Hi,

I wonder if anyone has any advice. I was involved in an accident on my motorcycle on 23rd October 2009 a car pulled out of a junction on my left this car blocked the road, I was travelling along the main road, I swerved to avoid hitting this car but as I did not have enough room I lost control. This car fled the scene leaving me badly injured I have 3 independent witnesses who saw the car pull out into my right of way. The police attended and confirmed the car was at fault and said I had done well not to hit it, 3 independent witnesses confirmed my story. The driver fled the scene and was served papers by the police, they ignored the police action and was later questioned. I have now been left with various injuries which cannot be dealt with privately due to the driver not completing her insurance forms. The NHS are now doing all they can on a go slow to save funds, I need surgery all of this is bad enough.

My insurance company have outsourced the work to a company called Bankstone and I have had nothing but problems from recieving a letter stating my bike is getting crushed if it is not collected to, having my injuries laughed at as I can now no longer ride a motorcycle again, the repair shop have been asked to do visual repairs only (my bike leaked petrol at the scene and will now not start) they keep asking me to pay the excess which I am only prepared to pay if the bike is checked properly for mechanical damage.

Today has topped off all of the above my claim has been put on hold for 2 days due to someone at Bankstone mistakenly putting on my file that I was arrested for drink driving on 17th November 2009 and i'm due in court on 3rd December 2009! I have been housebound since the accident apart from hospital and doctors appointments and I am not in possession of my bike, I cannot walk, I am now in a wheelchair until surgery. The insurance company have confirmed this is a mistake on Bankstone's part and I have to forget about it, how can you just forget about false accusations like this, that can affect people's lives and also my claim.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated as I fear losing my mind as well as the life I had before this accident.

Thank you!

Hi,

I dont think your insures are being as helpfull asd they should be in this. Have they not advised you about making a claim through MIB (Motor insurance Bureau)? They deal with claims such as this and those of un-insured drivers. Ring them and ask them about it. Your recent DD arrest should have nothing to do with the outstanding matter at all. No doubt the 'fleeing driver' will face some serious charges and hopefully his insurers will be paying you a large sum of compensation.... eventually. Perhaps you can obtain some advice from another solicitor? The one you've been allocated dosn't seem to be representing you as well as they should be.

You need to make a complaint about the way your claim is being handled. Write to your insurers, making sure you use the word complaint, and listing the problems. I know this will be hard but try to make the letter as unemotional and factual as possible.

They have to respond to you within 14 days, and this may be just the first step. Insurance companies are heavily regulated, and a lot of people do not know that these complaints do get looked at by the FSA who have a lot of power here. If they do not address your complaint then you can escalate the complaint to the FSA.

Don't lose your mind as the law is on your side here - you just have to fight for it.

Hi,

Thank you for the response's so far, sailor sam I was not and have never been arrested of drink driving my insurer put this on my file by mistake and stopped my claim for a few days and did not appologise and just said I should forget about, even though they questioned me and got a police check, the police confirmed I do not have any charges against me and have never been in trouble with them. I only found out the repair work had been stopped when I rang the repairer to ask why my bike had leaked petrol and then failed to start after the accident, I have not seen the bike since the accident but the police officer told me where was damaged and the fire brigade were called for the petrol spillage, they confirmed they had only been asked to do visual repairs!!! but surely it needs stripping down and should be in the same condition it was before the accident? I am fully comprehensive.

The insurer just keeps asking for the excess to be paid but should'nt this be paid by the car drivers insurer as they caused the accident. I only want the excess paid when I agree the bike starts and is cosmetically as was, am I being unreasonable.

The police have questioned the driver a few days later when they found her she is insured, but it turns out my insurance have not sent any communication to her and she has not reported the accident to her insurer. My insurance company have now taken back my file from Bankstone and are dealing with it in house. I hope this will help and I will eventually get somewhere.

I think this is going to be a battle for me I have sent a letter of complaint and also contacted the Insurance Ombudsman who will also send a letter. I just wondered if there were any avenues I have missed.

Thank you sailor sam and Wulfyn for your responses I will enquire about the MIB also.

Having read your OP again, it does give the impression you were actually arrested for D&D as you had not mentioned it was a 'mistake'.

Anyway, thats cleared up now. It now seems you are using all the available avenues but do enquire about the MIB.

Please keep us posted.

Bump

Quick update I now have a solicitor assigned to my case so this should hopefully speed up my medical treatment.

And my bike is being re checked for internal damage and not just cosmetic damage! I have since found out it was not drivable at the scene!!! Does anyone have any ideas as to why if it was not drivable, a check for cosmetic damage only was requested by my insurance company?

I enquired about the MIB and my insurance said that as the driver has been traced I cannot use that avenue, the police are dealing with her.

Thank you for any advice

Hi,

The MIB deal with claims relating to uninsured drivers etc. from you earlier post, it appears that the third party has insurance.

It is unlikely that your insurer would have asked for cosmetic damage only to be checked, as this would have lead to them having to authorise supplementary repairs further down the line- it may just be a case of wires crossed/blame passing.

Quick update I now have a solicitor assigned to my case so this should hopefully speed up my medical treatment.

 

And my bike is being re checked for internal damage and not just cosmetic damage! I have since found out it was not drivable at the scene!!! Does anyone have any ideas as to why if it was not drivable, a check for cosmetic damage only was requested by my insurance company?

 

I enquired about the MIB and my insurance said that as the driver has been traced I cannot use that avenue, the police are dealing with her.

 

Thank you for any advice

Seems to me that your solicitor should be wrtiting to both the TP and her insures detailing your claim and requiring them to settle in full within a certain time. Otherwise they should be taking legal action on your behalf. Is this happening?

Seems to me that your solicitor should be wrtiting to both the TP and her insures detailing your claim and requiring them to settle in full within a certain time. Otherwise they should be taking legal action on your behalf. Is this happening?

Since the OP has stated that they were badly injured in the accident suggesting to them that they require their claim to be settled in full within a certain time is bad advice.

If they settle in full now and then discover later in time that the injuries are more severe or long term or develop then they have (by settling in full) prejudiced their right to adequate compensation.

I'd suggest letting their solicitor deal direct with the TP insurers, if the injuries are as bad as suggested then the solicitor will seek an interim payment, which leaves the door open for future claims.

Mossy

Since the OP has stated that they were badly injured in the accident suggesting to them that they require their claim to be settled in full within a certain time is bad advice.

 

If they settle in full now and then discover later in time that the injuries are more severe or long term or develop then they have (by settling in full) prejudiced their right to adequate compensation.

 

I'd suggest letting their solicitor deal direct with the TP insurers, if the injuries are as bad as suggested then the solicitor will seek an interim payment, which leaves the door open for future claims.

 

Mossy

On reflection Mossy, I partly agree with you. I should not have used the term 'settle in FULL'.

However, the OP seems to be being threatened by the garage about their outstanding account when surely his insurance/'solicitor' should be dealing with? Clearly the OP has gone through enough trauma without having to concern himself with matters surrounding the repairs to his bike? As you say Mossy, they should be seeking an interim payment AND sorting out the garage where the bike has been taken to.

My insurance company have confirmed to me that there engineer only checked for cosmetic damage and they were only going to repair the bike cosmetically they asked the repair shop to deal with cosmetic damage only, its all in his report also. The repair shop have been very fair and decent with me,its the insurance company who are at fault and have asked another one of there engineers to access the internal damage yesterday I am still waiting to hear back from them.

The person who caused the accident is ignoring all correspondence from there own insurance company, my insurance and the police. There insurance company have 3 months to admit liability or deny liability with reasons.

My insurance company have now taken my fille back from Bankstone who they outsource to and is now being worked by there compliance team, hopefully this will help me.

With regard to my injuries I am still awaiting NHS treatment and surgery, I just wish the process was fairer as because of the expense the NHS are on a go slow and have stated I should be going privatley, my insurance say they cannot pay for treatment until liabilty is admitted from the car driver.

Thank you for your help.

I doubt if the TP will admit liability so it will be for the respective insurers to prove liability. I hope that your on-going losses and inconveiniences will be well compensted for via you insuance co and solicitors when the claim is settled.

Would the police report also prove liability and any driving charges that may be issued against TP, From what my solicitor has said we have a very good case against TP as I have 3 witnesses who saw everything and all at differing angles also.

Still no update on engineers report conducted on Wednesday! at least with all whats gone on I still have a little bit of patience left!

Its going to be the long haul for any settlements etc I cant even think about that yet, I just want the surgery as the longer this goes on the more leg function I lose. I should have had surgery within 3 weeks, I am now at week 5 so each week losing more function and flexiability.

Thank you for your help!

hello princess zelda, awwww gosh u poor thing, im not very good at the legal side of help but just want u to know how bad i feel for you, I cannot understand how anyone could hit someone and drive off not even knowing or caring how injured that person is, oh my god what a piece of .... oh gawd im not even gonna say it. i dont know how the driver can sleep at night knowing she left u like that, I do hope you get every penny of compensation you deserve sweetheart and i hope that driver gets exactly what she deserves, long stint in jail should do it and banned from driving forever i hope. Im a driver and i even stop to let a sparrow fly off safetly if its in the road so i cannot believe someone could do that to another human being, jesus christ, how sad that you are going through all this on top of your injuries too, u should be getting private bupa treatment for god sake not fighting everyone for what you are entitled to. I hope you have a good family around you to support you hun. good luck and keep strong, you will come good in the end, take care xxxx if u are on facebook send me a private message on here and il add you if u fancy a chat sometime, but i warn u i am a scatty moo lol hugs x

just realised the cow in the car didnt actually hit you but i still go by what i said coz she still should have stopped as it was her fault u had to swerve,and her fault u were badly injured so same offence really, the fact is SHE DIDNT STOP TO SEE U ALRIGHT like any decent person would have, grrrrrrrrrr:( take care princess z. x

Thank you Sparky321 you have said the right words at the right time! i'm having a very bad day today with all the pain and stress etc! It makes me feel better that someone else also cannot understand this persons actions. I just have to stay strong for the day when I can look back on everything with out all the upset and anger and sense of why am I not good enough. Thank you

you are most welcome princess, just remember what goes around comes around sweetheart, You keep fighting for your rights, hopefully u will get lots of help and guidance from clever people on here, like i said im not very good at the legal stuff but i have trained in nursing so i feel u should be in hospital getting that treatment you should have had already, no amount of compensation can give u the use of your leg back if you have to wait years for it, might be worth thinking of going to the local papers with your story, u would be surprised how many people take a sudden interest when it goes to press, might be something to think about hunny, thats what i would have done by now, Dont suffer in silence, no one else is suffering, only you are, you need to raise merry hell now, after all its your body suffering and you have been patient enough and put up with enough cock ups it seems,I cannot believe they could accidently have u down as a DD who is going to court, and then telling you not to think about it, oh my god what sort of dimwits are they. I still dont understand why the idiot in the car was not arrested and going to court for dangerous driving or undue care and attention on top of fleeing the scene of an accident she caused, your witnesses should also have been questioned to give statements in court etc. Hun i would seriously consider the local papers im sure they would be interested xxx good luck sparky.

The only thing better than a police report in proving liability is an admission of liability. So yeah once the TP's insurers get a copy of the police report they will very likely accept liability (they might try something like an 80/20 split but hold out for 100%), and you'll be able to start getting the best treatment to help you.

I do not believe she will accept liability easily as she is ignoring all correspondance from both sides, im worried by it due to my health implications but my solicitor is stating it makes our case stronger if it goes to court. I will not accept anything apart from 100% as she should not have pulled out of the junction like she did blocking the road.

Thank you Wulfyn

If she (or her insurer) does not accept liability then you can take it to court for a judge to decide. He will side with the police report. Then the TP's insurer will be stuck with 100% liability AND a lot of legal costs.

This is why I am sure that they will accept liability once they discover there is a police report (whatever the TP may or may not do). Your solicitor may want it to go to court as then she/he will be able to charge for it. You need to get your solicitor to contact the TP insurer and state that you have a police report (fax a copy) and that you expect to have the case dealt with immediately.

If your solicitor refues to do this then fire her/him and contact the TP insurer yourself.

(You have no idea how much money can be made from delaying your case)

hi i need some help. In january this year i was knocked over whilst crossing a crossing, the driver went through a red light. He stopped and police were present, he's admitted full liability. Anyway, i'm still off work and ive been on half pay since july, i've asked the gentlemans insurance company for some financial help and all they've sent me is £2000, i'm losing £1200 a month so i'm a considerable amount down, so much that we are paying reduced payments on our mortgage. Today it went to court to request the interim payments, well the judge has said no because we're still waiting for the results of my MRI scan which was 2 weeks ago. I dont understand his decision because i've had 3 doctors individually look at me and each of them have said that i am unfit for work. I really dont know what to do as next month i'm on zero pay. Also i forgot to mention that my wife was made redundant in July and is now temping on £6.50 an hour. cheers

I had a claim against a TP who was ignoring letters and not reporting the accident. Eventually her insurers persuaded her to make a statement after I said I would have to take her to court if she would not report it to her insurers. Can't your solicitor write to her and point out that if she does not report the matter to her insurers, she could get taken to court for all the costs and damages? If she ignores that then issue proceedings !

Yes my solcitor has written to her insurers and we now have to wait legally she has 3 months and then court procedings will commence. The police report has still not been finalised they are still awaiting a witness statement. Fingers crossed it all gets sorted early next year! I have at least had the scan to my knee this week so hopefully then the NHS will operate.

I have received the police report today which proves liability that the car driver caused the accident as she pulled out from a junction I had no choice except hit her or swerve, all 3 independent witness's confirm this all also. With this evidence can the driver still say she did not cause the accident and keep getting away with it?

I am still in a bad way, still no sensation down my left, now my right side is affected, I need a knee operation, I have damaged nerves in my spine. The NHS are still on a go slow as my injuries are not life threatening just immobilizing I still use a wheelchair they think I can wait until the insurance step in. I keep having scans to access my injuries with no intervention just more medication to make the pain more bearable and to try and stop the nerve damage and spasming.

My solicitor has written to her insurance company to admit liability in 14 days!

The driver feels she is not at fault at all, as I did not hit her car so she drove off and stopped over the over side of the road to have a nosey at me lying injured on the floor! this is from her statement.

Any help or advice is appreciated as I have never been in this situation before, thank you!