If you have been involved in a road traffic accident and suffered injuries which have impacted on your life in either the short or long term, you could be entitled to make a claim for compensation. To make the claims process potentially faster and hopefully simpler, claimants should have a number of things available to give to their legal representatives and get the ball rolling.
Firstly, they must have as much information about the scene of the accident – this could include the weather conditions, the time of day an incident occurred, photos of the scene following a crash, or details about the state of the road if they believe poorly maintained streets contributed to an accident.
Most road traffic accidents are witnessed by other road users or pedestrians, and the information provided by these people can be absolutely invaluable when making a compensation claim. If you are involved in an incident then make sure you get as much information as possible from any potential witnesses who could help you prove fault on the side of the other driver or someone else.
This applies to all claims, whether you were driving a motor at the time of an accident or whether you were a passenger in another vehicle.
If you want to also make a claim for special damages then having the financial details and running costs of your car available is also wise – special damages can be used to cover the cost of a hire car if a motor is written off, or if you are left unable to drive for sometime due to your injuries, special damages cash can be useful in funding travelling by public transport or taxi, depending on your circumstances.
If you have suffered injuries which required you to have medical treatment, both immediately after the incident and in the long term, details of these are vital to making any kind of claim. You may want to try and get notes from your doctor or other medical professional showing your treatment, and could also gather information about how much you have been forced to spend on prescriptions.
All of this information will help your legal team to build the very best compensation case and can help to improve your chances of being successful and getting the compensation you are entitled to.
Car insurance is important and must be selected with care. Nice post.
Great article! It’s also very important to make sure that you get a good estimate from an established body shop to document your repairs. Insurance companies provide a preliminary estimate based on an adjuster’s determination of “visual” damage. But, a good body shop will tear the vehicle down and work with you to ensure that all of the damage is repaired by the insurance company. There is a good article at LDJ Auto Body’s Car, Truck, and Motorcycle News, found at http://ldjautonews.blogspot.com/2011/11/good-shopbad-shop-how-can-you-tell.html. Never accept or “sign off” on the original insurance estimate until your repair shop has thoroughly gone over the damage.