Road traffic accidents may seem clear-cut in terms of who is eligible for personal injury compensation. Typically, we think of the affected driver as being the person who is able to make a claim for their injuries (see accident & personal injury lawyers In Lubbock, TX for more details). However, the insurers of the at-fault third-party responsible for having caused the accident will be set up to pay cash awards to a range of people that may have been involved in the road accident. A few of these major groups are listed below, but before we continue, we’d like to answer a common query regarding personal injury compensation for children.
Can I claim for my child?
If your child has been injured in a road accident, a parent or guardian may represent the claim in bringing a claim for personal injury compensation. Where liability for the accident can be established (in most cases, establishing liability may require a little evidence but the guilty third-party is usually in no doubt), cases are generally settled out of court, to prevent the ongoing costs of the case. This means that your child will not have to appear in court. For claim assistance in the UK, contact Wafer Phillips Solicitors.
Who can claim?
You do not have to have been driving a vehicle to be eligible for personal injury compensation following a road accident. Anybody who has been injured (either physically or psychologically) as a result of the road accident may be eligible to bring a claim. This could include cyclists, pedestrians, motorcyclists, people travelling on public transport, people working on or near to the road, and passengers. We’ll go into the issue of passengers in a little more detail…
Passengers in a road accident
There are two types of passengers in a road accident. There are passengers who were travelling in the vehicle responsible for causing the accident, and there are passengers in non-fault vehicles (which includes passengers travelling on modes of public transport). What is important to remember here is that, although passengers travelling in non-fault vehicles are perhaps more obviously eligible to bring a claim for personal injury compensation, passengers travelling in the at-fault vehicle are also able to begin compensation proceedings.
This may come as news to some people, but if you weren’t driving, you were not responsible for your injuries. What usually holds people back from beginning a compensation claim when injured in an at-fault vehicle is the thought of placing the driver (who is known to them, usually a friend or family member) in the position of having to pay out the compensation reward – but remember, the compensation reward is not paid by the driver, it is paid by the insurer.
You should never be left out of pocket for your non-fault injury.
