Taxi Injury Compensation
Introduction to Taxi Injury Compensation
Taxi injury compensation exists because whenever you take a taxi journey you are placing your health and safety in the hands of the taxi driver. If you suffer an injury as a result of an accident such as a car crash, are injured when getting in or out of the cab, or even if you are knocked down in the street by a taxi cab, you could be entitled to claim taxi injury compensation.
It is the taxi driver´s responsibility to ensure that the safety of his passengers is never in question. While the vast majority of taxi journeys pass without incident, a taxi driver may be involved in an accident which causes an injury to his passengers, and in such cases a taxi injury compensation claim may be possible.
Taxi drivers have motor insurance as any driver; however they tend to have considerably more due to the length of time they spend on the road and for the additional liability from carrying passengers. With accidents often resulting in taxi injury compensation claims from customers, their level of cover needs to be higher than standard drivers.
Taxi drivers may be the brunt of many a commuters’ ire at times; however taxi drivers are actually highly experienced drivers, with considerable road experience. However long working hours, late nights and early starts can easily lead to fatigue, and that makes accidents more likely to happen.
Liability in a Taxi Injury Compensation Claim
When involved in a road traffic accident as a passenger in a taxi, liability for injuries will depend on which party or parties were at fault. When travelling in a taxi cab which is involved in a road traffic accident, unless the taxi driver was deemed to be at fault, it will be the third party driver who is liable to pay damages, and will be the person against which taxi injury compensation is claimed.
Injuries sustained which were the direct result of the negligence of the taxi driver will result in taxi injury compensation being claimed against the taxi driver, and not the taxi company for which he or she works.
Private hire taxis tend to be standard cars and seatbelts are more frequently worn by passengers. Passengers are less likely to wear a seatbelt when travelling in a Hackney carriage such as a traditional black London cab, but the same laws apply. No matter what type of taxi you take, seatbelts must be worn whether in the front or the back of the cab. However if you have been injured in a taxi as a passenger, even though you may not have been wearing a seatbelt, you could still be entitled to claim taxi injury compensation. In these cases, since you will undoubtedly be deemed to be negligent with regards to your own personal safety, your taxi injury compensation settlement will be less than if you had buckled up.
Common Taxi Injury Compensation Claims
- Compensation for injuries sustained in collision
- A car crash involving a taxi
- Pedestrians injured by a taxi
- Injuries sustained when a taxi pulls away before passengers have fully disembarked
- Injuries sustained due to reckless driving by the taxi driver
What to Do if You Have Been Injured When Taking a Taxi
Try to get the private vehicle hire license number or badge number of the taxi driver, together with the registration number of the taxi. Any taxi injury compensation claim will also require the details of the taxi driver´s insurance company and policy number to be recorded.
As with any road traffic accident, you should take down the registration numbers of any drivers involved in an accident, together with the names, addresses and the contact details of any witnesses to the accident. Wait at the scene of the accident for the police to arrive and document any injuries sustained in the police report. If possible you should take photographs of any hazards which led to the accident, or make a sketch of the accident from memory at the earliest opportunity.
The main priority following an accident is your health, so you should get any injuries checked by a doctor even if they only seem minor. Internal injuries may have been sustained, and even minor injuries can deteriorate into a more serious condition. Your medical record will be used by a taxi injury compensation solicitor when processing your claim.
A taxi driver may try to withhold his information, as some unscrupulous taxi drivers may try to prevent an increase in insurance premiums following a taxi injury compensation claim. Recording these details will certainly help when making a taxi injury compensation claim, but it should not place you in harm’s way. If you are unable to get the driver’s badge number, you can contact the taxi company directly for information, or in the case of a black cab flagged on the street, you can contact the Public Carriage Office who keeps a record of all registered and licensed drivers and their vehicles.
Speak with a Specialist Taxi Injury Compensation Solicitor
Taxi injury compensation claims can be more complicated than other road traffic accident claims, because there are often two third parties involved; the driver of the taxi and the other party involved in a crash. It is possible that a crash was the fault of neither driver, and may be because of negligence of the local authority for poor road maintenance, or a pedestrian stepping out into the road. With complicated claims such as these, it is vital that a taxi injury compensation solicitor is consulted.
