Every year, thousands of passengers in the UK are involved in road traffic accidents. If you find yourself in this position, then it’s important that you take the right actions in the right order. This applies whether you’re travelling in a car, a van, a bus, or a taxi.
So, what steps are appropriate in the immediate aftermath of an accident in a taxi? Let’s take a look at a few of the more important ones.
Table of Contents
Ensure Safety and Seek Medical Attention
To begin with, you’ll need to ensure that the area is safe. This means removing injured people from harm’s way, unless there is a possibility that doing so might make their condition worse. Use a warning triangle where possible to advise oncoming motorists that there’s been a crash. This is particularly important on country roads where visibility is less than ideal.
Injuries should be treated by a professional, even if they seem comparatively minor. The right care can often make a big difference, as seemingly minor injuries can sometimes be more serious than they appear. What’s more, consulting with a healthcare professional might allow you to provide evidence of your injuries, should you need to do so later on.
Collect Information and Report the Incident
Before you part company with the taxi driver, and any other parties involved, you’ll need to get their details. Make a note of the registration of the vehicle. Don’t rely on any text message, or other correspondence, from the taxi firm.
Accidents should be reported to the police. Don’t rely on anyone else to do this for you. If there’s no record of the crash, you might struggle when you come to make a claim via your insurer.
Understand Your Rights and Consider Compensation
If your driver, or any other road user, was to blame for the accident, then you might be able to extract compensation through the courts. Personal injury lawyers specialising in road traffic accidents will often proceed on a no-win, no-fee basis, meaning that you’ll be able to pursue damages without worrying about financial risk.
The amount of money you’re eventually awarded will depend on the extent to which you’ve suffered as a result of the accident. This might mean taking stock of injuries and their seriousness, as well as the impact on your financial life. Make sure that you keep records of your spending on crash-related things like hospital parking and private physiotherapy. If you’ve lost earnings as a result of an injury, it’s also worth logging exactly how much. This will almost always be helpful when you come to evidence the claim in court.
