I wish to make a claim for lorry accident compensation although I have been warned of contributory negligence — what does this mean?
Your claim for lorry accident compensation may be possible if you have suffered an injury which was caused by third party negligence — however if contributory negligence has been an issue in your accident, this may complicate your claim. Each driver on the road has a duty of care towards other road users, and should an injury from a lorry accident be sustained because of the lorry driver’s negligence they may be entitled to claim compensation. However even if you have been the victim of an accident caused by a lorry for which you are not primarily to blame, you could still be held negligent in other manners. If you believe your compensation for a lorry accident could be affected by contributory negligence, you are strongly advised to contact a personal injury solicitor at the earliest opportunity.
Contributory negligence can affect a claim for lorry accident compensation in a number of ways. For instance, it may be the situation that you contributed to the extent of your injury from a lorry accident as a result of speeding, which could be seen as contributory negligence on your behalf. You do not necessarily need to have caused the accident in question — however it may be determined that your accident caused by a lorry was more severe because you were breaking the speed limit. You may be entitled to receive some compensation for a lorry accident, but this can be reduced to reflect your own liability.
In some situations, a claim for lorry accident compensation could be affected by contributory negligence with consideration to the fact that more than one driver was liable for your accident. Say — for example — you had stopped at traffic lights and your accident caused by a lorry occurred after the lorry driver caused a rear-end collision. Contributory negligence may be an issue if another driver had crashed into the lorry as they were travelling too fast, and this made your injury from a lorry accident worse. In this situation, contributory negligence would refer to the fact that both the lorry driver and the second driver would be considered to be negligent in your injury, and liability for your injury and compensation for a lorry accident will be divided between the two drivers.
If your injury from a lorry accident was caused by contributory negligence, this may complicate your claim. Whether your contributory negligence was a result of your own carelessness or due to multiple drivers, it is likely that the insurance companies involved will attempt to reassign liability for your accident caused by a lorry. For this reason, you are advised to seek compensation for a lorry accident with the assistance of a personal injury solicitor, who can advise on which party is liable for your injuries and whether your claim is worth pursuing. As a claim for lorry accident compensation may take some time to resolve, you are advised to contact a personal injury solicitor at the earliest opportunity.
