Work related road & HGV Accident Claims

Carrs solicitors bring a great deal of specialist experience to HGV accident claims. Work related road traffic accidents often involve liability arising from the condition and suitability of the vehicle, the way it has been loaded, unsafe systems of work and the inadequacy of risk assessments undertaken by managers. Representing the victims of such accidents requires an understanding of logistics and of the regulatory framework for the transport industry to include vehicle loading weight distribution and drivers hours in addition to the rules of the road. The average road traffic accident claims handler may not be alive to these issues or have any understanding of the road haulage industry.

In the UK there are an estimated 40,000 traffic accidents that are work related. According to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, work car, lorry and HGV accidents are the largest overall cause of occupational fatalities. The need for specialist representation is key to the success of transport industry accident cases. At Carrs Solicitor we bring over 20 years of experience in dealing with work related road traffic accidents to include catastrophic and fatal injury cases.

Making a HGV Accident claim

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the courts increasingly recognise the duties of commercial fleet operators to assess and manage the risks to which professional drivers are exposed out on the road. Employers frequently try to pass responsibility to the driver when anything goes wrong. The fact that drivers work remotely far from absolving fleet operators of responsibility is all the more reason for adequate support and appropriate assessment of risk and we have had success over the years in holding employers to account in many cases where the injured driver has initially been told they were 'on their own.'

The first step is to get in touch for free advice on the merits and evidence required in relation to a work related traffic accident case. We will arrange to visit you or take instructions remotely and will arrange for any medical expert appointments to be local to you. We will seek disclosure of relevant records such as risk assessments, run sheets, CCTV footage of loading operations, vehicle tracking data and tachograph records, inspection and maintenance records, photographs, engineering reports and police collision reports. We will analyse the records and prepare a detailed witness statement with you, instruct medical experts and press the insurers for a negotiated settlement while preparing the case for a potential trial. We appreciate that our clients work different shift patterns and we can be contacted throughout the claim during or out of office hours.

Employer’s Liability

Employers have a legal responsibility to ensure all work vehicles are in a safe, working condition and suitable in all respects that affect health and safety for the task. They also have a duty to institute and enforce safe working practices and will be liable where unsafe practices have been condoned- even where the driver is partly at fault.

Employers also have a duty to ensure that their employees are safe to drive at all times and that they are not brought under pressure to exceed their drivers hours or given unrealistic loading or delivery schedules and that safe working practice in terms of seat belt usage and regular training and refresher courses are given. Journeys must be correctly planned and risk assessed by the employer to take account of road and weather conditions and drivers should be supported when they use their professional judgement to pull up or refuse to go out whether conditions are unsafe. We have acquired very considerable experience at securing evidence of behaviours by employers that run against a culture of safety and of securing very substantial damages for employees who have suffered serious injury as a result. Drivers depend on their employers and colleagues to ensure they can operate safely when on the road. It requires a different approach and specialist knowledge on the part of the legal representative to ensure success in such cases.