Can you make a road accident claim? If you were in a road accident and suffered any physical injuries then you may be entitled to make a claim. By law you are entitled to make a claim whether you were injured as a driver, a passenger or even as a pedestrian. Recently, a major case was awarded to a cyclist that was injured from the back-draft of a big truck passing him. In short, if you were injured in any way on a public road and the accident was not your fault, then you can file a road accident claim.

There are a number of important things you need to consider before you make your claim as it can determine the success or failure of your claim. Here are some of the major issues:

- Who is at fault?
Obviously if you were the cause of the accident, either directly or indirectly then you probably don’t have a case.

- Safety precautions
if the accident was the result of your own negligence then you probably won;t have a case. One of the most important things is that you wear a seat belt – even if you are the passenger. this alone cane get your case thrown out.

- Legality
Did you have a valid drivers license (if you were the driver) and were you sober when the accident happened. A big percentage of accident happen with drivers under the influence.

- Injuries
The extents of your injuries will often determine the size of your claim. If you did not suffer any significant injuries then your claim may be insignificantly small. Most insurers will cover the basic medical expenses. Its long term injuries that can prevent you from resuming work that usually gets big claims.

Road accident claims can either be done yourself or it can be done for you by a personal injury lawyer/solicitor. For most people the paper work can be intimidating but most insurers will assist you with that. its really not that hard. In bigger and more complex cases you will probably need the help of a personal injury specialist. When the facts are not as black and white and in cases where there are disputes you will need help as it will probably end up in court or if there are going to be settlements out of court you need someone who can negotiate the settlement.

Its important that you get your claim right the first time. If a road accident claim has been awarded to you once it can be very hard to go back to court to get a second ruling for additional compensation.
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