Vehicle Accident Claims – A Guide to Claiming Compensation

If you’ve been injured by a vehicle in your workplace, you could claim compensation if your accident and subsequent injuries were caused by your employer’s negligence. That is true for accidents involving forklift trucks, company cars, emergency service vehicles, vans, trucks and dumper trucks amongst others. In this guide, we have answered many common questions about vehicle accident claims to help you understand the claims process.

In addition to the information within this guide, we offer a free consultation for vehicle-related accident-at-work claims where you can ask questions and receive no-obligation legal advice. After that, we could also partner you with a personal injury solicitor from our team who will manage your claim on a No Win, No Fee basis if you both agree to work together.

To see if you can claim for your injuries following a vehicle accident at work, you can:

• Phone 0333 241 2519 to discuss your case with a specialist.
• Use our 24/7 live chat service.

Getting legal advice as soon as possible after being injured by a vehicle in the workplace can significantly enhance the chances of receiving compensation for your pain, suffering, and financial losses incurred due to the vehicle accident.

Can I Make a Vehicle Accident Claim Against My Employer?

All employers in the UK must abide by the rules of legislation such as the Health and Safety at Work Act etc. 1974. Such laws give them a duty of care to take reasonable and practical steps to try and keep staff safe in the workplace.

If you work with vehicles in your workplace (or your company vehicle is your workplace), your employer should:

• Ensure your vehicle is safe and maintained properly.
• Fix any issues as soon as possible.
• Train you on how to use your vehicle safely.
• Make sure you are qualified and fit enough to use the vehicle safely.
• Provide PPE, where needed, to protect you while using the vehicle i.e. protective gloves when loading your vehicle.

The eligibility criteria that must be met in vehicle accident claims are:

• At the time of your vehicle-related accident, your employer owed you a duty of care.
• The accident happened because your employer was negligent in some way.
• You sustained one or more injuries as a direct result of the accident.

We’re here to help if you believe your workplace vehicle accident was caused by your employer’s negligence so please call us for free advice.

Types of Vehicle Accident Claims We Can Help With

Some examples of how you could be injured in workplace accidents involving vehicles that we can potentially help get compensation for include:

• Being trapped and crushed by a moving vehicle.
• Falling from your vehicle’s cab.
• Being crushed by objects that fell from your vehicle.
• Falling from your vehicle’s goods ramp or tail-lift.
• Being run over by a vehicle in your workplace.
• Being injured after your vehicle overturned on the road.

Importantly anyone injured by a vehicle at work could start a vehicle accident claim including company staff, delivery drivers, warehouse staff and sub-contractors amongst others.

What Should I Do if I’m Injured by a Vehicle at Work?

In the immediate aftermath of a vehicle accident at work, some of the steps you could take include:

• Getting medical treatment for any injuries sustained.
• Taking photographs of the vehicle involved.
• Reporting the accident to your employer at the earliest opportunity.
• Writing down as much as you can about the accident including who was driving the vehicle while the details are still fresh in your mind.

Additionally, you might be asked to answer questions about the accident if it is investigated by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). If that’s the case, you should comply fully with the investigator.

What Evidence Can Help With Workplace Vehicle Accident Claims?

If you decide to sue your employer in an accident at work claim, you will need evidence to prove what happened in case their insurer contests liability for the accident or your injuries.

The types of evidence that can help in vehicle accident claims include:

• A copy of an accident report form to prove where and when the incident occurred.
• Contact details for potential witnesses.
• CCTV or dashcam footage of the accident.
• Photographs of the vehicle involved and the accident scene.
• Medical records to help confirm your injuries.

If you have been involved in a vehicle accident at work and would like us to review any evidence you have, call our number above and speak to one of our specialists for free.

What is the Time Limit for Claiming Vehicle Accident Compensation?

A workplace vehicle accident claim is a type of personal injury claim. As such, it has a 3-year time limit as set out in the Limitation Act 1980. This claims period will usually start from the date you were injured.

One exception to this time limit is if the injured party can’t claim themselves because of a lack of mental capacity. All the while they lack the mental capacity, there is no time limit for claiming vehicle accident compensation but someone else could act as their litigation friend and begin a claim at any point.

It is usually a good idea to start your claim sooner rather than later. By doing so, you should avoid the risk of missing out on compensation because your claim has become statute-barred.

How Much Vehicle Accident Compensation Can I Claim?

If you’re injured in a vehicle-related accident, any compensation payout you receive generally covers:

• General damages – for pain, suffering and any loss of amenity.
• Special damages – for costs or expenses linked to your injuries.

Proving the extent of any injuries is important. Therefore, your solicitor may request copies of your medical records. They could also ask you to attend an independent medical assessment.

After they’ve collected evidence to establish how you’ve suffered, they might use figures from the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to put a value on your claim. The compensation table below provides some example amounts but please be aware that the settlement brackets listed are only guidelines and not guaranteed compensation payouts.

• Less severe arm injuries resulting in movement restriction or disability but with substantial recovery may attract compensation between £19,200 and £39,170.
• Mild Achilles injuries affecting ankle support may lead to compensation between £7,270 and £12,590.
• Severe spinal injuries potentially leading to paralysis or affecting lower body organs may attract awards between £38,780 and £160,980.
• Compensation for less severe facial disfigurement accompanied by significant psychological impact may range between £17,960 and £48,420.
• Moderate to severe foot injuries causing restriction, fractures, or disability may lead to compensation between £13,740 and £70,030.
• Less severe head injuries with good recovery but potential lingering issues may attract compensation between £15,320 and £43,060.

If your vehicle accident claim is successful, some of the costs that could be claimed back include:

• The cost of support or care at home.
• Lost income.
• Medical and rehabilitation costs.
• The cost of installing ramps, stair lifts, hoists or other modifications to your home.
• Travel costs.

We are happy to provide a compensation estimate for your vehicle-related accident claim during a free consultation so why not get in touch today?

Can I Claim Compensation for Psychological Injuries?

If you’ve been injured in a vehicle accident at work, just thinking about what happened can lead to flashbacks, nightmares and distress. Additionally, you could be diagnosed with more serious psychiatric problems like Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) which can affect different aspects of your life.

As such, if you make a vehicle accident compensation claim, any psychological suffering could be factored into your compensation request.

To help prove the extent of your suffering, your diagnosis will need to have been confirmed by a medical professional. Your solicitor may, therefore, request copies of any medical records to confirm this diagnosis.

Can I Claim Compensation if I Was Driving?

Part of your employer’s duty of care is to try and ensure the safety of any vehicles used in your workplace. This means they should be maintained in accordance with the manufacturer’s schedule, repaired when faulty and fit for the task at hand.

Therefore, if you’ve been injured at work because of a faulty vehicle you were driving, you could seek compensation for any suffering. For example, if you fell from a scissor lift after hitting an overhead beam because its emergency stop button failed, you could be entitled to start a personal injury claim.

Will I Need a Solicitor for My Vehicle Accident Claim?

From a legal standpoint, you aren’t obliged to use a solicitor when making vehicle accident claims. However, taking on specialist representation will usually make the claims process easier and might increase your chances of being fairly compensated.

For example, if you work with one of our accident-at-work solicitors, some of the services they might offer include:

• Finding the evidence required to support your claim.
• Contacting your employer and their insurers to begin the claims process.
• Making sure that your vehicle accident claim is filed correctly.
• Arguing on your behalf if there are any objections made regarding liability for the accident.
• Trying to negotiate the correct level of vehicle accident compensation rather than accepting the first offer received.

Something else to bear in mind is that our solicitors provide a No Win, No Fee service for all workplace injury claims they take on. That means that you don’t need to pay for your solicitor’s work upfront, as the claim is processed or if it fails. Also, you’ll only have to cover your solicitor’s success fee if you are compensated. The percentage of your compensation that can be deducted as a success fee is capped by law for your protection.

To see if you’re able to make a No Win, No Fee vehicle accident claim, please contact a member of our team today.

How Long Do Vehicle Accident Claims Take to Process?

In law, there’s no set time in which personal injury claims need to be settled. That’s because no two claims are the same and many factors have an impact on how long they take to be finalised.

Generally, if you have recovered fully from your injuries and your employer accepts that they were to blame for the vehicle accident, compensation could be received in around 6 to 8 months.

If liability for the accident is not immediately clear or if your prognosis is not yet understood, the claims process might exceed a year. In claims that take a long time to settle, interim payments might be awarded if your employer has accepted liability for your injuries.

How Is Liability for a Works Vehicle Accident Decided?

At the start of the vehicle accident claims process, your solicitor will send a brief letter to tell your employer that you are going to file a compensation claim. This will be followed up by a more detailed letter for your employer and their insurer.

In an ideal world, your employer will accept that they were liable for your accident and both parties can look to discuss how much compensation you should receive.

However, if liability is not accepted, both parties will need to provide any evidence they have so that negotiations can begin. Hopefully, at the end of this process, liability for the accident will be agreed upon and you can move on to settling the claim.

What About Court Action?

In the majority of cases, those involved in personal injury claims try to avoid court hearings. That’s because they can be time-consuming and expensive. However, if your vehicle accident claim cannot be settled amicably, a court date might be set as a last resort.

After a hearing, the court will first need to decide if your employer was to blame for your accident and suffering. If that’s the case, they’ll decide the level of compensation you should receive.

Importantly, the court could decide that you should pay your employer’s legal fees. This might be the case if the court takes the side of your employer after the hearing. However, most personal injury solicitors will insist that an After The Event (ATE) insurance policy is in place to cover these types of costs before starting work on your claim.

Contacting Us About a Vehicle Accident Claim

We’ve answered a lot of questions on vehicle accident claims within this guide. If you have any others or you’d like to find out more about starting your own claim, you can:

• Call 0333 241 2519 to speak with a friendly advisor from our team.
• Make use of our free live chat service.

We’ll provide no-obligation legal advice in a completely free initial consultation to discuss your options. If your claim appears to be valid, we could connect you with one of our solicitors who’ll work on a No Win, No Fee basis if your vehicle accident claim is taken on.