Accidents Happen
Accidents do happen. Sometimes they are just that – a set of circumstances that nobody could have foreseen but which result in someone being injured.
However, there are situations where the accident happens because somebody has been negligent or has failed to comply with a duty of care.
But if you are involved in an accident does that mean you can be compensated for the injuries and losses you suffer? Well, no matter what has been said in recent times about a “compensation culture” the Courts have always viewed the role of the law in providing compensation for the injured victim of such acts of negligence or breach of duty as of fundamental importance – “The right to bodily integrity is the first and most important of the interests protected by the law of tort”.
However, the fact that you have been involved in an accident does not automatically mean that you will get compensation.
The first point that has to be clarified is whether someone is liable, in law, for that accident. This depends on whether a duty of care was placed on the person causing the accident.
Sometimes, such a duty is imposed by statute. For example, there is a duty imposed on employers to ensure, as far as it is reasonably practicable for them to do so, the health, safety and welfare of their employees. There is also a duty on the occupier of premises to ensure that visitors are reasonably safe when visiting the premises.
Sometimes, the duty is imposed by the “common law” and which provides that a person must take reasonable care not to do anything or fail to do something that he can reasonably foresee would injure his “neighbour”. By this, we do not mean the person living next door but anybody who could be so closely and directly affected by the act or omission that it would have been fairly apparent that that person would be injured. For example, a car driver has a duty of care to other road users as it clear that it is likely they would suffer injury by his failure to use reasonable care on the road.
The next point is whether the injury you suffered was caused by that accident. This would be a matter for the medical experts to answer.
There may be situations when the accident has been partly caused by your own fault. This does not mean that the other person can escape all liability but it does mean that the amount you may recover will be reduced by the amount it is considered you were at fault.
So let’s consider that you have crossed over all those hurdles. The next thing is how much is your claim worth? Again, there is no easy answer. A lot will depend on the type of injury you have suffered. We also have to consider for how long you have suffered from the symptoms of your injury and whether there is any permanent damage.
All this can seem quite heavy going. That is why, if you are injured in an accident that you consider was somebody else’s fault, you should seek advice from a lawyer who is a specialist in personal injury work.
Do you have a legal question? If so we will try to answer it.
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