I was planning on making a claim for a bus accident — however the insurance company of the bus operator offered me €3,000 compensation. Is this fair?
The amount of compensation you will be entitled to claim for a bus accident will depend entirely upon the unique circumstances surrounding your accident and injury. For this reason no two bus accident compensation amounts will be exactly alike, and it is possible that €3,000 is enough compensation or it is completely inadequate. Without specific details of your accident, injury and personal background it is difficult to determine whether this bus accident settlement is fair. For this reason, you should consult a personal injury solicitor at the earliest opportunity to determine the amount you can claim following your injury in a bus accident. This will include the following:-
- Your claim for a bus accident will begin with general damages for the injuries you have sustained, considering the nature of your injuries, their severity and impact that they will have upon your life. This figure will then be adjusted to consider your age, gender and general state of health prior to your accident, which means a young healthy person will receive more bus accident settlement than an elderly smoker, even for the same injury.
- Special damages in your bus accident compensation will take into account the financial losses you have incurred due to your accident and injury, and aim to return your finances to as though your injury never occurred. This is done by compensating for any quantifiable expenses you have incurred due to your injury in a bus accident, as well as paying for any lost income due to being unable to work.
- Your claim for a bus accident will include compensation for loss of amenity, which considers any deterioration you have suffered in your quality of life since your injury. This is done by considering whether your injury in a bus accident has prevented you from performing everyday tasks — such as picking up your children from school — or from enjoying social and leisure activities which would have formed part of your normal schedule, meaning you can claim compensation for being unable to — for example — play golf.
- Psychological damage will also be considered in your bus accident compensation to consider the emotional trauma you suffered as a result of your accident. This must first be verified by a qualified psychiatrist before being included in your bus accident settlement and may have been sustained because of the nature of the accident itself or because of depression and anxiety while in recovery.
By assessing these factors, your solicitor can determine whether €3,000 is fair bus accident compensation. It should be remembered that such offers of compensation are frequently made following an injury in a bus accident, and are often made with the hope that an offer is accepted which is far below the true value of the claim. The risk of being undercompensated is high and should a bus accident settlement be accepted which is insufficient, you will be unable to renegotiate. For this reason, a personal injury solicitor should always first assess a claim for a bus accident at the earliest possible opportunity.
