£1,850 for Bus Accident Claim in Essex

Injury Compensation for Essex Bus Passenger

We recently acted for 54 year old Miss B, a bus passenger from Essex. While she was sat on the bus outside Southend railway station, minding her own business, it collided with a car. It was not entirely clear to our client what had happened. It appeared that the car had tried to undertake the bus, but from where our client was sat she could not be sure of the exact circumstances.

Miss B instructed us to investigate the accident and to pursue a claim for damages. This would not necessarily be entirely straight forward. As an innocent passenger the accident was clearly not our client’s fault – liability must rest with either the bus driver or the car driver. However, we were lacking enough information to enable us to say who would likely be to blame. Moreover, although Miss B was able to provide full details for the bus, she was not in possession of details for the car.

We initially sent details of our client’s claim to the bus company, but they denied liability. They alleged that the car had pulled suddenly in front of the bus as it moved away from a red light. The bus company was able to provide registration and insurance details for the car, but they did not have the name of the driver, which we needed in order to pursue a claim against them. Therefore, we carried out a search with the DVLA, with the results taking a long time to arrive.

Once the DVLA had identified the keeper of the car, we were able to submit a claim to the relevant insurers. The insurers responded to say that their car driver would be alleging that the accident was the bus driver’s fault.

Notwithstanding this disagreement about liability between the insurers, we were happy to proceed with the claim. As we said, Miss B was clearly innocent and it was very likely that a court would ultimately find her able to recover damages from one or both of the drivers. Therefore, we set about collecting medical evidence.

Thankfully our client had suffered relatively modest injuries, so we were able to instruct a GP to prepare a report. Miss B sustained a strain to her lower back and neck, with symptoms resolving in around two months, along with some travel anxiety. She incurred the cost of some taxi journeys to medical appointments. A pre-existing disability prevented our client from working already, but as a result of this accident she required assistance from her partner with washing, dressing, cooking and shopping for around six weeks.

We sent the medical report and details of our client’s losses to both insurers and invited them to settle. The insurer for the car driver could evidently see that our client was likely to succeed, as they agreed to settle her claim. They made an initial offer of £1,510 which, after some brief negotiation, we persuaded them to increase to £1,850, which the client was very happy with.

On the face of it, this claim appeared straight forward (with our client being an innocent bus passenger). However, it was slightly delayed by the current backlog of requests at the DVLA and was complicated by both potential defendants blaming each other. Nevertheless, we are glad that we were ultimately able to bring the matter to a conclusion.

Despite the delay, Mrs B was very happy with the result we obtained for her. It is also worth noting that, as a bus passenger, under new rules which apply to road traffic accidents, this client would be classed as a “vulnerable road user”, so the new limitations on costs and compensation would not apply to someone like this.

We can help

If you, a family member or friend has suffered an injury whilst travelling as a passenger in a bus, you should speak to one of our bus accident lawyers and we will help you start claiming the compensation you deserve.

Our qualified Personal Injury Solicitors will manage the claim in its entirety, ensuring you have the optimum chance of a successful outcome and looking to secure you the maximum compensation amount that you and your family are entitled to.

As well as being recognised for our skills in handling all manner of Personal Injury Claims, PSR Solicitors is also renowned for its excellence in client care, boasting LEXCEL accreditation from the Law Society.

With six offices throughout North Wales and Cheshire, you can contact us confident in the knowledge that one of our team of highly-adept Law Society accredited Personal Injury Lawyers in Wales and Accident Claim Specialists in Cheshire will take care of everything for you on a No Win No Fee Injury Claim basis, meaning you won’t have any legal fees to pay in the unlikely event that your claim is unsuccessful.