Minor car accident=extortive injury claim!

dearlied2

My husband had a minor car accident in July, in his brand new car. His very first accident after 20 odd years driving. He was pulling out of a side road, he said he looked and there was nothing coming then out of nowhere a car hits him! There was only minimal damage(scratches on front bumper of our car and scratches to the other drivers door). Anyway things calmed down and after exchanging details and shaking hands with the driver, they went their seperate ways.
A week later we got a letter from their solicitors, they were both claiming back and neck injuries and had been the docs etc.. The next day we got a more threatening letter off solicitor saying my hubby had committed a criminal offence by not giving his insurance details and would be prosecuted by police. To cut a long story short. Few more threats later things were sorted out we sent details off to insurance to deal with.
Few days ago a county court claim form drops through our letter box, my husband is being sued for the injuries mentioned above, plus a whole new list had come to light, after the driver had been examined by a private doctor(7 weeks after the accident btw). He wants between 5 and 10k! We're totally shocked and sickened by the whole thing! I dont know why they've done this, we havnt got that kind of money.
When my husband rang his insurance to find out what action to take, they told him the claim was still being dealt with and an offer hadnt been made yet to the couple.
Surely it cant be legal to make a second private claim, when the first hasnt gone through!
Can anybody help or advise.
Thank you.

mcjordi

pass all correspondance on to the insurer unanswered

Chippy_Minton_2

The other party may want between 5 and 10k but injuries are awarded on a set scale and only after the injuries have been assessed by an independent doctor. Send the paperwork to your insurance company.

If the other party was injured I would be very surprised if done properly any injuiry claim will be complete (examinations and medical reports etc) by summer 2010.

PaulLuke

As mcjordi says sent the correspondence onto your insurance company for them to deal with as that's what on the reasons you pay your insurance premiums.

dearlied2

Thanks for advice. Was worried about sending county court form with there being a deadline. could hubby get penalised for not responding.

Mark_Hewitt

dearlied2 wrote: »

He was pulling out of a side road, he said he looked and there was nothing coming then out of nowhere a car hits him,

Well cars don't come from nowhere, it must have been present! Was the car speeding in your opinion? Easily done however with some turnings there just isn't time between checking and moving off.

The next day we got a more threatening letter off solicitor saying my hubby had committed a criminal offence by not giving his insurance details and would be prosecuted by police.

You said you exchanged contact details? Did you exchange insurance info too? You don't need to give people your policy number, your reg and insurance co is sufficient.

my husband is being sued for the injuries mentioned above, plus a whole new list had come to light, after the driver had been examined by a private doctor(7 weeks after the accident btw). He wants between 5 and 10k!

Well they aren't suing you as such, they are suing your insurance company, they are liable for third-party injury, not you.

We're totally shocked and sickened by the whole thing! I dont know why they've done this, we havnt got that kind of money.

You don't have to, your insurance will pay, that's what it's for.

Surely it cant be legal to make a second private claim, when the first hasnt gone through!
.

They can claim and claim as much as they like, doesn't mean they are entitled to anything.

Crabman

dearlied2 wrote: »

Thanks for advice. Was worried about sending county court form with there being a deadline. could hubby get penalised for not responding.

For a county court claim normally you'll need to file an acknowledge of service (of the notice of claim) within 14 days. The relevant deadlines should be stated on the notice.

You'll then get 28 days from the date of service to file a defence which can be extended for another 28 days by mutual consent with the other party under Civil Procedure Rules.

It shouldn't take more than a couple of days for the court papers to reach the insurers - send by special delivery (£4.99) if necessary (keep receipt so you can try and claim the cost back) or scan and email to the insurers so they are at least aware of it.

Also hope you and hubby have made notes on everything that happened at the scene. It's easy to forget little details which could be important for the defence. Good luck.

Hintza

Happened to me but they only went for £1,900 and since it was below the £2,000 limit (to challenge etc) my insurer paid out. I just pray that karma works and at some stage the woman will get her just desserts.

Nothing you can do OP as has been said forward to your insurance company.

Mark_Hewitt

Crabman wrote: »

Also hope you and hubby have made notes on everything that happened at the scene. It's easy to forget little details which could be important for the defence. Good luck.

Go back and take photographs and make use of google satellite and maps.live.com bird's eye views if available.

However I don't think there is a dispute here? Sounds like the OP is at fault?

Chippy_Minton_2

Mark_Hewitt wrote: »

You said you exchanged contact details? Did you exchange insurance info too? You don't need to give people your policy number, your reg and insurance co is sufficient.

From what the OP described, OH didn't need to provide insurance details. Where was the injury at the time of the collision? If so where were the police and what did they record the other parties injuires as?

dearlied2

To Mark: My husband gave his details including insurance on the day. Think it was just an underhand move by solicitors to get us to respond quicker and get things moving for their clients.
He's claimed liablity from the outset.
Thanks for everyones reasuring words, we're putting it all in the hands of the insurers!