By Lewis Cobain. Last Updated 13th June 2024. If you were injured in a work van accident, you may be wondering whether you can make a claim. We hope that this guide will answer any queries you have and help you ascertain whether you have a valid case.
Firstly, we will cover the basics of how to claim for a work van accident, including the duty of care that applies. We will then look at situations that could result in these accidents and the estimated payouts if you were involved in one.
We will then explore how working with one of our solicitors could benefit your claim, as well as the advantages of working with solicitors who offer No Win No Fee agreements.
If you need legal advice or feel unsure about any of the topics covered in this guide, please do not hesitate to get in touch with our expert advisors. They can give you free, 24/7 legal advice without obligation to start a claim.
To reach them, you can:
- Call on 0800 073 8804
- Reach out using the chat box in the corner of your screen
- Claim online
Select A Section
- How To Claim For A Work Van Accident
- Causes Of Work Van Accidents
- Work Van Accident Claim Evidence
- Estimating Payouts For A Work Van Accident
- Work Van Accident Claims With A No Win No Fee Solicitor
- Learn More About Work Vehicle Accident Claims
How To Claim For A Work Van Accident
In order to claim after being injured in a work van accident, you must prove that third-party negligence caused your injury. Negligence is when another road user breaches their duty of care towards other road users, causing them to be injured.
Van Driver Accident Claims
Road users owe one another a duty of care to act in a way which prevents other road users from experiencing harm while using the roads. To do this, they should follow The Highway Code and the Road Traffic Act 1988.
If this duty of care is breached by another road user, and this breach causes you an injury, you may be able to make a claim. A breach of duty on the road could include:
- Failing to abide by the speed limit
- Running through a red light or give way sign without stopping
- Changing lanes without checking mirrors
Claims Against The Van Drivers Employer
If your employer does not maintain their work vehicle to a safe standard and you are injured because of an accident that happened because of this, you may be able to claim against your employer for the injuries sustained in an accident.
For example, your employer may have been told about an issue with the breaks on the vehicle feeling slack, but failed to address this by having the vehicle taken in for servicing. As a result, the driver is unable to break and collides with the vehicle in front causing injuries to the occupants of both vehicles.
Work Vehicle Accident Claim Time Limits
In general, you will have three years from the date of your work van accident to start a claim for compensation. However, there are some exceptions to this time limit.
If the claimant does not have the mental capacity to pursue their own claim at the time of their injury, the time limit will be indefinitely paused. During this time, a litigation friend could claim on your behalf. If you regain mental capacity and a claim hasn’t been made, then the time limit for doing so resumes.
Similarly, if you are under 18 at the time of your road traffic accident, your three-year time limit will commence on your 18th birthday. A litigation friend can claim for you until this day.
To learn more about time limits, contact one of our advisors today using the contact details above. If your claim is valid, you could be connected with a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel to work on your case.
Causes Of Work Van Accidents
Below are some scenarios illustrating how a work van accident could occur:
- A motorcycle pulls out onto a roundabout when it isn’t safe to do so. As a result, they collide with the side of a work van causing serious injury to the driver and passenger.
- An employer has not been carrying out regular maintenance on their van. The brakes are worn out, and the driver cannot break in time and hits a pedestrian who is crossing at a junction. The pedestrian then requires a leg amputation.
- The driver of a car has been drinking and driving. They veer out of control and crash into the side of a work van. This causes a foot injury and head injury to the van driver and passenger.
Contact one of our advisors today for insight into who was at fault for your accident. If you have a valid claim, they could put you in touch with one of the No Win No Fee solicitors from our panel.
Work Van Accident Claim Evidence
To make a successful claim, you need to collect evidence to prove that your injury was caused by negligence. Some steps you can take towards collecting evidence include:
- Requesting CCTV or dashcam footage of your accident
- Seeking medical care and requesting copies of your records
- Keeping a diary of your treatment and symptoms
You could also take down the contact details of potential witnesses to your accident for use during the claims process. Someone might be able to collect a statement from them so they can give their account of what happened.
Contact one of our advisors to find out if you could work with one of our solicitors on your personal injury claim.
Estimating Payouts For A Work Van Accident
Whether your work van accident was the fault of another driver or your employer failing to maintain the vehicle, there are two heads of loss that compensation may be awarded under following a successful work van accident claim. These are:
- General damages, compensation for the pain and suffering caused by the accident.
- Special damages, compensation for the financial losses experienced.
You can see some compensation figures from the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) in our table here. This publication details compensation guidelines for various injuries. We should emphasise that the top entry was not taken from the JCG
Compensation Table
Please be advised that the values given here are for guidance purposes only.
| Injury | Severity | Guideline Compensation bracket |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple Very Serious Injuries with Significant Special Damages | Very Serious | Up to £1,000,000 and above |
| Brain Damage | Moderately Severe (b) | £267,340 to £344,150 |
| Chest Injuries | Total Removal of One Lung and/or Serious Heart Damage (a) | £80,240 to £122,850 |
| Neck Injuries | Severe (a)(i) | In the region of £181,020 |
| Severe (a)(iii) | £55,500 to £68,330 | |
| Injuries to the Pelvis | Moderate (b)(i) | £32,450 to £47,810 |
| Back injuries | Moderate (b)(i) | £33,880 to £47,320 |
| Moderate (b)(ii) | £15,260 to £33,880 | |
| Whiplash injuries | One or more whiplash injuries with one or more minor psychological injuries | £4,345 |
| One or more whiplash injuries | £4,215 |
Whiplash Reform Programme
In 2021, the law regarding claiming for whiplash and low-value soft tissue injuries changed. The Whiplash Reform Programme means that if your injuries are valued at £5,000 or less, and you are a driver or passenger who is over 18, you must claim differently.
Your whiplash injuries will be valued according to the tariff in The Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021. If you have other injuries not included in this tariff, they will be valued as usual.
Contact one of our expert advisors using the contact details above to learn more about claiming compensation for whiplash or low-value injuries. You can speak with them as an alternative to using a whiplash claim calculator.
Special Damages
Examples of costs you could be reimbursed for under special damages include the following:
- Lost income
- Medical costs
- Care needs
- Modifications to your home.
Claiming special damages will require some supporting evidence so be sure to keep hold of any documentation, such as your payslips, prescription letters and invoices for care that prove you incurred financial losses.
To get a more personalised idea of what your potential van accident claim could be worth, talk to our advisors today using the number provided below.
Work Van Accident Claims With A No Win No Fee Solicitor
Following an accident in a company van, you might seek the help of a personal injury solicitor ahead of making a claim. A solicitor can assist you with gathering evidence and ensuring your case is filed within the correct limitation period.
One of our No Win No Fee solicitors may offer their services to you under the terms of a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). Under this agreement, you won’t be asked to pay your solicitor anything upfront or while your claim is ongoing for their services. Additionally, your No Win No Fee solicitor won’t ask you to pay them for their work if your claim fails.
You’ll only pay a success fee to your solicitor if you are awarded van injury compensation. The success fee is a small percentage that is legally capped.
To discuss your potential personal injury claim and to see if you could be eligible to work with one of our solicitors, you can contact our friendly team of advisors. To connect with them today, you can:
- Complete our contact form to arrange a free call back.
- Use our live chat widget on your screen for an instant response.
- Give us a call on our free 24/7 support line on 0800 073 8804
Learn More About Work Vehicle Accident Claims
Below we have included a collection of useful resources about claiming compensation after a work van accident:
Further personal injury guides:
- Defective Work Equipment Injury Claims
- Making A Claim Against My Employer
- Death or Fatal Road Accident Claims
External resources:
- Reported road casualties in Great Britain, provisional estimates: year ending June 2021- GOV.UK
- How do I know if I’ve broken a bone? – NHS
- Information on making a claim – Motor Insurers’ Bureau
If you were injured in a work van accident and have questions about making a claim, contact our expert advisors today for 24/7 free legal advice.
