If you’re involved in a road traffic accident that wasn’t your fault and you want to claim compensation, the first step is to work out who the responsible party is. This is not always as straight forward as you might think.

Louise Moore is a portal co-ordinator in Switalskis Personal Injury department and frequently deals with road traffic accident claims.      

Sometimes, establishing the responsible party is no easy task as there are so many things to consider, and it’s not always obvious.

Who is responsible for your accident? 

Is it the driver of the vehicle or are they employed?  If they are employed and were working at the time, this would make the employer the defendant.  And what if there is no insurance or the insurance is not valid?  There are so many things to consider.

What happens if you don’t have a name or address for the other driver?

If the registration number is available for the car at fault a MID search can be undertaken to obtain the insurance company details.  Then a data protection request can be made to the insurer for the name and address of the defendant.  Or a DVLA search can be made to find owner details.  If the defendant is a company a search can be made to companies’ house for the address of the registered office.

If you have the name and address, or a telephone number for the defendant, they can be contacted direct to ask for their insurer details and registration number.

Finally, if the accident was reported to the police they can be contacted for the name of the driver, the registration number and the insurer details, if they have them and if necessary, a police report can be requested.

Now we have the correct defendant does it mean we’re all sorted? …..Not necessarily.

What if the insurer refuses to indemnify the defendant?

If an insurer refuses to indemnify the defendant a claim will need to be issued with the responsible party as the first defendant (driver or employer) and second defendant (insurer).

If the first defendant is found liable, the insurance company (second defendant) will have to pay any compensation owed as required by the law. 

If, however the guilty party has an insurance policy that was obtained by misrepresentation the insurer is entitled to void the policy.

What if the defendants insurance policy is void?

If the insurance policy is void (for example, due to false information), the insurance company still has to cover the unpaid compensation under special rules (Article 75). They will act like the Motor Insurers Bureau (MIB) and take responsibility, but the person who caused the accident is still considered legally liable.

What if the defendant is not insured?

Where there is no insurance in place a claim can be brought against the MIB again issuing against the uninsured driver as the first defendant and with the MIB as the second defendant.

Finally, if the driver is unknown the MIB has another Untraced Drivers scheme, where there is no requirement to issue court proceedings.

If you've been injured in a road traffic accident, contact our friendly team for no obligation advice. Call Switalskis on 0800 138 0458  or email help@switalskis.com.