Download the guide (2021 edition)
Download the guide for Scotland (2022 edition)
This page refers to the 2021 edition of Serious injury in a road crash: Help and information for victims and their family and friends.
Who is this guide for?
This guide is for victims and their families and friends affected by injuries that require urgent and ongoing care and help, that are:
- life-threatening (someone might die), and/or
- life-changing, meaning they cause one or more disability that affects independence, and/or cause ongoing pain, or require ongoing operations, treatments, or therapies.
Injuries may include, for example, head injuries, spinal injuries, internal injuries, facial injuries, or loss or damage of limbs.
Even if your injury seems minor, this guide may be useful to you. Some injuries that seem minor can still cause long-term challenges.
Who writes this guide?
This guide is by the National Road Victim Service, which is run by the road safety charity Brake.
We are an independent service working in partnership with other services to care for your needs. We offer emotional support and practical help and advice. We also help people bereaved in road crashes.
Reading this guide
Use the contents below to go to a part of this guide you need to read. If the crash happened very recently, the first sections of the guide are most valuable to read now.