"Help! I have received a County Court claim form for a road traffic accident"

Working in a solicitors firm within the RTA industry I deal with legal proceedings on a daily basis but if someone who is not familiar with them receives these through the post I can understand that they can be very daunting and quite worrying. Several times this week I have dealt with telephone calls from extremely distressed people who have received a County Court Claim Form in relation to road traffic accidents, some which even date back to 2004 (3 years ago). Some of these people have said that they have been physically sick especially as the form states that they need to respond within 14 days or face judgement against them in the region of thousands of pounds (the amount claimed).

Unfortunately sometimes proceedings are served directly on the insured rather than the insurance company or solicitors dealing with the matter. Should you receive such proceedings I hope that this post helps to alleviate your worries and explains exactly what you should do.

1. PLEASE DO NOT WORRY! The best thing I can recommend is to speak to either your insurance company or a solicitors (if appointed) to advise that you have received a claim form.

2. Usually they will ask you to send the claim form or a copy to them so that they can deal with it on your behalf.

3. If liability for the accident has been admitted then it is unlikely that you will need to do anything further, everything will be resolved by your representatives

Where liability (fault) is admitted the reason legal proceedings would be issued is a dispute over quantum (the value of the claim) or the limitation period is due to expire/has expired (see below for further information in relation to limitation)

4. Where liability is in issue it is likely that you may be required to attend court to give your version of events, however your representatives will be able to explain the process and exactly what is required of you if this is the case so feel free to raise any queries or worries with them


Turning to my above point in relation to "limitation" sometimes claims are not concluded until the limitation period expires. Once people have reported an accident to their insurance company and had their vehicle repaired they tend to forget about the matter. However what the insured does not see is the work that then has to be done by the insurance company or solicitors appointed by them when dealing with a third party claim.

In England and Wales you have 3 to make a personal injury claim - (I am sure you have seen the annoying people in the street asking if you have had an accident in the last 3 years). If a claim is not settled before the 3 year period expires most solicitors issue protective legal proceedings to ensure that their client receives their compensation. If this is not done and a client cannot go on to claim their compensation this can lead to professional negligence being raised.

Once the proceedings have been issued they must then be served within a 4 month period. Therefore if the claim is still not settled within these further 4 months the proceedings will be served (sent) to the Defendant - as mentioned above this maybe the insured rather than the solicitors acting.

I hope the above helps if you are faced with the above. If you have any queries please feel free to ask and I will try and answer them.

Further information about dealing with a claim and the claim form itself can be found at HMCS (Her Majesty's Court Service)

Free Accident Form - What to do if you have an RTA

Please click here for a printable copy of an "accident form" which I have created for my personal use

Using a form such as the one above ensures that you get down all of the relevant details. This is especially useful if you are in a state of shock and where you are likely to forget something. The extent of the information you get could also assist your insurance company process your claim more swiftly and would be invaluable to the police should they become involved.

In this post I hope to provide some handy tips and advice to be taken into consideration if you are involved in a road traffic accident (RTA). I will also suggest some precautions you can take so that you are prepared if an accident occurs. Hopefully if you are unfortunate enough to be involved in an RTA the advice below will help ensure that the process is as smooth as possible in what may be a very distressing situation.

Having been involved in a RTA you may be shocked and unable to think clearly. This is why I suggest that you carry certain items in your glove compartment in the form of an "accident pack" to be used should you be involved in an accident.

In your accident pack I recommend that you carry:

1. Disposable camera (preferably with a flash) - to take photographs of the accident scene and any damage to the vehicles involved

2. Your insurance/contact details - so these can be passed on to any third party involved

3. Accident forms and 2 pens/pencils - to take down the other driver's details plus any other relevant details - alternatively have a piece of paper ready for the same purpose

Other points to keep in mind

1. Keep an accident pack like the one suggested above in your car's glove compartment

2. Try to get as many details as possible including the car registration number, make , model and colour. It may also be helpful to take down a description of the third party in case identity becomes an issue

3. As mentioned above take photographs of the scene and any damage to the vehicles/property involved no matter how slight the damage – this may avoid any dispute later - A handy tip is to get the vehicle's registration number and the third party in the photographs but be careful as they may not want to be photographed

4. If you are hit by someone who then drives off without exchanging details try and get as much information about the vehicle as possible – in particular the registration number – report the matter to the police and your insurance company who can then try and trace the vehicle involved

5. If there are witnesses to any accident, no matter how minor, get their details these may prove invaluable if liability for the accident is disputed

6. Even if the third party vehicle is foreign your insurance party/solicitors should be able to trace the vehicle through the Motor Insurance Bureau (MIB) – just be sure to get the registration number

7. There are many CCTV cameras around towns, shops etc. If liability is disputed it may be worth asking around to see if you could get conclusive footage of the incident – do this quickly though as many places record over past tapes

8. Remember it is a criminal offence to either not exchange details following an accident or to report it to the police