Personal Injury Podcast Special: Road Traffic Accidents

The following is a transcript of a podcast interview between Bloomsbury Institute London – in conjunction with Hodge Jones & Allen – interviewing solicitor Ruchi Fowle; who specialises in Personal Injury law at Hodge Jones & Allen Solicitors. The conversation was distributed via the Letter of the Law podcast as run by Bloomsbury Institute London, and the London Legal Podcast which goes out through Hodge Jones & Allen podcast channels.

The London Legal Podcast, and this episode, can be listened back via Spotify and YouTube.

Host: Hello and welcome to another episode of The Letter of the Law on Bloomsbury Radio at Bloomsbury Institute London, as well as through the London Legal Podcast as distributed via Hodge Jones & Allen solicitors. Today the topic of conversation is around Personal Injury law, and the subject of the Personal Injury Law Clinic which both Hodge Jones & Allen and Bloomsbury Institute London promote to assist the local community. I’m pleased to welcome Ruchi Fowle, solicitor at Hodge Jones & Allen today who will be speaking about the specific personal injury topic of road traffic accidents. Ruchi, can you tell the audience a bit more about yourself please?

Ruchi Fowle: My name is Ruchi Fowle. I am a solicitor at Hodge Jones and Allen Solicitors. I have 25 years of experience of representing people who have been injured in road traffic accidents.

Over the years I have represented clients who have been injured in a variety of different accidents on the roads. For example, a client who was driving his car and was hit by a runaway caravan, a motorbike rider who was hit by an overtaking vehicle on the wrong side of the road, and a pedestrian hit while walking across a pedestrian crossing.

Host: Thank you, now for those of us who are listening today and aren’t too familiar with your form, can you tell us a bit more about Hodge Jones & Allen solicitors, their specialisms, their history, etc?

Ruchi Fowle: Hodge Jones and Allen Solicitors was founded in 1977 and has for the last 48 years helped thousands of people gain access to justice. Often, Hodge Jones and Allen will take on cases other firms of solicitors don’t take on, and we are not afraid of dealing with challenges to achieve the best results for our clients.

Host: As well as discussing the specific topic of road traffic accidents, we’re also talking about the Personal Injury Law Clinic that’s been set up. Please tell our audience about this collaboration between Bloomsbury Institute London and Hodge Jones & Allen.

Ruchi Fowle: The partnership started in March 2025 when one of our Partners, Daniel Denton, approached Bloomsbury Institute London and asked them if Hodge Jones & Allen could partner with Bloomsbury Institute London to run a remote Personal Injury Clinic.

Bloomsbury Institute London was very keen on the idea, and Daniel then organised a remote PowerPoint presentation to present to the Bloomsbury students. At the same time, we got together to draft an enquiry form for members of the public to complete and then we set about promoting the project

Host: Okay. So, what are the collective aims of this partnership?

Ruchi Fowle: I’d say they are threefold:

Social Justice: To improve access to justice by providing free, confidential legal advice to members of the public on a range of issues, including personal injury law.

Develop students: To offer students the opportunity to gain practical, hands-on experience designed to enhance their employability, exposing them to real-life cases, bridging the gap between legal education and practical application.

Help the local community: Having a significant positive impact on the local community by supporting individuals in need.

Host: Thanks for laying that out so clearly. How does the remote Personal Injury clinic work in practice?

Ruchi Fowle: A member of the public can complete the enquiry form and then the student will arrange a 30-minute remote meeting on either Teams or Zoom which would allow the member of the public to obtain free legal advice on any Personal Injury claim.

After the meeting the student will draft a letter of advice which will be sent to the member of staff at Hodge Jones & Allen for checking and the final version will be sent to the client.

Host: And where can listeners find this enquiry form should they want to get in touch with an enquiry?

Ruchi Fowle: You can visit the Bloomsbury Institute London website right now, on www.bil.ac.uk and to find the Law Clinic page, simply type in ‘Bloomsbury Law Clinic’ to look up the Personal Injury Law Clinic page with the enquiry form.

Simply fill in some details about what happened and provide your contact details, and you can get in touch with the team straight away.

Host: Thank you Ruchi. Let’s turn to the specific topic of our show today, road traffic accidents. Can you describe the types of road traffic accidents that come within the definition of a legal claim, for instance what is exactly a road traffic accident for the purposes of bringing a personal injury claim, and what different forms might this take?

Ruchi Fowle: A road traffic accident occurs where a person has been involved in an accident involving a motorised vehicle. People can be injured in a road accident when they are a driver, passenger or a pedestrian. They can be traveling in a motor vehicle or motorcycle or riding a push bike. They could be hit by any type of motorised vehicle including an electric scooter.

Another type of accident is where a person is injured as a result of a defect with a motor vehicle, although these are rare.

The person who it is alleged caused the accident is called the Defendant. The person who was injured and who is bringing a claim is called the Claimant.

Host: What happens in the aftermath of a road traffic accident?

Ruchi Fowle: Usually the police are called, and they take details and statements from those involved and any witnesses. The police may also gather any CCTV footage or dashcam evidence from the scene of the accident.

If the accident is minor, the parties involved may exchange their personal and insurance details between themselves without involving the police.

If the injured person, the Claimant, requires medical attention, an ambulance will be called and will attend to them and take them to the local hospital. Sometimes, if the injuries are very severe or life threatening, a helicopter may attend to airlift the Claimant to hospital.

In the days following the accident and as soon as possible, the Claimant should report the accident to their insurance company. If the Claimant has the details of the party responsible, this will help their insurer to lodge the claim with the Defendant’s insurer.

If the Claimant does not have details of the other party, they can provide the police reference, and their insurance company or solicitor can contact the police to obtain the Defendant’s insurance details.

Host: What happens if the Defendant was uninsured or it was a hit and run accident?

Ruchi Fowle: There are some instances where the Defendant was driving a vehicle which was not insured so there are no insurance details to pass on to the Claimant’s own insurer. In this case the Defendant is known as an Uninsured driver.

Or another scenario is a hit and run accident where the Defendant did not stop to provide their details. In this case, the driver is known as an Untraced driver. In both cases, where the other driver was either uninsured or untraced, it is still possible to bring a claim for personal injury. The claim will be against the Motor Insurer’s Bureau (known as the MIB). The MIB will act as the insurer of the Defendant and will pay compensation to the Claimant.

Host: What are common injuries arising from a road traffic accident?

Ruchi Fowle: Many people who are injured by a vehicle colliding with their vehicle, will sustain what is known as soft tissue injuries, usually to the neck, back and shoulders. A soft tissue injury is damage to muscles, ligaments, or tendons. These injuries are commonly caused by the impact of the accident and result in symptoms like pain, swelling, bruising, and stiffness. A well-known name for soft tissue injuries is whiplash. Sometimes whiplash pain can resolve within a few weeks, but sometimes it can be serious and long term.

Other types of injuries include fractures to any part of the body, internal injuries or a head injury. It is also common for people to suffer from adverse psychological symptoms after being involved in a traumatic accident.

Host: What should a Claimant do if they are in pain from injuries sustained in the accident?

Ruchi Fowle: It is important for the Claimant to seek medical attention as soon as possible to help them recover from their injuries. Their GP could prescribe painkilling medication or refer them to physiotherapy treatment. Where the Claimant is in significant pain, the GP could refer them to a Consultant at the hospital for treatment and management of their symptoms.

Host: Let’s now turn to the situation where a Claimant now wishes to take legal action based on what has happened to them. In that case, what is involved in making a personal injury claim?

Ruchi Fowle: The burden of proof is on the Claimant. This means that they have to prove that, not only did the other party cause the accident, but the injuries they sustained arose because of the accident.

The first part of this is called “liability”. The Claimant’s solicitor will send a letter of claim to the insurer of the Defendant. The letter of claim will set out the details of the accident, the reasons why the Defendant is to blame for the accident, the injuries that the Claimant has suffered and the documents that we require if liability is to be disputed. We will request an admission of liability from the insurer.

The Defendant’s insurers will have three months to investigate the accident and decide whether or not to admit liability. If they don’t respond within this time, we will chase them.

Host: What about contributory negligence?

Ruchi Fowle: If the Claimant was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident, this could result in a lower award of compensation. This is known as contributory negligence. The Defendant’s insurer will allege that had the Claimant worn a seatbelt his injuries would not have been as serious as they were. In other words, the Claimant may have contributed to his injuries by failing to wear a seatbelt.

Host: What if insurance company only partly admits liability?

Ruchi Fowle: If liability is only admitted in part by the insurance company, then we would ask them for specific reasoning as to why they consider that the Claimant is partly to blame for the accident together with any documentation that they have in support of their reasons.

If liability is fully in dispute, we would re-assess the evidence available to ensure that the case still has at least 50% prospects of success. If the case still has at least 50% prospects of success, then we would advise the Claimant to proceed with their claim.

Host: What if the insurance company admits liability in full?

Ruchi Fowle: If liability is admitted in full or in part, we would then instruct our medical experts to examine the Claimant. This is the second part of the burden of proof where the Claimant obtains medical evidence from independent medical experts to support their injuries.

We would instruct a medical expert to examine the Claimant and provide a report on the injuries. We always obtain the Claimant’s medical records such as from their GP, hospital, ambulance and any treatment providers such as physiotherapists. It is important that the independent medical expert has access to these records so that he has a full understanding of the Claimant’s pre accident medical history and what has happened to him since the accident.

The independent expert’s report will consider the injuries sustained and confirm if they were caused by the accident. The report will also consider any treatment or surgery which may assist the Claimant in his recovery.

Crucially, the report will also provide a prognosis of the injuries to state when the Claimant had recovered from the injury or when he is likely to recover at some time in the future. This prognosis period is important as it is used by solicitors to put a value to the Claimant’s claim.

Host: What about if the Claimant sustained out of pocket expenses as a result of the injuries? Are these recoverable from the Defendant?

Ruchi Fowle: Yes, absolutely. Examples of out-of-pocket expenses include the cost of travelling to treatment appointments, loss of earnings from not being able to work because of the injuries, prescription charges, any damage to clothing or property, any private medical expenses incurred or care and assistance provided by friends or family. These are just some examples of out-of-pocket losses but there are various other losses which are dependent on the Claimant’s particular circumstances.

A Claimant will need to prove his out-of-pocket expenses to be able to recover the costs. This is why we advise that a Claimant should keep all receipts and evidence of expenses incurred so that they can be included in his claim.

Host: How do you settle a claim for the Claimant?

Ruchi Fowle: The Claimant’s claim is made up of two parts. The first is known as General Damages and is the pain, suffering and loss of amenity suffered by the Claimant because of the injuries. The second is known as Special Damages which is the Claimant’s out of pocket expenses. Both General and Special Damages are added together to give one figure.

It is then a process of negotiating a settlement with the Defendant’s representative. It is possible to disclose all the evidence to the Defendant’s representative and invite an offer of settlement. Alternatively, the Claimant’s solicitor can put forward an offer of settlement to the Defendant.

If the parties are able to reach a settlement through negotiation, then this will be the end of the case. The Defendant’s representative will make payment of the compensation to the Claimant and the claim will conclude. The Claimant will not be able to reopen his case after settlement to seek additional compensation.

If the parties are unable to reach a settlement, then it will be necessary to commence court proceedings.

Host: How does a court deal with road traffic accident claims?

Ruchi Fowle: The court system is set up to deal with claims based on their value. A claim which is valued at up to £5,000 is known as a “Small Claim”. The Small Claims process is straightforward and is done through a government portal called the Official Injury Claim portal (the OIC). It is an online service for Claimants to make their claim without the need for representation.

For claims valued between £5,000 and £25,000, Claimants should be represented by a solicitor. The solicitor will submit the Claimant’s claim on the online portal known as the MOJ portal. Such claims are called Fast Track claims. The solicitor will guide the Claimant through the process and negotiate settlement with the Defendant’s representative.

Host: What about more complicated claims, where the claims value is much higher?

Ruchi Fowle: For claims valued between £25,000 and £100,000, the government has recently created a new track called the Intermediate Track. These are for cases valued up to £100,000 which are not overly complex and do not involve several independent experts.

A claim valued at over £100,000 is known as a Multi-Track claim. Such claims can be complex involving complicated issues, require a more extensive use of independent experts and require long trials.

Host: If a case is commenced at court, does it mean that it will end up at a hearing before a judge?

Ruchi Fowle: No, the process is to attempt to settle the case without recourse to a hearing before a judge. This is always in all parties’ best interest as it is unpredictable to go before a judge. It is unknown how the judge will react to the evidence before him. He may prefer one party’s evidence over the other party’s.

Host: Okay as we wind down our conversation Ruchi, what would your advice to someone who has experienced a road traffic accident – or knows someone who has – and is listening to this podcast?

Ruchi Fowle: If you are involved in a road traffic accident, I would recommend that you take down the registration number of the vehicle, take photos of both vehicles and call the police.

You should seek medical attention as soon as possible from your GP. Where the injuries are serious, such as a head injury, you should go to A&E straightaway.

Host: How can this Personal Injury Clinic as run by Bloomsbury Institute London and Hodge Jones & Allen help members of the public?

Ruchi Fowle: The most important benefit to members of the public is that the clinic allows people to obtain access to justice irrespective of their financial position, and alongside a specialist lawyer with years of experience. All of this also takes place within an informal and friendly environment.

If you’d like to learn more about the Bloomsbury Institute Law Clinic, please visit the Bloomsbury Institute London website and look up ‘Bloomsbury Law Clinic’.

If you’d like to potentially make an enquiry and learn more, get in touch with us via phone on 0330 822 3451 or email on bilradio@hja.net.

If you’d like to learn more about the work I do, the cases I’ve dealt with, and a bit more background about my experience, please visit www.hja.net and look up my profile, under ‘Ruchi Fowle’.

Host: Goodbye for now and we look forward to speaking with you on the next episode of The Letter of the Law and the London Legal Podcast.