Car accidents are difficult to avoid, especially when other participants are recklessly driving or are driving under the influence.
Road casualties have decreased in past decades due to complex safety measures introduced in vehicles and improved road systems. However, one thing that requires a resolution is the driver’s behaviour, which is oftentimes the leading cause of an accident.
According to the UK’s Department for Transport, 2024 saw a 2% decline in road fatalities and 4% fewer road casualties compared to the previous year. Contributing factors often include rider errors, distractions, or inexperience, but vehicle defects and poor road environments also matter.
Unfortunately, people often experience issues like back pain, headaches, and traumatic injuries following such an event. In some cases, the one who caused the accident has fewer injuries than the one hit, which compels people to claim for compensation to help manage the costs of recovery. Here are the claims for which you may be entitled to compensation.
Pedestrian and cycling accidents
Pedestrians and cyclists are the most exposed to car accidents, and they’re also more likely to be seriously injured in such an event. Factors that contribute to these collisions include failing to look properly or failing to judge the other road participant’s path or speed.
What’s most important after an accident is to seek medical attention as fast as possible, even if symptoms of a problem don’t show up immediately. The following steps will matter when filling out for compensation, according to https://www.caraccidentcompensationadvice.org.uk/:
- Gathering evidence of the accident, including photos, witness details and CCTV footage;
- Reporting the incident and notifying the insurer;
- Seeking legal advice from solicitors to finding more about what needs to be done;
- Submitting the claim for the solicitor to negotiate with other actors;
Head-on collisions
Head-on collisions are also quite common, and the high-energy impact can be fatal in many cases. Causes often include distracted driving, being reckless, and speeding. The accident will surely lead to crashing the car’s material, so the claim will also include financial losses, besides personal injury.
Such an accident can happen even if you are stationed and the other car has a frontal impact with yours, but mostly, this happens when two vehicles collide their frontal parts, which are also possibly deadly. Determining who’s at fault in these cases can be pretty difficult, especially without witnesses or CCTV, but the solicitor will help navigate the process.
Hit-and-run events
Hit-and-run offenses happen when drivers are unable to take responsibility for their fault, leaving the accident spot and failing to report the accident. In the UK, this means the one at fault will be charged with an offence and conviction, in addition to an unlimited fine.
In hit-and-run accidents, proving the other’s fault might be more accessible. After stopping the vehicle and making sure you are safe, it’s best to take notes of the other cars involved as soon as possible. Taking notes of the time and date of the incident, as well as the damage caused, will help authorities manage the incident better. Don’t forget to seek medical attention and offer that information when seeking compensation for medical costs, including physiotherapy and counselling.
Car park accidents
Car park accidents are less damaging to the drivers and the vehicles, but that doesn’t mean they’re not dangerous. Side-impact and rear-end collisions are prominent in these cases, but accidents due to reversing and not paying attention are also possible.
Lately, an increasing number of car park accidents have happened with electric vehicles involved, especially with pedestrians and cyclists. That’s because EVs are pretty silent, and others can barely hear them coming, so the drivers must be extra cautious when handling the vehicle in a parking area. Otherwise, you are eligible to claim compensation when hit by a driver who ignored their surroundings.
Motorway accidents
Motorway accidents happen mostly because drivers drive more than the speed limit, as the motorway allows for higher speeds that drivers take for granted. Unfortunately, this exposes regular cars to the risk of being crushed by trucks, which is often fatal.
These kinds of accidents are challenging because they put more people in danger than the ones actually at fault or involved in it. Drivers tend to slow down when faced with an accident on the motorway, but this means they can also be crushed by vehicles that are not aware of what’s happening. Therefore, these accidents are more complex to deal with.
How can you recover after a car accident?
Depending on the severity of the accident, it might take more or less time to recover and return to your previous lifestyle. Seeking medical care is the most important step to ensure recovery doesn’t lengthen. Some of the most common physical symptoms include nausea, headaches, and pain, especially due to whiplash.
However, drivers also experience emotional responses such as fear, frustration, and anxiety, which may hinder their capacity to drive again for a long time. For regular injuries, it might take about eight weeks to return to work, but you could help yourself heal by:
- Staying active and working out within your limits;
- Looking after yourself physically and mentally;
- Talking with friends and family to avoid spiraling;
- Staying in touch with your physician and mental health provider;
While we know it will be difficult to recover, contacting an advisor and seeking compensation is the right thing to do if you’ve been injured due to someone else’s fault. Blaming yourself over small things will not help, but working closely with competent people will make the process more bearable. Mitigating people’s rights to receive compensation is also important to support other’s healing processes, so finding and connecting people who have been through similar things might help you as well.
Have you ever been in a car accident?
Car accidents are difficult to avoid, especially when other participants are recklessly driving or are driving under the influence. Therefore, many types of accidents can happen, including head-on collisions or motorway accidents. If you’ve been the one injured and the other breached their duty of care, you are entitled to claim for compensation to cover the medical or financial costs of dealing with the aftermath.
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