Accident and fault dispute. Wait until you read more!

[daveefc]

In summary my girlfriend was in a collision with another. Her passenger can vouch for the events

 

 

1. Girlfriend about to turn in to side road

2. other car came out and crashed in to side of girlfriends car

3. Other driver apologises, takes full responsibility - windows fully misted and not cleared.

4. other driver leaves scene without giving details

5. other driver difficult to get hold of, non committal to giving details.

6. details eventually given 20 hours later.

7. Girlfriend has contacted her own insurance and eventually police re other drive driver details

8. Other driver given false details! (recently retained licence after disqualification for drink driving to boot). Full details eventually given.

9. Other driver now claiming girlfriends fault

 

 

Currently a dispute and girlfriend is under 25 so cannot get a hire care via insurance. She is dreading a long process and living out in the stick this is a huge upheaval for her.

 

 

Anyway - can anyone advise further or maybe shed light on the other drivers history being taken into account. I guess not giving details at time and giving false details are NOT admission of guilt, and common sense probably won't prevail.

 

 

Any advice/comments/experience of this from other forum users will be great. Thank you

[rebel11]

Hi dave

 

Welcome to CAG

 

Were there any security camera's that might of captured the crash? Quite a few experts on Insurance companies on this site.

[daveefc]

Thank you,

 

 

I am assuming there are no cameras around. It is in a built up area but more of a small close. However this is worth checking out.

 

 

Thanks again, hopefully someone can help

[sequenci]

Hello there, did the Police come along at the time? I'm assuming not?

[daveefc]

Hi,

 

 

No they did not. He did stop and I think he was given the benefit of the doubt so the police weren't informed immediately. it's on record that she went to the police station and she has kept a time line of events.

[unclebulgaria67]

Did this third party have insurance for their car ? Was everything in order for their car e.g MOT ? If they have only just managed to get their licence back following a drink drive, I am guessing that any insurance they have will be very expensive. Was there any smell of alcohol on the breath of this third party ? Was there any mention of the Police being called to the accident scene, which made them drive away without giving their details ? Are the Police still looking into this or are they not involved ?

 

Does your g/f have any legal cover with her car insurance ? If so, what help can they provide her ? She should ask them.

 

This is not going to be easy to sort out. I have a feeling that unless something is uncovered which I alluded to at the start of this post, the accident could be decided as a 50/50. This would probably suit both Insurers. I think your g/f needs to speak to her insurers about the likelyhood of it being a 50/50. Does she fight this over a long period or decide to accept ?

 

She will have to let her Insurers deal with a claim against her policy, pay the relevant excess and get the car fixed asap. If the garage the Insurers use have a courtesy car available, she might be able to have use of it. If not she will have to pay for her own hire car and then see if it possible to claim back from the third party later. She would not want a hire car via her insurers anyway, as it would be a very expensive credit hire and this is not recommended.

[daveefc]

Thank you for all of that information.

 

 

Some of this I do not know but will try and find out off my g/f.

 

 

I believe the police are no longer involved now as the third party did eventually give details and they were correct.

 

 

I would not know about the MOT - if he did not, would it just make his insurance void rather than be in my g/f favour with the claim?

 

 

I too would guess his insurance was very high. I do believe there was a suspicion of drink driving, although it was mid-morning (the day after a heavy night perhaps), by my g/f friend, but again I do not think the police were looking in to this.

 

 

I am unsure if the Police were mentioned prior to him leaving the scene - would this be relevant?

 

 

Thank you for the info about getting back on the road. She has a small FIAT so you can imagine the damage. There is talk of it being written off but of course one can't be sure until it's been thoroughly looked at. She has just informed me that she DOES have legal cover.

 

 

Again. thank you for taking the time out to help (everyone)

[unclebulgaria67]

The MOT is not proof of the car being roadworthy, but it is not helpful to the third party, as they should not be driving their car on a road without an MOT unless they were on the way to a pre-booked MOT test.

 

I believe it is an offence to leave the scene of an accident without providing their details, but it sounds like they did provide some details ? I don't think the Police have to be called unless someone is injured.

 

If she has legal cover, then she should speak to the Insurers legal people to see how they can help her. They are mainly there to help with uninsured losses such as excess, hire care charges, but they may offer other advice.

 

If the repairs come to more than say 60% of the cars value, it could well be written off. Then it is a case of negotiating the write off value with the insurers, which is how much it would cost your g/f to replace the car. So she should check advertisements for similar cars and perhaps check Parkers or Glass.co.uk

 

Sometimes it is better to get the claim sorted out as quickly as possible on your own insurance and not to let arguments about fault get in the way. Some people mess around by adding delays to the claims process and it can just cost you more. Get the car sorted out asap and then do whatever is needed to deal with fault afterwards. With the legal cover, the insurers legal people will help with claiming back any uninsured losses.

[Conniff]

Was your girlfriend turning right into a side street or left ?

[daveefc]

Hi again,

 

 

That makes a lot of sense. It's very frustrating as you can imagine but its balancing it with stress and hassle of prolonging it. I guess she will have to make a decision although what she does.

 

 

The third party left the scene without any details, then provided false details (or at least incorrect details like the wrong reg), then ultimately gave correct details. By chance g/f was speaking to the Police, in the Police station, as he text her with details that were ultimately incorrect.

 

 

One saving grace is she has not got no claims in abundance so if she takes a hit on that it won't be a lot.

 

 

Thanks again for the advice - I'm holding out that he rescinds his no fault position. Here's hoping.

[unclebulgaria67]

The point Conniff raises is pertinent to fault and you should refer to the highway code about who has right of way.

[porkyp1g]

Surely the ops girlfriend had right of way in either scenario? If you are on the road that another car is trying to join, then you have right of way over that car. Surely the fact that the driver went into the side of her shows she was there first. Only if a car way coming the other way would she need to give way and I don't think that this is what happened.

[daveefc]

Hi, I didn't see the post from you Conniff u until just now.

 

She was turning right but I think it was more about timing. she had already approached the turning and the other driver arrived at the junction at around the time she had began making her manoeuvre. He stated he stepped on the accelerator instead of the break! I guess g/f would still have right of way regardless of timing, as the other driver would have needed to cross two lanes (he wanted to turn right) and would need to wait until completely clear.

 

Thanks u

[daveefc]

Thanks Porky,

 

My previous message, written before I saw yours, alludes to that too. The other driver would/should not have made a manoeuvre until it was clear for them to do so. As previously mentioned g/f described the frost or mist on the window as "unbelievable", plus with the acceleration mistake she took quite a whack. V

[unclebulgaria67]

It is just questioning the accident location and highway code, so your g/f can establish that she had not fault in the accident and if the third party or their insurers dispute, you can bite back using information you have researched. As I said before Insurers quite often go for a 50/50 if there is doubt about who was at fault.

 

Get the car sorted first, but be ready to deal with any issues regarding fault, so you can make sure you are not shafted.

[2ltr16valve]

Did your gf take photos of the car that hit her including the "mist" ? Also the position of the vehicles ?

If so this will help her case greatly.

[WarrenBuffet]

Can i just say from personal experience if your girl has legal cover then, she should insist upon appointing her own solicitors and then go to a local solicitor that you may already know and trust.

 

As a sidenote my solicitor whom i had to fight my insurance comp...any to appoint under my legal cover said to me ..." Legal cover in insurance is the next PPI scandal and if you are offered it you should say no thanks and ask them to discount your policy by £20-£30"

 

I then asked him why? and he responded verbatim

 

" If you are involved in a non fault accident, any decent solicitor will take your case. However, if you are involved in an accident that is your fault, your insurance has to provide legal representation wether you have legal cover or not !"

[SuperVillain]

" If you are involved in a non fault accident, any decent solicitor will take your case.

 

Did he say that before or after April 2013... Many solicitors (particularly those without the financial fall back of an instructing insurance company) will have to consider carefully what work is taken on these days - as the risk of not being paid is very real.

[WarrenBuffet]

Supervillan it was two years ago, But i believe according to what the OP said in their posts its an open and shut case. His girlfriend was in control of the traffic lane and therefore had right of way. I do understand what you are saying though. However, i would still say a good local solicitor would take it on.

 

If you do however take legal cover, ALWAYS insist upon appointing your own solicitor otherwise they will appoint a large firm of ambulance chasers who will not have your best interests at heart. ....In my own personal experience.