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Road Traffic Accidents Involving Hit and Run Drivers

If you or a member of your family is suffering from a personal injury caused by a road traffic accident involving a hit and run driver, our specialist personal injury lawyers may be able to help you claim compensation. Contact us today on 0800 032 8511 for expert claim advice, or by completing a claim enquiry form.

What is a 'Hit and Run'?
Road Accident Claims Through the Motor Insurers Bureau
Making a Compensation Claim
Compensation
Our Personal Injury Lawyers

Successful Compensation Claims for Hit and Run Accidents

What is a 'Hit and Run'?

A road accident where one of the parties involved fails to stop or leaves the scene without providing any details is known as a ‘hit and run’.  This type of accident can unfortunately affect any type of road user, whether you are a driver, pedestrian, passenger, motorcyclist or cyclist.

Sometimes, the police are able to trace the driver or vehicle through witness accounts or CCTV footage, however all too often those that 'run' remain untraced.

If the responsible party is traced, it is usually possible to make a road accident claim in the normal way, i.e. against their insurance company.  You should always seek legal advice at the earliest opportunity if you have been the victim of a hit and run accident.

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Road Accident Claims Through the Motor Insurers Bureau

If a person is injured as the result of a road accident, where another party is at fault through driving without due care (were 'negligent'), they may be entitled to claim compensation.

Usually, any claim would be made against the insurance policy of the negligent driver, however in hit and run cases where the driver is never found this is not possible. An organisation called the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB) helps to compensate those injured by an untraced driver.  If the responsible party is traced but they are an uninsured driver, a compensation claim can often still be made through the MIB. 

The arrangement with the MIB is complicated and subject to many provisions. They will assess each case and decide on the level of compensation. This is subject to the right of appeal to an arbitrator.

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Making a Compensation Claim

It is always important in any road accident to record as much information as possible, including any witness details. Where possible, photographs should be taken. The police should always be called in a hit and run incident. They will compile a report, which is very important in any legal action that follows.

As personal injury claims involving untraced third parties can be complex, it is important to seek the advice of a specialist personal injury lawyer. In every case, medical evidence will be required, and it is necessary to show that the person you are making a claim against owed you a duty of care, that they breached that duty of care (were negligent), and that the injury you sustained was a reasonably foreseeable consequence of that negligence.

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Compensation

If your claim is successful, and our solicitors will be working hard to ensure that this is the case, you will be entitled to two elements of a compensation award.

The first is for the pain and suffering you may have gone through and what is known as loss of amenity. This is called general damages and can include an award for your inability to do things after the accident that you used to be able to do before, eg, wash your car, look after your garden, take children to school, etc. The award for loss of amenity can be for a short period after a road accident or for ever if that is what the medical evidence supports.

The second element of a compensation award is for your losses and expenses and is known as special damages. It is important to keep receipts for any expenditure you have related to the accident, so that these can be reclaimed. The aim is to put you back in a position financially as if the hit and run accident had never occurred.

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Our Personal Injury Lawyers

The Legal Line lawyers are experts in all areas of personal injury, with extensive experience in recovering compensation for the victims of road traffic accidents.

They can provide specialist accident claim advice, assistance and guidance in helping you to pursue your claim to the best possible outcome.

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Successful Compensation Claims for Hit and Run Accidents

Below you can read details of some of the many cases our lawyers have pursued on behalf of injured victims of hit and run accidents.  Further articles about successful claims can be found in our news and success stories sections:

• Our client was a pedestrian injured in a road accident, where a vehicle mounted the pavement as she was walking with some friends and knocked her to the ground. The driver failed to stop, left the scene and did not report the accident, however the police were able to trace who was responsible.
  
  As a result of this hit and run accident, our client was knocked unconscious, suffered a fractured skull and sustained knee injuries. The head injury also caused damage to her hearing. She required hospital treatment and experienced ongoing problems.
  
  Our specialist personal injury lawyers were able to recover £22,000 compensation on her behalf in respect of her injuries, losses and medical costs.

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