It may be possible to claim compensation if you are injured in an accident caused by a fuel spillage on the road

If you injure yourself in an accident on the road that has been primarily caused as a result of spilled fuel or oil, you may be able to claim No win No fee compensation.

The Motor Insurers Bureau (MIB) deal with incidents caused by negligent "untraced drivers". Generally this term means a driver who has caused an accident but left the scene (usually called hit and run) or has failed to provide details and cooperate fully with an injured party. However the term Untraced driver can also refer to drivers who cause a dangerous spillage on the road and fail to take steps to make the highway safe for other road users.

If for example a lorry driver spills a large amount of fuel on the road, he should take steps to cleanse the area or make safe with sand / grit. It would be deemed a negligent act to simply leave the scene and take no action because it is entirely foreseeable that other road users might be injured as a result of the spillage. Hence the MIB would consider dealing with the injured party's case under the Untraced Drivers Scheme.

This is a little known area with which the MIB can assist with.  Accidents involving vehicles skidding out of control on diesel spillages are more common than people realise. The criteria which applies to the MIB process for considering a claim of this kind can be summarised as follows:

Conditions

• You must report the matter to the police within 14 days for personal injury or within 5 days for vehicle/property damage. The sooner the police are involved the better.
• You must report the matter to the Local Authority as soon as is practical. They must record the event and take steps to cleanse the surface. If the spillage is not severe enough to warrant council intervention, then your case will almost certainly fail.
• You must take photographs if at all possible to show the extent of any spillage.
• There must be a medical record describing your injuries and the circumstances that led to them.

The MIB agreement requires that the spillage should be of such a size that the Local Authority would be required to take some cleansing action. As a fund of last resort, the MIB would be required to rule out that the spillage came from something other than a vehicle.

Why not access our FREE MIB download to learn more about these cases.

Or call our helpline now on 0800 0322210 for immediate assistance and advice.