We have been seeing quite a bit of heavy snow lately, and these periods of bad weather often lead to increases in people making road traffic accident claims with our expert team here at The Injury Lawyers.
A lot of it is down to drivers skidding on snow and ice and hitting the backs of other vehicles, or sliding out of side roads and causing accidents. It doesn’t help when road markings are harder to see and bouts of snow can turn a road from clear to an ice rink in less than minutes!
So if you have been the victim of a road accident that has been caused either in full or partially by the snow and ice, read on for more advice.
Where you stand legally
The fact that it was snowy or icy isn’t an excuse – even where the circumstances may portray more of a genuine accident than negligence. Ultimately we are insured to cover accidents, and if a driver falls foul of the rules of the road, they cannot normally use the weather as an excuse or a defence to a claim.
If a driver fails to stop in time due to skidding then you have the right to make a full claim for personal injury compensation if you are injured as a result. If you are the innocent party, you should be able to claim from their insurance.
What if the impact shunted my vehicle out of control in to a further crash?
In snow and ice, it is unfortunately common. You may slam your brakes on as a response to being hit, but this may not stop you from sliding out of control in to another vehicle or an object. The second impact can naturally do more damage to your vehicle and can increase the severity of your injuries. But these are still claimable with the original case.
The initial cause is still that first impact, so the insurers can pick up the tab for the extra damages, increased injuries, and for any other drivers you have been pushed in to for the same things. Its not fair to say you are accountable for being shunted in to someone else now, is it?
What is the best route to go down for settling a claim?
Many routes may open up to you. You may be tempted to settle directly with insurers for the driver at fault who may contact you in efforts to quickly settle the case and allow them to dodge any legal fees. You may be referred to a lawyer by a garage, your insurers, the police, or other companies who know about the accident. This could be down to the ‘black market’ of referral fees.
Your details can inevitably end up being passed on to loads of lawyers and companies who will then hound you for months on end. But the best course of action is this: take a deep breath, relax, try not to get bogged down by the hounder’s, and find yourself your own lawyer that you are personally happy to instruct.
Why? Because it really can make all the difference, and it really can mean the difference between settling your claim for the maximum and true amount or being palmed off with a poor payout that doesn’t accurately reflect what you have gone through at all!
Its common knowledge that you will likely under settle your claim when dealing with an insurer directly, and they have to advise you of your right to seek legal advice for a very good reason! Personally I think that the whole practice of dealing directly ought to be banned to stop the many innocent victims who lose out when being tempted in to under settling directly.
There can also be a lot of costs involved when dealing with certain law firms, so you do need to watch out. They may tell you that what you have to pay is standard across the board, but we know for a fact that our clients are usually better of with our service.
So get your own specialist independent law firm like us! And if you want to speak to us about what we offer and how we can benefit you and your claim, just call us on 0800 634 7575 today.
