Have you sustained a hit and run injury in a road traffic accident with an untraceable driver? If so, you might wish to claim compensation but are unsure what route to take.
Typically, a compensation claim after a road traffic accident can be made against the other motorists insurance provider. However, in cases where the driver is untraceable and you don’t have these details, you would have to make your claim in a different way.
If there is no other route to compensation, you could claim through the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB). The MIB helps those involved in road traffic accidents where normal routes to compensation don’t exist, such as when untraced or uninsured drivers are involved.
In the following sections, we will explain what a hit and run is and who might be eligible to start a claim for the injury it causes. We’ll also look at the evidence you can use to support your claim and discuss how compensation is calculated if the claim is successful.
Furthermore, we explain how a personal injury solicitor from our panel could help you navigate the claims process under the terms of a kind of No Win No Fee agreement.
If you would like more information, please call our advisors. They can offer a free case check to help you understand whether you’re eligible to make an accident claim. To get in touch, simply:
- Call us on 0800 408 7827
- Fill out our ‘Contact Us‘ form and get a call-back.
- Try the live chat facility at the bottom of your screen.
Choose A Section
- What Is A Hit And Run Injury?
- When Are You Eligible To Claim For A Hit And Run Injury?
- Evidence That Could Help You Make A Hit And Run Injury Claim
- How Much Hit And Run Accident Claim Compensation Could You Receive?
- Claim Compensation For A Hit And Run Injury On A No Win No Fee Basis
- Read More About Making Hit And Run Claims
What Is A Hit And Run Injury?
A hit and run injury is any form of physical and/or psychological harm caused in a road traffic accident where the other party fled the scene. For example:
- A hit and run driver may have knocked over a pedestrian causing them serious multiple injuries and failed to stop.
- A lorry driver may have failed to stop after they crashed into another car resulting in the driver suffering life-changing injuries.
Road users owe a duty of care to one another that they must uphold by following The Road Traffic Act 1988 and the Highway Code. The duty of care they owe is to navigate the roads in a way that prevents harm as well as damage to others and themselves. Additionally, Section 170 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 states that a driver has a duty to stop when an accident causes injury or damage.
Another road user may be wholly or partially at fault for an accident, but either way, they are legally required to stop in these situations and the term ‘hit and run’ refers to their failure to do this.
Common Injuries From Hit And Runs
Depending on the nature of a road traffic accident, those involved could sustain injuries that range from mild to life-altering. Hit and run collisions, for example, could lead to the following injuries:
- Head injury and brain damage.
- Spinal injury and paralysis.
- Serious fractures, broken bones and dislocations.
- Psychological harm, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or anxiety.
- Soft tissue injury.
- Cuts and bruises.
If you were injured after being hit by a driver because they breached their duty of care, you could be eligible to claim compensation. Read on to learn more.
When Are You Eligible To Claim For A Hit And Run Injury?
As mentioned, if you suffered a hit and run injury, you could still be eligible to claim compensation through the MIB. The MIB deals with compensation claims for accidents involving an untraced driver or uninsured driver.
However, as with other personal injury claims, you need to prove the following:
- You were owed a duty of care.
- This duty was breached.
- You suffered harm as a result.
The points above define negligence in tort law. You need to have evidence of negligence in order to make a hit and run claim following a road traffic accident.
Additionally, you need to start legal proceedings within 3 years of the accident date. Exceptions could be made to this personal injury claims time limit in some circumstances.
Get in touch with an advisor to learn more about the eligibility criteria and time limits for claiming hit and run compensation.
Evidence That Could Help You Make A Hit And Run Injury Claim
Evidence can help prove a personal injury claim meets the eligibility criteria. Therefore, it is important to collect as much proof as possible that another road user was in breach of their duty of care and that this caused your hit and run injury.
Some examples of the evidence you could collect include:
- Medical evidence, such as copies of your medical records, such as X-rays, scans or proof of medication needed.
- Witness contact details so that witness statements can be collected at a later date.
- Photos of your visible injuries and the accident scene.
- A personal diary of your symptoms and any medical treatment you needed.
- Copies of CCTV footage or dashcam footage that captured your accident.
An expert personal injury solicitor from our panel could assist you in claiming compensation. They have experience with helping eligible claimants gathering evidence and building their case. Additionally, they can ensure you receive a fair settlement amount for your injuries.
If you call our team on the number above, they could connect you with a solicitor from our panel to guide you through the different aspects of the claims process.
How Much Hit And Run Accident Claim Compensation Could You Receive?
If you have suffered from a hit and run, you may ask, ‘How much compensation will I be awarded in a successful hit and run accident claim?’
Unfortunately, the circumstances of all hit and run claims are different. Therefore, we cannot give you a specific figure of how much you may receive. However, this section will explain what you may claim compensation for after suffering from a hit and run and how your compensation is calculated.
In such claims, you may be compensated under two heads of claim, namely, general damages and special damages. This is to ensure that you are compensated for both injuries and financial losses.
Compensation Brackets:
General damages compensate you for any physical or mental injuries you sustained as a result of the hit and run accident. This head of claim is calculated by professionals who refer to documents such as an independent medical assessor’s report and compensation guidelines presented by the Judicial College (JCG).
The JCG is a document that presents a list of injuries alongside their suggestive compensation figures. The table below provides examples from the JCG of how much you may be compensated for injuries sustained from a hit and run accident. However, the top bracket was not provided by the JCG, and the ones following are only suggestive figures, so please use them for guidance only.
Can You Claim Financial Losses From A Hit And Run Accident?
Depending on the extent of your injuries, you may incur financial losses following your hit and run accident. If so, you may be compensated under the head of claim special damages.
Some examples of financial losses you may be compensated for include:
- Unpaid wages
- Lost work benefits such as missed overtime, bonuses, pension contributions or holiday entitlement
- Payments towards healthcare, childcare or travel
- Costs towards special equipment or home adjustments
When claiming special damages, you must provide evidence of the losses you incurred, such as:
- Payslips
- Bank statements
- Bills or receipts
If you are struggling to get a hand on any evidence of your financial losses, our panel of solicitors may be able to help you obtain it.
Contact our helpful advisors to start your claim today or to learn how to sue for a hit and run injury.
Claim Compensation For A Hit And Run Injury On A No Win No Fee Basis
You may be interested in starting your hit and run injury claim with the support of a personal injury solicitor. If so, we could help.
Our advisors can connect eligible claimants with a personal injury solicitor from our expert panel who has experience handling road traffic accident claims.
They also have decades of experience handling claims through the MIB via a version of a No Win No Fee contract. The particular type of contract they usually offer is called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) which provides you with numerous benefits, including:
- No fees for the solicitor’s work upfront, while the hit and run accident claim progresses, or if the claim fails.
- A success fee is taken from the compensation as a percentage with a legal cap in successful claims. Due to this cap, you keep the majority of your awarded settlement.
Claiming for a hit and run injury through the MIB can be complex, so why not call our team today to see if they could connect you with one of the expert solicitors from our panel? They can also provide guidance on the personal injury claims process.
Find out more now by:
- Filling out the ‘Contact Us‘ form online to have us give you a callback
- Trying the live chat option located at the bottom of your screen
- Calling us on 0800 408 7827
Read More About Making Hit And Run Claims
You might find these other articles helpful:
- General guidance on how to sue for a road traffic accident in this guide.
- This guide looks at ‘split-liability’ in road traffic accident claims.
- Here we discuss how to claim for a rear-end collision that left you injured.
Also, here are some helpful external resources:
- This guide looks at road safety from the charity Think!
- Here is some information on first aid from the NHS.
- This Gov.UK resource looks at compensation after an accident or injury.
Thanks for taking the time to read our guide on compensation claims for a hit and run injury. If you’d like any other guidance or information, don’t hesitate to contact the team at the number above.