Roundabout injury
compensation claims

If a roundabout injury injury has set you back, we'll help you move forward

Roundabout injuries usually involve vehicle collisions causing whiplash or other impact-related injuries.

If your life, or the life of a loved one, has been affected by a road accident, we can help. If your injuries were caused by another driver, cyclist, pedestrian or any other road user, you may be entitled to claim compensation.

You can make a No Win, No Fee road injury compensation claim with the help and support of a personal injury solicitor.

With nearly 75,000 car occupant injuries every year, you are not alone

In 2022, there were 788 car occupant fatalities and 74,379 casualties (gov.uk).

Safely navigating a roundabout requires good judgement and awareness of other vehicles, and depends upon on each driver positioning appropriately.

Accidents on roundabouts tend to happen when drivers position incorrectly for the exit they want to take or when drivers pick up the wrong lane while exiting the roundabout.

If you decide to claim compensation for an accident on a roundabout, your road accident solicitor will take you through every step of the claims process. Your solicitor will be with you until you win your claim and get the compensation you need to move forward.

Do I qualify for roundabout injury injury compensation?

If you've been injured or made ill in the last three years and it wasn't your fault, then you will be entitled to claim compensation for roundabout injury injury.

Find out online if you can claim with our injury claim calculator. Alternatively, you can speak to a claims advisor on 0800 376 1001 and find out if you have a claim in minutes.

Is a claim still possible if I was partly responsible for my injury?

Understanding who is legally at fault for an accident often requires navigating through a maze of legal complexities.

Each year, Quittance carries out a survey of potential claimants. In our 2024 Road Injury Claimant Survey, 5.24% of injured road users felt they might be at least partly to blame for their injuries.

Even if you were partly at fault, you could still be able to claim compensation. 'Split liability' or 'contributory negligence' are terms used to describe these cases.

Read more:

Can I claim if I feel I was partly responsible for my accident?

How long do I have to start a roundabout injury claim?

For most injury claims, you have up to 3 years from the date of your injury to start the claims process.

The 3 year limitation period does not apply to minors (under 18s). A parent, guardian or litigation friend can start a claim on a child's behalf up to their 18th birthday and the child has until their 21st birthday to claim for themselves.

What if the driver was uninsured or untraceable?

If the driver responsible for the injury is either uninsured or untraceable, a claim can be pursued through the Motor Insurers' Bureau (MIB).

The MIB is an independent that pays road accident compensation to the victims of uninsured or untraced (unidentified) drivers.

How much compensation can I claim for a roundabout injury?

The amount of money you could claim for your injury will depend on:

• the seriousness of your injury, and
• any financial losses or costs you have incurred.

At the start of your claim, your solicitor will consider the many ways your injuries have affected your life. Your solicitor will take these considerations into account to calculate the correct compensation award.

General damages

General damages are awarded for pain, suffering and loss of amenity (PSLA).

Awards for general damages are set by the Judicial College (judiciary.uk) and published in their guidelines for personal injury awards.

How is compensation calculated if I have multiple injuries?

Special damages

Special damages are for financial losses and expenses you have incurred because of your accident. In addition to paying for loss of earnings, including lost overtime, holiday pay, benefits and pension contributions, damage and repairs to your car, special damages can cover any care costs and medical procedures you need, such as pain medication and psychological support.

Read more:

A complete list of recoverable losses in a personal injury claim

Road accidents and psychiatric health

Have you been mentally or emotionally affected by a road accident? You are not alone.

Our 2024 Road Injury Claimant Survey highlights how common psychiatric injuries are, with 32.47% of road accident claims involving psychological harm. 78.53% of these were also associated with a physical injury.

Accidents on roundabouts can cause a general anxiety about navigating complex road systems and amaxophobia (fear of driving or being a passenger).

Claiming general damages for mental and emotional distress can help provide access to mental health care and therapies, some of which might not be available through the NHS.

Our compensation calculator can estimate your compensation for psychological injuries. Or you can call us on 0800 376 1001 to speak to a specialist advisor.

Roundabouts and the Highway Code

The Highway Code (gov.uk) states that when turning right at a roundabout, you should:

• signal right and approach the roundabout in the right-hand lane
• keep to the right on the roundabout until you need to change to the left lane and exit the roundabout
• signal left after you have passed the exit before the one you want

In most cases, the left lane can be used for both turning left and proceeding straight ahead. However, on some roundabouts, the left lane may be for turning left only or straight on only.

Signs and road markings will inform the driver of the appropriate lane for their exit. The left lane is not for turning right, and drivers who continue around the island in this lane are at risk as they are crossing exits that other drivers are attempting to emerge from.

Drivers who attempt to exit the roundabout from the right lane are also at risk of causing an accident as other traffic may be moving alongside them in the left lane. It is essential that a driver signals his or her intention when wishing to exit the roundabout.

If a driver fails to adhere to the Highway Code, then he/she could be at risk of causing an accident. If you are involved in an accident with a driver who was in the wrong lane of a roundabout, this doesn't necessarily prove liability. A solicitor will consider all evidence at hand and advise you as to the strength of your case.

What is the correct way to exit a roundabout?

Section 186 of the Highway Code explains the signals and positions required to exit a roundabout safely. When taking an exit, drivers are required to obey the following (unless signs or markings indicate otherwise):

First exit

1. Signal left and approach the exit in the left lane
2. Keep to the left and signal left to leave

Exit to the right or going full circle

1. Signal right and approach the roundabout in the right lane
2. Keep to the right until you need to change lanes to exit
3. Signal left after passing the exit before the one you want to take

Intermediate exit

1. Select the appropriate lane on approach to roundabout
2. Stay in lane until you need to change to exit
3. Signal left after passing the exit before the one you want to take

In practice, motorists do not always adhere to these rules. Not only can roundabouts be confusing to navigate, but bad habits or ignorance can result in incorrect lane usage.

Why does incorrect lane usage lead to accidents?

By failing to exit in the approved lane, drivers can end up blocking or cutting up other motorists on the roundabout.

Most accidents in this situation are caused when vehicles turning right on a roundabout stay in the left lane until they reach their exit. This means they are preventing other road users exiting who are correctly positioned in the right lane.

Proving wrong lane driver liability

In Slater v Bancroft [1999], a driver was held 100% negligible for an accident due to being in the incorrect lane for the intended exit and not taking care when adjusting the position. However, liability is not always clear cut.

Both parties may be at fault, or the driver could have taken care when repositioning despite being in the wrong lane. Often both parties will argue that they were positioned correctly on the roundabout. In order to prove other driver liability, CCTV footage and witnesses of the accident will often be called upon to prove who was really responsible. A solicitor can assist the claimant in requesting footage to support their claim.

How did your injury happen?

Roundabout injury injury claims are usually categorised as road traffic accident (RTA) claims. Click on the icons below to learn more:

Road
accidents

Pedestrian
injuries

Cycling
accident

Motorcycle
accident

Other
accidents

How we can help you with your road accident claim

Your solicitor will fight for the best possible compensation settlement for you, and the highly-experienced panel of solicitors have an excellent track record of winning road accident claims.

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Case study

Rakhi Chauhan secures £80,000 following a road collision with a lorry. The victim was forced off the road when a lorry driver fell asleep at the wheel. Read more

Citations

Author:
Chris Salmon, Director

About the author

Chris Salmon is a co-founder and Director of Quittance Injury Claims. Chris has played key roles in the shaping and scaling of a number of legal services brands and is a regular commentator in the legal press.