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laws of physice versus laws in court


ericsbrother
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Slightly unusual question here-

my daughter had a minor bump that caused no damage as she rolled into the car in front of her in a queue of traffic. Exchanged details with other driver and expected him to bill her for possible scratches that couldnt be seen. However, 4 months later gets a CC summons for £770 for replacement bumper and other parts that were unmarked. Now, knowing about enginering and physics I worked out the speed needed to cause the damage claimed needed to be at least 5 times greater than the speed she was going and given the strength of the materials cars are made of it is beyond the realms of physics to actually cause the damage claimed in isolation . If the impact had caused the damage claimed both cars would be crunched and the drivers in hospital with broken bones.

She is obviously insured but what are the chances the insurers will bother to contest this claim? Does anyone know if once admitting liability for the accident it automatically follows that all of a relativley minor claim is paid out without referring it back to either the driver at fault or their insurer.

She has passed on the necessary details and a letter saying advantage is being taken in this case to her insurers but will it make any differenec that the claimant is asking for something that is not connected to reality.

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I must admit, I am surprised the other driver hasnt had this dealt with by his insurer ? Perhaps that could be a question worth asking.

 

Have you spoken to your Daughter's insurance - are they refusing to pay the claim ?

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I must admit, I am surprised the other driver hasnt had this dealt with by his insurer ? Perhaps that could be a question worth asking.

 

Have you spoken to your Daughter's insurance - are they refusing to pay the claim ?

 

Why would they bother going through their own insurance and parting with their excess when they can go direct and not pay any excess?

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the other party's insurer have (obviously) advised him to sue as my daughter's insurer are (obviously) delaying things for whatever reason. The impact was too low for any damage to be caused at all. loss adjusters didnt inspect the non-existent damage nor witness reports asked for. I see it as a money making exercise by the repairing garage with a lack of expertise from the insurers claims handlers in matters of science.

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My real point is do insurers bother to argue about such spurious claims when the damage is still small beer compared to the cost of the investigation. If she refutes the damage will they still cough up? If it was me I would answer it all in court and then if I lost pass it back to the insurers. The law as applied by judges is a peculiar world and the laws of physics dont seem to have a place in the courtroom from previous experience over a property damage case I was involved in hence a disinclination to believe that it will end up being a sensible outcome.

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Like my wife tapped a car in front of her as she was pulling out from parked cars (pothole in road) on hill, she tapped the car in front and damaged the rear Ford Mondeo bumper it seems, and damaged our front N/S headlamp unit and slight Bonnet centre front damage, well the other parties Father came around = what are you going to do about this damage to bumper etc, he will need hire car your wife will have to pay for, oh! yes I said so walked off down the road to the car in question ( funny he did not park outside my house where plenty of room), well well well what a lot of damage to the bumper from right to left,Oh! yes I say and who has finished the job off on that bumper, at just 3-4 miles Per hour no way was that damaged contributed to our car as it can only be a right hand side corner damage to our car and near centre of this one.

Well cut a long story short I stated I had located a new bumper for Mondeo and it cost £ 64.00 delivered + fixing fee, oh and what about time lost, car hire etc, tell you what I said in view of the aggression I will put it thru Insurance claim. No need for that he said, sorry I said I have the details, end of matter, when the Engineer came around he stated he was off to see the other car, I pointed out what I had observed with the bumper on the other car, he said People think we do not notice that it has been tampered with, we will not write off your car we will fit your lamp you bought and give you a new Bonnet, thought they would of written it off as very little value, but nice job done. the other car write off not much paid for it as very old it seems,so I bet his Father wished he kept his mouth shut as they would of been better off with new bumper etc.

Edited by Old Cogger
:mad2::-x:jaw::sad:
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My real point is do insurers bother to argue about such spurious claims when the damage is still small beer compared to the cost of the investigation. If she refutes the damage will they still cough up? If it was me I would answer it all in court and then if I lost pass it back to the insurers. The law as applied by judges is a peculiar world and the laws of physics dont seem to have a place in the courtroom from previous experience over a property damage case I was involved in hence a disinclination to believe that it will end up being a sensible outcome.

 

The Insurers can deal with the claim how they see fit, which is usually whichever is cheaper for them.

 

If you go to court and lose it will add to the claim, are you expecting the Insurer to pay the extra costs or would you pay the court fees etc?

 

The claim was probably handled through an accident management company rather than the other parties Insurers

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That is the question- why is she being taken to court when the insurers know about it all, except that the damage was non-existent because they didnt bother to look. It is my disbelief as to how things have got to this stage that makes me question the procedures followed so far.

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That is the question- why is she being taken to court when the insurers know about it all, except that the damage was non-existent because they didnt bother to look. It is my disbelief as to how things have got to this stage that makes me question the procedures followed so far.

 

That is exactly the point. Court is never the first move, so there must have been some correspondence before court papers arrived.

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If you've reported this to your insurers, they should deal with the summons.

Advise the court that you are forwarding this to your insurance company ( use the contesting section to advise them ).

You don't need to take any further action - but do ensure the court is aware.

:p :p If my advice as been of help, please give me a quick click on the scales to your right ;) ;) :)
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I'm afraid that an engineers report and the balance of probabilities overrule your understanding of the laws of physics in Court.

 

yes, I'm sorry I wasted 32 years of my life getting educated and working in science. In some cases judges ask for some evidence of balance of probabilities but often they just accept the phrase. It really has as much meaning as tossing a coin. My daughter has forwarded the summons to her insurer's solicitors. They failed to tell her thet they werent settling the claim and havent told her why. Perhaps they have a tame materials scientist or physicist so I dont have to say my bit.

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I can assure you that in civil claims the balance of probabilities in more than just a phrase.

 

Unlikely, the reason your daughter got the summons was more likely due to the incompetence and/or inefficiency of her insurers.

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