By Marlon Marquardt. Last updated 22nd August 2022. This guide could give you more information about how you could receive hit and run compensation for a car accident where the at-fault party has fled the scene. It will also provide you with examples of instances that could lead to a successful claim.
Hit and run compensation claims guide
If you’re involved in a car accident, the injuries that you could sustain can vary. Some of these, for example, a sprained wrist or minor head injury, are relatively minor and you could make a full recovery. However, you may still be able to claim for any impact a minor injury has had on your quality of life.
Alternatively, you might sustain some more serious injuries in a hit and run accident. Damage to your spinal cord could leave you paralysed, and if your arm is crushed this could necessitate amputation. Through making a personal injury claim, you could be compensated for the pain and suffering you have experienced as a result.
Who handles these claims?
When you make a claim for an untraced driver, this will usually be done through the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB). However, if you have evidence that someone intentionally tried to harm you with a motor vehicle and then fled the scene, you could make a claim through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA). We will look at this later on in this guide.
If you have any questions about the claims process, you can contact our advisors for free legal advice. They are available 24/7. Furthermore, they can also put you through to a personal injury solicitor from our panel that could work your case on a No Win No Fee basis. However, you are under no obligation to use our services should you contact us.
Get in touch with our team using the details below:
- Call us on 0800 408 7825
- Contact us through our website.
- Write to us with your query using the Live Chat window on your screen.
Select A Section
- What Is A Hit And Run Accident?
- Can You Claim Hit And Run Compensation Via The CICA?
- Hit And Run Statistics
- Intentional Vs Unintentional Hit And Run Accidents
- Proving Your Were The Victim Of A Hit And Run Incident
- Hit And Run Compensation Calculator
- Start Your No Win No Fee Hit And Run Compensation Claim
- Related Guides
What Is A Hit And Run Accident?
There are many types of road traffic accidents you could claim for. However, this article specifically relates to receiving hit and run compensation.
A hit and run accident is when a collision on the road occurs, and one of the road users drives off without providing their insurance details. This is against the law, regardless of whether they’re driving a car, lorry or van.
The Road Traffic Act 1988 is the piece of legislation that outlines the requirements of road users to stop at the scene of certain accidents. It states that you must stop the car if you’re involved in an accident that caused injury to a third party or damage to any property that is not to the vehicle you are driving.
What Are The Penalties For Failing To Stop At An Accident?
The Sentencing Council clarifies the penalties someone could face if they fail to stop at the scene of the accident. Two factors determine the potential seriousness of the offence: your level of culpability and the extent and severity of the damage caused.
Some of the things that indicate higher culpability include:
- Driving in circumstances where a blood, breath or urine sample would have been requested (for example, where it’s suspected that the driver was drunk or driving under the influence of drugs)
- Fleeing the scene with the knowledge that personal injury was caused
- Giving false details
- Committing the offence while they were seeking to avoid being arrested for another offence
The fines you could receive range from 25% to 700% of your weekly income. You could also:
- Have points added to your license
- Be disqualified from driving for a period of time
- Have a curfew implemented
- Be sentenced to prison.
Can You Claim Hit And Run Compensation Via The CICA?
The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) provides those who have been injured in a violent crime in England, Scotland and Wales with a way to seek compensation.
You can only claim through the CICA, if the hit and run was intentional. As such, there would need to be evidence that the act was carried out deliberately with criminal intent.
Alternatively, if the hit and run wasn’t a violent crime, you could claim through the Motor Insurers’ Bureau, which allows those involved in accidents with uninsured or unidentified drivers a way to seek compensation.
The two types of claims are different and compensation is calculated differently. For more information, get in touch with our advisers. They can help you understand which avenue you could take to start your potential claim.
Hit And Run Statistics
The Department for Transport supplies road traffic accident statistics for Great Britain. The latest figures regarding the estimated amount of road casualties, by severity, were taken from January to June 2021; we’ve illustrated them in the above graph.
There were 580 fatalities on the road in that period, as well as 10,730 serious injuries and 44,080 people who were slightly injured. However, these figures don’t show the number of these injuries caused by hit and runs.
Figures supplied by the MIB can help give an idea of how often these incidents occur. In 2018, they reported that uninsured or untraced drivers caused 26,000 personal injuries. This same data speculates that these same drivers caused almost 1 in 5 road traffic casualties.
If you want to see if you can claim, you can contact our team free of charge. They can inform you if you can claim on a no-obligation basis, meaning you’re not obliged to use our services to seek compensation just from getting in touch. Contact us using the details above at a time that works for you.
Intentional Vs Unintentional Hit And Run Accidents
If you are seeking hit and run compensation after an unintentional accident, this means that the driver did not mean to hit your vehicle. While it’s still an offence to leave the scene of an accident that has caused damage or injury, the claim would be made through the MIB in many circumstances.
However, you may be able to claim through the CICA if you have proof that the hit and run was a deliberate act as it could be considered a violent crime. If this is the case, it would be a criminal act.
In these instances, the MIB would no longer be able to handle your claim. This is because the car in question is no longer considered a vehicle in a road accident, but a weapon with which someone intended to do you harm. Because of this, intentional hit and run accidents can be made through the CICA.
Proving Your Were The Victim Of A Hit And Run Incident
Evidence is vital to any personal injury claim as you need to prove that your injury was caused by third-party negligence. Some of the evidence you could provide includes:
- CCTV footage
- Witness details so that a statement can be taken at a later date
- Photographic evidence of your injuries and the scene
It’s important to note that if you are making a claim through the CICA, the crime must have been reported to the police. The CICA ask that this be done as soon as possible; usually, this is right after the incident occurred. However, exceptions can be made if extenuating circumstances stopped you from doing so until a later point.
Hit And Run Compensation Calculator
As aforementioned, there are different instances in which you would claim through the MIB or the CICA after a hit and run has caused you harm. If you have proof the perpetrator purposefully used their vehicle as a weapon with which to hurt you, you would claim through the CICA. However, if the hit and run was merely an accident, then you may be searching for a Motor Insurer’s Bureau compensation calculator.
However, an online calculator can only be so accurate, as they may not include aspects of your claim such as special damages, which compensates for financial loss.
Whether claiming through the MIB or directly against the perpetrator, there are two potential damages you could claim compensation for. You can receive compensation for general damages – the extent of the injury and loss of amenity – and special damages. As explained in more detail below, in a CICA claim, you would claim for financial losses by claiming under special expenses.
Below are figures taken from the CICA tariff, highlighting the set amount you could receive for injuries.
If you wish to claim for multiple injuries, you will receive 100% of the compensation for the most serious injury, 30% compensation for the second most serious one and 15% compensation for the third most serious.
| Injury Type | Severity | Compensation Amount | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mental | Disabling | £6,200 | This amount is for a disabling mental injury confirmed either by prognosis of clinical psychologist or psychiatrist or by diagnosis lasting for at least 2 years upto 5 years. |
| Head | Minor | £1,500 | This amount is for a minor head injury where minimal brain damage is caused (one or more of headaches, concussion or balance impairment) lasting 28 weeks or more. |
| Eye | Permanent | £13,500 | This award is for an injury that has caused serious and permanent blurred or double vision. |
| Neck | Seriously Disabling | £11,000 | This amount is for a seriously disabling whiplash injury or strained neck where the injury is permanent. |
| Skull | Simple | £3,500 | This award is for a simple skull fracture that requires operation. |
| Hand | Loss | £33,000 | This amount is for an injury that has led to loss of, or equivalent loss of function of one non-dominant hand. |
| Back | Seriously Disabling | £11,000 | This award is for a back strain that has led to a serious and permanent disability. |
| Kidney | Loss | £55,000 | This amount is for a kidney injury that has led to the loss of or permanent and serious damage to both or only functioning kidney. |
| Knee | Loss | £1,800 | This amount is for an injury that leads to the removal of one of the knee caps. |
| Leg | Severe | £6,200 | This award is for damage to one or more of the tendon, cartilage or liagement in one leg, causing a permanent and significant disability. |
If you’re claiming through the CICA, you can also claim for certain financial losses caused by the injury through special expenses. To do this, the expense must be considered necessary and reasonable and be caused directly because of your criminal injury. Furthermore, what you are claiming for must not be available elsewhere for free.
Additionally, to claim special expenses, you need to prove that you have lost earnings or earning capacity for at least 28 weeks. Special expenses payments will be backdated from the date of the injury. However, if you’re claiming for loss of earnings, you can only claim for this from week 29.
If you want to know more about claiming compensation, please contact our advisors for a free consultation at a time that works for you.
Start Your No Win No Fee Hit And Run Compensation Claim
When you make a claim with a solicitor, you can fund their services through something called a No Win No Fee agreement. The benefits of using a No Win No Fee lawyer include:
- Not having to pay your lawyer’s fees upfront or during the claims process.
- Only having to pay their legal fees in the event that your claim is successful.
- A portion of your compensation is deducted by them in the event that your claim is won. This is a small, legally capped amount that will be taken at the end of the claim.
To know more about claiming hit and run compensation, please contact our advisors at a time that works for you. They’re available 24/7 and offer free legal advice. You are under no obligation to use our services should you call us.
However, if you like, they can put you through to our No Win No Fee personal injury lawyers whose expertise could result in you receiving compensation. Contact us using the details below.
- Call us on 0800 408 7825
- Contact us through our website.
- Write to us with your query using the Live Chat window on your screen
Related Guides
Please use the links below for more information.
Do you think you may have suffered a broken bone? If so, please refer to this NHS guidance.
Please refer to this online guidance from the NHS for more information on hip fractures.
Would you like to know more about claiming against an untraced driver? If so, visit the MIB website.
To know more about claiming road accident compensation, please refer to this page on our website.
Do you want to know more about the kind of incidents that can lead to you claiming through the CICA? If so, visit this page.
Have you suffered a herniated disc as the result of a car accident where someone fled the scene? If so, visit this page on our website to see if you can claim.
Contact our advisors today if you want to learn more about claiming for hit and run compensation.
Guide by AU
Publisher ET