Injury abroad

If a person is injured in a road traffic accident, they may be able to claim some compensation for the accident from the Motor Insurer's Bureau (MIB). In the normal course of events, the victim of a road accident would make a claim against the driver's insurer.

However there are still some 1 million uninsured drivers on Britain's roads and the MIB has is an organisation which enables victims to have a claim considered for vehicle and property damage as well as injury where compensation cannot be claimed from another source such as an insurance company.

The MIB will typically assist in cases where the driver causing the accident is uninsured or leaves the scene of the accident and cannot be traced. The MIB is funded by an extra premium being added to all car insurance which is then paid into the scheme.

In addition, the MIB can sometimes help UK residents involved in accidents with foreign registered vehicles either in the UK or elsewhere in Europe.

A recent Supreme Court case considered the level of damages that a UK based claimant could recover in a case where they had been injured abroad. The issue is that the UK claimant can make a claim against the MIB for the injury sustained abroad but the basis of the damages would be calculated according to UK levels of damages and not those of the country in which the injury was sustained.

This is important because in many cases, the damages payable under UK law would be higher than the level of damages that might be achieved if the claimant had brought the case in the country where the accident took place.

The Supreme Court overruled previous judgments and held that the claimant in the case would have her damages assessed in accordance with the laws of Greece (where the accident took place) rather than at UK levels. Greek law would yield a lesser measure of compensation than English law.

Interestingly the court did muse on the position once the UK leaves the EU and commented that this is one of the many post Brexit issues which will have to be considered.

Case: Moreno v the Motor Insurers' Bureau [2016] UKSC

To discuss this or any personal injury related issue, contact us.

© 2024 ASR Advantage Solicitors. All rights reserved.


ASR Advantage Law Limited t/a ‘ASR Advantage Solicitors’, ‘ASR Solicitors’, ‘Advantage Law’, ‘Brown & Corbishley Solicitors’ and ‘David Bendell & Co’ is a limited company registered in England and Wales. Company No. 7333121. Advantage Law is Authorised and Regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority for its Legal Services. SRA No. 565383. VAT reg. 203559621. Registered office: 70 Villa Road, Birmingham, B19 1BL. A list of Directors is available on request.
Lexcel logo