How to claim injury compensation for a driving lesson accident

If your life, or the life of a loved one, has been affected by a driving lesson 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 2023, there were 749 car occupant fatalities and 72,155 casualties (gov.uk).

Learner drivers are inevitably more prone to errors than other road users. Even with an experienced driving instructor on hand, road accidents can happen.

Under the Highway Code (Annex 3), learner drivers are required to be supervised by an driver with 3 year experience, and vehicles must display L-plates. Learner drivers are required to obey the same rules as any other driver, and the same standard is applied when considering liability for an accident.

If you decide to make a driving lesson injury claim, 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.

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 driving lesson accident?

Your claim for compensation in an accident during a driving lesson will depend on:

• how serious the injury is,
• how much your injury affects your daily life and work performance,
• any expenses or financial setbacks caused by the accident.

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.

Special damages is compensation awarded to cover any financial losses and expenses you incur as a result of your driving lesson injury or negligent medical treatment. These damages aim to put you back in the financial position you would have been in, had your injury not occurred.

Special damages will also cover your medical treatment expenses, that might include pain medication and physical therapy.

Read more:

A complete list of recoverable losses in a personal injury claim

How is compensation calculated if I have multiple injuries?

The psychological impact of a road accident

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.

Injuries during driving lessons can cause a phobia of driving (vehophobia and amaxophobia), and general anxiety about road safety and travelling in cars.

You can claim compensation for recognised psychological harm that arises from a road accident, including PTSD. Your solicitor will help ensure you can access help and mental health support that may not be available on the NHS in your area.

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.

Am I entitled to make a driving lesson injury claim?

You have the right to claim compensation for a driving lesson accident, if:

• you were injured in the last 3 years, and;
• another party was to blame, and;
• that party owed you a legal duty of care.

Use our injury claim calculator to find out if you can claim. Or you can call 0800 376 1001 to speak to a specialist advisor. Find out in minutes if you have a claim.

Can I make a claim even if I'm partly liable?

Pinpointing liability for an accident will depend on the context, with different legal principles applying to different circumstances.

In our 2024 Road Injury Claimant Survey, 5.24% of injured road users felt they were at least partly responsible for their accident or injuries.

The legal term for cases where an injured person was (to some extent) responsible for their injuries is 'contributory negligence'. If there is fault on both sides of a claim, it is possible to pay reduced compensation on a split liability agreement.

Read more:

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

The learner driver's responsibilities

When learning to drive, a learner must:

• be aged 17 or over;
• hold a provisional license;
• be supervised by someone aged 21 or over who has held a clean driving license for 3 years;
• display L plates

These rules are in place for the learner driver's own safety and the safety of other road users.

Once on the road, learners are required to drive in a reasonably safe manner, for example, adhering to traffic signals, checking for blind spots and obeying the speed limits.

In Nettleship v Weston [1971], the Court of Appeal confirmed that learners must be held to the same standard as other drivers.

The Courts are not required to be lenient on learner drivers, but they may expect other drivers to treat a vehicle displaying learner plates with reasonable caution.

Is my driving instructor liable?

During the course of a driving lesson, the instructor or supervisor has a duty of care to ensure the learner is driving safely giving clear direction and, if necessary, intervening to avoid an incident, should the need arise.

Instructors and supervisors are required to hold sufficient insurance to cover accidents resulting from the actions of the learner driver and themselves.

An instructor is unlikely to be liable for the actions of their student, but if an instructor or supervisor fails to act safely, for example taking a phone call when they should have their eyes on the road, or to take reasonable steps to avoid an accident, they could be held accountable.

An instructor may be liable if they asked their student to perform a manoeuvrer that was unlawful, or otherwise dangerous, and thus caused an accident.

Driving schools can also be culpable if the vehicle was defective or if they failed to ensure the quality of the instructors hired.

What if a third party is involved in a learner driver accident?

No matter how safe or expertly supervised, learner drivers are, like fully qualified drivers, subject to the actions of other road users. Motorists are advised to issue caution when in proximity of vehicles displaying an L plate. In reality, this does not always happen.

Stuck behind a learner, other drivers can become impatient. This can lead to accidents.

If a third party tailgates or attempts to overtake, not leaving adequate space for learner error, and this causes a collision, the other third-party driver could be held negligible.

Third parties can also be held responsible if accidents occur as a result of other agitated behaviour, such as unnecessary horn beeping or aggressive actions.

Claims of this nature are often decided on the individual facts of the case. If you wish to discuss your circumstances with an expert solicitor, call Quittance on 0800 376 1001.

Road traffic accident (RTA) claims

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

Road accidents Other accidents

Sources

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.