Road Accident Compensation
By: Julian Hall | Posted: 07th January 2006
Road Accident Compensation
Before making a road accident compensation claim, there are
special issues which may affect liability.
- Council
Immunity: This states that a
class=GramE>victims injury may limit an injury victim's ability to
sue when the driver of the vehicle that causes an accident is a council
employee who is working at the time of the accident, or where the accident
involves a council-owned vehicle in view of a
road accident compensation claim.
- Owner
Liability: This states that even if a
vehicle is borrowed to a third party, if an accident ensues, the owner may
be jointly liable for damages caused by the third parties fault.
- Company
/ Employer Liability: This states that here an
employee is driving a vehicle "on the job", or within the course
and scope of employment, the employer can be jointly liable for injuries
caused by the employee's negligent driving conduct.
- Mobile
Phone Usage: Mobile phone usage whilst driving
is banned in the UK.
Employers may want to consider the following best practice guidelines.
Mobile phones should be switched to voicemail when the user is driving.
Emergency calls only should be made / received when on the move
Employees should be encouraged to only make or receive calls - even with a
hands-free kit – when they are safely parked away from the road. Any
accident caused in this way will affect any
road accident compensation claim
.
Insurance Cover
The insurance problems car accident victims have with
insurance coverage typically fall into three categories:
- Uninsured
Driver - Unfortunately there are a
growing number of people who are driving without any car insurance, an MOT
and in some cases a driving license. In the
w:st="on">UK, there
is an organisation called the MIB (no they don't wear black suits) which
stands for the "Motor Insurers Bureau" who deal with paying out claims
against uninsured drivers. This was set up to offer victims of uninsured
drivers a way to gain a Aroad accident compensation claim that could then be reclaimed from the
uninsured.
- Underinsured
Driver - Underinsured Motorist coverage
is the term used when the other vehicle's policy limit is inadequate to
pay for all your damages.
Provided you have a Standard Policy, your own insurance company may pay
for damages to your vehicle caused by; any person or organization
class=GramE>who did not have liability insurance at the time of the
accident. Any person or organization who had adequate liability insurance
coverage at the time of the accident, but for some reason, the company
writing the insurance denies that their policy provides coverage for the
class=SpellE>loss. Any person or organization who did not carry
enough insurance to pay for your damages in full. If
you only have a Basic Policy, you do not have any protection if your
vehicle is damaged by either an uninsured or underinsured driver.
- Insurance
Company Bad Faith -
style='font-weight:normal'>Anxiety and distress are
natural emotions caused when an insurance
company refuses to pay. In many circumstances there may be
a legitimate reason for the insurer not
paying, but there have also been a number of cases where
the insurance company's refusal
has been considered unreasonable, unfair and in '
style='font-weight:normal'>bad faith'. In legal terms, the
insurance company has acted in breach of contract.
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If you need advice or would just like to speak to someone, please don't
hesitate to give Claims Master
Group a call on 08000 71 22 71.
The
href="http://www.claimsmastergroup.com/">Personal Injury, Accident Claim,
href="http://www.claimsmastergroup.com/">No Win No Fee,
href="http://www.claimsmastergroup.com/">Road Accident Compensation specialists.