HGV Accident Claims – How To Get Injury Compensation

By Ian Morris | Updated December 12th, 2022

16 questions have been answered on this subject, why not ask your own?

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If an accident with a lorry or other type of HGV led to you or someone you know being injured, then you are entitled to claim compensation. We work on a no win no fee basis, meaning there’s no financial risk to you if you don’t win your claim.

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The huge weight of a fully loaded lorry or any other HGV (Heavy Goods Vehicle) represents a serious danger to those travelling on the road when there is a collision. The severity of injuries can be far worse than simply whiplash or soft tissue damage. Commonly, we see bone fractures, psychological trauma and head injuries forming the central point of an HGV accident claim. Many claimants suffer limited mobility and independence, and are unable to work or maintain their pre-accident day-to-day lifestyle.

When can you make an HGV accident claim?

When someone is injured a road traffic accident or any other incident involving an HGV, the injured party can look to pursue a claim for compensation. As with all claims, you must allege negligence (responsibility) against someone else, as it is not possible to claim compensation if the injured party was at fault and is responsible for their own injuries.

Common scenarios leading to lorry and HGV accident compensation claims include:

  • A lorry or HGV colliding with the rear of a vehicle at a junction
  • Poorly maintained vehicles being unfit for use
  • HGV drivers failing to take sufficient rests (as required by law) and causing collisions due to fatigue
  • A driver losing control and leaving the highway

In all cases, someone making a compensation claim is doing so because they have been injured as a result of someone else’s mistake or negligence.

HGV operators and drivers that fail to ensure safety, compliance with relevant vehicle maintenance, adequate driver training and strict adherence to safety regulations are likely to be held liable should any accidents involving their vehicles lead to injuries.

This would also apply to any HGV driver injured by their own vehicle, with such claims falling under an accident at work.

Driver responsibilities

Drivers, owners and operators have strict responsibilities regarding the driving and maintenance of the vehicles. Drivers must hold a specific goods vehicle driving license and the standard of their driving is subject to regular inspections.

Lorries and other HGVs are subject to being fitted with tachographs – a device that automatically records its speed and distance, together with the driver’s activity. When involved in a road traffic accident, it is likely that the tachograph will be checked to show the speed and distance travelled by the driver. This can indicate whether a driver has taken sufficient rest stops and driven safely.

How to claim successfully

HGV accident claims are made in the same way as when two car drivers have an accident and in that respect, pursuing a claim is a fairly straightforward matter. Lorry and HGV operators will be liable to compensate any persons that are injured in a road traffic accident that involves their vehicle if they are at fault for the accident or cause of the injury.

Compensation claims will succeed if the claimant can demonstrate that the driver or operator was responsible for causing the accident through negligent driving, lack of maintenance or failing to adhere to regulations covering HGV driver working hours. If this can be shown, they will be liable to compensate the injured person.

As with all road traffic accident compensation claims, it is vital that the claimant has the relevant information of the parties involved in the accident. Therefore, anyone injured should record the following information. If you haven’t already, don’t worry, we can help you to do so.

  • Details of drivers involved (Lorry/HGV driver details) and those of the 3rd party vehicle driver
  • Vehicle registration details for all vehicles involved
  • Accident location (street name/road number etc) and date of accident
  • Details of any witnesses
  • Your details and involvement in the accident should be recorded with the lorry or HGV company that owns and operates the vehicle that caused the collision

In most cases, when a qualified lorry or HGV driver is involved in a collision, they will ensure that they have properly recorded the details listed above, but it is wise to ensure that you also take a record.

Why claim Lorry/HGV accident compensation?

There are many compelling reasons for pursuing an HGV accident compensation claim, and at Direct2Compensation we know how to go about ensuring that your rights are protected.

All our claims are made on a no win no fee basis so you will never be charged if your claim does not succeed. If successful, your claim will lead to a financial settlement being made to you, with the value of your claim including any lost income and incurred costs as well as a settlement value for the injuries you have suffered and medical treatment that has been required.

Claiming compensation can help ease some of the problems caused by the injuries that have been sustained. As well as claiming a financial compensation settlement, claiming compensation with Direct2Compensation and our expert solicitors can also help you in other ways.

  • Making a lorry and HGV accident compensation claim is a legal right, and if successful will fairly compensate the injured party for injuries that were not their fault.
  • It can release funds from the liable party to pay for private medical treatment and rehabilitation therapies to speed the recovery process of the injured party.
  • A successful claim settlement will make up for lost income now and in the future if the injuries that are being claimed for have prevented you from working, either temporarily or permanently.

Specialist rehabilitation therapies

When your compensation claim is active and your specialist solicitor has had sufficient liaisons with the 3rd party that they have been able to obtain an admission of liability (from the insurers that provide the vehicle insurance for the liable party), your claim will succeed. It is at this point, that your solicitor can look to obtain specialist rehabilitation therapy if it is deemed relevant to your injuries.

Lorry or HGV accident compensation claims may involve really serious injuries or death, but whether the injuries are life changing or more short-term, it could be that specialist rehabilitation therapies could aid or boost recovery. If your solicitor is advised that private specialist treatments could assist you, they will look to organise them at the expense of the third party dealing with your claim. Further information on this will be available from your solicitor once your claim has been active for a sufficient amount of time.

How Direct2Compensation can help

If you’ve been injured in a lorry or HGV accident, is important to make sure that the details of your accident have been recorded properly and with the right people. In most cases, the first point of call would be to make yourself and injury symptoms known to the driver of the lorry or HGV that collided with you. The injured person should also report the accident to their own vehicle insurers if they were driving a car at the time of the collision, or contact the operator that owns the vehicle that caused the collision. As previously stated, medical attention should sought for any injuries that have been sustained in the accident.

If you haven’t completed these steps already, we can help you to do so and advise you as to what you need to do.

Direct2Compensation work with some of the best personal injury compensation solicitors in the UK. With our easy to understand claims process and ability to handle your claim quickly, simply and transparently, there are many reasons that make us the right choice when it comes to starting your compensation claim.

If you have suffered an injury and want to know if you can make a claim for compensation, contact us today. You can start your claim online or , and one of our expert team will be in touch to offer help. Alternatively, call us on 01225 430285.

16 questions have been answered on this subject, why not ask your own?

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    Questions

    Read on for questions and advice about claiming, plus hgv claim examples...

    Hi, I have recently joined a haulage company as a hgv driver. 3 weeks into my job the lorry door burst open and hit me in the abdominal area! As a result I was rushed to hospital and treated for a suspected bruised pancreas. I was off work for 2 weeks and in and out of hospital for 8 days. Am I eligible for any claim without a long term injury? And also with same company after returning to work my lorry went on fire and burst into flames as I was driving down the road, and although thankfully I managed to escape I lost a lot of possessions, am I able to claim for these things?

    Ian Morris

    Whether you have worked for an employer for 10 minutes or 10 years, your rights to pursue a claim for compensation if negligence can be identified remain the same. With regards to the pancreas injury you sustained, that is sufficiently serious to warrant a claim.
    With the other issue and lost possessions, you can claim for replacement/repair value of the items – but that will need to be done with the insurance claim for the damage or loss of the vehicle, so speak to your employers regarding that.

    Reply

    I was involved in a motorway accident almost 2 years ago when I was hit by a large wagon owned by a Polish haulage company. My solicitor tried to negotiate settlement with them via email, in May but despite the fact they had admitted liability almost 2 years ago, she has never received a response from them with regard to settlement and nothing at all has happened since May. She is dealing with a UK broker who apparently acts on behalf of the foreign insurers. I also think her estimate of my injuries and special damages is extremely low and she didn’t seek a barristers opinion on quantum. She states her current costs are up to £7,500 and anticipates they will reach £15,000 which is more than the total value of my claim.

    Ian Morris

    As you would appreciate, when claiming against a foreign defendant, matters are somewhat complicated. However, the process should still be successful. If you are concerned about your Solicitors handling of the claim, you should make a formal complaint to their firm.

    Reply

    I was hit by a HGV at the rear on the M6 motorway, this sent me into a uncontrollable spin and ended up crashed into the barrier facing the wrong way, my vehicle a total right off……the HGV didnt stop. Police were involved and put it down to blindside, the third party are now disputing liability in full ! the incident was caught on dashcam from a vehicle travelling behind, it clearly shows the HGV moving into my lane, brake suddenly and move back to the lane where he came from . I have photos of the paint from the HGV on the rear of my vehicle …..how can this be disputed ?

    Ian Morris

    Whilst it is clearly frustrating and worrying that liability is being disputed by the 3rd party, it doesn’t necessarily follow that their denial will be the end of it.

    If you have a Solicitor acting for you in a claim for personal injury compensation, they will use whatever supporting evidence you have to build a robust rebuttal of any denial or defence raised by the 3rd party. The dash cam footage that you mention that shows the incident is likely to be key to helping to decide whether the accident can be attributed to the negligence of the HGV driver or not and that will of course have a strong bearing on the outcome of any claim.

    Reply

    Hi I had a RTA September 18 where a lorry wrote my car off. Since the accident I’ve had physio for hip pain which now goes into my lower back and down to my knee. I previously had hip pain in pregnancy 7 years ago which got better but, after the accident the pain has returned. Doctor now thinks I have sciatica and sent me for an X-ray on my hip which shows wear and tear. My claim went to MIB as it was a foreign driver who didn’t report the accident to his insurance. However the insurance company has now admitted full liability and awarded me £5225 (without looking at my medical records) which I thought fine and accepted a few days ago but, upon speaking to family etc, they think I’ve been short changed as my medical records weren’t looked at. Can you give me your opinion? I haven’t been paid out (although I agreed the amount was fine) I’ve been living with this pain now for over a year that affects my day to day duties of being a mum with two young kids. It restricts me from exercising and the pain wakes me at night. Have I made a wrong decision in accepting that offer?

    Ian Morris

    As you will appreciate, it is very hard for us to advise without having full understanding of the claim and having seen the medical information and this is somewhat a double edged sword.

    On the one hand, you are/were happy with the valuation and have ‘accepted’ the settlement offer (although you probably could now decline it if you act quickly). This offer has been made without medical evidence.

    On the other hand, providing medical evidence could go in your favour or it could count against you. Wear and tear is something that is often found in scans and even though a claimant may have been living pain free and without knowledge of a condition before an accident, if a scan finds wear and tear a report will simply state that the accident has sped up the onset of symptoms by a matter of months or a few years and the value of a claim will be considerably less than a claimant had expected.

    If you have represented yourself with the MIB claim, you could discuss this with the claims handler and ask them whether you can reject the offer and seek a review based on medical evidence. Whilst there is a prospect that you could achieve a higher settlement value, there is a risk that medical evidence may be unsupportive in apportioning the cause of ALL of your symptoms to the HGV and it may damage your claim. We are not saying that would definitely happen – indeed, it may not, but you do need to be aware of the risks.

    Angela

    Thanks for getting back to me. I’ll proceed with the claim as it stands now. I appreciate your time to explain this to me.

    Ian Morris

    You are welcome. Best of luck with your claim and ongoing recovery!

    Reply

    If I was hit by a lorry door walking home, as it wasn’t locked correctly could I claim, I haven’t got any injures just wind knocked out of me?

    Ian Morris

    As you were not injured, you would not have a valid claim.

    Reply

    I drive an articulated HGV for a big company. In November I hit a boulder whilst turning a corner and cracked the driver step. The accident was logged and reported as employer protocol states. Over the coming weeks the crack got worse and worse it was reported in my daily check sheets at the start of every shift and also by the driver who follows on from me with his check sheets. My manger took photos of the step 2 days before my accident (as I’m sub contracted out I do not report direct to transport)

    In January the step broke whilst I was getting in to the cab, causing me to knock/bang my knee with force. I have been off ever since and I’ve had to have knee cartilage surgery. I will be still off work for another couple of months. The accident was also recorded on cctv which are located inside cab do you think I could claim for injury and loss of earnings?

    Ian Morris

    You can certainly make a claim for compensation for your injury and loss of income as a result of the broken step on your cab. You describe a clear breach of employer responsibility to minimise the risk of injuries in the workplace. You have followed protocol and reported a fault with the vehicle and done so repeatedly. That the employer has failed to remove the vehicle from use until the fault was repaired indicates that they will face an uphill battle to avoid having to admit liability in this particular claim.

    We would be very happy to assist you with this matter and invite you to call us on 01225430285 or to use the ‘start a claim’ page of our website so that we can discuss your claim and explain how we can help you. We work on a No Win No Fee basis and you would pay nothing at all if our Solicitors were unable to succeed with your claim. Whilst my initial view is that you would be likely to succeed, it is important that you know that you will not face any liability for costs should the claim not go as you would hope. If you were to succeed, you would be entitled to compensation for the injury and importantly, able to recover your loss of income since the accident and until you return to work.

    Reply

    I have a question about a claim. I am a contractor truck driver. About 4 months ago I had a seizure while driving the truck and wrecked it. I was taken to hospital, but no injuries were found. Am i able to sue the owner of the truck?

    Ian Morris

    UK law would not offer you any such right to pursue a claim against the owner or insurers of the vehicle in which you crashed as the cause of the accident was not due to their negligence, but sadly due to an unfortunate episode of ill health suffered by you.

    Reply
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