Been in first car accident tonight - what do I need to do

adonis

I have been hit up the back 5 times over the years, and before anyone says it's my driving i have heard all the excuses such as" looking for toll money", " i misjudged it",(a lady driver :rolleyes: ), " i thought you was going to pull away", not with a 40 ton truck rapidly approaching i'm not.
Luckily no injuries, the last one only needed a bumper, as i have full comp they drove it from my home and kept it for over a week, leaving me with a hire car all at the other insurers expense, when i would have been happy to take my car down to have the bumper fitted when it came in stock.
The op should not feel guilty about claiming for pain and suffering as it wasn't their fault the accident happened.

before_hollywood

this sort of thing happened to me earlier this year
1. they admitted liability and they hit you from behind- their fault, tell your insurers, they need to contact the other lot

2. hire car, not your fault, you shouldnt be inconvenienced, and make sure it is same size as yours, you never caused this remember.

3. if you are hurt, get a proper medical opinion

this is all the advice given to me by the insurers i had at the time, the guy who hit me was pursued by a ''recovery'' company after a few months of refusing to report to his insurers, they politely phoned me a few weeks later to say hello mr **** the matter with mr ****** is all dealt with now and the claim is closed at no cost to yourself.

lexilex

I have actually got the option of a hire car on my insurance I think. Not much point in getting one though really, I don't think I could drive even if I wanted to because of the whiplash. Think my car is driveable anyway, there really isn't much damage at all on the outside but want to get that all checked out first. Don't think I'll be driving for a while, this has scared me a lot! And I was only just getting confident with my driving, took a long time after passing my test in Nov 07.

Brooker_Dave

anewman wrote: »

The major contributing factors to higher insurance costs are....

1 !!!!!!!!!!s trying to get injury claims from trivial accidents.

2 Parasite accident managment companies.

HTH.

Mojisola

bestpud wrote: »

You don't need to claim at this stage; you only need to inform them you have the injury. You can wait a few days and see if you recover, which you very likely will.

This is the best advice - which is why you must involve the insurance company at this stage. If you settled with the other driver privately it would be very difficult to later say that your neck was still bad.

All you need to do for the moment is to tell the insurance company that you are having problems with your neck and see how things develop. As you are young, you will probably heal quickly and it won't need to go any further.

Try not to leave it too long before you start driving again. Could you get a friend or relative who is a good driver to go out with you for the first few times for reassurance?

lexilex

All I've done is inform my insurance I have whiplash and told them I want to claim for the damage on my car.

They know how long I have had the whiplash for, and they will be told when (hopefully very soon!) the pain has gone away. Surely they aren't going to pay out on the presumption that long term damage has been caused?

As far as I'm concerned the pain I'm suffering now was not there before the accident happened so why should I just put up with it? It's not my fault I am at the moment unable to do things, like I had to pay for a taxi to get to the medical centre today because I can't drive, boyfs having to get taxis to work because he can't get a lift from me, stuff like that.

I aren't going to make out that the pain lasts longer than it does, I'm been perfectly honest with my insurance, I will tell them when I feel the pain has gone, it's then upto them then what happens with regards to a claim.

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers!

If you have whiplash, if you're in pain, if you're experiencing difficulty - feel free to get as much compensation as you feel suitable. It's what I'd do. You've done nothing wrong and now you're in pain, all because of the actions of some dozy idiot who wasn't watching where she was going.

Insurance is there to cover you for things like this. Just because some low-lifes go around claiming compensation where it isn't deserved doesn't mean you should feel bad when you do deserve it.

I wonder how some of the people criticising you for considering a whiplash claim would manage if they found they could no longer do their job as a result of injuries sustained which are similar to your own?

jimmo

Ah! You only have 3rd party insurance. It’s easy with hindsight but I consider myself lucky that, even from the age of 17 I have always had fully comprehensive and, so have both my sons. For some mysterious reason it is often cheaper to get fully comprehensive than 3rd party.
However, what you have to deal with is your situation as it stands.
I definitely claim no professional expertise in this, only personal experience.
The basics are that with 3rd party insurance you are covered for any damage you cause to other people or their property. You are not covered for damage to yourself or your car.
If the accident was your fault your insurance will pay out for the damage you have caused to your victims. If the accident was the other driver’s fault then, as far as your insurance company is concerned, it is nothing to do with them. Any advice they give you is no more than friendly advice without any legal repercussions.
At the present time the driver of the other car seems to be accepting liability for the damage to your car and is prepared to pay to have that damage repaired. That, in itself is good.
However, if you have whiplash that is simply not sufficient. You need compensation for that.
I am not trying to belittle your problem but I think it is fairly common ground that people who are involved in accidents generally claim whiplash injuries as a matter of course.
I think that really is your problem.
Do you genuinely have whiplash or are you trying it on?
Either way around your insurance company is not going to be interested. It is not their problem, it is yours.
If you have a genuine case then my guess is that you will have to go to one of those “no win, no fees” companies.
If you have to do that do it now.

lexilex

As far as I can make out, I think because I've paid extra for legal cover, they will fight the injury side of the claim, if I hadn't paid for that, I would have been on my own. Have to wait til they ring tomorrow though and see what they say.

DirectDebacle

I wish I had a crystal ball. Some posters apparently have.

They know you have whiplash (because you posted the diagnosis) so they now know how severe it is, how much pain you are suffering, what restrictions it has on your life now and in the future and that you will be recovered in a few days. They also know you won't suffer financially.

All bad advice and should be ignored at all costs.

The facts are you have been involved in a personal injury R.T.A. By law this has to be notified to the police. A PCSO was at the scene but a PCSO is not a police officer. Check with your local police station that an accident report has been recorded by the PCSO. If not then attend the police station with your driving documents and report the accident. At some stage your insurance company will require the accident report no. Make sure you have that before you leave the police station.

As in my previous post at the moment you have no idea how long this injury will take to heal. My experience was particularly bad and after almost 25 years has not fully recovered. I certainly hope yours was nowhere near as severe.

Don't let crass remarks such as 'compensation culture' or 'we all pay' deter you from receiving any necessary medical treatment for your injury or any compensation you may be able to legitimately claim.

As a young driver you will have paid a substantial amount for your insurance and legal protection so make sure you obtain the maximum benefit from it. This is a money saving site and it would be bad advice to pay for insurance and not take advantage of the policy when you need to claim.

Good luck and look after the neck. It is the only one you will ever have and I wish you a full and speedy recovery.