Hi there, A few weeks ago I was hit from behind by another driver. He was driving a company vehicle. After taking down his details, I rang his company and reported the accident to their fleet manager as well as informing them that their driver was using a mobile phone at the time of the accident. Their fleet manager arranged to get an accident report from the driver in question and then arranged for their insurers (Zurich) to set up a claim and arrange the repairs to my vehicle and provide a courtesy car for me to use whilst mine was in the garage. It was within 2 weeks of the accident that the car was taken in for repairs, so pretty quickly. I also sustained whiplash and this has set off another occurrence of TMJ (Temporomadibular Joint Pain) Disorder that I suffer from. Apart from my neck feeling very sore and stiff to move, I am suffering from referred pain down the right side of my face (headaches, ear pain, teeth, jaw pain, eyes) etc which can be very difficult to deal with. As a result of this I spoke to Zurich about a PI claim which they said they would look to settle. They immediately arranged for a medical examination by their medical examiners and have instructed a rehabitation company to assist with recovery. I also naturally informed my own insurers of the accident. My dilemma is do I use my legal cover I have on my own insurance / or through my union to instruct PI solicitors or do I deal with Zurich directly and try to settle the claim with them. My inclination is that it would be quicker dealing with Zurich directly, but I want to be assured that I get the best possible result for myself. However, what I don't want is for solicitors/claim assessors to drag it out for their own benefit. Has anyone got any view on the best course of action - dealing with the TP insurers who have acted pretty swifly thus far or appointing a solicitor through my legal covers? Many thanks

I just called the Police to report criminal damage to my car (mirror) done by teenage hooligan cyclists. They said that it was a Road Traffic Incident and not criminal damage! How could this be - that means that cyclists can DELIBERATELY damage a car and get away with it!

Hello everyone, I was recently involved in a road traffic accident and I’m not sure how to proceed. I was in the middle lane approaching a roundabout and I was driving to go straight over. There was a large commercial lorry from Germany to my left. We were both going straight over (= the second exit), I was going to go onto the outer lane and he was going to go to the inner lane, well so I thought. As we were exiting the roundabout he drove into the rear passenger side of my car, with the front passenger side of his car (bear in mind his car was a German left hand drive lorry). He and his colleague got out of their lorry and I out of my car. They both could not speak a word of English and I could not speak a word of German. From their body language they both appeared very apologetic, and appeared to be apologizing. They kept saying “police, police”, so I called the police. However when I called them they said it was a minor accident and there was no need for them to come, and we should sort it out between ourselves, i.e., exchange information. We exchanged information as best as we could, however they gave me a printed paper to fill in, which I could not understand as it was in German, I filled in my contact details where I thought appropriate, they asked me to sign at the bottom, but I refused to do this as I couldn’t understand any of it. I was not able to stop any car to be a witness to the incident. I have a slight pain in my shoulder, but it does not feel like anything major. I had my work laptop on the passenger seat, however in the accident it was knocked to the floor rest, there is a slight crack on the case and a blue screen, it does not appear to be working. So I’m not sure how to proceed. Shall I call my insurance company and explain to them what happened? Or should I contact a solicitor first? I don’t really want to be spending money on a solicitor if I don’t have to. Is this something I could resolve on my own or with the help of my insurance company? Or should I contact some sort of a no win no fee solicitor? I would really appreciate some advice. Thank you. Jamie.

I have never done this before so hopefully I am posting in the right place. Long story short (ish) 2010 a man came to our garage and asked our young trainee ( on his break) to have a look at his car on the forecourt, young lad did, car engaged, the man got a fright stepped back and tripped and fell and hurt himself. ( Told police / ambulance the same) The insurance company are unable to offer indemnity as due to it being on the forecourt it is covered by the Road Traffic Act and he was under 25 and not insured. The man did hurt himself - not disputed, our trainee should have refused to help, he was in charge of the vehicle - not disputed. We have heard nothing for 2 years, changed out broker in the mean time. Court letters and doctors reports etc from the man started to arrive, so I have gone back to our original broker and have been forwarded a letter they received in 2012 ( which they never passed on) saying that the insurance company do not think there is a good enough case to dispute liability so we intend to make an offer to the claimant under our RTA obligation. Subject to us signing an "Assignement and Agreement" This was never signed. ( We never received it) They also dispute that it is covered by our public liability due to it being outside. The insurance company have addmited liability and will pay for the claim and all costs. The letter for this has just come in the post and they will then want to recover the costs from us. I called and spoke to the person dealing with it at the insurance company and they don't thnk that it is worth me getting a solicitor as they are going to pay, just a matter of how much. COST REVOVERY???? Now for the question - how will they do that, we are a small 3-4 person garage, with assets no where near what they would want. A limited company, with a very small bottom line, no debts and no creditors. Is it worth their while to force us into insolvency / administration - there is very little they can get that way. Will they force a monthly payment plan? Do they request accounts and then make a decision if it worth hammering onto us. Would this be based on them being sure they can get say 50% of the claim repaid - The insurance has a figure of £51,000 against the claim. As you can imagine this is really causing a huge amount of stress as we have no way of knowing what they intend to do. Any help or advice would be so appreciated.

Hi Not sure it I`m in the right place but here goes. I was involved in a bad road accident in 2004 but managed to return to work in the Civil Service until 2009 when I was given ill health retirement. I have been waiting all this time for my Solicitor to finalise my claim with the Motor Insurance Bureau as I was hit by a stolen lorry. They have made me a fair offer which I have accepted but now my Solicitor has said that there may be a risk of Capita, who administer my pension, to make a claim for refund of my early ill health retirement pension but he cannot give me a prescedence at the moment . I am desperate both emotionally and financially to settle this and being on the brink it seems that there will be a further delay. Has anyone heard or had experience of this? Many thanks

Posting on behalf of my parents. Have used these forums before, very useful they are too This may be in the wrong forum. Basically to cut a long story short, a council owned vehicle was turning round in the cul-de-sac they live when it struck the bottom of the drive and left some damage to some paving slabs. The driver was going to drive off if my father hadn't had seen him do it. Having contacted the council they sent us a Compensation Form, and now have sent a letter that makes reference to the Road Traffic Act 1988 Section 154 ("Duty to give information as to insurance or security where claim made"), which, in the grand scale of things and from other research, appears to apply mostly to accidents with another car. The letter is giving insurance details and excess amounts and asking for my parents details. The problem is, the accident was caused by their vehicle on my parents drive. It is not in my mind related to car insurance as the car would have been either in the garage or up the drive at the time well away from the public road. Could the insurance possibly be related to house or buildings insurance? Any advise would be much appreciated.