Dodgy accident claim help?

[Richy B]

Hi guys,

 

I was wandering if anyone could help me in this sticky situation! On the 2nd of July last year I was driving home from Porthcawl with my other half after a night out when a young driver in front of me smashed in to stationary traffic! He was driving his Dad's Vauxhall Corsa on route to a rugby match so as you can imagine he was quite excited and paying very little attention.

 

Anyway, cut a long story short, we were on a dual carriageway so I swerved from the right lane to the left to avoid the pile up and a Toyota Avensis took of my wing mirror and put a small dink in my wing!

 

Now as much as I think the driver of the Vauxhall Corsa should have been to blame for the whole accident the insurance companies didn't see it that way and treated me colliding with the Toyota as a separate incident! This conclusion did make me very angry but eventually I came to terms with it!

 

All 4 of the occupants of the Toyota are now claiming for injury of some sort, because I stood talking to them for at least half an hour after the accident I know their were no injuries incurred! It is people like these that are to blame for such high insurance premiums!

 

I received a letter from the solicitors (Keoghs LLP) that are supposed to be defending the claim on my half this morning asking em to sign an authority to settle! Now I haven't heard from my insurers or the solicitors for at least 4 months so I called them to see how much the claimants are claiming for and for details of the individual claims but apparently they don't have this information yet? The woman told me if I sign the authority to settle that does not mean they'll pay out whatever amount the claimants are claiming for and they will still fight the claim for me.

 

Anyway I have refused to sign the authority whilst I seek further advice and until I have seen details of the claim.

 

I think the way my insurance company and the Solicitors have dealt with this matter is a joke,i'm not happy at all especially with their lack of communication. What are peoples views on this? Do any of you have any tips or advice that may help me? Has anyone been in a similar situation and if so what was the overall verdict?

 

Please help me out here :/

 

p.s sorry if it's all a bit messy it was rushed before work.

[MaxxPower]

If you had to swerve to avoid the pileup and couldn't just brake in time, then surely you were following the driver in front of you too closely, so you are at least partially responsible for clipping the Toyota? I'm not saying it's right that they're claiming for injuries that they may not have (though remember, some injuries don't always show symptoms right away), but it does seem right that your insurance be paying out for their damages. They seem totally justified in treating it as a totally separate incident IMHO.

[T.C.]

I am with MaxxPower on this. You are in the right hand lane and you swerve into the left hand lane and You hit the Toyota? Did I misread your original post?

 

If so, fake injuries aside, how can the Toyota driver be held liable when you probably left him with nowhere to go as it was you who changed lanes suddenly, and it certainly sounds as if you were driving too close to the vehicle in front, and as an accident investigator, I would certainly regard this as a major contributory factor.

 

If I have misread your post, then please feel to correct me.

 

The issue of the injuries is a different matter.

 

A genuine whiplash can take several hours to kick in (assuming it is a whiplash injury they are claiming for), and your solicitors are entitled to ask the question of what injuries are being claimed for and by whom.

 

It may not be a whiplash, it may be a back injury or anyone of a number of problems, but if you think the claim for injury is false, then you need to notify bboth your soilicitor and insurabce company so that this claim can be flagged up for further investigation.

 

But in regards of liability, based on your account of the circumstances, this sounds like one you will have to put your hands up and take it on the chin.