Road traffic accident abroad

If you have been involved in a road traffic accident abroad, either as a driver, passenger or pedestrian, then you may be able to claim compensation from either the driver involved or their insurers.  Even if the driver is uninsured or untraceable (ie ‘hit and run’), provided you were injured within the EU, a central motor insurance bureau established within the country in which the accident occurred will ensure that your claim will be dealt with.
 
Claims in these types of accidents can be very complicated – from establishing in which country the injured party can (or should) sue, which laws apply to the claim, and the assessment of the amount of compensation to be awarded for the injury.

Two recent developments in European Law have attempted to clarify the practical problems facing a claimant bringing a foreign claim in a domestic court:-

Firstly, In FBTO V Odenbreit [2006] The European Court of Justice decided that an injured party could bring a claim against a European insurer in the English Courts. The law would be applied as though the case were being heard in the country in which the accident occurred, but would instead be litigated in an English Court.  However, the European Regulations laid down in Rome II implies that the law to be applied to these claims is the law of the country in which the accident took place. Generally speaking this means that, with regard to the ‘substantive’ elements of the claim, such as:-

• who was to blame,

• whether the claimant is partly responsible for the accident (known as ‘contributory negligence’), and

• which types of damage you can claim for (ie ‘direct’ loss such as damaged clothing or ‘indirect’ loss such as compensation for pain and loss suffered as a result of the accident),

the law of the country in which the accident took place will apply. 
Having established whether there is a valid claim under the relevant foreign law, English Law will then apply to the ‘procedural’ elements of the case which, in the case of road traffic accidents, will be to assess how much your damages should be.

Road users in Europe now have the benefit of the EU 4th and 5th Motor Insurance Directives when making a personal injury claim.  This allows you to submit a claim in the UK if you are injured in another EU country by a vehicle which is insured in an EU country. The claim is brought directly against the driver's insurers or their claims representatives in the UK and the Directive also requires the Insurers to deal with any such claims within a prescribed period of time.
If you have been involved in an accident abroad, contact us without delay to talk to our experts about a possible claim.  In addition to liability issues (which can be quite complex) there are time limits within which you must bring your claim that vary from country to country and some limits may be extremely short. 

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