Are You Eligible To Claim After A Emergency Services Vehicle Accident?

By Lewis Hendrix. Last Updated 12th February 2024. If you have been involved in an emergency services vehicle accident, within this guide, we will explain the eligibility criteria your case must meet to have a valid personal injury claim. We will also discuss the steps you could take following your accident that could help support you with claiming compensation.

Furthermore, this guide will share how compensation may be calculated in personal injury claims and the different heads of loss that could form your settlement. Additionally we will explore some of the various advantages to making a claim with a solicitor on a No Win No Fee basis.

You can contact our advisors today to discuss your case and receive free advice. They can also help answer any of the questions you may have about the personal injury claims process.

To connect with our advisors, you can:

A police officer getting out of a police car.

Select A Section

  1. When Could You Claim For An Emergency Services Vehicle Accident?
  2. What Should You Do After An Accident Involving An Emergency Vehicle?
  3. Emergency Vehicle Accident UK Compensation Claims Calculator
  4. Emergency Services Vehicle Accident – No Win No Fee Claims
  5. Useful Links Relating To Road Traffic Accidents Involving Emergency Vehicles

When Could You Claim For An Emergency Services Accident?

If you are injured in an accident caused by an emergency service vehicle, you may wonder whether you would have the right to claim compensation.

Not everyone hurt in an emergency services accident would be able to claim compensation. To be able to claim, you would need to prove that the driver of the emergency vehicle breached their duty of care towards you, causing you to suffer an injury.

All road users, irrespective of the vehicles they operate, have a duty of care not to cause harm to themselves or others by using the roads in a safe and responsible manner. They must also adhere to the Road Traffic Act 1988 and the rules and regulations set out for them within the Highway Code. Should they breach this duty of care, and cause you to suffer injuries as a result, you could be eligible for compensation.

Obviously, when a police car, ambulance or fire engine is attending an emergency, it is vital that they arrive at the scene quickly. This means some of the rules of the road can be ignored. However, the driver of such a vehicle is still expected to operate their vehicle without causing avoidable harm to other road users.

If you have suffered injuries in a police car, ambulance or fire service vehicle accident, please don’t hesitate to contact an advisor. They could check your eligibility to make a claim for compensation, and could advise you on the next steps to take to start your claim.

What Should You Do After An Accident Involving An Emergency Vehicle?

When making a personal injury claim following an emergency services vehicle accident, you will need to gather sufficient evidence that supports your case. Examples of this evidence could include:

  • CCTV or dashcam footage of the accident taking place.
  • Medical evidence of your injuries, such as your medical records.
  • Photographs of the accident scene and any visible injuries you suffered.
  • The contact information of anyone who witnessed the accident as they could provide a statement at a later date.

These are only a few examples. If you decide to work with a personal injury solicitor on your case, they could help you with gathering this and additional evidence.

Contact our team of advisors today to see whether you could be eligible to work with one of our solicitors.

Emergency Vehicle Accident UK Compensation Claims Calculator

If you successfully claim compensation for an emergency services accident, your payout could include compensation for the pain and suffering you injuries have caused you. This will be compensated under the head of claim known as general damages. It could also include compensation for the financial costs and losses incurred due to your injuries. This will be compensated under the head of claim known as special damages.

Those calculating general damages payouts could refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This is a publication that provides guideline compensation brackets for various injuries at different severities. 

Below, we have created a table with figures from the JCG’s 2022 edition, aside from the first figure. This may give you some insight into how much certain injuries could be worth.

 

Edit
Injury sustained How severe was the injury? Extra notes
Multiple severe injuries and their associated financial costs and losses. Combinations of severe injuries causing suffering and pain, as well as financial expense, such as care costs or medical expenses, for example. Up to £1,000,000+
Paralysis Quadriplegic / paraplegic £205,580 to £266,740
Head/Brain Injury Very severe (a) – The person would not have much meaningful response to their environment. £282,010 to £403,990
Neck Injury Severe (a) (i) Conditions such as incomplete paraplegia or spastic quadriparesis, for example. In the region of
£148,330
Leg Injury Amputation Above The Knee to one leg. £104,830 to £137,470
Arm Injury Severe – Injuries falling just short of amputation. £96,160 to £130,930
Hand Injury Total or effective loss of one hand. £96,160 to £109,650
Back Injury Severe (a) (i) Damage to the nerve root and/or spinal cord with permanent disability. £91,090 to £160,980
Knee Injury Severe – requiring arthroplasty or arthrodesis, for example. £69,730 to £96,210
Ankle Injury Very Severe – Examples include bilateral fractures of the ankle which cause degeneration of joints at a young age – arthrodesis is necessary in such cases. £50,060 to £69,700
Wrist Injury Injuries resulting in complete loss of function. £47,620 to £59,860
Elbow Injury Severe – Severely disabling injuries. £39,170 to £54,830
Shoulder Injury Severe (a) Examples include those in juries that are associated with brachial plexus damage. £19,200 to £48,030

 

As mentioned, you could also receive special damages within your payout. Some examples of the financial losses that could be compensated under special damages include:

  • Travel costs – For costs incurred getting to hospital or doctor’s appointments, for example.
  • Care costs – For the costs of care at home if your injuries have left you unable to look after yourself.
  • Loss of income – You could suffer a loss of income if you need time off work to recover from your injuries. 
  • Medical expenses – Such as prescription fees and paying for over-the-counter pain relief.

You would need to provide evidence to support a claim for such costs and losses, such as payslips and bank statements.

To find out what other evidence could be useful, please contact an advisor.

Emergency Services Vehicle Accident – No Win No Fee Claims

If you are eligible to make a personal injury claim following an accident with an emergency services vehicle, one of our solicitors may be able to help you. By offering to represent you on a No Win No Fee basis under a Conditional Fee Agreement, you won’t have to pay them any upfront or ongoing fees for their services. Furthermore, should your claim fail, you will not be required to pay them for the work they have provided on your case.

Alternatively, if they succeed with your claim, you will pay them a success fee. This fee is deducted directly from your compensation award as a legally capped percentage.

To find out if one of our solicitors could assist you with your emergency services accident claim, you can contact our advisors today. They are available 24/7 to answer your questions and offer free advice. They can be reached by:

Useful Links Relating To Road Traffic Accidents Involving Emergency Vehicles

We hope that you have found all of the information you need regarding emergency services accident claims. However, we know that you may need further information, and so we have put together some useful links for you below.

  • Car Accident Claims: This internal page covers any claims for a car accident. It could include vehicles of all kinds, but it does include information on police and emergency cars.
  • Claims For Death By Dangerous Driving: Meanwhile, this page refers to deaths by dangerous driving. This is where the family of a victim could claim compensation as part of their battle for justice.
  • Road Traffic Accident Claims: And this internal page focuses on receiving personal injury compensation as part of a road traffic accident claim.
  • Conduct for police: This link takes you to the website for the Independent Office for Police Conduct. You can use this website if you would like to make a complaint against the police. You will also find plenty of useful details and statistics regarding complaints that have been made against the police over the years.
  • Ambulance complaints: This link explains how to make a complaint against the ambulance service in the UK. This is for the NHS London division. You can find like-for-like pages for different locations across the country.

Other Useful Compensation Guides

Thank you for reading our guide on emergency services accident claims. We all know the incredible job that emergency personnel do in the UK daily. Now, if you’ve suffered an injury from road traffic accidents involving emergency vehicles, you’ll know what happens if a police car hits you in the UK, and whether you could claim compensation for injuries sustained in accidents involving police vehicles.