It is relatively common knowledge nowadays that if you are injured in a road traffic accident that is not your fault you can claim compensation.
The legal basis behind compensation is that the person injured should be restored to the position they were in before the accident. This may mean a payment for any loss of earnings or money to cover any extra expenses in terms of medicines or travel to hospital appointments.
There is then a claim for pain and suffering associated with the injury. Quantifying this part of the claim is not an exact science but an accurate or standard estimate is able to be made by looking at damages previously awarded by the courts for the same injury.
Often, people are hurt in a road traffic accident when the driver of the car they are travelling in is to blame. The question of injury compensation is seldom raised when the pain you are suffering is the fault of a family member or friend. Rightly, nobody wishes to feel they are punishing a loved one further by suing them after they have caused an accident. The reality of the situation is somewhat different.
My firm often encounters clients who have been injured in a road traffic accident but don’t want to claim compensation because they know or are related to the driver. They would rather suffer in silence than cause trouble. There should be no guilt felt in seeking proper compensation to restore you to your pre-accident state of health or well-being and in reality, there is very little in the way of trouble.
All matters will be dealt with between the solicitor and the insurance company and the at fault driver need not even be notified. It is also important to remember that a wife claiming against her husband or vice versa will not be suing their own spouse, but rather his or her insurance company.
No money will be claimed back from the driver and the insurance company will cover the cost in a similar way to claiming on your home or holiday insurance.