I was recently travelling in a taxi when the driver braked suddenly, giving me a whiplash injury, can I claim compensation for a taxi accident?
While taxi drivers are amongst the most careful available, it is perhaps inevitable that compensation for a taxi accident will be sought from time to time. Provided you have sustained an injury for which you are not entirely to blame, you may be entitled to make a claim for your injury in a taxi accident. As a passenger in the taxi you are entitled to a duty of care from the driver and other road users, and should you sustain an injury due to the negligent actions of a third party, you may be able to make a taxi accident claim. However this could depend on a variety of circumstances and a personal injury solicitor should always first assess your claim.
It may be possible that the taxi driver in question was liable for your compensation for a taxi accident if he had been travelling too fast. It is possible that if the driver had been travelling above the speed limit, he may not have had sufficient time in which to safely stop if a hazard arose and because of which your injury in a taxi accident occurred. In this situation it is possible that a taxi accident injury claim could be made against the taxi company for which the driver works or — if the driver is self-employed — against the driver’s personal insurance policy. However it is also important to remember that your driver could also have been travelling within the speed limit and your injury could not have been averted, in which case your taxi accident claim may not be possible.
However it must also be determined whether contributory negligence was a factor in your compensation for a taxi accident. While you are not likely to have caused the accident by yourself, your compensation can be reduced to reflect your own negligence if you failed to take measures in order to reduce the extent of your taxi accident injury. This may be the situation if — for example — you exacerbated the extent of your injury in a taxi accident by failing to wear a seatbelt, making your whiplash injury worse. It may also be the case that your taxi accident claim may be challenged if you neglected to seek immediate medical attention for your injuries, resulting in their deterioration. While claiming compensation is still possible in this scenario, you may experience a reduction in the amount of compensation you can claim.
After sustaining a taxi accident injury, it is worth remembering that a two-year time limit exists in which to make a claim for your injury. While this period may seem like sufficient time in which to make a claim, it is worth remembering that a taxi accident claim may require some preparation and delays may potentially occur. By contacting a personal injury solicitor at the earliest opportunity following your accident you will have a far better likelihood of success with your claim, and that it will be made within the required time limit. Because of this, a solicitor should be consulted as soon as possible to ensure that you receive your full entitlement for compensation for a taxi accident.
