I recently sustained substantial injuries after a speeding fire engine crashed into my car — is a compensation claim for fire engine accident possible?
Whether a compensation claim for fire engine accident is possible depends upon the circumstances surrounding your accident and injury. It should be kept in mind that although fire engines often have to travel over the speed limit when in an emergency, drivers also have a duty of care towards other motorists who should not expect to sustain an injury from a fire engine accident. However it should also be kept in mind that you may share some liability for an accident from a fire engine, and that this may affect your entitlement to make a claim. To determine whether or not you can pursue fire engine accident compensation, you are advised to contact a personal injury solicitor at the earliest opportunity to perform a full assessment of your claim.
Your compensation claim for fire engine accident may be possible if it is determined that your accident and injury could have been averted had reasonable action been taken by the driver of the fire engine. The circumstances surrounding your accident from a fire engine will have to be investigated, so if — for instance — your accident occurred because of the fire engine driving on the wrong side of the road, it will have to be determined whether the fire engine could have driven on the correct side safely. It will also be considered whether your injury from a fire engine accident was sustained because the driver of the fire engine neglected to perform their duty of care to other road users. In the situation that the driver could have taken precautions to avoid your accident — but did not — you may be entitled to claim fire engine accident compensation.
However a compensation claim for fire engine accident may not be possible if it is considered that your accident was caused due to your own negligence. This could be the scenario if your accident from a fire engine occurred due to your own lack of care if — for instance — it is considered that you did not give sufficient berth for the fire engine to pass safely without incident. If you did not receive medical treatment for your injury from a fire engine accident, this may also affect your right to receive compensation if the extent of your injury was worsened due to your own lack of action. If contributory negligence was a factor in your accident your fire engine accident compensation could still be possible, although it may be reduced to reflect your own negligence.
There are other factors which may affect your fire engine accident compensation. For instance, if determined that your accident from a fire engine could not have been averted and you were simply the victim of an unfortunate accident, you may not be entitled to receive compensation. This may not always be easy to determine after sustaining an injury from a fire engine accident, and for this reason you are advised to contact a personal injury solicitor to assess your compensation claim for fire engine accident and to help determine whether your claim is worth pursuing further.
