Injuries and damage

Contents
1. Criminal injuries compensation 2. The Motor Insurers' Bureau

If an uninsured driver deliberately hits you with their car and you can show that there was criminal intent, your application for compensation for injury can be made to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority or the Compensation Services in Northern Ireland. This body has been created to compensate the victims of crime. In a motoring context this could happen, for example, where an intruder is fleeing from private land and deliberately runs over a security guard in making their escape.

If this has happened to you, the matter must be reported to the police as soon as possible. You can obtain application forms from the Police station or your local Citizens Advice Bureau. In England and Wales the maximum award is £500,000. In Northern Ireland the award can exceed £500,000, but any payment may be made in stages, rather than a lump sum. The awards are according to a tariff that sets out the amounts payable for each type of injury. The application must be made within two years of the injury.

Relatives or dependants of those who have suffered a fatal injury can also make applications.

All the insurers in Great Britain are required to be members of the Motor Insurers' Bureau (MIB). It is an organisation, which has been created to provide compensation of up to £250,000 for road users who have been injured or suffered damage as a result of the use of a vehicle by either:

• an uninsured driver; or
• a driver who cannot be traced (hit and run).

If the driver who caused the accident has been traced and successfully sued by you, but is unable to pay compensation after the judgment has been passed, the MIB will pay the damages awarded by the judge in accordance with the 'Uninsured Drivers Agreement'.

If there is no driver to sue as in a 'hit and run' accident, the matter is dealt with under the 'Untraced Drivers Agreement'. The MIB will gather details of the injuries and circumstances of the accident and pay a sum, which should reflect the amount the injured person would have received in court. Injured persons who are not satisfied with the award may appeal against the assessment of MIB.

If you have suffered an injury as a result of this type of driver, you must contact the MIB with details of the accident and the injuries concerned. It is most important that the police are called to the scene of an accident where someone has been injured. The police report will be of great importance in any claim for compensation that is made by anyone involved in the accident.

For the MIB home page click here.