists who have been injured following a collision with a car. Cyclists can be very vulnerable on the road, even when following the correct procedures and rules of the road.
Sometimes I think that cyclists are in a difficult situation.
First they are not supposed to cycle on the footpath as this would not be fair for pedestrians and could cause danger. Obviously children do often cycle on the footpath but when we are talking about cycling as a normal form of transport, cyclists are supposed to cycle on the road. Fortunately many roads do have designated cycle lanes and I believe this does make a significant difference.
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Roundabout Accident Claims when a Driver Pulls Out on You!
The general rule of thumb is that if you are already established on a roundabout and another driver emerges on to the roundabout and crashes in to you, they are at fault. The driver merging on to the roundabout must give precedence to a driver already on the roundabout.
In some situations drivers could read a situation wrong and think you are turning off when you are not. If you are not indicating, they may assume you are coming off of the exit before the entrance they are emerging from. But the general rule of thumb still applies – if you are established on the roundabout and another vehicle emerges in to you, they are at fault.
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We deal with car accident compensation claims day in and day out, and we have seen our fair share of serious accidents and significant multi-car pile ups. But reading the story of the 100 car pileup in Sheppey, Kent, that happened last week was something else.
According to news sources from the BBC more than 60 people were injured, 8 of them seriously, as over 130 vehicles ended up in a huge collision when thick fog reduced visibility to dangerous levels. There were reports that more than 200 people were treated for minor injuries as well, and the collision reportedly went on for more than 10 minutes.
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Accidents on a motorway (as opposed to other roads) are potentially more serious due to the speeds often involved. It is said that one minor mistake on a motorway can lead to death and serious injury. We deal with many claims for injured victims following accidents on motorways. The most common accidents include rear end shunts, concertina collisions and accidents due to vehicles changing lanes. A concertina collision is basically a multi-vehicle collision. This can be best illustrated by an example – Vehicle A collides into the rear of Vehicle B, which in turn causes Vehicle B to collide into the rear of Vehicle C, which in turn causes Vehicle C to collide into the rear of Vehicle D, etc. This is a concertina collision. Concertina collisions are more common on motorways due to the speed involved and also due to the lack of space often left between vehicles.
Accidents on motorways can often be avoided if road users follow the basic principles and rules. These include leaving a sufficient space between your vehicle and the vehicle in front, only changing lanes when you are sure you have the time and space to do so safely, travelling at the correct speed etc. Motorway crashes can often be fatal so these basic rules should always be adhered to.
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Skidding Vehicle Accident Claims
We deal with all types of personal injury claims and we can normally assess your claim for free. Skidding in a motor vehicle is a very dangerous thing to do. Skidding can cause accidents and therefore skidding should always be avoided whenever possible. There are many scenarios or conditions which could potentially cause your vehicle to skid. First, car maintenance is important. Motor vehicles require regular service and maintenance. This is why MOT’s are compulsory for most vehicles each year. A brand new car does not require an MOT until it is 3 years old. Once a vehicle is 3 years old it requires an MOT every year. This is essential to identify and fix any potential problems.
Driver behaviour is another area which we can consider. If you drive at excessive speed then you are more likely to lose control of your vehicle and skid. Equally if you take corners too fast then you are more likely to skid out of control, and potentially cause an accident. Skidding because of speed can easily be avoided; however we continue to see accidents involving speeding/skidding vehicles.
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Can a Car Injury Claim Last Longer Than 1 Year?
Road traffic accident claims can be quite quick as a new protocol was brought in in 2010 to ensure this was the case. However, although in the majority of cases your claim can be turned around quickly there are certain things that can delay a claim – some of which are unfortunately out of our control.
Some main ones are:
- The other side’s insurers have not responded to the claim notification form.
- Your injury, medical evidence and rehabilitation needs.
With regards to the former, if the insurers do not respond in the 15 business days as allocated to them in the portal, the claim falls into the personal injury protocol where they have approximately 4 months to confirm their decision. Insurers cannot respond for a number of issues but unfortunately it is more than common than you might think and of course this does mean that your claim may last longer.
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The Highway Code and pulling out from a side road accidents
Admittedly we have all had those moments where we think it’s clear to pull out of a side road and then had the shock of a vehicle coming past, leaving us glad that we didn’t decide to just press your foot down! Unfortunately, however, some people do end up pulling out and this can obviously lead to quite a nasty collision.
The Highway Code isn’t “law” but guidelines to govern how people should be driving on the road and as everyone has to take a theory test before being given a full driving license, everybody should know it. Under the Highway Code there is a section dedicated to junctions and this is what I shall focus on in this blog.
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