Injury Claim Case Study

Injury Claim Enquiry 2009: A Lorry fails to stop at accident scene: how do I proceed with damage and personal injury recovery?

My daughter  recently had an accident on the M1 when a lorry hit her on the nearside rear wing/bumper. She has suffered minor whiplash and her car was damaged. There was a witness to the accident. The lorry drove off despite my daughter  following for a short distance and flashing his lights. The lorry was apprehended by the police approximately 40 miles later.

 The driver was foreign and the police have notified me of his name and insurance details. They do not intend to prosecute the driver and the lorry was only inspected superficially before being allowed to proceed. The driver could not speak English and neither admitted nor denied that he had hit my daughter 's car. The registration was foreign, albeit the trailer was a British based international haulage company. I am considering engaging your solicitors on a no win no fee basis.

What  is the likelihood of winning an action against the driver, and if the chances are good, what are the chances of receiving compensation? If we are successful, but do not receive payment, am I liable to pay the solicitor?

Our Answer

Your daughter  clearly has a valid claim and so long as you have the registration number of the truck which presumably was provided by the police (as opposed to the trailer which may well have a different number), any specialist Road Traffic Accident solicitor will be able to quickly establish quite the identity of the UK handling agents of the German insurers. If, for any reason, the driver was uninsured, your daughter 's claim can be directed to the Motor Insurers' Bureau which handles claims involving uninsured drivers, whether from the UK or overseas.

Claims involving foreign trucks changing lanes are becoming increasingly frequent and our solicitors have considerable experience in dealing with them.  Your daughter 's chances of succeeding should be high and we can provide details of suitable solicitors with an expertise in this area if you wish.

Result 17 months later

The insurance company paid the claimant £2300.00 in damages for the whiplash injury.