By Danielle Graves. Last Updated 31st January 2024. If you have been injured in a bus accident that was not your fault, we can help you to claim compensation that you’re entitled to.
We have many years of experience in bus accident claims UK-wide, and we are dedicated to securing the maximum payout amounts for all of our clients.
We can address claims from all over the country, including London bus accident claims. So, don’t feel like we cannot help you simply because of where your accident in the UK took place.
A bus crash claim may seem daunting to begin with, but we are here to assist you. Get in touch for free legal advice and information regarding your circumstances.
- Speak to us over the phone – 0161 696 9685
- Contact us through our website
- Use the pop-up chat window in the corner
For more information, read on.
Jump to a Section:
- What Is The Average Settlement For Bus Accident Claims In The UK?
- When Could I Claim For A Bus Accident?
- Gathering Evidence To Support A Bus Accident Claim
- Bus Accident Claims – Time Limits
- Bus Accident Claims – What Are The Causes Of Injuries?
- No Win No Fee Bus Accident Claims
- Helpful Links
What Is The Average Settlement For Bus Accident Claims In The UK?
You may like to know how much compensation for a bus accident you could receive if your personal injury claim is successful.
Your bus accident compensation could be awarded in two parts: general and special damages. This means that every settlement is different. Therefore, knowing the average settlement for a bus accident in the UK might not be beneficial for you.
If your claim is successful, you will receive general damages to compensate for the physical pain and mental suffering that has been caused by your injuries.
When assigning value to claims, legal professionals may refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) from Judiciary UK to help them. The JCG is a text that lists guideline compensation brackets for different types of injuries.
Our table below provides a few figures from the 16th edition of the JCG. Due to the differences between personal injury claims, it is only provided for guidance. Take note that the first and last two entries in this table are not taken from the JCG.
| Injury | Compensation Bracket | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple serious injuries plus special damages | If you have suffered several serious injuries in a bus accident, then your compensation payout may cover all of these plus related special damages, such as the cost of home care | Up to £500,000+ |
| Severe back injuries (i) | This bracket applies to the most severe back injury cases leading to damage to the nerve roots and spinal cord | £91,090 to £160,980 |
| Moderate back injuries (i) | Compression or crush fracture affecting the lumbar vertebrae or a prolapsed intervertebral disc that may require surgery. | £27,760 to £38,780 |
| Severe neck injuries (i) | This bracket covers severe neck injuries including those associated with incomplete paraplegia or permanent spastic quadriparesis | In the region of £148,330 |
| Moderate neck injuries (i) | Moderate neck injuries covered by this bracket include certain chronic conditions or fractures or dislocations that may necessitate spinal fusion | £24,990 to £38,490 |
| Arm injuries resulting in permanent and substantial disablement | One or both forearms have suffered serious fractures that lead to a permanent residual cosmetic/functional disability. | £39,170 to £59,860 |
| Serious leg injuries | Serious comminuted or compound fractures, or ligament/joint damage that will require prolonged treatment. | £39,200 to £54,830 |
| Severe shoulder injuries | Shoulder injuries under this bracket are often associated with injuries to the neck and may involve damage to the brachial plexus | £19,200 to £48,030 |
| Whiplash Injury | Injury lasts between 18 to 24 months. | £4,215 |
| Whiplash Injury | Injury lasts between 18 to 24 months and involves one or more minor psychological injury. | £4,345 |
You may also be eligible to claim compensation for special damages. Special damages is the head of your claim that addresses the financial impacts of your injuries. For example, under special damages, you may be able to claim back:
- Loss of earnings.
- The cost of childcare.
- Any paid domestic help.
- Medical costs.
- The cost of home adjustments, such as a stairlift.
Speak with an advisor for a free personalised valuation of your claim.
Bus Accident Claims – What Is The Whiplash Reform Programme
The Whiplash Reform Programme may affect how certain bus accident claims are made In England And Wales.
Per the reforms, if you were over the age of 18 and were a driver or passenger in a vehicle that was involved in a road traffic accident, and you suffered injuries valued below £5,000, the way you make your claim has changed. This includes claims being made for a whiplash injury.
Additionally, your whiplash injuries will be valued in line with the tariff of injuries set out in the Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021.
We have included some of these figures in our list of compensation payouts above. Any additional injuries you have suffered that aren’t covered by this tariff will be valued traditionally.
Contact our advisors today if you are unsure which avenue to take when claiming bus accident compensation.
When Could I Claim For A Bus Accident?
We’ve put together this guide to let you know how you could seek compensation following a road traffic accident on a bus. You could have grounds for a valid claim if:
- You were owed a duty of care
- This duty of care was breached (by a bus driver or another road user)
- You sustained harm as a result.
All road users, including bus drivers, owe a duty of care to each other to use the roads in a manner that avoids causing harm to themselves and others.
Additionally, they should adhere to the Road Traffic Act 1988 and the rules and regulations found within the Highway Code as part of their duty of care.
When making London bus accident claims, or any accident on a bus claim, you must have evidence to support your case. We’ll discuss this in the next few sections.
If you’re wondering what you could receive in bus accident compensation, you could use a road traffic accident calculator to give you an idea of what compensation you might receive for injuries such as a broken bone or harm to your mental health.
However, they aren’t always accurate. As such, we have explored the different resources a solicitor may be use to accurately calculate the value of your claim and provided guidance on what your settlement could comprise.
After you have finished this guide, you might be interested in speaking to our team about taking the next steps to getting a bus injury payout. Our advisors can offer a free consultation of your claim. Call for more information.
Gathering Evidence To Support A Bus Accident Claim
When making a bus or coach accident claim, you will need to collect evidence that proves a breach in the duty of care caused your injuries.
Additionally, you will need to prove who was liable for the accident; this could be the bus driver who was driving the vehicle you were on or another road user.
Some examples of evidence that could help support your claim include:
- Videos of the accident, such as CCTV footage from the bus or dashcam footage from another vehicle.
- Accident scene photographs.
- The contact information of any witnesses to the accident, including other bus passengers. They can give a statement at a later date.
- A copy of your medical records. This will show the type of injury you suffered and any medical treatment you required.
- A police report if they attended the scene.
If you have any questions about making a bus passenger accident claim, you can contact our advisors using the details at the top of this page. They could also offer you free advice for your potential claim.
Bus Accident Claims – Time Limits
If you would like to make a bus accident claim, you must start within the personal injury claims time limit. The Limitation Act 1980 sets this as typically three years. It usually starts from the date you were injured due to bus driver negligence or negligence by another party.
However, there are certain circumstances that suspend this time limit. These can include:
- If a person suffers injuries in a bus accident prior to their 18th birthday, they cannot represent themselves in a bus accident claim. A litigation friend could start their bus accident claim on their behalf at any point before they turn 18. However, should a bus accident claim not be started, the claimant will have three years after their 18th birthday to start a claim.
- If a person lacks the mental capacity to start a bus accident claim, then the time limit is suspended indefinitely. Personal injury claims can be started on behalf of someone lacking the mental capacity by a litigation friend. Should they regain their capacity, and no bus accident claim has been started, they will have three years to start a claim.
Call our advisors if you were injured in an accident on a bus for free legal advice.
Claiming for a bus accident
Bus Accident Claims – What Are The Causes Of Injuries?
There are a number of ways that a bus accident could cause you to suffer a physical or psychological injury. However, as we’ve already mentioned, to make a bus or coach accident claim, you first have to establish that you were owed a duty of care and that a breach of this duty caused your injuries.
Some examples of how third-party negligence could cause a bus accident include:
- If another driver, such as a lorry driver, drove through a red light and crashed into the bus, the impact could cause you to suffer whiplash or a head injury.
- If the bus driver shut the doors of the bus prematurely and traps your arm, this could cause a dislocated shoulder.
- If the driver of the bus is not paying attention and needs to break suddenly, this could cause the bus to overturn, resulting in multiple serious injuries such as breaks, concussions, or lacerations.
Contact our team of advisors today to learn more about bus accident compensation claims and how to seek compensation. Or, read on to find out how a personal injury solicitor from our panel could help you on a No Win No Fee basis.
No Win No Fee Bus Accident Claims
When seeking bus accident compensation, you might benefit from working with a solicitor from our panel.
They can offer their services, such as helping you gather evidence to support your claim and ensuring your case is presented in full within the limitation period, through a kind of No Win No Fee arrangement known as a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).
Under a CFA, you aren’t required to pay any upfront fees or ongoing costs in order for your solicitor to work on your claim. Also, if your claim fails, then you won’t pay anything to your solicitor for their work.
If your claim succeeds, then your solicitor receives a success fee; this is taken from your compensation award as a small, legally-capped percentage.
Our advisors are on hand to help if you have any questions about making a bus passenger accident claim on this basis.
They can offer a free consultation, through which they can identify whether you have a valid bus accident compensation claim, answer your questions, and potentially connect you with a solicitor from our panel. Get in touch today by following the information below.
Contact Our Team
If you have been injured in a bus accident at a bus stop or elsewhere and it was not your fault, get in touch with us today to start the process of making a bus accident compensation claim.
You can reach our polite and professional team by dialling 0161 696 9685. We are more than happy to answer any queries you may have, no matter how big or small.
Or, if you are ready to get started, we will match you to the best No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel of solicitors based on the ins and outs of your case.
Helpful links
For more advice on claiming compensation for accidents involving buses under a No Win No Fee agreement or for making a personal injury claim for different types of accidents, you can check out the resources below:
- Government information and statistics on buses: This link takes you to the UK Government website where you will find information about the local bus sector in Great Britain. This includes statistics on everything from levels of revenue to vehicle miles.
- TFL publishes the latest bus safety statistics: This link takes you to an article on the Transport for London’s (TFL) most recent bus safety statistics.
- Traffic Commissioners for Great Britain: This link takes you to the UK Government’s page on Traffic Commissioners for Great Britain. You will be able to apply for an operator licence, check operator licence applications, find out about running a local bus service, and much more.
- NHS – Whiplash Injuries: Whiplash is one of the most common injuries experienced after a bus accident. This link takes you to the NHS page for whiplash. You will find information on the symptoms of whiplash, when to get medical treatment, causes, treatments, and outlooks.
More Helpful Guides
- Road traffic accident compensation claims
- How to claim if you were knocked off your bike by a car pulling out of a driveway
- Claim compensation for an accident when merging into traffic
- I got hit by a drunk driver, can I claim compensation?
- What to do if you get run over by a vehicle
- 10 things you should know about the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB)
- How to claim compensation through the MIB
- Making a hit and run compensation claim
- Claiming whiplash after being hit from behind by a car
- How do I know if I have a valid whiplash claim?
- What is the whiplash recovery time?
- How long should I be off work for with whiplash?
If you would like to speak to an advisor about topics such as bus accident compensation or London bus accident claims, then you are welcome to contact Legal Helpline.
You can reach our advisors on the phone or online by using the contact details found within this guide.