Winston Solicitors: accident compensation claims

ROAD TRAFFIC ACCIDENT CLAIMS

The information provided on this website is not legal or medical advice which should only be obtained personally from a qualified lawyer or doctor.

Winston Solicitors are personal injury lawyers who deal with road traffic accident claims. We will make sure that you receive 100% of your compensation. Win or lose there is no charge. If we represent you there are no middlemen, no loans and no other costs for you to pay. Your claim is completely risk free. Two of the most common causes of compensation claims involve incidents at traffic lights and roundabouts. In both cases proving liability against the other side is not always straight forward, however our experienced lawyers will always give you the best chance of success.

Traffic Lights

These are very common on our roads however when an accident happens both parties often blame the other, as they will never admit to their light being red. Difficulties can arise in proving the case:

When there are no witnesses to a road traffic accident, and the other person denies they are at fault, it is always very helpful to obtain from the Local Council a letter explaining the sequence of the lights at a traffic light. If they are at crossroads or there are separate right or left filter lights, each sequence will allow a different direction of travel. For instance you might be driving straight on at traffic lights, as the light is green. A car travelling in the opposite direction turns right across your path. The other driver says the lights were at green for him, and therefore your lights must have been at red.. If you know the sequence you can tell which way the lights operate. So if a right turn only goes green when a car passes a sensor at the traffic light, any car claiming to see the light green and then travel through turning right can not be telling the truth, as the sensor must pick up the car before waiting for the next sequence of lights to change.

A driver can still be at fault if the lights are at green. Whilst a green light is a permission to enter a junction or crossroad, it is not a right that overrides anyone else’s right. This means if for any reason there is still traffic at the junction or crossroad, you must wait for it to clear. If that traffic obscures your line of sight you must not proceed, you must wait to do so.

Traffic lights can be at faulty. There is a presumption in law that the traffic lights are working correctly. It is very difficult to show they are set wrongly however technical or anecdotal evidence may suffice. It is usually better to consider the facts of the accident and establish why one person entered the junction when they ought to have appreciated that someone from another direction was likely to do so. This is known as being required to keep a proper look out.

Fire engines, ambulances and police vehicle do have to obey traffic lights even when their sirens are blaring, lights flashing and other vehicles have noticed them and moved out of the way, if you collide into a vehicle crossing a red traffic light, it is established law that the emergency vehicle is still to blame.

How to proceed with a claim at a set of traffic lights?

Try to go back to the location of the accident and take photographs showing the layout of the road junction and where the traffic lights are.
Note down the sequence of lights, watching out especially for filter lanes. Check to see how filters operate: do they go green at each sequence or are they sensor activated.
Write to the Local Council asking them for the light sequence.

Armed with this information, we can usually get the other party’s insurance company to concede liability quickly. This means we can get on with the most important part of the claim, getting you the compensation you deserve.

Collision At A Roundabout

There are many different types of road traffic accidents on a roundabout.

You might be waiting at a roundabout, when there is an almighty bang and your car is shunted from behind onto the roundabout. This type of accident often happens when the other driver is unfamiliar with the road layout, and simply does not realise there is a roundabout a head.

The car in front of you starts entering the roundabout, and you seeing there is plenty of space ahead follow that car out. Unfortunately the car in front stops for no apparent reason and you collide into the rear. It can’t be your fault, as the driver in front stop for no reason! Actually you are at fault, because a driver is allowed to stop and you must be aware and ready to stop yourself.

You check the roundabout is clear and enter the roundabout from a stationery position, but a car to the right of you enters at speed as you are making your manoeuvre. Who is at fault when there is an inevitable collision? Providing it was reasonable for you to enter the roundabout you are not required to anticipate a driver entering to the right of you at speed. Indeed it is that driver that must anticipate that whilst the roundabout might seem clear to him, others will want to join the roundabout and are unlikely to be travelling at the same speed.

You are travelling in the outside lane wanting to turn off at the next junction, when the car inside of you pulls out across your path without warning colliding into your driver’s front side.

There are many road traffic accidents on roundabouts where the drivers simply do not know which lane they should be travelling in, and when to move into a different lane. Often we have to revisit the highway code to clarify who is at fault in such accidents.

At mini roundabouts, near train stations and airports, there are often coaches and taxis parked at the side. These vehicles never seem to see you driving and pull out as you enter the roundabout. It is very important in such incidents to get witness evidence to show where the vehicle was parked, and how it was not reasonable for you to anticipate the vehicle suddenly pulling out.

Claims at roundabouts are often difficult to prove. Insurance companies, use to their advantage the unusual way traffic flows around a roundabout. On a normal “straight” road it is fairly straightforward to establish who is at fault. The driving motion on a roundabout is very different. The curvature of a roundabout, gives a different line of sight, and people do make more mistakes than they do on straight roads.

It is important to get the best possible legal representation at the start of a case, as this is when the crucial issue of liability is considered. Only once liability is conceded can you begin to contemplate what sort of compensation your solicitor will obtain for you.

We deal with road traffic accident claims throughout England and Wales and are able to arrange home or hospital visits from our national network. We can arrange medical examinations at short notice from some of the countries most eminent specialists. If you would like to talk to a solicitor without obligation just complete the online contact form and we will phone with free advice on how best to pursue your claim and how to protect your legal rights to compensation.

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