3rd party insurance saying speed of impact couldnt cause injury to my mother?

brians_daughter

Hi all, I am here hoping for some advice and I hope this is the correct forum to post on.

I was involved in an accident a few months ago. My mother was in the car with me. The driver reversed into the side of me reversing off a drive (rear end drivers side where my mother was sat) Luckily I escaped with no injuries but my mother suffered what the doctor said was 'tissue damage due to the accident'. She had a medical appointment booked, but its been cancelled for the time being as the 3rd party are now saying they dispute the injury was caused by the accident due to the low speed of the vehicles. It was slow, but was hard enough impact to cause over £1000 worth of damage to my car, which has now been fixed.

My mother is quite upset about all this and has signed to say her medical history needs to be accessed. She had to have 3 weeks off work (she stands all day in her employment) and is still in mild pain ie cant lie/sit/stand for a long period of time. She does however suffer from arthitus (sp?) but hasnt suffered for a while due to being on medication for it. She says she knows the 'type' of pain the arthiritus gives her and this has been different ie shoulders which were never effected prior etc and constant back niggling since it happened.

Her concern is that the 3rd party wont pay out for time lost at work (only on ssp) and any damages ie her whilplash and backpain as she has a pre-existing condition.

Could anyone help me help to her to be a little more re-assured about the situation? I have been driving 10 years, her 30 and we have never been involved in an accident before so are quite in the dark. Her solicitor has said its a 'common issue brought up by 3rd party insurers' but thats not giving her much peace

Sorry for the essay, but thought would include all i could think of.

Thanks
Anna

Hintza

What is she looking for?

They will probably accept a claim below £2k, over that they may very well fight you in the courts if they think it is excesive or unreasonable.

Proper legal and medical advice will be required.

brians_daughter

she is looking for the cost of her employment losses - only works p/t so around £700 and something to compensate the fact that 2 months on she still cant do things she could before, to cover such things as she hasnt been able to look after her garden so now has had to emply a gardener, cant lift heavy shopping due to shoulder still etc

As i say, we have never been involved in an accident in our driving years and seem somewhat in the dark.

Truth be told, when my insurance company gave her the address of a solicitor etc and the 3rd party admitted liability and doc said the damage was due to the accident she borrow some money from my brother (£700 to cover wage loss) so she could pay the bills on her home - her main worry is that if the 3rd party doesnt accept the damage was down the accident she will not be able to pay him back in time(he is going travelling sometime next year and she borrowed it from his savings). I wouldnt mind if she was pulling a fast one, but she isnt, i can see how much discomfort she is still in at times.

she has asked the solicitor and they said it is often argued that the speed of impact couldnt cause the problems and usually the medical report shows it was due to accident. she mentioned existing conditions from the start and they said/still say it 'shouldnt be a problem' but thats not helping her much

forgotmyname

£1000 worth of damage could be minor, Scratch a door with a key and your could be looking at £200 - £700 depending on area, garage & paint type.

Some makes charge that for a service.

If she already had a condition then it could be hard to prove the accident contributed to make matters worse. Especially as you yourself were not injured.

I would imagine they will check to see how much time off she had had previously & take that into account. If she had taken regular time off they could argue she isnt any worse than before.

A woman drove into the back of my sisters car whilst she waited to enter a busy island, The woman was just eager to get to her bingo, Good to know people put bingo higher on their list of priorities than concentrating on the road ahead. She later accused my sister of being at fault for not pulling onto the island when there was ample room.
Anyway my sister & her family got approx £1000 each for their minor injuries.

Its a money mad world.

terryya

I'm no expert on this sort of situation, but you don't need to be to know that every insurer will say anything they can to avoid paying a claim. If they do end up paying they'll at least make you jump through hoops.

If it is all legit (and it sounds like it is) then just stick to you guns - I'm sure that doctors are more qualified to assess injuries than a bean counter in an office.

brians_daughter

Hi thanks for the replies. The damage was actually a new rear drivers side door (not that i expect it makes much diff)

I will try and tell her not to worry and it is just part and parcel to making a claim