A Guide To Making A Train Station Accident Compensation Claims – How To Claim

By Jo Anderson. Last Updated 17th January 2024. If you have been injured while at a train station, you may wonder whether you could claim compensation for your injuries. This guide explains the train station accident compensation claims process, including the eligibility criteria that must be met in order to have a valid case.

Additionally, this guide will provide examples of common types of accidents that could occur at a train station. We will also discuss some of the steps you could take after being injured that could help support you with making a personal injury claim.

Furthermore, we will explain how compensation is calculated and the different heads of loss you could be awarded for a successful claim. We will end this guide by looking at how one of our No Win No Fee solicitors could help you with making a personal injury claim.

If you would like to discuss your specific case, you can contact one of our advisors. They are available 24/7 to offer you free advice and help answer your questions. You can reach them via the following methods:

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When Can You Claim For A Train Station Accident?

To have a valid claim for train station accident compensation, you would need to prove that someone owed you a duty of care, and they breached it, causing you to suffer an injury.

All rail operators have a duty of care towards passengers to protect them from harm while using their services and premises for their intended purpose, per the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957. This extends to their use of the train station. Whether you are injured getting on or off a train, in the station’s concourse or while on the platform, if your injuries result from a breach of this duty of care towards you, you could be eligible to claim compensation.

Train station accident claims can also be made by railway staff. All employers have a duty of care towards their employees, per the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA). They must take reasonable steps to ensure that workers are not unduly injured because of their work or workplace. A breach of this duty of care that causes injuries could lead to a claim against an employer for personal injury compensation.

To check if you are eligible to claim for a train station injury, please contact an advisor. They could help ascertain the validity of your claim.

Common Types Of Train Station Accidents

In the sections below, we will look at some of the most common types of train stations accidents that result in an injury, either to a member of the public or a staff member. In addition to the sections below (which we will look at in closer detail), these are some of the most common forms of injury leading to train station accident claims. These include,

  • Injuries caused by defective doors which trap clothing or other items, or defective doors which close on passengers.
  • Damage to seats or damage to tracks that could cause an accident or injury.
  • Accidents at level crossings that are part of a station.
  • Sharp edges on a variety of surfaces.

No matter what caused your accident or injuries, if they were caused by someone else’s negligent actions, or were the result of a poor procedure carried out by the station operator, you could be entitled to claim compensation.

What Should I Do If I am Injured In A Train Station?

One question victims commonly ask us of different types of personal injury is similar to “what should I do if I am injured in a train station?”. Whether you had an accident in a station or elsewhere, the first thing we always advise people to do after being involved in an accident or suffering an injury is to get any immediate medical attention they need. Your health should always be your number one priority before considering making any train station accident claims.

Once you have sought the medical attention you need, there are several steps that we recommend you undertake.

  • Collect as much evidence as you can. If you can, take photographs of your injuries as well as the scene of the accident. If a spillage or uneven floor caused your injury, take a picture if the floor is fixed or to show the spill was there. Gather any other relevant information, such as details of any witnesses. Passengers who may have witnessed the accident could provide evidence to help your case. It would be wise to get their contact details.
  • Record any financial losses or costs which you have sustained. These could be lost income or benefits or the cost of any medical treatment and the cost of transport to medical or legal meetings.

Try to carry out these steps before starting your train accident compensation claim and bringing your claim to a personal injury claim solicitor.

Compensation For Train Accidents

You can seek two types of compensation in a personal injury claim:

  • Compensation for your pain and suffering under general damages
  • Compensation for your financial losses under special damages

To show you how compensation could be awarded in a train accident claim, we are going to first show you examples of injuries and the compensation they have received in past court claims.

These are injuries that could be sustained in either a railway station accident, or in a train station crash, and the compensation we are showing is general damages.

The compensation entries are taken from a publication called the Judicial College Guidelines except for the first entry.

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Injury Compensation Bracket Severity Further information
Multiple serious injuries inclusive of financial losses. Up to £1,000,000+ Serious Serious combinations of injuries including financial costs such as care costs, home adaptations and loss of earnings, for example.
Neck injuries In the region of
£148,330 		Severe (a) (i) Injuries causing incomplete paraplegia, for example.
Neck injuries £24,990 to £38,490 Moderate (b) (i) Dislocations and fractures that may result in spinal fusion.
Hand Injury £140,660 to £201,490 (a) Total or effective loss of both hands This can include where the hands are not amputated but are as useless as if they were.
Leg injuries £96,250 to £135,920 Severe (b) (i) The most serious injuries that do not involve amputations.
Back Injuries £91,090 to £160,980 Severe (a)(i) Damage to nerve roots and causing extensive problems.
Back Injuries £27,760 to £38,780 Moderate (b) (i) A crush or compression fracture could feature here, with significant risk of osteoarthritis.
Wrist injury £47,620 to £59,860 Severe (a) Leading to loss of wrist function.
Shoulder Injuries £19,200 to £48,030 Severe (a) May involve damage to the brachial plexus and cause significant permanent disability.

These are merely examples to show you how these injuries could be valued in claims. What you would actually receive in a successful claim would be determined by your claim’s individual circumstances and the evidence you could provide of your injuries and caused pain.

What you could claim through special damages will be determined by how your injury affected you financially.

For example, you could potentially claim for:

  • Loss of income
  • Travel expenses
  • Medical costs

No Win No Fee Compensation Claims For A Train Station Accident

If you are eligible to make a train station accident claim, you might wish to get a solicitor to assist you with your case. A solicitor could help you gather evidence to support your claim. They could also negotiate a settlement on your behalf.

One of our solicitors who has experience working on train station accident compensation claims, may offer to work on your case on a No Win No Fee basis under a Conditional Fee Agreement.

If they do, this typically means you would not have to pay them upfront for the work they undertake on your case. Additionally, you are not expected to pay them for their services during the process of your claim or if it ends unsuccessfully.

Instead, they would deduct a small percentage of your compensation if your claim is a success. This is known as a success fee. The percentage that this success fee can be is subject to a legal cap.

Please contact an advisor to see whether you could be eligible to work with one of our No Win No Fee solicitors. They are available 24/7 and can be reached by:

train station accident claims

train station accident claims

Useful Links Relating To Train Station Accident Claims

Transport For London Incident Support Service
If you have been injured on any services operated by Transport For London, such as trains, buses or the London Underground, you can find help and advice here.

Thank you for taking the time to read our guide on train station accident claims.