By Danielle Jordan. Last Updated 28th November 2024. This guide to how much compensation for car accident claims will tell you everything you need to know about road traffic accidents, injuries, and potential payouts for a car accident in the UK.
We’ll explain how to claim for the car accident compensation that you’re entitled to. We’ll also be answering a question we’re often asked – “How long after a car accident can you claim compensation?”
If you have been involved in an accident on the road that wasn’t your fault and you’ve suffered an injury, such as whiplash, you could be entitled to compensation. That’s provided that there’s evidence that another party caused the accident that you were in and the subsequent injuries.
Legal Expert is a claims management company that works with a specialist panel of solicitors with over 30 years of experience supporting clients that have been involved in car accidents.
If you’d like to speak directly with our personal injury claim advisors about car accident claims and subsequent compensation, you can reach them via the following ways:
- By calling us on 0800 073 8804
- Writing to us about your claim online
- Or by using our live chat feature, bottom right
Select a Section
- How Legal Expert Can Help You Claim Car Accident Compensation
- Eligibility Criteria For Car Accident Claims
- What Evidence Do You Need To Get Compensation For Car Accident Claims?
- What Types Of Injuries Could You Make A Car Accident Claim For?
- How Much Compensation For Car Accident Claims?
- Claiming For A Car Accident With A No Win No Fee Solicitor
You can check out this quick video below which summarise our guide:
How Legal Expert Can Help You Claim Car Accident Compensation
If you would like to make a car accident compensation claim, you might like some advice on the legal process. One of our advisors could help you. They can value your claim, discuss car accident compensation examples in the UK, and provide free advice for your specific case. Additionally, if you have good grounds to seek compensation, they can connect you to one of our personal injury solicitors.
One of our specialist road traffic accident solicitors can help you with:
- Obtaining evidence.
- Understanding legal jargon.
- Valuing your claim.
- Presenting your case in full before the personal injury claims time limit expires.
Contact an advisor using the details above to get started using our services, or you can continue reading to learn more about the average payout for a car accident.
Car Accident Claims – Eligibility Criteria
If you suffered an injury in a car accident, you could claim compensation. However, you will need to prove that you meet the eligibility criteria. This is:
- Another road user owed you a duty of care.
- This duty was breached.
- You suffered an injury as a result of this breach. When these factors are brought together, this is known as negligence.
The duty of care for road users is set by the Road Traffic Act 1988. Per this duty of care, they must navigate the roads in a way that prevents injury and damage to themselves and others. Furthermore, road users are expected to adhere to the relevant rules and regulations found in the Highway Code. If another road user were to breach their duty of care and you suffered an injury, you may be eligible to make a personal injury claim for a car accident.
If you have any questions about your eligibility to claim, please get in touch with one of the advisors from our team.
I Was Injured As A Passenger In A Car – Is An Accident Claim Possible?
If you were a passenger, it may be possible to make a passenger car accident claim.
However, your claim could be made against the driver of the vehicle you were a passenger in or another driver. As with all road traffic accident claims, you will need to prove driver negligence. Who you make the claim against depends on which driver failed to adhere to their duty of care.
If you were a passenger who suffered injuries in a car crash, you may like to know the average compensation for a road traffic accident. As each claim is different, this won’t be beneficial for you. However, you can get in touch with an advisor from our team who can give you a free claim valuation.
Can I Claim On Behalf Of My Child?
Those under the age of 18 cannot pursue their own car accident claim. If your child suffered an injury in a road traffic accident, you might wonder whether you could launch a claim on their behalf. This is possible if you are appointed their litigation friend.
To become your child’s litigation friend, you can either apply to the court or the court can appoint you. You have until your child’s 18th birthday to start the claim on their behalf. If your child turns 18 during proceedings, you might need to apply to stop being their litigation friend.
As part of your duties, you will need to:
- Make decisions in your child’s best interests.
- Explain to them what is happening.
- Talk to their solicitor.
- Pay court costs.
Speak with an advisor to discuss car crash compensation payouts and litigation friends.
What Evidence Do You Need To Get Compensation For Car Accident Claims?
Being involved in a car accident can be a deeply traumatic and unnerving experience. Often, the impact is unexpected, and the force of such sudden movements, combined with the dramatic and sometimes violent sounds, can cause immense distress.
In this part of our guide to road traffic accident claims, we thought we’d provide you with information on what to do if you suffer an injury in a car accident. We want first to make sure that you’re safe and well, and secondly, you give yourself the best chance of making a successful personal injury claim.
The steps you can follow
- Immediately after the accident, you should make sure that you and your passengers are safe and that if anyone needs emergency treatment, that they get it. Calling emergency services is advisable in serious car accidents, such as those involving cuts and broken limbs.
- After you’ve made sure everyone is safe, it’s time to inspect the damage. If you can still drive, move your car to a safe place, making sure the other driver or road user follows.
- Take photographs of the scene of the car accident and the vehicles involved, focusing in particular on any visible damage.
- Exchange details with the other driver involved. Crucially, you should aim to get their vehicle registration number, insurance details, name and contact information.
- Seek medical advice. In less serious accidents, such as low-velocity impacts, you may not feel too injured. However, some injuries, such as whiplash, may present themselves over the next few hours or days. It’s therefore important to rule out any more severe injuries ahead of filing accident claims. In addition, your attendance at your GP practice or walk-in centre creates an entry in your medical records, which helps prove the circumstances of the claim.
- Seek legal advice. Because of the personal injury claims time limit, you only have a limited amount of time to start a car accident claim. It’s therefore advisable to seek legal advice as soon as possible.
Looking for a car accident solicitor? Contact our advisors and they can offer you all the advice you need. If you have strong grounds to claim, they may even be able connect you with one of our road traffic accident solicitors.
What Evidence Do I Need For My Car Accident Compensation Claim?
When claiming compensation for a car accident, you will need to provide evidence to back up your case. This is one of the most important steps in the claims process, as it can help prove who is responsible for your injuries, as well as how they’ve affected you.
If you choose to work with a car accident claims solicitor, they can help you collect this evidence. This is one of the many benefits that can come with working with a solicitor, which we’ll talk about in more detail later.
Some examples of evidence that could be used to help bolster your claim include:
- Photographs of your injuries or the accident site.
- CCTV or dashcam footage of the accident.
- The contact details of witnesses, to allow their statements to be taken at a later date.
- Medical records and results, such as x-rays or CT scans showing soft tissue injuries.
Contact our team today to find out how one of our car accident claims solicitors could help you prove your case. Or, read on for more insight into the claims process.
What Types Of Injuries Could You Make A Car Accident Claim For?
There are various types of injuries that you could sustain in a car accident. This could include both physical and psychological injuries. Some examples of the injuries you may suffer in a car accident include:
- A whiplash and neck injuries. This occurs when your head and neck are jolted back and forth. It could occur in a rear-end accident.
- A back injury
- Broken or bruised ribs. These could occur when the seatbelt locks with the impact.
- Cuts and lacerations from breaking glass.
- A head injuries and brain damage.
- Fatal accidents if you lose a loved one in an accident.
- Broken bones, including a fractured leg or arm could occur through side impact accidents.
- Damage to your internal organs could happen in a high-impact car crash.
However, in order to be eligible for compensation after a car accident, you must be able to prove that negligence occurred.
Call our advisors today to see whether you may be eligible for car crash compensation. They could also help answer any questions you may have about car crash claims.
How Long After A Car Accident Do I Have To Claim?
So, how long after a car accident can you claim compensation? You may not be aware of it, but every personal injury claim has a time limit in which it must be made. This time limit applies by law under the Limitation Act 1980.
In summary:
- You usually have three years from the date of the car accident that caused your injury to start a potential compensation claim.
- If you are under 18, you won’t be able to start a claim on your own and the time limit is frozen. A family relative or another trusted person may be able to claim on your behalf. Such a representative is known as a litigation friend. If a claim has not been started on your behalf by the time you are 18, the three-year period will start from the day of your 18th birthday.
- If you lack the mental capacity to claim, a litigation friend can potentially act on your behalf under the Mental Capacity Act 2005. However, if you regain enough mental capacity to act independently, then the three-year time limit for starting your claim will begin from when this happens.
If you’re at all unsure if you meet the personal injury limitation period for personal injury claims, please give our team a call on the number at the top of this page to have the car accident time limit explained.
How Much Compensation For Car Accident Claims?
Answering the question “How much compensation for car accident claims can people get?” is not straightforward. Every case is different, and all payouts are worked out during the course of the claim. That is why if we’re asked, “What is the average payout for a car accident?” we prefer to explain how compensation is calculated to highlight what would be considered in each individual case.
There are two forms of loss that you can receive compensation for. They are:
- The physical pain and mental suffering that result from the accident. This is covered by a general damages payment.
- Financial loss or expenses directly caused by the incident. This includes a loss of earnings, medical fees or car repair bills. If you qualify, you can seek a payment under the special damages head of compensation.
Special damages are calculated using proof of loss, so keep hold of any payslips, receipts, invoices or statements that prove you were financially impacted by the road traffic accident.
Below, you’ll see a list of car accident compensation examples. The last two are the only fixed payments on the list. They are tariff figures from the Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021, which you can read more about in the next section.
All the other entries (except the top one) are from the Judicial College Guidelines, a document that features brackets to give an idea of how much compensation for injuries someone might receive. They are just for general guidance, but if you call us and ask how much compensation for a car accident you might receive, an advisor can give you a much more detailed assessment.
Compensation Figures
- Compensation for a series of severe physical or mental injuries, plus financial loss affecting you presently and in the future – up to £1 million or more.
- Moderately severe brain damage – £267,340 to £344,150.
- Less severe brain damage – £18,700 to £52,550.
- Severe back injuries with nerve root and spinal cord damage – £111,150 to £196,450.
- A moderate back injury like backache caused by muscle disturbance – £15,260 to £33,880.
- One leg amputated above the knee – £127,930 to £167,760.
- Serious compound leg fractures or joint injuries – £47,840 to £66,920.
- Neck dislocation or fracture, or soft tissue damage with permanent chronic symptoms – £55,500 to £68,330.
- A whiplash injury, plus minor psychological harm, with symptoms lasting 18-24 months – £4,345 (fixed amount).
- A whiplash injury alone with symptoms persisting for 18-24 months – £4,215 (fixed amount).
Car Accident Compensation Examples – Claiming For Whiplash
If you’re claiming for whiplash from a car accident, the way in which you make your claim may have changed.
The Whiplash Reform Programme, introduced in 2021, changed the way personal injury claims for certain low-value road traffic accident claims are made within Wales and England.
You will now need to make your claim via a different avenue if you are aged 18+ and were injured as a driver or passenger of a vehicle with your injuries valued at £5,000 or less. This includes injuries such as whiplash and minor soft tissue injuries.
As part of the changes introduced, whiplash injuries are now valued by the tariff set out in the Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021. These are fixed amounts, and you can find examples of them at the bottom of the compensation table above.
If you are claiming for additional higher-valued injuries that are not covered by this tariff, these will be valued in the traditional manner.
For more advice on how the Whiplash Reform Programme may affect certain car crash compensation payouts in the UK, please contact our advisors for free, either online or on the phone.
Claiming For A Car Accident With A No Win No Fee Solicitor
If you are eligible to claim compensation for car accident injuries, you may wish to have a solicitor work on your claim. One of our specialist personal injury solicitors may be able to assist you under a No Win No Fee arrangement.
For example, they could offer to work on your claim under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). Working with No Win No Fee solicitors under this type of arrangement means:
- No upfront payments.
- No need to cover your solicitor’s fees as they work on your case.
- Finally, no charge for the solicitor’s services at all if the case does not win.
If the claim is successful, they will deduct a small percentage from your eventual payout. That percentage must be small because of a legal cap.
To see if you would be eligible to work with a personal injury solicitor on your car accident compensation claim, you can contact an advisor.
You can contact an advisor:
- By telephone 0800 073 8804
- Via live chat
- Or, by filling out the ‘contact us’ form.
Thank you for considering our guide about how much compensation for car accident claims.
