Ahould I got to court over car accident??

[thetosh]

Been offered a 50/50 split from Insuance, which means I would loose my no claims, She has claimed for damages and Whiplash,
I want to fight this in court, She was behind me and hit my car as I was pulling into my driveway, she was undertaking me at around 5 mph. lots of damage to my passanger side, and also my car is leaking oil. Taken nearly 6 months to get this decision, inspector has said around £3000 to fix. but i want to fight this as another point Is that the lady also had 2 more passangers that where sitting in the front passanger seat!!! her daughter who was holding her daughter on her lap without seatbelt, Against the law ainit, so is undertaken, what do you think my chances are of winning? as ive never gonr through anything like this before, My insurance cover is only 3rd party fire and theft, so ive gone through one of these car insurance no win no fee, As ive had no help from my insurance company they just want to pay out!!!

[pink-kittens]

If it happened as you say I don't understand why your insurance company are willing to pay out so readily?
I agree with mdoo, there is more that perhaps you are not saying?
BTW, the fact she had 2 passengers in the front seat is not really relevant to your claim

[sara3]

I can't picture how she could undertake as you were pulling into your driveway. were you in the middle of the road? were you indicating? reversing or driving forwards?

[jno]

were you turning left into the driveway? If so, shouldn't you have been in the left lane?

[ChuckFickens]

The only way I can think of that anyone could get damage on the passenger side of their car and for the impact to cause an oil leak (which would mean being hit at the front) when the other person was behind them is if car1 was reversing onto a drive way meaning they swung the front of their car out into the path of a car going past them. If this is the case I'd say 50/50 is about right.

Also carrying a passenger illegally in the front of the car has no bearing on responsibility for the accident unless it can be proved to be a directly contributing factor and they weren't undertaking you, they would have been going past you.

[BertiWooster]

//....she was undertaking me at around 5 mph. lots of damage to my passanger side...//

I think there is more to this than meets the eye .
We need to have a ' fuller' account of the accident circumstances in order to provide an informed opinion , as to your chances of succeding in litigation .

Could it be that you swung out to the offside ,of the road in order to turn into your driveway and the other party assumed that you were moving to the right side of the road - and therefore simply proceeded to pass you - i.e // .. she was undertaking me ..// ?

[thetosh]

Thanks for info,

My drive is on left, Just before my drive entrance is a Road chicane, road narrows to 1 lane, to slow down traffic, so you basically in the centre of the road to turn into my drive, as it opens back into 2 lanes, just to put a picture on it,

[boxtops]

Generally speaking the person who hits the other in the rear is usually held to be at fault - were you indicating left at the time? It may be that the two insurance companies can't agree who is at fault which is why they are going for the 50-50 option. Do you have legal cover with your motor policy? If so it would be worth consulting a solicitor with insurance experience, for their view on it.

[grasscarp]

The whiplash bit interests me. There are new tests coming out to find out if a claim is genuine as there are so many false claims for this one.

[maclarencat]

Someon ran into the side of our car they were coming through traffic filter lights on red. Our insurance company also suggested 50/50 My husband was livid as it was in no way his fault so refused to accept it and we went to court and won.

[factor-fiction]

I'm sure your insurance company has made a decision based on all the facts that it would be unlikely to succeed in a claim for more than 50% if it went to court.
Has the 'no win no fee' company agreed to take on your case?

[Hymie]

I suspect that the reason your insurance company is willing to accept a 50/50 liability is that even if they were to support you in a legal battle and win the case – the gain to them would be minimal.

It is always good (for the insurance companies) if a claim is split 50/50 – both insured parties loose some of their NCD.

Since you believe that the other party is at fault (and I would tend to agree with you, based on what you say) and if their insurer is refusing to pay out – your only option is to recover your losses through the courts.

Rather than wasting your time with a no win no fee outfit – you should be looking to engage a solicitor, who initially will be asking for your losses from the other insurer. If they refuse your claim, you need to consider whether to take the matter before a court. Although this will entail additional costs – if you win, they should be recovered.

See maclarencat’s post above – perhaps with encouragement, she will give further details of her hubby’s case.

[BertiWooster]

// Rather than wasting your time with a no win no fee outfit – you should be looking to engage a solicitor, who initially will be asking for your losses from the other insurer. If they refuse your claim, you need to consider whether to take the matter before a court. Although this will entail additional costs – if you win, they should be recovered. //

So, what do you think a no win no fee outfit is going to do , differently ?

[BertiWooster]

//The whiplash bit interests me. There are new tests coming out to find out if a claim is genuine as there are so many false claims for this one.//

Really? i cant wait to see these tests
If i say my neck hurts , how is any tests going to show that it doesn't hurt ?

[Hymie]

A no win no fee outfit will only be interested in what is in it for them – with a £3k claim there is not much money in it for them. Once it looks like they will get nothing for their little effort, they will loose all interest in the case (if they have not done so already).

[grasscarp]

Here is the link to the pioneering research BertiWooster
http://www.confused.c...of-the-past-711855842

[BertiWooster]

Well it all depends on what the OP decides that he/she wishes to claim for .

Throw in a claim for hire charges / storage and recovery / bad neck / back and then you have specials damages likely to reach 5k , and / or General damages to reach 1k - which means that costs are automatically payable by the defendants
( assuming the claimant suceeds on liability )

[BertiWooster]

Very interesting grasscarp

[Sqad]

There is no reliable test which can be routinely used to detect pain.
Also with Whiplash injuries, pain is not the only disability as dizziness and unsteadiness is often worse than the pain.

The bottom line in court would be......"likelier than not"....despite the presence of any high flown electrical analysis of the client's pain.

Whiplash disabilities will remain...."the gravy train"