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Article · 10 min read
A drink driver hit me: making a non-fault claim in the UK
If a drink or drug driver caused your accident, liability is almost certain but the claim process has specific steps. This guide covers how to use police evidence, claim from the driver's insurer, and what the MIB covers if they were uninsured.
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Where CCTV, dashcam, witness memory or repair inspection timing matters, the article explains the window and why delay weakens the file.
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E-E-A-T
A drink driver hit me: making a non-fault claim in the UK
Being hit by a drink or drug driver is among the most distressing road accidents because the other driver's impairment was entirely self-caused and entirely avoidable. For the non-fault driver, the collision creates both a strong liability position and a specific evidence opportunity: the police will almost certainly attend, test the driver, and create a formal record that becomes part of your civil claim.
This guide explains how the drink-driving evidence intersects with your civil claim, what happens when the at-fault driver is convicted, how to claim if they were insured (and what to do if they were not), and what you are entitled to recover.
How the criminal case supports your civil claim
A driver convicted of driving with excess alcohol under section 5 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, or of driving while unfit through drink or drugs under section 4, has been found to the criminal standard of proof (beyond reasonable doubt) to have been driving in breach of their statutory duty. That conviction is admissible as evidence in any subsequent civil proceedings under section 11 of the Civil Evidence Act 1968.
This means that a drunk driver who was convicted before your civil claim is heard has already had the central liability question determined against them. The civil claim moves to the quantum (amount) of damage rather than fault. The insurer cannot reopen the liability question in the face of a conviction unless they can show exceptional circumstances.
Even without a conviction - for example where the driver was below the legal limit but impaired by prescription drugs, or where the police did not test, or where charges were dropped - the evidence of impairment (police observations of the driver's behaviour, field impairment tests, in-car footage from the police vehicle) is admissible in civil proceedings and is highly probative.
The police file is disclosable in civil proceedings. Your solicitor can obtain the case papers, including the breathalyser or evidential breath-analysis readings, the arresting officer's statement, any dashcam from the police vehicle, and the scene photographs taken by officers at the time. This evidence is often far more comprehensive than anything you could have gathered yourself at the scene.
DETAIL
03
Section 3 of the walkthrough.
Does a drink driver's insurer still pay?
This is one of the most frequently misunderstood points in road accident claims. A drink driver's insurer is required to meet third-party claims - claims by people other than the insured - even where the insured was driving while intoxicated. The insurer cannot use the driver's breach of a policy condition (most policies exclude cover for deliberate criminal conduct) to avoid paying a third party who is innocent.
Under section 151 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, a motor insurer that is required to meet a third-party claim must pay that claim, even if they would otherwise have grounds to avoid the policy against their insured. The insurer may then seek to recover from the drunk driver under their right of recovery, but that is a matter between insurer and insured. You, as the non-fault third party, receive payment regardless.
The insurer may be slow to accept liability pending the criminal proceedings. This is understandable where the criminal case has not yet concluded, as the police may not release the file to the insurer while proceedings are live. However, the insurer is still required to handle the claim in accordance with the Pre-Action Protocol and cannot simply wait indefinitely. An accident management company will maintain pressure on the timeline.
What if the drink driver was uninsured?
If the at-fault drunk driver had no insurance, the Motor Insurers' Bureau is the compensating body. The MIB Uninsured Drivers' Agreement 2017 covers personal injury and property damage caused by an uninsured vehicle. There is a property damage excess of £300 under the Agreement, meaning the first £300 of vehicle damage is not recoverable from the MIB.
The MIB requires that the accident is reported to the police, and the claim is submitted to them within the time limits set in the Agreement. The claim process is similar in many respects to a conventional insurer claim, but the MIB conducts its own investigation and the timeline can be longer.
An accident management company with MIB experience will submit the claim correctly, including the police report and all supporting evidence, and manage the MIB's investigation. Do not assume that an uninsured drunk driver means you cannot recover - the MIB scheme exists precisely for this scenario.
Enhanced recovery in serious cases
Where the drunk driver caused serious injury - whiplash, broken bones, psychological trauma - the civil claim encompasses special damages (lost earnings, medical expenses, care costs) as well as general damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenity. These claims are referred to an authorised solicitor with your consent and are handled on a no-win, no-fee basis in appropriate cases.
Personal injury claims against drunk drivers sometimes involve aggravated damages where the conduct was particularly reckless or deliberate. Courts have in some cases awarded additional damages where a defendant's conduct showed conscious disregard for the rights and safety of others. Whether aggravated damages are available depends on the specific facts and the judge's assessment of the defendant's conduct.
If the drink driver was driving a company vehicle at the time, the employer may also be vicariously liable if the driver was acting in the course of employment. Being impaired does not automatically take a driver outside the course of employment; courts have held that the employment connection can persist even where the employee was committing an offence.
Take action
If you have just been in a non-fault collision, the fastest way to protect your claim is to open the file with us inside the first hour. We dispatch recovery, lodge the relevant CCTV requests inside the retention window, and notify the third-party insurer for you.
We do not provide legal advice. This article is general guidance for UK drivers. Personal injury enquiries are referred only with your consent to authorised legal or regulated partners. Specific limits, retention windows and process steps may change; the position at the date of any individual collision will govern the handling of that claim.
Frequently asked questions
- Do I need to wait for the criminal trial before claiming?
- No. You can open a civil claim immediately after the accident. The civil claim proceeds independently of criminal proceedings. A conviction, when it comes, is then admissible in your civil case as additional evidence. Waiting does not benefit you and may prejudice evidence.
- The driver's insurer is using the drink-driving as a reason to delay - is this legitimate?
- Partly. An insurer may await the outcome of criminal proceedings before committing to a liability position, as the police file contains relevant evidence. However, they must still handle the claim fairly and comply with the Pre-Action Protocol's response timelines. An accident management company will ensure they do not use criminal proceedings as an indefinite excuse.
- What if the drunk driver denies being at fault for the collision itself?
- Being over the legal limit proves impairment, not necessarily fault for the specific mechanics of the collision. However, a court drawing inferences from an impaired driver's reaction times and observation failures at the time of the collision is a reasonable exercise of judicial fact-finding. The criminal evidence combined with the collision evidence almost always produces a liability finding against the drunk driver.
- Can I claim compensation for the distress of being hit by a drunk driver?
- Yes. Psychiatric injury caused by a road accident - including adjustment disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety - is a recognised head of damage. It requires medical evidence and is assessed by a psychiatrist or psychologist. A solicitor handling your injury claim will advise on this as part of the overall claim.
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