Lorry Accident Claims – How Much Compensation Can You Claim?

If you’ve been injured in an HGV accident through no fault of your own, you may be eligible to make a lorry accident claim for compensation. In this guide, we’ll look at some scenarios that could lead to a claim, how the claims process works, and what compensation you could receive for your pain and suffering.

To help you understand your options, we offer a no-obligation telephone consultation and free legal advice on lorry accident claims. If there are grounds to proceed, we could appoint one of our personal injury solicitors to process your claim. Importantly, they provide a No Win No Fee service for claims they take on to make everything a little less stressful.

When you have completed this guide, please let us know if you’ve got any questions or whether you would like to start the claims process by calling 0800 6524 881.

Am I Eligible To Claim Compensation For An Accident With A Lorry?

Anybody injured in an accident with an HGV may be eligible to make a lorry accident claim for compensation, depending on the circumstances. This might be the case if you were another road user hit by the lorry, a passenger in another vehicle, a pedestrian, or were hurt driving the lorry yourself.

To make a successful lorry accident compensation claim, you’ll typically need evidence to demonstrate that:

• The defendant owed you a duty of care; and
• They caused a lorry accident because they were negligent; and
• You sustained injuries from the accident.

Proving duty of care is quite straightforward. That’s because all drivers of Heavy Goods Vehicles should look after all road users’ safety according to the Road Traffic Act 1988. Proving negligence and the extent of your injuries is what we’ll discuss throughout the rest of this guide.

Can I Claim Compensation If I Was Partly To Blame?

You may still be able to claim compensation for a lorry accident even if you were partially to blame. Due to the principle of “contributory negligence“, you could receive compensation as long as the lorry driver or other party involved is also found to be at fault. For example, if you were a passenger injured in a car that was struck by a lorry, and it was found that you weren’t wearing a seatbelt, contributing to the severity of your injury, the compensation amount may be reduced by the degree of fault attributed to you. Therefore, in this example, if it’s found that your failure to wear a seatbelt was 30% responsible for your injury, your compensation would be reduced by 30%.

If you are unsure of your eligibility or how contributory negligence might affect any settlement if you’re considering starting a lorry accident claim, please contact our personal injury solicitors for free advice.

Common Causes Of Lorry Accident Claims

Here are some common scenarios where you might be able to seek damages following an HGV accident caused by a lorry driver:

• Your car was hit by a lorry while you were stationary in queuing traffic, causing whiplash.
• A lorry mounted the pavement and hit and injured a pedestrian.
• The lorry driver caused a collision because they were under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
• The driver of the HGV changed lanes approaching a roundabout, hitting and injuring a cyclist because they failed to check their mirrors.
• An accident was caused by the lorry driver who was speeding, driving aggressively, or not paying attention to the road.
• Where an HGV/LGV driver caused death by careless driving.

This sample of road accidents should give you some idea of when a claim might be possible. If you’re not sure whether you have the grounds to proceed, call our team today.

How Much Compensation For A Lorry Accident Could I Claim?

Each road traffic accident claim will vary in compensation payouts as they are based mainly on the level of suffering caused. This can include both physical and psychological suffering. As a result, it is not possible to determine how much compensation you could receive for your accident with the lorry until after your case has been reviewed. Instead, we’ve listed the main elements that make up a claim below:

• Your injuries. You could receive compensation for any pain, suffering, PTSD, or loss of amenity that resulted from the accident.
• Financial losses. If you pay for medical expenses, care costs or travel costs as a result of your injuries, these could be claimed back. You could also include any lost income.
• Property damage. You could also request the cost of replacing or repairing any personal property that was damaged in the HGV accident.

To help prove your level of suffering, you might need a medical assessment from an independent medical professional. If so, this can be arranged locally by our personal injury solicitors. After your appointment, they will detail your injuries and offer a prognosis in a report for your solicitor.

HGV Injury Compensation Calculator

In this section, we have added a compensation calculator listing some possible compensation ranges for certain injuries you may have suffered in the lorry accident. We have used figures advised by the Judicial College to populate the calculator, as this is where legal professionals turn to when calculating compensation settlements.

As mentioned in the previous section, your injuries form one part of your claim, so compensation amounts may differ if your claim is successful. Also, the amount paid will be based on what injuries you’ve already sustained in the HGV/LGV accident, plus any future suffering. This might be the case if you’ve sustained long-term injuries or permanent disabilities.

If you call 0800 6524 881 to have your claim assessed, we should be able to provide a more accurate compensation estimate for you once our solicitors have all the relevant details.

Considerations Relating To Whiplash Compensation

We’d like to point out that the government has introduced the Whiplash Reform Programme. It is designed to make claims valued at less than £5,000 “easier”. In such cases, you typically won’t use a solicitor to claim as everything is done through a government portal. When you call our team, we’ll let you know which method of claiming is right for you.

Evidence To Support A Lorry Accident Claim

To put you in a better position to claim compensation (and deal with any insurance claims), there are some steps you can take after the HGV/LGV accident to gain evidence. They include:

• Swapping details with the HGV driver. You should get their name, vehicle registration number, and details of their insurance policy. You should not apologise or say anything that might be perceived as an admission of guilt.
• Where it is safe to do so, photograph/video the accident scene before vehicles are moved.
• Ask any witnesses for their details. Also, if their vehicle has a dashcam, ask for a copy of their footage to be sent to you.
• Report the accident to the emergency services if there are any injuries or if you’re blocking the road.
• Visit A&E or a minor injuries unit to have your injuries assessed and treated.

By taking these steps, you could improve your chances of being compensated. That’s because if the lorry driver denies liability, witness statements or police reports could help to prove otherwise. Similarly, medical records from a hospital could help prove the extent of your injuries.

Time Limits For Claiming Compensation

As with any compensation claim, there is usually a time limit for road traffic accident claims involving HGVs and LGVs. This is typically a 3-year period starting from the date of the accident.

In cases involving children or adults who don’t have the mental capacity to begin a claim, the time limit does not apply. Instead, the litigation friend process can be used to make a claim on behalf of the victim. Our solicitors can help with this process, and our advisors can provide more details about it when you call.

Claims for children injured in a lorry accident can be made at any point before their 18^th birthday. If you decide not to claim, the victim will have a 3-year limitation period to claim themselves starting from when they turn 18.

When somebody dies from a fatal accident involving a Heavy Goods Vehicle within 3 years of the accident, their family will have 3 years from the date of death to begin a claim themselves. Please call today if you’d like further information on time limits in these circumstances.

Why Choose Our Solicitors To File A Lorry Accident Claim?

If you claim following an accident involving a lorry, you’ll have to deal with an insurance company. In most cases, they will only be concerned with limiting the amount of compensation they pay (if any). That means you’ll need strong evidence to show how their client (the defendant) caused the accident in which you were injured to happen.

Also, dealing with an insurer can involve technical or complex medical or legal questioning. To avoid having to deal with that yourself, we’d suggest talking to us to see if a specialist solicitor can help you. If your claim is taken on, your solicitor will shield you from the insurance company’s questions. That said, they will keep you updated about how the case is progressing, and you can ask any questions if they crop up.

Your solicitor will use a No Win No Fee agreement and their legal acumen to fight your corner. They’ll try to counter any arguments raised over liability for the accident with the HGV by supplying additional evidence where possible. Furthermore, they won’t typically settle on the first compensation offer they receive. If it appears to be too low and undervalues the level of your suffering, your solicitor will negotiate to try and achieve the maximum level of compensation possible.

Starting The Lorry Accident Claims Process

If you would like to talk to us about starting the process of claiming for an accident involving an HGV, please call our team on 0800 6524 881. We’ll review your claim for free and could begin working on it right away.

Thanks for reading our guide on the process of claiming compensation for accidents involving lorries and HGVs.