Rear car accident

sausagenmelons

Hi.. i dont knw if i have posted this in the correct part of the forum so if i havent then please feel free to redirect me.. and sorry buts its a long one

Basically.. In may last year i was in a car accident..

I was stationary at red traffice lights when i looked into my mirror to see the person behind travelling at aroun 10- 15 mph and too close to stop. Before i knew it he had read ended my car.

At first i was in shock, thn i got out my car and he got out his, i instantly felt sick and sore.. my neck had a cut/sore were my seat belt had gone into my skin.

When i got out the person who went into me instantly got out his camera to start taking photos.. he also said he didnt want police involved and wouldnt gve me insurance details only his name and mobile number. H eveen stood infornt of his regplate purposely so i couldnt get his reg number. H etold me he didnt want police or insurance involved as he was going to get a mate to fix it as hes a mechanic and he trusted him and he said that was the reasn fr taking the photos.. so he could get an estimate??

I then got back into my car and called my insurance company as he drove off... also as he drove off i managed to get his reg plate. but still wasnt sure if he had insurance..

I then went onto a&e to get checked over cos i didnt feel right and instantly feeling sick. i was told theer i not only had whiplash but i also had a soft tissue injury to one side of my back. i was told to see my gp traight away.

I went to my gp next day ad i was off work on sick note for over 4 weeks and couldnt return to work due to my injuries. It has been a year and i still suffer with my back.. ive even had physio, which im going back to. i cant sit still for long periods or walk for long periods.. ive good days and very bad days..

I had my car looked at by a mechanic who said my car had rer bumber damage, something damaged behind the bumper??? and also engine damage.

Ive had a solicitor cntact me on behalf of my insurance a year later sying that i could claim.. ive neevr made a claim before so didnt realise i was entitled too.

Well a year on and im off to physio again as still aving problems.. and th person who went into the back of me is not admitting liability..

First he said there wasnt an accident.. and that he was never there... to then saying he was there but there was minimal impact??

then producing the photo of my car whihc does show slight damage but isnt a full rear photo just a close up of the number plate.. so hes lied in the first instance..

He also hasnt ever told his insurance about the accident..even tho i told mine 5 mins after.

The problem is... is this is all now off to court cos his insurers say that he will not admit liability even tho he already said he wasnt there then said he was.

we have proof of medical records... ive had a medical recently and also the report that came form them when they looked at the condition f my car at the garage a week after.

All he has is a photo and that it.. there are no witnesses.

Im just curious if ayone else had had this with someone or any experience.??

How long does it take to get sorted and actually get to court? I just dont get t all cos ive never made a claim befre and all my solicitor says is that its a straight frward case cos he rear ended me and that really they should of paid up before we took it to court cos they will lose.. but i dont understand??

pault123

This seems to be dragging out a lot, surely your insurers should look after everything for you??

sausagenmelons

no its not dragging out really... the accident was may last year and the claim only started 2 months ago. i never knew i could claim until someone rang me from my insurance

maninthestreet

The accident should have been reported to the police - you suffered an injury.

Mrs_Money

Yes the accident should have been reported to the police - he left the scene without exchanging insurance details as well. (of course that's no help now - I know it's easy to be wise after the event!). Plus I believe that any rear end shunt is always the person behind's fault - again not much help now.
Good luck with your claim - it looks like you may have to rely on your insurance company to fight for you though.

king100

Sorry to hear about the accident but if someone had rear ended my car, when I got out I felt pain in neck region and all he is willing to do is say dont call the police, stand infront of his number plate, and only give me his name and mobile number.

The 1st thing i would be doing is calling the police and let them sort it out.

If he then left the scene you would have been able to take a look at his number plate and he would be leaving the scene of an accident. So he would be in twice as much trouble.

sausagenmelons

but hasnt anyone been trough this before.. the court proceedure?

maninthestreet

sausagenmelons wrote: »

but hasnt anyone been trough this before.. the court proceedure?

Has your insurance company told you they expect court proceedings to take place?

dieselhead

First of all try not to worry too much, I was rear ended an although didn't make an injury claim the case did almost go to court, we got to a week before hand then the other side changed their mind and admitted liability.

mattymoo

sausagenmelons wrote: »

but hasnt anyone been trough this before.. the court proceedure?

I used to handle this kind of thing for an insurer.

In the first instance, his insurer has to believe what their policyholder is telling them, after all, he pays them a premium.

Presumably your solicitors have taken a statement or written records of your version of events and put these to the other drivers insurers. Normally that would raise serious questions about his behaviour after the accident and also how well he would come across in court.

Your solicitors have probably had to issue procedings in order to make the other side realise this is not going to go away. I would not expect it to go anywhere near a courtroom as the costs involved for the insurer are huge in comparison to the size of the claim.

A claim is in two parts - liability and quantum. Liabilty - who is at fault, quantum - how much is the claim worth. You could ask your solicitor if the other side will agree one of these. For instance, if they conceed their policyholder was at fault then the matter is one of quantum only. It can also work the other way round, i.e. "if our driver is found to be at fault, we can agree the claim is worth £5k (or whatever)".

post back here with updates and myself and others (solicitor midlands, crazy jamie etc) will try and help you.

sausagenmelons

the court papers have been issued to court and they have a fe weeks to get there defence together.. my solicitor has given them the correct versions of events but wish to accept it.. Even tho his insurance wrote my solictor a letter with the first paragrah saying it never happened and then in the secnd paragraph saying it did..

My solicitor cuoldnt stop laughin when he rea it... he said it was the biggest shambles hed seen.

He told me 1 in 10 cases go to court but hes never seen a rear ended one go to court. Im hoping they accept liabilty out of court and make an offer then. I dont know how long it will take to get a court date. all i have is that dates that he has to get his defence togther