How To Sue For A Lorry Accident and Claim Compensation For Injuries

Learning how to sue for a lorry accident can seem a little intimidating. With all the legal jargon, working out what evidence to gather and trying to recover from potentially serious injuries, the claims process can be a lot to take in. The quick answer to the question of how to sue following a lorry accident involves establishing that another road user caused your injuries, gathering evidence of what happened, and exploring your options for claiming by seeking legal advice.

Key Takeaways

• Lorries have the potential to cause substantial damage to other vehicles and serious injury to occupants due to their size.
• Drivers, therefore, are required to take additional care when on the roads to avoid causing injury to other road users.
• Accidents involving lorries can result from vehicle defects, dangerous driving, and poor weather conditions.
• You could be entitled to considerable compensation if you can show that the lorry driver failed to do everything they could to avoid causing you harm.
• At How To Sue, our panel of expert road traffic accident solicitors could assist you with making a lorry accident claim, helping collect the right evidence, negotiating on your behalf, and determining a fair and accurate compensation figure.

Our advisors are available 24 hours a day to get answers to your questions or a free eligibility check. Contact us at any time, and a member of the team will be with you shortly. 

Browse This Page

1. How To Sue For A Lorry Accident
2. What Can Cause Accidents With Lorries Or HGVs To Occur?
3. Examples Of Injuries Caused By HGV Or Lorry Accidents
4. How Much Lorry Accident Compensation Can I Sue For?
5. The Process Of Suing For Lorry Accidents And Injuries
6. Why Choose How To Sue To Pursue An HGV Accident Claim?
7. How To Sue For A Lorry Accident On A No Win No Fee Basis?
8. Learn More

How To Sue For A Lorry Accident

In order to sue for a lorry accident, you’ll need to establish that another road user was at fault for the incident and caused your injuries. Now, road users have a legal responsibility, known as a duty of care, to do everything in their reasonable power to avoid causing harm. As part of this overall duty, the rules and laws of both the Highway Code and the Road Traffic Act 1988 must be upheld. 

In summary, then, the eligibility criteria for a lorry accident claim are:

1. You were owed a duty of care. This means the lorry driver (or another road user) was required to do everything they reasonably could to avoid causing harm to others. The Highway Code imposes a hierarchy of responsibility on all road users, and those with the greatest potential to cause harm, namely lorry drivers, must exercise the greatest care.
2. This duty was breached in some way. The lorry driver, whether through action or inaction (such as speeding, driving erratically, or not leaving enough space), breached the responsibility they had for your safety. 
3. This breach caused your injuries. Where a breach of duty causes harm to someone else, negligence is said to have occurred. For instance, an out-of-control HGV can cause serious injury to you, your passengers, and other road users. Road traffic accident compensation can account for both physical and psychological injuries.

Can I Sue For A Lorry Accident On Behalf Of A Loved One?

Yes, you could sue for a lorry accident on behalf of a loved one if they are unable to claim for themselves. Minors, as well as those without sufficient mental capacity, cannot claim on their own behalf until they either reach 18 or have undergone a sufficient recovery of their capacity.

You would need to be appointed as your loved one’s litigation friend, which would give you decision-making power over the claim. There are strict suitability requirements to be a litigation friend, and you must act in the best interests of the claimant. Any compensation awarded to children will be held in a Court Funds Office (CFO) account until they turn 18. 

To get further guidance on how to sue for a lorry accident, or for a free eligibility check, talk to our advisors today using the details given below.

What Can Cause Accidents With Lorries Or HGVs To Occur?

Poor road conditions, driver error, fatigue, and vehicle faults are among the factors that can cause accidents with lorries or HGVs to occur. A thorough list with illustrative examples has been provided here.

Adverse Weather Conditions

Rain, ice, snow, and fog all impact visibility and can make road conditions more treacherous. If the driver of an HGV doesn’t take extra care in adverse weather, they can lose control of their vehicle and collide with other road users. For example:

• An HGV driver is travelling too quickly despite icy conditions. While going around a bend, the driver loses control of the lorry and swerves into the other lane, colliding with your vehicle and leaving you with a major head injury.

Dangerous Driving

Speeding, erratic lane changes, using a mobile phone, or driving under the influence are all examples of dangerous driving. Given the size and stopping distance of lorries, dangerous driving can cause catastrophic accidents and injuries, such as:

• A lorry driver changed lanes without indicating, leading to them hitting your car. The collision leads to your car crashing into a tree and causes you to sustain a serious hip injury and damage to your lower back.

Tiredness And Fatigue

Under the assimilated rules on drivers’ hours, lorry drivers are generally restricted to 9 hours in a day, 56 hours in 1 week, and 90 hours in any 2 consecutive weeks. Limited extensions can apply in some circumstances. The rules also mandate rest periods at 11 hours every day and an uninterrupted rest period of 45 hours each week.

Regardless of these rules, if a lorry driver feels tired, they should stop to rest. Tiredness and fatigue slow down reaction times, inhibiting a driver’s ability to respond to the road in a way similar to the effects of alcohol. A lorry driver may therefore respond too late to stationary traffic or traffic signals, resulting in a collision. 

As an example:

• Having dramatically exceeded their driving hours, an HGV driver falls asleep at the wheel while travelling along a motorway. The lorry breaks through the central reservation and collides with several cars, including your own. The impact causes life-altering nerve damage in your spine, resulting in major paralysis. 

Insufficient Training

Strict licensing requirements require HGV drivers to hold a Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) and undertake refresher training every 5 years. A driver without the right qualifications may not know how to manoeuvre the lorry properly or understand all the controls. For example:

• Despite the licensing requirements, a haulage firm hired a driver without the right qualifications. While attempting to perform a difficult reversing manoeuvre, the driver crashed into your car in a rear-end collision. You sustained significant injuries to your neck and shoulders. 

Faulty Vehicle

Any vehicles used for work activities must be fit for purpose, safe for use, and regularly maintained, in accordance with guidance on vehicle safety and roadworthiness from the UK workplace safety regulator, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA). Additionally, drivers must carry out daily walkaround checks and report any obvious defects. When that is not the case, it can lead to scenarios like the following:

• Due to a lack of maintenance checks, a brake issue was not detected in an HGV. A subsequent brake failure caused a serious accident in which your car was caught between the out-of-control lorry and another vehicle. The collision caused serious crush injuries to your chest. 

These scenarios are intended to act as guidance only. For a more personalised discussion of your experience with a lorry accident, talk to one of our dedicated advisors using the contact information given below.

Examples Of Injuries Caused By HGV Or Lorry Accidents

Due to the disparity in size with other road users, examples of injuries caused by HGV or lorry accidents can range from broken bones to life-changing trauma, such as spinal injuries.

• Broken bones.
• Head injuries and brain damage.
• Spinal injuries.
• Damage to nerves, internal organs, ligaments and other soft tissues.
• Paralysis.
• Psychological distress.

Any injuries you wish to claim compensation for will need a professional diagnosis. Our next section examines how compensation amounts are determined in personal injury claims, and further information can be sought from our dedicated advisory team. 

How Much Lorry Accident Compensation Can I Sue For?

While your individual payout will depend on a number of factors, how much lorry accident compensation you can sue for typically depends on the severity of an injury and its broader impact on your finances. This is due to the fact that HGVs are some of the largest vehicles on the roads, with the potential to cause serious injuries to the occupants of other vehicles.

Two heads of claim are applicable when considering how to sue for a lorry accident. These are:

• General damages: covering physical and psychological injury.
• Special damages: this head provides compensation for associated financial losses; more on this in the next section.

Below you will see a table of injuries that could be sustained in a lorry accident. These figures were taken from the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG), a publication that legal professionals may use to help them determine compensation amounts. They often do so because this document pairs many forms of harm with their own respective guideline brackets of compensation.

Compensation Table

Please note that this information is intended to act as guidance only. Additionally, the bottom pair of entries is from a set tariff introduced under the Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021. You can learn more about these regulations and how to claim by reading our dedicated whiplash injury guide.

Type of Injury	Severity	Guideline
Multiple Very Serious Injuries with Special Damages including Lost Pay, Medical Expenses, and the Cost of Care	Very Serious	Up to £1,000,000 +
Injuries involving Brain Damage	Very Severe (a), May be Little/No Evidence of Language Ability or Meaningful Environmental Response	£344,150 to £493,000
	Moderate (c)(ii), Intellectual Deficit Is Moderate to Modest	£110,720 to £183,190
Paralysis	Quadriplegia (a), Extent of Independence and Residual Movement Considered	£396,140 to £493,000
	Paraplegia (b), Extent and Presence of Pain Will Be Factored In	£267,340 to £346,890
Neck Injuries	Severe (a)(i) - Incomplete Paraplegia or Permanent Spastic Quadriparesis	In Region of £181,020
	Moderate (b)(i) - Dislocations or Fractures With Severe Immediate Symptoms	£30,500 to £46,970
Chest Injuries	Damage to Chest and Lungs (c), With Some Ongoing Disability	£38,210 to £66,920
	Relatively Simple Injuries (d), Resulting in Some Permanent Damage	£15,370 to £21,920
Pelvis and Hips	Moderate (b)(i) - Significant Injuries with No Major Permanent Disability	£32,450 to £47,810
Whiplash	With Minor Psychological Injury, Lasting 18-24 Months	£4,345
	Lasting 18-24 Months	£4,215

How To Sue For Other Losses In A Lorry Or HGV Accident Claim

You can sue for other losses in a lorry or HGV accident claim, namely any financial harm that results from your injuries. This head of claim is called special damages, and you can see a few examples of such costs below.

We should emphasise that special damages are paid out for both past and future losses, which means these amounts are often much higher than corresponding general damages. Examples include:

• Loss of earnings due to any time taken off work to recover from your injuries.
• Any loss of future earnings if you are unable to work at all or work at the same capacity as you did previously. 
• Medical expenses such as physiotherapy, prescription medications, and private treatments.
• Accessibility modifications to your home. For example, ramps, stairlifts, accessible bathroom facilities, and raised seating.
• Domestic care and support, including meal prep, cleaning and caring for any dependants, if you cannot do this safely on your own.
• Travel expenses to and from work and hospital appointments if you cannot drive yourself.

Be sure to keep any documentation, including payslips, travel tickets and care bills, as proof of these costs. That is because special damages can only be claimed for with supportive evidence.

This section is intended as guidance only. To learn more about how compensation in road traffic accident claims is determined, and to get a better idea of what might be a factor in your particular circumstances, talk to our advisory team today.

The Process Of Suing For Lorry Accidents And Injuries

The process for suing for lorry accidents and injuries involves gathering the right supporting evidence to show which road user was at fault, and ensuring that relevant documents are submitted within the required deadline. Once you’ve had your eligibility check, our advisors will connect you with a solicitor who will explain the process in much greater detail.

Nevertheless, we’ve provided some key guidance on gathering evidence and ensuring your claim is made within the right time limit. 

What Evidence Is Needed When Suing For HGV Or Lorry Accidents?

The evidence needed when suing for HGV or lorry accidents includes medical records showing what harm has been sustained, any CCTV or dashcam footage, and witness statements from other motorists or pedestrians confirming what happened. Additionally, you will need the contact details of the involved drivers, as well as their insurance and vehicle registration.

If you are eligible to make a claim, the solicitor will assist with evidence collection, making sure you not only show exactly what harm and financial losses you have experienced, but also prove that the lorry driver was the one responsible for the collision.

How Long Will I Have To Sue For Lorry Injury Compensation?

Typically, you will have 3 years to sue for lorry injury compensation, counted from the date the accident occurred. This limitation period is legally binding, as it was set down by the Limitation Act 1980. Certain exceptions apply for a child or someone lacking sufficient capacity, given that these persons cannot pursue a claim on their own, as discussed earlier. You can find out more in our guide to the limitation period. 

Why Choose How To Sue To Pursue An HGV Accident Claim?

By choosing How To Sue to pursue an HGV accident claim, you’ll gain access to our highly capable panel of expert road traffic accident solicitors. They have years of experience across multiple areas of law and can offer a highly tailored, personalised service built around your needs.

At How To Sue, our panel do not believe in the one-size-fits-all approach, and they work hard to understand the ins and outs of your claim. Here are just some of the services they can offer and ways they can help you:

• Helping you to collect the right supporting evidence. 
• Ensuring you receive any required medical care, rehabilitation or other treatment to cope with your injuries. 
• Explaining all the tricky legal language and helping you understand exactly what is happening with your claim. How To Sue has also put together this helpful legal glossary page. 
• Determining a fair and accurate compensation figure for the claim, taking into account your lost earnings and other costs.
• Meeting with the defendant’s solicitors and negotiating a settlement.

You can learn more about how our panel of dedicated road traffic accident solicitors can help you, as well as find out how to sue for a lorry accident, by talking to our advisors. Contact them today via the details given below.

How To Sue For A Lorry Accident On A No Win No Fee Basis?

To find out how to sue for a lorry accident on a No Win No Fee basis, simply give our advisors a call and get your eligibility checked for free. If you meet the requirements, a solicitor from our panel could offer you their services under strict No Win No Fee terms.

How To Sue’s panel of specialist road traffic accident solicitors work to a particular contract called a Conditional Fee Agreement or “CFA.” By making your claim under a CFA, you’ll be insulating yourself from the expense that can be involved in hiring high-quality legal representation. In particular, you would not pay any service fees to the solicitor at several stages:

• At the start of the claim.
• While you sue for lorry accident compensation.
• If the claim is lost.

Compensation will be paid out in the event of a successful claim. The solicitor will take a success fee from this before the rest is transferred to you, or into a CFO account if you were claiming on behalf of a child under 18. Per The Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013, the maximum percentage that a solicitor may charge as a success fee is capped at 25%. This is a legally binding cap, so you know from the beginning that most of the compensation will go to you.

Contact Our Advisors To Begin A Claim

Talk to our advisors today using the contact information given below. We operate a 24/7 advisory service, so whenever it suits you, we’ll have someone on hand. Get in touch via:

• Phone on 0800 408 7827.
• You can also contact us online by completing a callback form.
• Click the live chat window on your screen now.

Learn More

You can read more of our road traffic accident claims guides by clicking below:

• Learn how to sue for a cycling accident and find out what you may be able to claim.
• Read our guidance on how to sue an insurer.
• Find out how to sue for a broken nose following a road traffic collision.

We’ve also included some external resources that we hope you will find useful:

• You can view detailed advice on road safety laws from THINK!
• Read the NHS guidance on administering first aid after an incident on their website.
• View Health and Safety Executive (HSE) resources on workplace transport.

Further information on this type of claim, as well as a free eligibility check, is available 24 hours a day from our advisory team. Get in touch whenever it suits you using the contact information above. Thank you for taking the time to read our guidance on how to sue for a lorry accident.