Taxi accident compensation claims

Who can claim for a taxi accident?

You can claim for a taxi accident whether you were driving the cab, riding as a passenger, or if you were involved in a collision – for example, if you’re another driver, pedestrian or cyclist.

In some circumstances, the cause of the taxi accident may not be another road user, for example, if the roads were poorly maintained. In these cases, you could claim against an organisation such as a local council or the Highways Agency.

What you can claim for

After a taxi accident, you can claim for two types of damage:

• General damages – physical injuries
• Special damages – financial losses such as payments for medical treatment.

We’ll process your no win, no fee taxi accident claim based on both these types of damages. Specifically, we will assess the following to support your claim:

• Damages to your vehicle/belongings if you were hit by a taxi
• Physical injury and mental trauma
• Medical bills and prescription costs
• Travel costs for medical treatments
• Lifestyle changes such as home adaptations
• Loss of earnings through time off work.

What are the average compensation amounts for a taxi accident claim?

While there are no fixed compensation amounts for no win, no fee taxi compensation claims, we will always do our best to get you the largest settlement possible. We will calculate your compensation based on your physical injury, mental trauma, and any effects it has on your life such as losing a job.

The Judicial Board Guidelines offer estimated compensation amounts based on physical injuries:

• Injuries to the legs and feet: from £5,000 up to £200,000
• Injuries to the back and neck: from £2,000 up to £128,000
• Injuries to the head or brain: from £5,000 to £322,000.

However, these are only physical injuries, not mental trauma or other long-term effects. Physical injuries are known as ‘general damages’, while any loss of earnings, such as job losses, are known as ‘special damages’. We’ll factor all of this in when processing your taxi accident claim.

How long do I have to make a taxi accident claim?

Generally, you can make a taxi compensation claim for up to three years after the incident, or three years after you were diagnosed with an injury connected with it. For example, your doctor may identify a back injury that was linked to a crash, or you may have made an existing injury worse.

The exceptions to this rule are for under-18s, the mentally incapacitated, and those travelling abroad. If you were under 18 when you were harmed, you can have a legal representative or guardian up until your 18^th birthday, after which you can claim for yourself until you reach 21. If you suffered brain damage that left you mentally incapacitated, there are no time limits.

If the taxi accident happened abroad, international claiming laws may differ. We can help you with this when you call us to start your no win, no fee claim.

Common injuries caused by taxi accidents

The commonest cause of car accident injuries is whiplash, which affects the neck if it’s jolted out of position in a sudden movement, like a collision.  However, taxi injuries can vary in severity, and you could make a compensation claim for:

• Cuts and bruises
• Fractures or broken bones
• Scarring
• Herniated discs
• Soft tissue damage
• Internal injury
• Spinal injuries
• Head injuries.

The more serious your taxi accident injury, the higher your settlement will be in your compensation claim. We will assess your taxi claim based on your physical injury and the long-lasting damage it has on your life.

What to do after a taxi accident

If you’ve been injured in a cab accident, your first priority is to stay safe. Keep calm and do not abuse other road users or apologise – both of these could harm any insurance claims. Firstly, move away from the road if you can and call an ambulance. Even if you are relatively unharmed, you should always seek medical attention.

Call the police and ask them to take down details of the incident to write up in a report. This can help you when we’re presenting evidence for your taxi accident compensation claim.

When it’s safe to do so, gather insurance and contact details of any other drivers involved. If you’re a passenger, you can ask the cab driver for his/her details. The police may also be able to help you gather evidence such as CCTV, so ask about this if possible. They may also be able to get you home safely. When, and only when you feel ready to do so, call Express Solicitors to start your no win, no fee taxi accident compensation claim.

How to make a taxi accident compensation claim

You can start to build your taxi accident claim at the scene of the accident. After you speak to the police, ask any witnesses if they would be willing to make a statement. They can do this over email.

After the accident, you should always get a medical report – even if you feel well. Keep a copy of your medical notes, as these can be used as evidence. Ask the police for access to CCTV footage. This may all sound overwhelming, and we understand that not all evidence can be gathered at once. Our expert taxi accident solicitor team can help you to gather this.

Your taxi compensation claim will start with a free consultation on the phone. Once we have all the evidence you can provide, we’ll start to build your claim. We may ask for further evidence of any financial losses such as time off work – this is all to make sure you get the largest amount of compensation possible. We also advise that you collect any witness statements as soon as possible while they are fresh in the witness’ mind.

We’ll use all of this to build your claim, looking at the physical damage you’ve suffered, the financial losses, and the long-term impacts on your life.

What evidence do I need for a taxi accident claim?

While it may not be possible to gather all evidence for your taxi claim straight away, you should gather as much as you can. We can help you to provide evidence including:

• Medical reports
• Police write-ups
• Proof of financial losses such as time off work or medical receipts
• Insurance details of drivers involved
• Photographs and CCTV footage
• A diary of events following the accident.

We will be patient with you and support you to build your taxi accident claim wherever we can. The better your evidence, the higher the compensation amount – which is why we’re here to help.

Why claim with Express Solicitors?

Our expert legal teams offer more than 20 years’ experience settling taxi accident claims just like yours on a no win, no fee basis. If you’ve been turned away by other firms or if you’re starting from scratch, we can help. We go above and beyond to make sure your taxi claim covers not just physical damage, but the long-term effects on your life.

You may also qualify for ‘interim payments’, which are early compensation payments to tide you over while you’re waiting for your settlement. We’ll listen to your story sensitively and make the claims process as simple as possible. You deserve to feel safe – get started with your taxi accident claim today at Express Solicitors.