UK Road Traffic Accident Claims: A Complete 2026 Guide

The two routes: OIC portal vs solicitor

If you were a driver or passenger over 18, the accident happened in England or Wales, and your injuries are valued under £5,000 (with total losses under £10,000), you must use the Official Injury Claim (OIC) portal. The portal is designed to be used without a solicitor and uses a fixed tariff for whiplash injuries. Pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists and vulnerable road users are exempt and can use a solicitor on a no win no fee basis from the start.

Above the £5,000 small claims limit — for example a fractured wrist, ongoing psychological injury or a serious knee injury — the claim leaves the portal and follows the standard pre-action protocol with a solicitor. At that point legal costs become recoverable from the at-fault insurer, which is why solicitors take these cases on no win no fee.

The whiplash tariff

Since May 2021, whiplash injuries lasting up to 24 months have been valued using a fixed government tariff rather than judicial guideline brackets. The amounts are deliberately low — for example, a whiplash injury lasting 3 to 6 months is currently set at £495, rising to £4,345 for 18 to 24 months. A small uplift applies if there is also a psychological injury arising from the same accident.

If your injuries fall outside the tariff (a broken bone, a serious back injury, a head injury) the Judicial College Guidelines apply instead, and amounts are typically several multiples higher. Mixing tariff and non-tariff injuries is one of the most common reasons claims get under-settled in the portal.

Evidence that strengthens an RTA claim

Photographs of vehicle damage, road position, skid marks and any visible injury matter enormously. So do dashcam footage, witness names and contact details, and the police incident reference if officers attended. Get medical attention the same day or the next morning — gaps of more than 48 hours between the accident and a GP or A&E visit are routinely used by insurers to argue that injuries were not caused by the collision.

Keep every receipt: physiotherapy, prescription charges, taxi fares to medical appointments, replacement child seats and damaged clothing. These are recoverable as 'special damages' on top of the injury award. Lost earnings, including overtime and bonuses, are also recoverable with payslips and an employer letter.

Time limits and pre-existing conditions

Adults have three years from the date of the accident to start court proceedings. For children, the three years runs from their 18th birthday. Claims against uninsured or untraced drivers go through the Motor Insurers' Bureau (MIB), which has its own application form and shorter notification windows — three years for an uninsured driver, but only nine months from the accident for an untraced driver claim relating to property damage.

Pre-existing conditions do not bar a claim. The 'eggshell skull' rule means an at-fault driver takes their victim as they find them — if you had a degenerative spine and the collision accelerated your symptoms by three years, you can claim for that three-year acceleration. A medical expert report quantifies it.

Realistic settlement timescales

Straightforward whiplash claims through the OIC portal typically settle in 4 to 8 months once the medical report is in. Mid-value claims with a solicitor (£5,000 to £25,000) usually settle in 9 to 18 months. Serious injury claims involving surgery, ongoing treatment or psychological injury can take 2 to 4 years because final settlement depends on prognosis stabilising.

Interim payments are available in serious cases to cover urgent treatment, lost income or home adaptations before final settlement. Ask your solicitor about an interim early — most insurers will release £2,000 to £10,000 within weeks once liability is admitted.

Frequently asked questions