scottp

Hi guys,

This morning on the way to work me and my mate (who was driving) were invloved in an accident. We were just driving through a little village with a few side streets to the left. There are speed bumps all the way down the main road, so we were doing no more than 30. as we went round this slight bend, there was a guy in a blue astra waiting to get onto the main road and drive in the opposite direction to us. We were about 30 foot away when he went to pull out and then hesitated. At that point, Pat, my mate slowed down to about 20 just in case he did pull out. The bloke then started to pull out really slowly. Pat jumped on the anchors but we just slid as it was wet and icy on the road. As we were heading towards the astra, the guy driving it stopped across both lanes, so we ploughed into the side of him.
No airbags went off in our car (a S reg fiesta) but all the curtain airbags in the astra went off.
We got out of the car, checked everyone was alright, assesed the damage, called the ambulance and police and then moved the cars, as the morning rush hour traffic began to back up.
When the police arrived, they thanked me and Pat for moving our car (the old bloke and his misses left theirs blocking the left hand lane) and moved the astra onto the pavement.
One of the officers took Pat into a car for questioning, while another talked to the old boy. At that point the ambulance came and asked me to get in the back for a checkup. At this point my neck was beginning to ache and i was still shaking, from both the cold and shock. The paramedic told me my blood pressure was a little high (146/92 or something) but is average for someone who has been invloved in an accident. He then game me a quick spinal check and told me that i had pulled the muscles in my neck. He put all this in the computer and printed the report off to give to me, which i still have.
When i got out of the ambulance, the police told me and Pat that the other driver had not yet admitted fault on his part.

I was wondering, how do we stand here? There were a few witnesses giving statements saying that the other driver did pull out on us. Does it sound good?

Also, my neck, back and chest are really aching me now, do you think i would be able to claim? i have wasted a day off work and i had to cancel a driving lesson because of it. If i can claim, what do i need to do? I am going to my doctors in an hour to see what he thinks, as it keeps getting worse and worse, would i need to get a report off him too?

Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks

CabrioTurbo

well hes fucked! an accident involving a car pulling out of a side street that gets hit is automatically deemed his fault as they must giveway to traffic on the main road! irrespetive of direction of travel.
IMO you have a perfect case to sue for loss of earning, emotional pain and suffering etc
you may as well push for this as every other fucker does... usually if they arent even hurt.

gingeRS

yeah, they will see the fault as the old guy who pulled out, as long as there were no lengthy skid marks.

as for your claim, you may as well, as said, every other person does so why not

dont expect it to be soon though, my ex was in a car accident in may 06 and has just got round to signing some forms and having a medical, 7 months after the accident

make sure you get a full doctors report of your condition as these are vital to claim

scottp

right, so i need to ask the doctor for a copy of his report when hes finished. then what do i do? who do i go to/call?

So the old boy is deffo in the wrong?

thanks!

S1

If you do have any neck/back pain, then see a doc asap. You run the risk of damaging yourself further if you dont get treatment. If you cant get an appoitment with your GP then take a visit to A&E.

scottp

im going to see him in about 40 mins, my GP. so where do i go from here?

thanks!

Mrs T

you got to tell doc how you feel,
are you in pain?
do you keep thinking about it? etc

ring your insurance company up they deal with it, dont they have a legal department

when putting a claim in the other company will write to your doctor for a medical report

scottp

it wasnt me driving, i was the passenger.

S3an

this is first hand experience. a bus pulled out infront of me while i was driving my other cossie, ploughed straight into the the side of the bus. absolute massive accident but thats another story. anyway it took over 5 years to sort out and at the end the liability was split 75% bus driver and me 25% as i should have slowed down on the approach to the junction knowing that a car/bus could emerge from it. its not all as clear cut as you imagine. because of the 25% liability i actually lost about Ł85k of my claim money. just a thought.

frog

Strange that, I would have thought the opposite, seeing that you are supposed to be in control of the front of your car :S

Out of interest, would that be the same if you were overtaking while someone pulled out of a side road and didn't see you ?

I hope I am in the wrong and that it works out for you and your friend

scottp

yeah but the old boy was incontrol of the side of his too, lol. i though he was in the wrong but now im 99% sure, happened so quick tho!

any more advice would be helpful!

thanks!

dojj

iTrader: (3)

if he's pulled out in front of you and the driver has attempted to stop then it is only going to be the other persons fault

BUT

i got hit up the arse on a slip road by someone who was overtaking me and that was deemed to be MY fault by the judge
becuase the other guy can't have avoided the rear end of my car bceause i was not going as fast as him

i mean, wtf?!??!?!

and, in another rear ender, the guy who's wrote the granda off is now saying i stopped in front of him

get to your docrot, get him to send you to the hospital, get checked out, get it all recorded
what job have you got?
how is the pain affected the work you do?
don't foeget to itemise EVERYTHING, including time toand from hospital, cost of travel, parking, etc, time off work (you wil need to get your employer to write a letter stating your ability to do the job they are paying you for)

everything that you can't do now but would have been able to had you not been involved in an accident you need to write down

i can't rememebr who it was who is in a similar predicament, but their accident was in spain

might be worth asking about passenger stuff but your first point of call now should be to the insruance company of the driver to find out where you stand on the grounds of making a claim against the 3rd party insurers


on a side note, no, it's not fair that you should be put out and you should make a fight for what you areemtitled to, but don't bump up the price ebcause then they may not take you seriously, it's not as if you are a professional athelete and this has stopped you going to the olyimpics or taking part in the world cup is it

Mrs T

i wouldnt keep going on about claiming that might make you look like you only want money and nothing wrong with you

scottp

im not too fussed about the claim, just dont want to miss anything vital out in case i do need to claim at a later date if i have to miss work for a long time, as it is only getting worse atm.

thanks guys!

S3an

spot on, i had private investigators following me for months just to see how i drove etc. people say you are bound to see them. YOU DONT thats why they get paid a fortune for it. the more money saved the better as far as insurance companies are concerned.

Redkop

Could be completely better in a few days time too....

S3an

you have no chance, once its settled, thats it no going back. been there done that.

Mrs T

just tell the doctor how you are feeling, you will probaly be more sore in the morning..so a few days rest might be all you need

dojj

iTrader: (3)

if you don't feel any better in a week and there is no reslut from the insruance company over this, ring one of them compo vultures, they get paid to make money for you and, while not glorifiying their trade or belittling those who have lost out, thats going to be your best bet
no win no fee and they will be up front with your chances of getting a paout hsould you need one

if it's only a few days off work and you'r better again then fine, take it as sick leave, but you also need to make sure that any previous injuries are disclosed to stop them being misdiagnosed

if you were disabled and needed a wheelchair to get about in things owuld be much more in your favour, but a little bump that will clear up in a day or 2 probably won't be worth the effort of claiming for

if you get a settlement as a by product ot the damage claim then i'd be happy with that

if the seatbelt had burnt you get pictures with time and date stamps on it, hold up todays paper to show that it was today tha tit happene detc

scottp

so youre saying there aint no point in claiming? or just get onto a no win no fee place asap and let them know whats happened?

my mate has the blokes insurance info so i can get that. The doctor said something about putting what i had told him on file in case i needed to claim for anything

thanks alot!

xr2i-carl

Daveysaff

iTrader: (9)

Thats nearly EXACTLY what happened to me last week. If another driver has emerged from a junction when you have right of way, its the other guys fault. No question.
Its not a criminal matter, so the feds wont bother with anything now, it's all in the hands of the insurers.
If you do miss work or need prescriptions or anything make a note of how much its cost you etc. Then sue the arse out of the silly old twat. If you incur any costs (through missing work etc) its not your fault, so why should you be out of pocket?
Just dont take the piss and claim for stuff you havent got.



(Oh, and its an RTC btw )

dave_si

When I was involved in an RTA the RAC sorted out my personal injury claim, was spot on

http://www.rac.co.uk/web/knowhow/acc.../?ac=pi_google

Mrs T

but thats what you want to happen it going on your file, because the insurance company will write to your doctor

do you want to claim now or not thats what you have to decide you werent to bothered this afternoon?

will your friends insurance company put you in touch with someone to help you claim is he claiming they could do both together

scottp

yeah the doctor said its on my record if i do want to make a claim, i think, lol. could hardly understand him like!

At the end of the day, theres people claim who arent even hurt, i really am so i'm going to have a go at claiming. If it wasnt for that idiot pulling out i would have had two chilled out days off work in the run up to christmas. Instead ive spent my 2 days off laid in bed or walking around like bloody robocop while he probably will be sat in a comfy chair with his pipe and slippers! I will probably have to have tomorow (friday) off as well as i was in agony this morning when i tried to get up! i feel like ozzy osbourne, lol. My mum said something about ringing HR at work up too to sort out getting those days off i have lost back. Last thing at the minute though.

i'm not sure what my mate is doing at the mo, hes just trying to get his car sorted, cos it aint driveable at the minute so he needs something to get around in. He said he might claim but his mind was on other things when i saw him.

Hes got all the blokes insurance details off the police so i can get them if they are needed and i think i will give one of those no win no fee places a call and see what they say after christmas. i hope everything is sorted out though.

So any other suggestions? I'm not money grabbing, but if i can get some sort of compensation im not going to throw the chance away am i.

morcheen

something very similar happened to me in april this year,but i tried to avoid the car,and wrote off a parked car,damaged another,and wrote my car off,next time i will just drive into them! just got the cheque in today for my car had to threaten court action before they admitted liability.my insurance and legal people were very good. their fault simple .

CabrioTurbo

i leant about tit his way too trying to avoid some cunt pulling out i steemed into another car!

scottp

just heard back from my mate. the other dudes insurers have rung him up and told him that the old boy has admitted fault and that they will cover all costs and have asked about personal injury too. ive told pat to make sure they know that i will be contacting a solicitor if i am not included in the settlement. is this the right way to go about it?

thanks!

dojj

iTrader: (3)

yes
but contact the soliciter anyway, but get his admission in writing first

Zetec Andy

Not read throught this but i had the very same accident almost 1 year ago to the day!

The other party was claiming against me even though they pulled infront of me

In the end she didnt get away with it, the insurance companies can tell what happened by damage to both vehicles, i also took pictures of the scene on my phone.....



And went back in better light and took more picture with a digital camera, i sent them all to my solicitor when he asked for a diagram of the scene.

As for claiming whiplash, thats upto your mates insurance, let him know you want to claim or contact a "no win no fee" kind of company for advice.

starturbo

Be careful what solicitors you use.They cost money.Some take a percentage of your damages (usually the no win no fee ones).Others just have the legal costs that are awarded to you.good luck.

dojj

iTrader: (3)

most now claim their costs from the other insurance company after you've got your settlement

there is also the matter of having to pay for the insurance incase they lose the case, this is normally only about Ł75 which you don't pay should you lose the case but is deducted from your final settlement figure

silverfox999

I carry one of those throwaway cams in my boot and wont move cars until either i have snapped happy or wait for the police to ask to move once recorded positions.

People *stories* soon change once the cars are parked on the kerb.

Everybody lies in my experience (which, luckily is not that much) so cover your arse.

On the other hand if its your fault than offer to park the cars out of the way and act dumb....dotn want three points + on your license as well as losing your no claims...