I had an accident at a VERY slow speed (about 5mph) in my local petrol station.

I was reversing into a petrol pump place, and a black taxi drove forward into me.

No damage to either vehicle, but the cab driver is claiming personal injury.

This smells to me, and I think he's a fraudster.

my insurance co say it's my fault

- I would argue it's 50/50 as he should have seen my reversing lights and stopped moving forward.

I exchanged numbers with the driver he only told me it wasn't his cab, but he was a friend of the owner of it.

He gave me his name, but i didn't get ID from him.

How do I know the person who's claiming is the actuial person who drove into me?

Maybe this guy wasn't insured to drive the car?

Also,

I noticed the back bumper of the taxi was hanging down,

and was secured by a seat belt tied round it.

Don't taxis have to conform to strict legal obligations as to the state of the cab

- was this cab roadworthy in this condition?

I've asked my insurance for a copy of the driving license photo of the claimant to make sure it's the same guy, but they have refused to provide it.

Any advice?

Ask the garage for a copy of the CCTV covering footage of your car, as a data protection subject access request.

The person driving the cab may not have been Insured to drive the friends cab. This is because normally a taxi cab would have specifc taxi insurance and I am not sure how this friend would have obtained insurance to drive it.

Yes taxi's have to comply with normal conditions about road worthiness.

" No damage to either vehicle, but the cab driver is claiming personal injury."

What have you received with regards his claim ?

Andy

It's become so easy to claim for personal injury that I'm surprised I haven't yet heard about a claim following a car door being open against another parked car.

Unfortunately for you if the claim the insurance will most likely pay out and you'll end up being ripped off even more for the next 5 years.

Having the bumper already damaged might have been a good reason not to stop and let you finish reversing:

look at this fool reversing in my direction!

I need a new bumper, so here we go, let me claim whiplash as well as I'm here.

UK insurance system for you unfortunately, probably one of the biggest scams going right now is car insurance.

If insurers aren't using rubbish bodyshops charging 3 times more for insurance jobs, or seeking £160 per day car hire on a rubbish hire car, they're engaging ambulance chasers to try to pursue you for injuries that never occured.

The whole system is a disgrace to be honest.

OP did you take a photo? Of the back bumper?

King I once defended a PI claim from a wing mirror being knocked off lol.

For the OP - The guy’s whiplash claim will be what £2k. Defending the claim on causation grounds in the fast track is expensive. By the time it hits trial If you lose you’ll be on the hook for about £5k in Damages and Costs. You’d be looking at around £5k to defend the claim to trial, so that’s around £10k in the hole if you lose. And even if you win you won’t gst that £5k back from the Claimant.

Unless the Judge finds the claimant fundamentally dishonest but that’s a ridiculously high hurdle to overcome.

Makes more economic sense to give him the £2k. Our insurance premiums would be considerably higher if insurers fought every low value PI claim.

King I once defended a PI claim from a wing mirror being knocked off lol.

 

For the OP - The guy’s whiplash claim will be what £2k. Defending the claim on causation grounds in the fast track is expensive. By the time it hits trial If you lose you’ll be on the hook for about £5k in Damages and Costs. You’d be looking at around £5k to defend the claim to trial, so that’s around £10k in the hole if you lose. And even if you win you won’t gst that £5k back from the Claimant.

 

Unless the Judge finds the claimant fundamentally dishonest but that’s a ridiculously high hurdle to overcome.

 

Makes more economic sense to give him the £2k. Our insurance premiums would be considerably higher if insurers fought every low value PI claim.

And now with this info everyone off to submit a claim

And now with this info everyone off to submit a claim

It’s no secret though. Yet official figures showed that the number of whiplash claims made has been falling year on year

https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/compensation-culture-stats-reveal-claims-numbers-in-freefall/5065804.article