Are you wondering, ‘How much compensation for public transport accidents?’ We can help. Suffering an injury while using public transportation, such as a bus or train, can be a life-changing event. If the accident leading to your injury wasn’t your fault, seeing if you can make a compensation claim is more than worthwhile. Our guide contains information such as who can claim, time limits, evidence, and how the claims process works.
Moreover, you can claim with our expert panel of public transport accident solicitors on a No Win No Fee basis. To see if you are eligible to pursue a claim, choose your preferred way of contacting us below. One of our highly experienced advisors will let you know if you can claim public transport injury compensation.
- Click on the live chat.
- Use the online contact form.
- Call via 0800 408 7826.
Jump To A Section
- How Much Compensation For Public Transport Accidents Could Be Awarded?
- How Is Compensation Calculated In Public Transport Accident Claims?
- What Is The Public Transport Accident Claim Eligibility?
- What Evidence Do I Need To Prove My Public Transport Accident Claim
- Is There A Time Limit In Which You Need To Start My Claim?
- No Win No Fee Public Transport Accident Claims
- Learn More
How Much Compensation For Public Transport Accidents Could Be Awarded?
How much compensation for public transport accidents that could be awarded will vary between cases. According to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG), you could receive between £111,150 and £196,450 for severe back injuries after a public transport accident. The JCG is a legal document that contains possible general damages compensation figures. However, if your claim is made through the whiplash reforms, you could be awarded a tariff amount of up to £4,345 per the Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021.
The figures in the table below are all taken from the JCG, aside from the first entry. We’ve also included 2 examples of the tariffs found in the Whiplash Injury Regulations at the bottom of the table.
| TYPE OF INJURY | SEVERITY | GUIDELINE COMPENSATION | NOTES |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multiple Severe Injuries | Severe | Up to £500,000+ | Several injuries along with special damages like medical treatment or lost income. |
| Back Injuries | Severe (i) | £111,150 to £196,450 | Damage to the spinal cord and nerve roots leading to severe disability. |
| Severe (ii) | £90,510 to £107,910 | Nerve root damage, impaired mobility, bladder, and bowel function. | |
| Neck Injuries | Severe (i) | In the region of £181,020 | Incomplete paraplegia or permanent spastic quadriparesis. |
| Severe (ii) | £80,240 to £159,770 | Serious damage to cervical spine discs or permanent brachial plexus damage. | |
| Pelvis and Hips Injuries | Severe (i) | £95,680 to £159,770 | Severe fractures to the pelvis leading to disability and bladder and bowel issues. |
| Severe (ii) | £75,550 to £95,680 | As above but injuries a little less severe, usually a fracture dislocation of the pelvis. | |
| Knee Injuries | Severe (i) | £85,100 to £117,410 | Development of osteoarthritis and disruption of the joint. |
| Severe (ii) | £63,610 to £85,100 | Leg fracture extending into the knee joint impairing movement. | |
| Ankle Injuries | Very Severe | £61,090 to £85,070 | Transmalleolar fracture of the ankle and soft tissue damage, potential for below-knee amputation. |
| Whiplash Injury Regulations Tariff | With minor psychological damage | £4,345 | Symptoms of whiplash and a minor psychological injury last between 18-24 months. |
| Without psychological damage | £4,215 | Symptoms of whiplash lasting between 18-24 months. |
You should use this table as a guide only. If you want to know how much compensation for public transport accidents you could be awarded overall, get in touch with our advisors, who can provide you with a claim estimate.
How Is Compensation Calculated In Public Transport Accident Claims?
Compensation in public transport accident claims will be considered under 2 heads of loss: general and special damages.
General damages are awarded to cover:
- Suffering and pain.
- Emotional distress, including depression and anxiety.
- How an accident and your injuries have impacted your everyday life.
The amount of compensation you will receive for your public transport injuries will vary – for example, a severe injury that forces you to stop working is likely to net a higher compensation bracket. As well as general damages compensation, most personal injury claims include special damages, which you can read more about in the next section.
Can Financial Losses Be Factored Into Compensation?
Special damages compensation is what covers financial losses caused by an accident on public transport. For example:
- Lost earnings from having to leave work temporarily or permanently.
- Medical costs, such as private treatment or surgery.
- Prescriptions for medication.
- Transport costs for relevant trips.
Evidence is required when claiming personal injury compensation. Bank statements, payslips, and receipts will all help to show financial losses.
How Do The Whiplash Reforms Impact Public Transport Accident Claims?
Depending on the circumstances of your claim, it might be affected by the Whiplash Reform Programme. This Programme introduced a new way to claim for certain road traffic accidents that occurred in England and Wales.
For example, if you suffer a minor injury, such as broken ribs, because the bus you were riding on was crashed into by a lorry, your claim may be made through the Whiplash Reforms. However, if you suffer a broken rib because a metal pole was sticking up without any rubber or foam to lessen impacts, and the bus was not involved in a road traffic accident, then your claim would be made in the traditional manner.
Other requirements to claim through the Reforms are being aged 18 or older at the time of the accident and the value of your injuries must not exceed £5,000. Furthermore, you must have been the driver or a passenger in a motor vehicle, including buses.
Additionally, whiplash injuries are valued using a tariff found in the Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021. We provided examples in the table in the previous section. Furthermore, if the value of your injuries exceeds £5,000 but you suffer whiplash in a road traffic accident, then your whiplash will still be valued using these tariffs.
Please speak to an advisor about the Whiplash Reforms and to find out if they might affect your claim.
What Are Interim Payments
An interim payment is given in advance to a claimant and is taken from the total compensation payout. It is usually awarded if a claimant has severe injuries and has to make a relevant payment sum before the claim is settled.
Interim payments are granted if it can be proven that the defendant (who is being claimed against) admits liability or your case is likely to have a successful outcome. Our advisors can tell you more about interim payments and how compensation for personal injury claims works.
What Is The Public Transport Accident Claim Eligibility?
The eligibility criteria for any personal injury claim are:
- You were owed a duty of care (this is a legal obligation owed from one party to another to protect the other party’s relative safety).
- The liable party breached this duty.
- You suffered injuries due to this breach.
The legislation that protects your reasonable safety will vary depending on where the accident occurred, in addition to how. For example, if you trip over a hazard on a bus, the duty of care would be owed under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957. However, if you fall over because a lorry rear-ended the bus you were travelling on, the duty of care would be different, as would the liable party.
Under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957, the occupier of a space must take steps to ensure the reasonable safety of those using that space. This applies to all public transportation, including buses, ferries and trains. If injured due to hazards found on public transport, such as faulty doors on a train trapping your fingers, the occupier would be the liable party.
However, if you are injured in a road traffic accident, the liable party may be different. Whilst using the roads, everyone owes each other a duty of care to navigate in a safe manner that prevents injuries and harm to others using the roads. To comply with this, anyone on the roads must adhere to the Road Traffic Act 1988 and the Highway Code. So, if you are injured in a road traffic accident, the liable party may be the bus or taxi driver, or it may be the other road user.
Employees Of Public Transport Companies
Furthermore, if you are an employee of a public transportation company, your employer owes you a duty of care to take reasonable and practicable steps to ensure your reasonable safety as set out in the Health and Safety at Work Etc. Act 1974. If you are injured while carrying out your work duties because your employer did not take reasonable and practicable steps, you could claim against them. For example, if your seatbelt in the bus you were assigned to drive is faulty and you bang your head while braking suddenly.
The examples below are just some ways that a public transportation company or other road users could cause injuries.
Bus Accidents
Buses run without incident every day, but bus accidents can occur due to driver or company negligence. You can find some examples of when to make a bus accident compensation claim below.
- You are on a bus when the bus driver becomes distracted and rear-ends another vehicle, causing you to develop whiplash that is ongoing for several months.
- You are at a bus stop when the bus suddenly swerves and hits you, causing you to suffer serious injuries that mean you cannot work for over a year.
Other road users may also cause bus accidents. For example, a car pulls out at a junction causing the bus to slam on the brakes, or a lorry crashes into the side of the bus, causing severe injuries.
Train Or Metro Accidents
Trains run smoothly on the whole, but sometimes an accident can occur due to a breached duty of care. For example:
- You are on a train that has an extremely wet floor. This floor has not been wiped dry in-between trips, causing you to slip and hurt your head when you land on the train floor.
- You are going through a ticket barrier at a metro station when the barrier closes on you. You are unable to free yourself from the barrier without assistance, leading to a minor soft tissue injury.
Taxi Road Traffic Accidents
Taxi road accidents can occur in a variety of ways, such as the ones below.
- Your taxi driver speeds through a red light and crashes into another car, leading to whiplash and severe anxiety relating to cars.
- Your seatbelt is broken in a taxi, causing your body to jolt forward and a minor head injury when the taxi driver brakes too fast.
As with bus accidents, taxi accidents can also be caused by other road users. For example, another driver may ignore the road markings crashing into the taxi you are travelling in.
Ferry Or Boat Accidents
Below are some situations in which injuries can happen due to a breach of the occupier’s duties on a boat of ferry.
- You are on a boat when the sea turns choppy. While you have a seatbelt, it is not secured properly, leading you to fall out of your seat on the moving boat and suffer a head injury.
- You are on a boat with recently cleaned toilets, but no sign has been put out to indicate a wet floor. When you go down the stairs to the toilet, you slip on the floor and break your hand.
The ferry or boat operator owes employees as well as passengers a duty of care to ensure their reasonable safety as they travel.
If you have experienced a public transport accident that wasn’t your fault, our advisors can let you know if you’re eligible to claim. Reach out via phone, live chat, or via our online form.
What Evidence Do I Need To Prove My Public Transport Accident Claim
Evidence will help to prove your account of the accident. It also means you have a better chance of a successful claim. You can find some of our evidence recommendations below.
- CCTV footage of the accident. Most public transport companies have cameras on their vehicles, though you will have to request this footage within 30 days in the majority of cases.
- The contact details of any witnesses who saw what happened and who are willing to provide a statement at a later date.
- Videos and photographs of the place where the accident happened and of your injuries.
- Your medical records. Sometimes, your assigned solicitor will arrange for an independent medical assessment to show the extent of your injuries, which can also be used as evidence.
- Correspondence between yourself and the public transport company.
If you would like more information regarding evidence, call our advisors for a no obligation telephone consultation or choose another of our contact methods to get started.
Is There A Time Limit In Which You Need To Start My Claim?
Yes. Under the Limitation Act 1980, a 3-year time limit applies to all personal injury claims. This limit generally begins on the day the accident occurred. There are 2 exceptions where the 3-year limit does not apply:
- When the person claiming is under 18. Minors are unable to claim by themselves, though they can be represented by a litigation friend. However, if they turn 18 without a claim having been made, then they have 3 years from that date to start the process.
- When the person claiming lacks mental capacity to manage a claim. No time limit is relevant in this case. However, if this capacity is recovered, then they will have 3 years from that date to start a claim if one was not made on their behalf.
Our advisors can let you know whether you’re within the time limit to claim as well as whether any exceptions are relevant to your case.
No Win No Fee Public Transport Accident Claims
Our panel of solicitors have decades of collective experience securing public transport accident compensation. Best of all, you can instruct a solicitor from our panel to work on a No Win No Fee basis via a Conditional Fee Agreement.
A No Win No Fee agreement removes some of the financial stress associated with having a solicitor’s support, as you don’t have to pay anything before or during your claim for the work they provide. Instead:
- You pay a fee to your solicitor (known as a success fee) if you claim compensation successfully.
- This fee has a legal maximum of 25%.
If your claim is unsuccessful for any reason, you do not pay this fee.
A solicitor from our panel can help you in numerous ways, including:
- Advising you on the claims process and handling aspects of it, such as sending the Letter of Claim.
- Ensure that your claim is correctly valued with all damages considered.
- Negotiate with the defendant’s insurer to get an appropriate settlement.
- Connecting you with any relevant specialists that you may not have access to otherwise, such as a physical therapist.
- Gathering evidence and collecting witness statements.
- And much more.
Contact Us
Pick your preferred contact method to obtain free advice from our advisors. They can assess whether your case is eligible and if it is and you wish to find out if you could move forward with a claim, they can connect you to a solicitor from our panel.
- Click on the live chat.
- Use the online contact form.
- Call via 0800 408 7826.
Learn More
We’ve included some more of our guides below.
- Find out how to claim for psychological damage.
- See how to claim for multiple injuries.
- Find out how to use our compensation calculator.
- Abroad Accident and Illness Claims – Amounts and Payouts
The links below will take you to external sources with related information.
- Find local registered bus services via GOV.UK.
- See how to find a train company via NATIONALRAIL.CO.UK.
- See if you’re entitled to Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) while off work via GOV.UK.
Thank you for reading our guide about how much compensation for public transport accidents you could receive when claiming.
