Passenger Accidents

As a passenger of a vehicle it is very unlikely that you would be at fault if a road traffic accident occurred but sadly innocent passengers are often injured during road traffic accidents.

Unfortunately there are a large number of road traffic accidents each year in the UK, and although safety cameras have helped to reduce the number of incidents they sadly still happen. In a road traffic accident there are many people who could end up injured such as the driver of a car, a pedestrian, a cyclist or a motorcyclist and of course passengers.

There are numerous ways in which a passenger could end up involved in a road traffic accident; the most common way of course is if they are the passenger of a car. While it is possible for anybody inside a car to be harmed during a car accident, it is more likely that front seat passengers will suffer significant injuries. As well as this you may be injured as a passenger if you are travelling on a bus, coach or taxi as well as a train that is involved in a crash. Whatever form of transport you are travelling on, if it is involved in a crash and you are injured as the passenger of that car then you could be entitled to make a claim for compensation.

If you are a passenger of a car or a mode of public transport that is involved in a road traffic accident then you are in a strong legal position to make a claim for compensation. This is because the driver of a vehicle has a duty of care to ensure your safety and if this duty is breeched and you are injured as the result of it then you can make a claim for compensation.

In a successful compensation claim the amount of compensation that you will receive varies on the extent of your injuries and by the length of time that you have been affected by them. You will also receive compensation based on any medical expenses that you have encountered and any loss of earnings that you have suffered as the result of being out of work whilst your injuries are healing.

Accidents at work

All employers have a responsibility to protect their employees, contractors and visitors from accidents and injury in the workplace.

It is estimated that one million people suffer injury in the workplace every year and the vast majority of these are generally avoidable. Even with huge improvements in health and safety and an increasing list of safety rules/measures many workplace environments remain dangerous.

Employers should carry out risk assessments of the workplace to ensure that any measures to improve safety are being used. Even without these risk assessments there are still a number of precautions that need to be present in the workplace such as your employees should be provided with the correct safety wear, which includes goggles, hard hats, ear defenders, gloves, boots and high visibility jackets. As well as being provided with the correct safety wear, employees should also have the correct machinery and tools that they need to carry out their job. These tools and machinery should be checked regularly to ensure that they are in the best condition to carry out work.

If you unfortunately do suffer from an accident at work, you need to report it to your employers as soon as possible and make sure that the accident is recorded in the accident book. If the accident isn’t placed in the accident book or the company doesn’t have an accident book then you should write down brief details of the accident and send it to your boss, as well as keeping a copy for your own reference. If you can't report the accident because you are too ill, try to get someone else to do this.

If the accident involves any of the following:

• Death
• Disease
• Major injury
• Dangerous incidents
• Any injury that stops an employee doing their normal job for three or more days

Then your employer has a responsibility to report the accident not only in the accident book but also to the Health and Safety Executives.

One last procedure that is advised if you have suffered from a work place accident is going to see your doctor. You should do this even if your injury doesn’t seem too serious. The reason why this is so important is so that a doctor can record details of accident in case you wish to pursue a compensation claim later on.

If you are hoping to make a claim for compensation then remember, every compensation claim is different; some may be settled in a matter of months, others may take years but as long as you enlist the help of a legal firm you will be fine.

10 Tips on Winning a Work Accident Case

Accidents in the workplace can happen very often if health and safety measures aren’t in place. Health and safety regulations are a legal requirement by any employer and whatever the circumstances should be in place. If an accident does happen the employee should report it to their employer and write it in the accident book immediately. If the accident has caused the employee to pay medical costs, not attend work or suffering of any sort they may have a compensation claim against the company. My top 10 tips to help you make a compensation claim are: -

1. In any work environment all employees should know the health and safety standards in place at their workplace. These should be told by a member of management or a trainer so employees can try and avoid accidents in the workplace.

2. Most people believe your very unlikely to have an accident whilst in an office working you think most work type accidents happen in factories, but accidents in offices does happen. If you have an accident in an office it’s the same as having one in a factory speak up and tell someone.

3. The more evidence you have the stronger your case will be, so if you do fall, slip, trip over something document it with location and time and take photographs if possible, also if there are any witnesses keep a note of who they are. If there are events leading up to the accident document all of this as well as anything you remember during and after the accident.

4. Get yourself an experienced solicitor who has evidence that they have been involved in a work accident compensation claim before with good results. A lot of solicitors’ now offer a No Win No Fee service, this means you don’t have to pay them a penny until the case is won and then they recover their costs from the other party and if you don’t win your case you still won’t need to pay them a penny.

5. Gather as much evidence as you can from your accident. The more evidence you have the more likely you are to win your compensation claim. Your employer will be held responsible for the accident if the case is proved and you will receive the compensation you deserve from your suffering.

6. Any accident within your work environment should be recorded in the accident book that is a legal requirement by all employers. Once you’ve had your accident enquire in the accident book what other accidents have happened and if any of them got any compensation as well as how the employee was treated. All this information will then help you and your solicitor in knowing how to deal with your case.

7. Whatever your accident at work was don’t ignore it, any accident however big or small shouldn’t have happened in the first place. You need to speak up don’t suffer in silence, if the accident wasn’t your fault you are entitled to claim compensation for your suffering, any medical costs and any loss of earnings whilst you’ve been off work from the accident.

8. All employees should know exactly where the accident book is kept, then if an accident does occur, the injured party or a friend or manager can write all the details of the accident in the accident book. In larger companies there might not be an accident book but a system in which forms can be printed out and all the details recorded on the sheet then the details are inputted into a computer system. Then the worker who was injured can claim their entitled compensation by using their copy of the accident form.

9. If you’ve had an accident at work and your going to claim compensation from your employer you may receive threats from the employer or your supervisors. Don’t listen to them or give into them, there trying to scare you into stopping claiming compensation. Remember its your legal and civil right to claim compensation so ignore them and they might be scaring you as they know they are liable for your accident and will have to pay you compensation for your accident. If your scared by the threats tell your solicitor and they may contact the police and offer you protection.

10. Always ask your solicitor all the questions you have, if you think the accident was your fault, ask a solicitor for advice you may only be thinking it’s your fault because you’re scared of claiming against your employer.


Whatever your accident, however it happened you have a legal and civil right to claim compensation if the accident at work wasn’t your fault.


Jene Pedder is the Webmaster of Accident Consult who specialise in claiming compensation for a Work Accident.