This guide will discuss pedestrian personal injury claims. It will look at the eligibility criteria that need to be met in order to have valid grounds to proceed with a claim after you have been injured as pedestrian in an accident. Also, it discusses the evidence you should consider supplying to support your case.
What Evidence Could Help Support Pedestrian Personal Injury Claims?
Additionally, we explore the duty of care road users owe one another and the extra care that needs to be taken with vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians. You can also find examples of how a pedestrian could be injured in an accident if a driver were to be negligent.
Furthermore, we examine how a value might be assigned to your pedestrian accident claim and what could be included in your compensation payout if successful.
To conclude, this guide outlines the benefits of working with a solicitor on a No Win No Fee basis.
To discuss your potential pedestrian accident claim in more detail, contact one of our advisors. An advisor could answer any questions you might have and provide free advice on the next steps you could take. To get in touch, you can:
- Call us on 0113 460 1216
- Enquire about making a claim online
- Speak to us via the live chat feature on our website
Select A Section
- Eligibility Criteria For Pedestrian Personal Injury Claims
- What Evidence Could Help Support Pedestrian Personal Injury Claims?
- Examples Of Pedestrian Accidents And Injuries
- Calculating Compensation For A Pedestrian Accident Claim
- Make A No Win No Fee Road Accident Claim
- Read More About Claiming For A Pedestrian Accident
Eligibility Criteria For Pedestrian Personal Injury Claims
Road users owe a duty of care to prevent harm or damage to themselves and others when navigating the roads. They must adhere to the rules outlined in the Road Traffic Act 1988 and the Highway Code to uphold their duty.
Rule 204 of the Highway Code states that pedestrians, in particular children, older adults and those with disabilities, are one group of road users that are most at risk from road traffic. As such, they require extra care. The rule also states that road users who have the potential to cause the greatest harm, have the greatest responsibility to reduce the danger or threat they pose to others when using the roads.
However, if a road user such as a car driver or motorcyclist failed to comply with the duty of care that they owe, and you suffered harm as a result, you may wonder whether you could seek personal injury compensation.
The eligibility criteria for personal injury claims need to be met in order to do so. This involves showing:
- A duty of care was owed to you by another road user.
- This duty of care was breached.
- You suffered harm due to this breach.
Contact our team of advisors now to establish the validity of your claim. If valid, they might offer to pass you over to a solicitor from our panel, who could help you navigate the pedestrian personal injury claims process.
What Evidence Could Help Support Pedestrian Personal Injury Claims?
As part of the pedestrian personal injury claims process, evidence can be useful in proving a road user’s breach of duty and showing how it affected you. For this reason, you might find it beneficial to gather the following pieces of evidence:
- Copies of your medical records, such as hospital reports, doctor reports, copies of scans, and other test results.
- CCTV footage of the accident.
- Photographs of your injuries and the accident.
- Witness contact details.
Is There A Time Limit To Make A Pedestrian Accident Claim?
In addition to satisfying the eligibility criteria for pedestrian personal injury claims, you must adhere to the time limit set out in the Limitation Act 1980. This states that you generally have three years to begin your personal injury claim from the accident date. However, there are exceptions to the general rule.
To learn more about the time limits and whether you have an eligible personal injury claim, contact our team of advisors now for a free case assessment. If eligible, a solicitor from our panel could help you build an evidence portfolio to substantiate your case. Additionally, they can ensure your case and all related correspondence is submitted within the relevant time frame.
Examples Of Pedestrian Accidents And Injuries
Below, we have provided examples of how an accident involving a pedestrian could occur and the injuries that could be sustained as a result.
- A driver fails to stop and hits you when you are using a pedestrian crossing. Because of this, you suffer a broken foot and severe back injury.
- Whilst under the influence of alcohol, a driver swerves and knocks you over. This leads to you suffering a head injury leading to brain damage.
- As you cross the road at a designated crossing, a speeding motorcyclist hits you, and you endure an arm injury and severe spinal cord damage.
To discuss your specific case and find out the validity of your pedestrian claim against a driver, contact one of our advisors now.
Calculating Compensation For A Pedestrian Accident Claim
Settlements awarded following successful pedestrian personal injury claims could include two heads of claim. General damages are the first, compensating you for the pain and suffering you’ve experienced from the accident in which you were injured. The amount you’re awarded can be influenced by many factors, including the severity of your injuries and how your injuries have affected your overall quality of life.
Additionally, to help work out how much your injuries could be worth, the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) could be used. This document contains guideline award brackets based on previously successful court cases. Your medical records could also be requested to be compared against this document.
We have provided a table of guideline figures from the JCG. However, we cannot guarantee how much compensation you could receive, as every case is different.
Compensation Table
| Injury | Severity | Compensation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Back | Severe (i) | £91,090 to £160,980 | Damage to spinal cord and nerve roots, leading to severe pain and disability. |
| Moderate (ii) | £12,510 to £27,760 | Disturbance of ligaments and muscles, resulting in backache. | |
| Neck | Severe (ii) | £65,740 to £130,930 | Serious fractures or damage to cervical spine discs. This gives rise to disabilities of a considerable severity, like a substantial loss of movement in the neck. |
| Moderate (i) | £24,990 to £38,490 | Fractures or dislocations, causing immediate symptoms where a spinal fusion may be necessary. | |
| Hand | Serious | £29,000 to £61,910 | Injuries reducing the hand to 50 per cent capacity, such as where several fingers have been amputated but rejoined to the hand leaving it clawed. |
| Moderate | £5,720 to £13,280 | Crush injuries, soft tissue damage and deep lacerations. | |
| Arm | Permanent and Substantial Disablement | £39,170 to £59,860 | Serious fractures of one or both forearms, with significant permanent residual disability. |
| Less Severe | £19,200 to £39,170 | Significant disabilities but with a substantial degree of recovery. | |
| Leg | Severe (iv) | £27,760 to £39,200 | Complicated or multiple fractures, or severe crush injuries, generally to one limb. |
| Less Serious (ii) | £9,110 to £14,080 | Simple fractures to the femur where there is no articular surface damage. |
Claiming For Financial Losses After A Road Traffic Accident
Special damages are the second head of claim, compensating you for financial losses you’ve incurred in the past and future due to your injuries. Examples of the costs you could claim back and the evidence you could provide to prove the losses include:
- Receipts that outline the medical expenses you’ve incurred to recover
- Travel tickets to show any travel expenses incurred due to you being unable to drive
- Payslips to show the earnings you’ve lost whilst being unable to work
For more information regarding road traffic accident compensation payouts following successful pedestrian personal injury claims, please contact an advisor on the number above.
Make A No Win No Fee Road Accident Claim
If you have a valid case and want legal representation, you might want to consider instructing a solicitor from our panel. They can offer their services under a Conditional Fee Agreement. This is a kind of No Win No Fee agreement and means that:
- There would be no upfront costs to begin working with them.
- No running costs would be required for their services to keep the case progressing.
- If your claim were unsuccessful, you wouldn’t have to pay for the services you received from your solicitor.
- If your claim succeeded, you’d pay a percentage of the compensation you were awarded, which is small, legally capped and known as a success fee.
Moreover, our panel of road traffic accident solicitors have experience handling pedestrian personal injury claims. Contact our team of advisors now for a free case assessment to find out whether you could be eligible to have a solicitor from our panel represent your case. An advisor could also answer any questions you have and provide free advice relating to your potential case.
For more information, you can:
- Call us on 0113 460 1216
- Enquire about making a claim online
- Speak to us via the live chat feature on our website
Read More About Claiming For A Pedestrian Accident
For more of our helpful guides, please look here:
- Read our guide on road traffic accidents which discusses the eligibility criteria for beginning a claim and how compensation is calculated.
- Find out what you can do if you were hit by a car as a pedestrian including whether you could seek personal injury compensation.
- Learn if you could make a pedestrian claim against a driver and how much compensation could potentially be awarded if you succeed.
For some external resources, look below:
- An NHS guide discussing what to do if you have sustained a head injury.
- A government guide about statutory sick pay.
- Information on road safety laws from Think!
We hope this guide on pedestrian personal injury claims has helped. However, if you have any other questions you need answering, please contact an advisor using the contact details provided above.
Writer Will Grey
Editor Meg McConnell