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Bus and coach accidents are something which may be overlooked when considering personal injury claims. This is because when we hear about road traffic accident claiming it is often regarding car or motorbike accidents. We hear advertisements on television all the time asking if we have had a road traffic accident; for some reason I guess we would usually associate this with a car accident.

Bus and coach accidents may be less common than car accidents, but we still have many clients approach us after being injured whilst on a bus. If you have been injured on a bus and it was not your fault then you may have a claim for compensation. Whether the road traffic accident was the fault of the bus driver or another car and you, there is a high chance you have a claim. If the fault was with the bus driver you may be able to bring a claim against the bus company. Bus companies are often vicariously liable for the actions of their drivers – meaning the bus company is responsible for the actions of the bus driver involved, and you can be compensated through the company insurance.

On the other hand, if fault lies with another driver, you may be able to bring a claim against them. Either way you may have a valid claim.
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Whiplash is not a nice injury to suffer from. It generally occurs after a road accident, but can also occur after a slip or a fall.

Whiplash is caused by the sudden jolting of your neck beyond its normal range of movement – this effectively stretches the muscles, ligaments, and tendons, and can result in anything from minor neck pain for a few days, to months and months of agony and pain.

The more common symptoms of whiplash:
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Supermarkets of one of those necessary hassles of modern life.  Back when I was young there were not some many of these and people would spend maybe a couple of hours going from their bakery, to their butcher, and to their fishmonger. Now it seems the modern fast paced lives of today demand everything under one roof and with lots of choice and convenience.

Saying this, many people love the convenience the supermarket offers – many however would not anticipate having an accident in one which was not their fault. Many clients come to us at The Injury Lawyers after suffering an accident in a supermarket; these accidents can range from a slip on a spillage to a trip on an item negligently left in an aisle or an item falling on them from a poorly stacked shelf. Whatever the accident, as long as it was not your fault and it has caused you an injury, you may have a claim for compensation.

If you have an accident in a supermarket it is advisable to report it as they may need to place a note of it in their accident book. This entry in the accident book can also serve as evidence that the accident did actually take place.  Although it is advisable to report the accident, this allows the Defendant to be put on notice of the accident, so to speak. Shortly after the accident, many of our clients have then been approached by the supermarkets with a goodwill gesture of money or vouchers. This can end up with a Third Party Capture situation whereby the Defendant may be attempting to settle your claim on a full and final basis before it goes any further and you instruct a solicitor to begin a personal injury claim. If you accept this offer you may be settling any potential claim you have; you would not be able to make any further claim. Without legal advice you do not know what your potential claim is worth, and so by accepting this early (and often small) offer, you may be under valuing your claim.
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Completing a personal injury claim may be seen as two-pronged. On the one hand you have your claim for your injury compensation to which any good injury lawyer would advise you an approximate value. On the other hand you have you losses. Now, you may wonder – ‘what am I talking about’, and think that your claim was just for compensation. Well, succeeding in a personal injury claim is meant to put you in the position you would have been in had you never have suffered the accident. Therefore, if we did not include in that claim any loss of earnings you had suffered, or all the travel costs you had incurred as a result of the accident, you would still be worse off.

Therefore, any financial losses you incur as a result of the accident will be compiled in a document known as a Schedule of Loss. This document will not contain a valuation for your injury compensation because, as I said, it can be seen as two-pronged; so the compensation part is claimed separately.

Below I have listed some of the more common items of loss which you may see on a Schedule of Loss:
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It is an unfortunate statistic that road traffic accidents are on the increase. This is one of the reasons, why for road traffic accidents that happened after 30^th April 2010 and are worth between a certain range of values, a new system has been put in place making the system more stream-lined, simpler, and quicker. The system sets out that within 15 business days of the other side receiving the circumstances of your claim in a document known as a Claim Notification Form, you should have an answer regarding liability – i.e. whether they admit or deny fault. This means that the angst and frustration of not knowing what is going on with your claim is taken away.  At The Injury Lawyers we have a policy of updating our clients every 2 weeks – this means that you always stay in the loop, so to speak.

Injuries and Treatment

Many clients that come to us after a road accident are suffering with whiplash. This can be a painful and frustrating condition which many people can overlook as it is not so clear to see as a broken bone or a laceration. At The Injury Lawyers we always treat whiplash with the seriousness it deserves as we know what a destructive effect it can have on people’s lives.  When a client approaches The Injury Lawyers we can usually arrange for treatment for injuries such as whiplash right from the start – this treatment may include physiotherapy, chiropractic, or osteopathic treatment; the cost of which is either payable by the other side upon succeeding with your claim, or by insurance if you lose. This means that you would not have to wait on an NHS waiting list whilst suffering with the pain and inconvenience of the whiplash.
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Product liability may seem like legal jargon and too complex a term to bother to understand. It is however quite simple in its meaning – it simply means a product which through no fault of your own has caused you harm.

Product liability claiming can be fairly complex as there is often a point of confusion as to whether the retailer and/or the manufacturer is at fault. If it is the manufacturer they can sometimes be difficult to locate – that is why it is advisable to seek the advice of a specialist personal injury lawyer with experience in this area to advise you.

Faulty Products:
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I can hear many of you out there when you see personal injury advertisements on the televisions saying – ‘claiming for compensation is easier said than done’. Well, if you end up making a bad decision and instructing the wrong law firm where you have to always chase them for information or for things to be done, then that may be the case.

However, if you chose the right solicitor you may get an all together different experience. At The Injury Lawyers we like to give our clients the most hassle free experience we possibly can – we feel that you have already been through the trauma of an accident, so you shouldn’t have any further unnecessary hassle or bother. Much of the hassle and frustration can stem from not knowing what is going on with your claim and feeling out of control. Well at The Injury Lawyers we update our clients every 2 weeks whether something has happened on the claim or not – this keeps you in the know and so reduces any worry or uncertainty.

When you first approach a law firm with a claim, a solicitor will ask you the accident circumstances in order to assess whether there is a claim and it has good prospects of succeeding – we do not want to waste your time or give you false hope on a claim which will not succeed. If the claim is then taken on and you agree to instruct the solicitor, a Letter of Claim will be produced – this is the first document the other side will receive regarding your claim. The letter will set out the circumstances of your claim as well as request any documents we need in order to assess the case.
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Where you have been involved in an accident and sustained a personal injury through no fault of your own it is likely that you will be entitled to compensation.  This is because you will have been put out and should be placed back in the position you would have been in had the accident not have occurred. 

It is not uncommon following an accident that the other side’s insurers may contact you to offer you this compensation.  In fact, the thought of receiving compensation so soon after your accident will no doubt seem particularly appealing to most. 

But just stop and think for a second – if you ever receive an offer of compensation from the other side’s insurers, ask yourself: why they are offering you compensation?  Are they really doing it out of the kindness of their hearts? Or maybe they are doing it because they feel they owe you some kind of duty? Or actually is it because they know you have a legitimate claim for compensation and know that if they can get you to agree to their compensation package without you seeking proper legal advice, they will be able to settle your claim for much less than it’s true value and actually save themselves a whole heap of money.  If you agree to their compensation, that is it! You can no longer go back and ask for more – it is a final settlement.
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When we think about compensation and road traffic accidents, I can hazard I guess that car accidents will be the first thing that comes to mind. Of course, many of the accidents on the roads do involve both parties being cars; but there are also many other accidents on the road which may also entitle the victim to compensation.

The title of this blog being bus accidents means you can probably guess what type of accidents I will be discussing – YES,  its bus accidents.

If you have been involved in a road accident whilst on a bus which has caused you injury as a result, you have a high chance of having a claim for personal injury. This is because if the accident was due to the fault of the bus driver you may have a claim against the bus company who are vicariously liable for the driver’s actions. This means that the bus company can take responsibility for his actions. If on the other hand the cause of the accident was another road user, then you may have a claim for personal injury against them. In summary, in either scenario you may have a claim.
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Driving can be extremely hazardous at times, but we would hope for the most part that it is not. In order to avoid being involved in road traffic accidents we not only have to drive well and with the due care and attention ourselves, but we also have to put our trust in other road users around us and that they are doing the same.

On the most part this trust is well founded and we remain safe whilst using the roads; however, there are occasions when other road users put our safety in jeopardy. At The Injury Lawyers we see this time and again – with clients approaching us after being involved in what could have been a serious road traffic accident situation. Also, just listening to items on the radio such as traffic news updates recalling numerous accidents that have taken place on the road that day, also serves to make us aware of the dangers of the road.

Road traffic accidents most commonly happen at the meeting places of traffic.  Like I mentioned before – radio stations often report hold ups at motorway junctions or cross-roads due to accidents having taken place at these locations.
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