Pedestrian Injury Compensation - How Much Could You Claim?

In this guide, we discuss pedestrian injury compensation. Learn about the different types of accidents pedestrians could be involved with. In addition, we explore the different injuries you could receive as a pedestrian.

Every road user is owed a duty of care, including pedestrians. We explain what this means. Further, we look into who owes the duty of care and in what circumstances. Legislation governs this and we explore where it applies.

A guide to seeking pedestrian injury compensation

In order to claim pedestrian injury compensation, you will need to prove you were owed a duty of care, this was neglected and you were injured as a result. We explore what evidence you could submit to strengthen your claim. In addition, we look at examples of what injuries a breach of duty of care could cause.

We discuss compensation payouts and provide examples of figures from the Judicial College Guidelines. In addition, we explore examples of what costs could be recovered under special damages.

If you would like to claim compensation for your injuries, you might like to learn about how a No Win No Fee solicitor could benefit your claim. We discuss No Win No Fee arrangements.

Our advisors can discuss your potential claim with you. If it seems eligible you might be connected with a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel.

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What Is A Pedestrian Injury Compensation Claim?
Causes Of Pedestrian Accidents
What Duty Of Care Are Pedestrians Owed?
Types Of Pedestrian Injury Compensation Claims
How Much Pedestrian Injury Compensation Could You Claim?
How Do I Make A Pedestrian Injury Claim?

What Is A Pedestrian Injury Compensation Claim?

To make a personal injury claim, you need to prove you were owed a duty of care. You then need to prove this duty of care was breached and you were injured as a result.

If you’ve experienced a pothole injury, for example, your claim might be against the local council, or a private landowner. Also, you could submit photographs of the pothole to strengthen your claim.

Potholes aren’t the only hazards facing pedestrians on the roads and pavements. Many pedestrians suffer injuries due to other road users’ negligence each year.

Free legal advice is available from our advisors.

Causes Of Pedestrian Accidents

Road users, including pedestrians, owe each other a duty of care. If this is breached, an injury might occur. In the case of obstructions or hazards on pavements and footpaths, the duty of care might be owed by the local council or a private landowner.

Contact our advisors to discuss your potential pedestrian injury compensation.

Pavement Accidents

Pedestrians may experience an injury while using pavements and footpaths. Uneven paving stones, for example, that are at different heights present a pavement trip hazard. Tripping can result in broken bones and head injuries, as well as bruising and cuts.

Accidents When Crossing The Road

Other road users present a safety risk to pedestrians if they are not paying due care and attention. A pedestrian could cross the road following the Highway Code and be in an accident by a car speeding through a crossing, for example. Potholes are another hazard pedestrians could face while crossing the road.

What Duty Of Care Are Pedestrians Owed?

Different pieces of legislation govern the duty of care owed to pedestrians. We take a look at three different pieces of legislation below.

Highways Act 1980

Under the Highways Act 1980, the local authority owes you a duty of care for pavements and footpaths that are controlled by them. This means that they must take reasonable steps to repair hazards on pavements within a reasonable amount of time. If you experience an ankle injury, for example, in a pothole that was not dealt with although the council was aware of it, you might be entitled to compensation.

Occupiers’ Liability 1957

The local authority is not responsible for all land. You cannot claim compensation from the local authority if your injury occurred on privately owned land, for example. However, under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957, you might be able to claim compensation from the landowner or occupier. Under the Act, those in control of areas accessible to the public should ensure it’s safe for use.

Road Traffic Act 1988

If you are involved in an accident with a vehicle, the local council or landowner is unlikely to be responsible. Road users owe each other a duty of care under the Road Traffic Act 1988. This means that they must take reasonable steps to reduce the risk they present to other road users. Vehicle maintenance, such as repairing any deficits, could be included.

A vehicle compensation claim could occur if you are run over and injured, for example, because the driver couldn’t stop in time due to faulty brakes the motorist failed to get fixed. A car with faulty brakes could cause injuries if you cross the road while following all the correct signals and a car can’t stop.

Strengthen your pedestrian injury compensation claim

You will need to supply evidence that you were owed a duty of care and that a breach of it caused your injuries.

Evidence could include:

Medical records.
CCTV footage and photographs.
Witness contact details for a statement at a later date.

If you suffered an injury because of a third party’s negligence, why not get in touch?

Types Of Pedestrian Injury Compensation Claims

Pedestrians face injuries from the roads and the pavements. Some injuries will be simple, such as grazing your hands and knees. Others may result in lengthy hospital stays and life-altering injuries.

A car could hit you, for example, while you are crossing the road. This could involve serious leg fractures. In addition, you may have multiple injuries, such as a brain injury as well. Also, you could develop psychological symptoms as a result of the injuries.

You could also have an accident on the pavement. A sprained ankle could occur if you trip over an uneven paving stone. You may also break your wrist if you fall over the uneven paving stone.

You could claim pedestrian injury compensation for:

Head injuries
Brain injuries
Broken bones
Psychological injuries

Contact our advisors to discuss your specific injuries from an accident as a pedestrian.

How Much Pedestrian Injury Compensation Could You Claim?

You might be eligible to claim compensation if you’ve experienced an injury as a pedestrian and it was caused by third-party negligence. Also, you might like to know how much compensation you could receive. Each claim is valued on a case-by-case basis. Therefore, you could get in touch with our advisors so they can value your claim for free. We also have a compensation table below for illustrative purposes.

There are two heads of claim. These are general damages and special damages. We take a look at each in further detail below.

An independent medical assessment might be necessary to claim pedestrian injury compensation. This is to gain a fuller understanding of your injuries and what impact they have on your life.

General Damages

Your physical injuries come under the general damages head, as well as any connected emotional distress. In order to assign value to your injuries, legal professionals refer to a document titled the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). In the document, different injuries match potential compensation brackets. Various factors impact how much your claim could be worth. The table below contains JCG examples from the 16th edition, published in April 2022.

Injury	Potential Compensation	Notes
Tetraplegia	£324,600 to £403,990	Paralysis impacting all limbs.
Moderately severe brain damage	£219,070 to £282,010	Substantial need for care and dependence upon others.
Severe leg injuries (ii)	£54,830 to £87,890	Very serious leg injuries resulting in permanent mobility problems.
Permanent and substantial arm injuries	£39,170 to £59,860	Injuries resulting in permanent and substantial disablement
Moderate neck injuries (i)	£24,990 to £38,490	Severe immediate symptoms from fractures or dislocations.
Wrist injuries (b)	£24,500 to £39,170	Significant permanent disability but with some useful movement.
Less severe elbow injuries	£15,650 to £32,010	Function impairment but no significant disability.
Moderate back injuries (ii)	£12,510 to £27,760	Ligament and muscle disturbance causing backache.
Significant facial scarring	£9,110 to £30,090	Diminished psychological reaction from face scars with effects reduced by plastic surgery.
Moderate post-traumatic stress disorder	£8,180 to £23,150	Some continuing effects but they are not grossly disabling.

Special Damages

You might find your pedestrian injury compensation claim comes with a second head called special damages. Under this head, you could recover costs incurred due to your injuries. In order to claim under special damages, however, you must supply evidence, such as a receipt or invoices.

You could recover:

Medical expenses, including therapy and cosmetic procedures that the NHS couldn’t cover.
Repairs and replacements.
Loss of earnings, including loss of future earnings should you need to change careers or cannot work for an extended amount of time.

Our advisors can estimate what you could claim under general damages.

How Do I Make A Pedestrian Injury Claim?

If you’ve experienced an injury due to third party negligence, you might be eligible to claim compensation. Your claim could seem easier with a personal injury solicitor. Traditionally, the costs of legal representation have been prohibitive. There is another way, however.

A No Win No Fee personal injury solicitor could help you get your pedestrian injury compensation. To minimise the financial risks, there are no upfront solicitor fees. Instead, a legally capped success fee will be taken from your award. Should you not receive an award, your No Win No Fee solicitor will not get a fee. This could also be referred to as a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).

Free legal advice is available. An estimate of your general damages could be provided by our advisors. They can also recommend what evidence you could use to support your claim. Our advisors could connect you with a solicitor if your claim seems eligible.