Compensation systems for road accident victims

Abstract

Worldwide over 1.3 million Persons killed, 50 millions injured in 2007 due to road traffic accidents. In 2004,Road Traffic injuries was the ninth leading cause of death.By,2030 it is estimated the fifth leading cause of death, beating the rank of HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis. Sri Lanka is experiences an increasing trend in road accidents during the last few decades. Ignoring safety hazards may lead to increase in the number of serious accidents. Collected data on accidents from the police and literature reveals several important issues in road traffic accidents and compensation process. Traffic accident victims suffer a great amount of damages. They are not only susceptible to bodily injuries but they may also succumb to financial problems arising from the hospital bills, medical treatment or rehabilitation. However, the trauma from such accidents seems to be immeasurable. As this trauma is often accompanied by pain, suffering and emotional distress, victims may not be expected to get on their feet as quickly as possible. Often times, after a traffic accident ,most victims are simply overwhelmed by the barrage of telephone calls, insurance paper work, accident reports, treatment costs, medical bills, paperwork and other correspondence. These may be too hard to handle for a victim who may want to rest and take a time off from distractions. Due to existing compensation system for road traffic accident victims in Sri Lanka, vulnerable road users are doubly vulnerable. Hence it is very important that the compensation systems and legal procedures should be simple and accessible to the victims of road traffic accidents. This thesis discusses the features of the post accident process, its impact on the road traffic accident victims and systems which are practicing worldwide to compensate road traffic accident victims.