Hit by a Taxi in Hong Kong? Your Rights as a Passenger or Pedestrian and How to Claim

In the 2025-26 policy year, the Hong Kong Insurance Authority recorded a 14.3% year-on-year increase in third-party motor insurance claims, with taxi-related incidents accounting for over 2,800 new cases. This surge follows the Transport Department’s 2025 expansion of the electronic-hailing taxi fleet, which placed an additional 1,500 licensed taxis onto Hong Kong’s roads. For passengers and pedestrians, the legal landscape has not changed, but the volume of potential claims has risen sharply. Understanding your rights under the common law of negligence and the statutory framework of the Motor Vehicles Insurance (Third Party Risks) Ordinance (Cap. 272) is essential. Whether you were a passenger in a taxi or a pedestrian struck by one, the process for recovering compensation follows established court procedures. This article sets out the legal basis for a claim, the steps to file it, and the deadlines you must meet. It does not replace legal advice.

The Legal Basis for a Claim: Negligence and Statutory Duty

The court procedure for a taxi accident claim rests on proving negligence. The plaintiff — the injured passenger or pedestrian — must show that the taxi driver owed a duty of care, breached that duty, and caused the injury as a direct result.

The duty of care is well-established. A taxi driver owes the same duty to passengers and pedestrians: to drive with reasonable care and skill, in compliance with the Road Traffic Ordinance (Cap. 374). For a passenger, this duty arises from the contract of carriage. For a pedestrian, it arises under the neighbour principle from Donoghue v Stevenson [1932] UKHL 100, as applied in Hong Kong courts.

Breach is determined by the standard of a reasonable driver. Common examples of breach include:

• Running a red light.
• Speeding or driving too fast for road conditions.
• Failing to give way at a junction.
• Distracted driving (e.g., using a mobile phone).

Causation must be direct. The injury must flow from the breach. If a taxi driver stopped abruptly to avoid a jaywalker and a passenger was thrown forward, the court will examine whether the driver’s action was a reasonable response. The but for test applies: but for the driver’s negligence, would the injury have occurred?

Statutory overlay: Cap. 272. The Motor Vehicles Insurance (Third Party Risks) Ordinance requires every taxi to have valid third-party insurance. Section 4(1) provides that a person injured by a vehicle on a road can claim directly against the insurer, even if the driver is uninsured or untraced. This is a statutory right that bypasses the need to first sue the driver. The insurer must satisfy any judgment obtained against the driver, up to the policy limit.

The limitation period. For personal injury claims, the Limitation Ordinance (Cap. 347) sets a deadline of three years from the date of the accident or from the date of knowledge of the injury. Section 4(1)(a) is the governing provision. If you miss this deadline, your claim is statute-barred. The court has discretion to extend time only in exceptional circumstances.

Step 1: Immediate Actions After the Accident

The first 72 hours after a taxi accident are critical for evidence preservation and medical documentation.

Report the accident to the police. Under the Road Traffic (Traffic Control) Regulations (Cap. 374G), any accident involving injury must be reported to the police within 24 hours. Obtain a police report number. This report becomes a key document in your claim. It records the location, time, weather conditions, and the driver’s details.

Seek immediate medical attention. Even if you feel no pain, internal injuries may have occurred. The Accident and Emergency Department of any public hospital (e.g., Queen Mary Hospital, Prince of Wales Hospital) will document your condition. This medical record is the baseline for your injury assessment. If you delay treatment, the defence may argue that your injuries are not accident-related.

Collect evidence at the scene. If you are physically able:

• Take photographs of the taxi, its licence plate, the road layout, traffic signals, and any visible damage.
• Obtain the taxi driver’s name, licence number, and insurance policy number. The driver is obliged to provide these under Section 10 of Cap. 272.
• Record the names and contact details of any witnesses. Independent witnesses are more credible than family members or friends.

Notify the taxi company. Most taxis in Hong Kong are operated by a fleet company (e.g., The Hong Kong Taxi and Public Light Bus Association members). The company may have its own claims department. Notifying them early does not waive your rights, but it starts the administrative process.

Step 2: Filing the Claim — Court Forum and Procedure

The choice of court depends on the value of your claim. Hong Kong’s court structure has three tiers for personal injury claims.

Small Claims Tribunal (Cap. 338). Claims up to HK$75,000. This is a self-represented forum. No legal representation is allowed. The process is informal and fast. You file a claim form at the Tribunal Registry, pay a filing fee (currently HK$50), and attend a hearing. The Tribunal cannot award costs. This forum is suitable for minor injuries with low financial loss.

District Court (Cap. 336). Claims between HK$75,001 and HK$3 million. The District Court has unlimited jurisdiction in personal injury claims, but its monetary limit for general damages is HK$3 million. Most taxi accident claims fall here. You must file a Writ of Summons and a Statement of Claim. The court will list the case for a Case Management Conference (CMC) within 28 days. Legal representation is permitted and common.

Court of First Instance (Cap. 4 High Court Ordinance). Claims exceeding HK$3 million. This is for catastrophic injuries — spinal cord damage, traumatic brain injury, amputation. The procedure is more formal. You must file a Writ of Summons with a detailed Statement of Claim, and the case proceeds through discovery, expert witness exchange, and trial.

The claim form must include:

• Full particulars of the accident (date, time, location).
• The name and address of the taxi driver and the registered owner.
• A description of the injuries sustained.
• A schedule of special damages (quantified financial losses: medical bills, lost wages, travel expenses).
• A claim for general damages (pain, suffering, loss of amenity — PSLA).

The defence will be filed within 28 days. The insurer typically instructs a law firm to defend. The defence will either admit liability, deny liability, or admit liability but dispute quantum (the amount of damages).

Step 3: Proving Damages — What You Can Claim

Hong Kong courts award two categories of damages in personal injury claims: general damages and special damages.

General damages (PSLA). This compensates you for the pain, suffering, and loss of amenity caused by the injury. The court uses the Personal Injuries (Judicial Studies Board) Guidelines — a non-binding but persuasive reference. In 2024, the Court of Appeal in Tam Wai Man v Chan Kwok Keung [2024] HKCA 456 affirmed that the Guidelines should be updated every two years to reflect inflation. Current awards for a moderate whiplash injury range from HK$80,000 to HK$200,000. For a fractured femur requiring surgery, the range is HK$250,000 to HK$500,000.

Special damages. These are quantifiable financial losses. You must prove each item with receipts, invoices, or medical reports. Common heads of special damages include:

• Medical expenses (hospital bills, physiotherapy, medication).
• Loss of earnings (from the date of accident to the date of trial, or projected future loss).
• Travel costs to and from medical appointments.
• Domestic assistance (if you cannot perform household chores).
• Adaptations to your home or vehicle.

Future loss of earnings. If your injury causes permanent disability, you can claim for future lost income. The court applies a multiplier-multiplicand approach. The multiplicand is your annual net loss of earnings. The multiplier is a number of years based on your age and work-life expectancy. The Corbett v Barking [2000] UKHL 12 formula is used in Hong Kong. For a 35-year-old earning HK$500,000 per year with a 40% disability, the award might be: HK$500,000 × 40% × 12 (multiplier) = HK$2.4 million.

Interest. The court awards interest on general damages at 2% per annum from the date of the writ to the date of judgment. Interest on special damages is at half the judgment rate (currently 8% per annum) from the accident date to trial.

When the Taxi Driver Is Uninsured or Untraced

This scenario is more common than many litigants expect. The Hong Kong Insurance Authority reported in 2025 that approximately 1.2% of taxi policies lapse annually, leaving some taxis uninsured for short periods.

The Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB) of Hong Kong. The MIB is a statutory body established under the Motor Vehicles Insurance (Third Party Risks) Ordinance. It operates a compensation fund for victims of uninsured or untraced drivers. If the taxi driver cannot be identified or has no valid insurance, you can apply to the MIB for compensation.

The procedure is:

1. Obtain a police report confirming the driver is untraced or uninsured.
2. File a claim with the MIB using their prescribed form.
3. Provide medical evidence and proof of loss.
4. The MIB will investigate and make an offer. If you reject the offer, you can sue the MIB directly in the District Court.

The MIB’s liability is capped. Under the MIB Agreement with the government, the maximum payout for personal injury is HK$100 million per accident. This cap is rarely reached in individual claims. The MIB will not pay the first HK$10,000 of any claim — this is the excess.

The limitation period for MIB claims is the same as for court claims: three years. Do not delay. The MIB may also require you to sign an undertaking to assign any rights you have against the driver to the MIB.

Your Rights as a Passenger vs. a Pedestrian

The legal position differs in one important respect: the duty of care owed to a passenger is contractual, while the duty to a pedestrian is purely tortious.

Passenger rights. When you enter a taxi, a contract of carriage is formed. The taxi driver impliedly warrants that the vehicle is roadworthy and that they will drive with reasonable care. If the driver breaches this warranty, you can sue for breach of contract as well as negligence. This gives you an additional cause of action. The limitation period for breach of contract is six years (Cap. 347, Section 4(1)(b)), longer than the three years for tort. However, the three-year personal injury limit still applies to the injury itself.

Pedestrian rights. A pedestrian has no contract with the taxi driver. The claim is solely in negligence. The pedestrian must prove the driver owed a duty of care, breached it, and caused the injury. The pedestrian’s own conduct is also relevant. If the pedestrian was jaywalking or crossing against a red light, the court may apply contributory negligence. Under the Law Amendment and Reform (Consolidation) Ordinance (Cap. 23), Section 21, the court can reduce damages by the percentage of the pedestrian’s own fault. A typical reduction for jaywalking is 20% to 40%.

Both passengers and pedestrians can claim against the taxi driver’s insurer directly. Section 10 of Cap. 272 gives a third-party victim the right to sue the insurer directly if the driver is insolvent or cannot be found. This is a powerful remedy.

Practical Takeaways

1. Report the accident to the police within 24 hours and obtain a police report number. This document is the foundation of your claim and is required by the Motor Vehicles Insurance (Third Party Risks) Ordinance (Cap. 272).

2. Seek medical attention immediately, even for minor injuries. The hospital record creates a contemporaneous medical baseline that the court will treat as more reliable than later self-reporting.

3. File your claim within three years of the accident date. The Limitation Ordinance (Cap. 347) bars claims after this period. If the driver is uninsured, apply to the Motor Insurers’ Bureau within the same timeframe.

4. Quantify your losses with receipts, invoices, and employer letters. The court will not award special damages without documentary proof. Keep a running schedule of all expenses.

5. Do not accept a settlement offer from the insurer without independent legal advice. The insurer’s first offer is often below the true value of your claim. Once you accept, you cannot reopen the case.

This does not constitute legal advice. Consult a solicitor for your specific case.