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Defending a Personal Injury Claim
TheHorse
Posts: 31 Forumite
Hi
I was recently involved in an accident and now face a personal injury claim against me.
Heres what happened.
M1 through the roadworks. The traffic was stop/start through two junctions. I was good stopping distance behind the car in front and the traffic flow was slowing down so I was braking. My junction was coming up so I was looking to get out of my lane and off the M1. As I was looking to get out of the lane, an accident two cars in front happened (which i couldnt see even if i was looking forward) and the car in front broke to a standstill. As I looked back (as I couldnt get out of the lane) - I saw and couldnt brake in time. I hit the car in front.
Spoke to the lady then, gave her the correct details, spoke to her the following day and she said she was fine, no worries, sorted insurance out etc but now she's claiming against me for neck and shoulder injuries.
What can I do now? I had a passenger with me and he also agrees that really there was nothing I could do, he didn;t see the accident in front either...
Any help appreciated. Also, Im assuming they will win (don't they all?) so how much would they be looking at and how is the money paid back to them as I have no money myself.
I was recently involved in an accident and now face a personal injury claim against me.
Heres what happened.
M1 through the roadworks. The traffic was stop/start through two junctions. I was good stopping distance behind the car in front and the traffic flow was slowing down so I was braking. My junction was coming up so I was looking to get out of my lane and off the M1. As I was looking to get out of the lane, an accident two cars in front happened (which i couldnt see even if i was looking forward) and the car in front broke to a standstill. As I looked back (as I couldnt get out of the lane) - I saw and couldnt brake in time. I hit the car in front.
Spoke to the lady then, gave her the correct details, spoke to her the following day and she said she was fine, no worries, sorted insurance out etc but now she's claiming against me for neck and shoulder injuries.
What can I do now? I had a passenger with me and he also agrees that really there was nothing I could do, he didn;t see the accident in front either...
Any help appreciated. Also, Im assuming they will win (don't they all?) so how much would they be looking at and how is the money paid back to them as I have no money myself.
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Comments
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You can't really defend personal injury claims unfortunately unless you have limitless pockets. The nature of the claims means that at least 2 medical experts have to give their opinion on whether the person has the injury they are claiming and due to the cost of getting the reports plus the associated legal costs it is often much cheaper just to pay the person's claim.
In addition you need add on the fact that some people have weaknesses in certain areas and an accident would just make the issue much worse.
Your insurance company will pay the claim for you and your premium will go up next year. If you get any documentation from the lady or her insurers you need to send it straight to your insurer.I'm not cynical I'm realistic
(If a link I give opens pop ups I won't know I don't use windows)0 -
Hi olly
do i need to have legal protection for the insurance company to claim? Im sure I didnt opt for legal protection...
Thanks
Liam0 -
You don't need legal protection, claims against you are covered automatically (third party claims).
Just send everything to your insurance company and let them deal with it.0 -
thanks for the reply Olly. I dont think I have motor legal protection on my policy. Will this matter?0
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oops. sorry my connection went down then..thanks for the replies.!0
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Well you drove into the back of someone and there isn't really any excuse for that.
If you couldn't stop in time, then you were driving too close (I'm not judging you just giving you the legal point of view).
From a liability point of view it's pretty straight forward.
You drove into the back of them therefore you are liable - sorry, but the responsibility for correct braking distance is yours.
With whiplash it's quite normal that symptoms don't appear straightaway.
People also get shock at the scene.
So a delayed reaction is not at all suspicious and perfectly normal.
You don't need legal cover.
Her insurer will claim off your insurance.
If you have fully comp, you will also claim off your insurance.
You will probably have to pay an excess for your claim (none for hers) and will possibly lose no claims and get loaded for the accident.
But you have anything to defend I'm afraid as quite simply you drove into someone and that's your fault - sorry.0 -
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Well you drove into the back of someone and there isn't really any excuse for that.
If you couldn't stop in time, then you were driving too close (I'm not judging you just giving you the legal point of view).
From a liability point of view it's pretty straight forward.
You drove into the back of them therefore you are liable - sorry, but the responsibility for correct braking distance is yours.
With whiplash it's quite normal that symptoms don't appear straightaway.
People also get shock at the scene.
So a delayed reaction is not at all suspicious and perfectly normal.
You don't need legal cover.
Her insurer will claim off your insurance.
If you have fully comp, you will also claim off your insurance.
You will probably have to pay an excess for your claim (none for hers) and will possibly lose no claims and get loaded for the accident.
But you have anything to defend I'm afraid as quite simply you drove into someone and that's your fault - sorry.
thanks - I know its my fault, its just it was unfortunate
thanks for all your help0 -
Legal protection would assist you in pursuing a claim against another party.
That makes sense. The exact same thing happened to me about 3 months ago and I had to sort it all out myself (I didnt make an injury claim though - even though I had time off work, visits to doctor and hurt quite badly).0 -
That makes sense. The exact same thing happened to me about 3 months ago and I had to sort it all out myself (I didnt make an injury claim though - even though I had time off work, visits to doctor and hurt quite badly).
Not too late to make a claim for this.
Contact a claim handler and see if they will take your case on. (They will recover all your other costs as well, providing you were not to blame)0
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