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Claiming Compensation for an RTA if the Other Side Denies Liability

We specialise in helping victims of injury claim the compensation they deserve. If an offending party decides to deny liability, you’re still entitled to compensation.

What is a denial of liability?

In almost all cases of personal injury claims, there is at least one person, party, or organisation who is responsible for the damages inflicted upon yourself or another family member. This group is therefore liable to pay you the compensation that you deserve, but what happens when they deny liability for their actions?

While it may seem obvious to you and your personal injury lawyer who exactly is at fault, there is nothing to prevent the liable party from denying any form of responsibility and refusing to pay compensation.

Unfortunately, it’s rare for any form of personal injury claim to flow completely smoothly. Those who are liable to pay for damages may not want to suffer any potential legal ramifications, and their insurance companies want to provide as little compensation as possible as they’ll be the ones paying for it. Even in road traffic accidents where blame appears obvious, the other party may still choose to deny liability.

Fortunately, even if an offending party chooses to deny liability and dispute insurance claim details, you can still make a personal injury claim.

What happens when a denial of liability is made?

If an accountable party decides to dispute insurance claim details, the first step is for you and your solicitor to sit down and discuss your potential response and next steps. Usually, the aim is to have the denial of liability withdrawn, and replaced with a full admission of guilt.

To do this, you’ll need to help your solicitor gather all necessary evidence and documentation to support your claim. In many cases, this will be enough to encourage the guilty party to accept responsibility, though without an admission of liability. In other words, they’ll pay you appropriate compensation while still refusing to admit they were responsible. You’ll need to decide whether you are happy with this, or if you want to pursue admission of guilt from them as well.

If, however, the offending party still insists on a denial of liability, your solicitor will have to reassess your claim and come to a new decision as to how to progress. There is usually one of three outcomes:

  1. Your solicitor considers the denial of liability weak enough to pursue an immediate claim without legal standing, potentially taking the denial of liability to court to fulfil the claims process if they continue to dispute insurance claim details.
  2. Your solicitor may decide that both parties were at fault and suggest that the case be pursued as a split liability. With split liability claims, you accept responsibility for a percentage of the accident. You’ll still receive compensation, though it may be lower than if those liable claimed full responsibility.
  3. In extreme cases, your solicitor may decide that the denial of liability is too strong or your evidence too weak to follow up on a claim. In this case, your claim will likely be closed, though there is no reason you can’t take your claim to another solicitor for a second opinion.

In most cases of denied liability, your claim will not reach the courtroom due to the expenses involved. But if it does, your solicitor will guide you every step of the way to ensure you get a fair settlement.

At The Compensation Experts, we work with numerous experienced personal injury lawyers who know how to handle denial of liability cases. If you’re worried about your claim being disputed, get in touch today and we’ll put you in contact with those that can help.

How does the car insurance claim dispute process differ?

Denial of liability cases that involve road traffic accidents will usually follow the same process as a standard personal injury claim. When gathering evidence, you’ll want to provide your solicitor with all of the following if possible:

  • Insurance details provided by the other driver
  • Photographs of the damage suffered to your vehicle
  • Photographs of the accident
  • Witness testimonies
  • Medical evidence for any injuries sustained
  • Documentation that proves your vehicle suffered the claimed damages
  • Police reports for the accident

The required evidence may vary, depending on what kind of accident you suffered. For example, you may require different evidence for a motorbike accident claim than a fatal road accident claim.

Ensuring you gather as much evidence of the accident as possible is crucial to giving your claim validity. While both you and the liable party will know what happened, unless you have physical evidence in the form of witness statements, photos, and a police report, they can continue to deny liability with impunity.

Of course, many accidents on the road may involve collisions with uninsured drivers, which can make compensation claims tricky to win or even begin. In these cases, you can still pursue a compensation claim through the Motor Insurers Bureau scheme (MIB). Provided you reported the incident to the police as soon as possible, have the accident crime number, and sought attention for any injuries suffered, you’ll likely be able to make a successful claim.

Can a whiplash claim be refused?

One important thing to note with road traffic accidents is that, while a guilty party may eventually accept liability for an accident, they may still deny liability for any injuries you suffered.

Obviously, this is unlikely to happen in high-speed RTAs, but if the accident was deemed a low-speed collision, then it becomes much harder to prove that a liable party were responsible for injuries such as whiplash. With whiplash, in particular, it can be hard to prove the accident caused the injuries due to the conflicting evidence as to what speed is required to cause whiplash in the first place.

Thus, to avoid your claim being disputed, we recommend that you begin the claims process as soon as possible to increase your chances of receiving the appropriate payment for damages caused. We provide a free, no-obligation conversation, and will even call you back at a time of your choice. You have nothing to lose by contacting us and we even offer a no-win, no-fee policy. Speak with us today and see how much compensation you could receive.

    Start by speaking to our expert team now and find out how much your claim could be worth...

    Am I eligible?

    If you've been the victim of an injury as part of a road traffic accident within the last three years due to someone else’s negligence, you'll likely be able to make a claim. Even if the other party denies liability, get in touch and we can discuss the specific details of your case.

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    How much could I claim?

    Every RTA claim is different. The amount of compensation paid out can differ on a case by case basis with varying factors leading to the final figure, including the extent of your injuries, loss of earnings, future losses and more.

    Speak to our dedicated team of experts and we'll give you an indication of how much you could potentially claim.

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    How does the process work?

    We understand that when making a claim it’s important to know what to expect and when to expect it. That’s why we make the process as transparent & clear as possible.

    Your solicitor will gather all the necessary evidence and notify the negligent party that you wish to begin claim proceedings. With your solicitor negotiating on your behalf, you'll be kept up to date every step of the way.

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