car crash update and advice needed please!!

bikingbarney

Hi all most of you will remember the accidnet i had on boxing day last year but for those who dont here is a link to the previous thread!!.....https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2166895


Well as you can see this still hasn't been resolved and it is going to court.

today i contacted the solicitor appointed to me by my insurance to let her know i was back in the country and also to get an update on how things are going.

I have to say she seems very switched on and so far im impressed.

she basically told me that after she received my statement and photos of the accident scene she wrote a very comprehensive letter to the solicitors representing the other party. basically saying that he had crossed road markings etc and had caused the accident, they contacted her back saying no thats not true and that the road markings had changed between us having the accident and me taking the photos i supplied her with, this is completely untrue and im led to believe they are just grasping at straws here.

she also told me that it isn't going through his insurance company now and it is one of these "no win no fee" type things that are acting on his behalf????

my question is then , how does this affect the outcome of the accident with regards to who was at fault??

why aren't his insurance doing it for him, have his insurance wiped there hands of him??

he is taking me to court for the damage to his car and loss of earnings by the way??

any ideas??

cheers

Steve

serjoe

any accident involving cars with valid insurance have to make a claim only thru the insurance company. any dealing should be done between them and any claims as well. same thing happend to a frend of mine. Phone your insurance company and let them know of the court case against you. thel them to get it sorted or you will make a court case against them as they are not doing what they have to do-PROTECT YOU FROM CASES LIKE THAT. you are paying insurance for reason- when something happen to not get charged. And your layer should know that its not leagal. get in touch with the person involved with your case form the insurance company and be hard with him. I dont say im 100% right but that is how my friend got away.

wealdroam

serjoe wrote: »

any accident involving cars with valid insurance have to make a claim only thru the insurance company. any dealing should be done between them and any claims as well. same thing happend to a frend of mine. Phone your insurance company and let them know of the court case against you. thel them to get it sorted or you will make a court case against them as they are not doing what they have to do-PROTECT YOU FROM CASES LIKE THAT. you are paying insurance for reason- when something happen to not get charged. And your layer should know that its not leagal. get in touch with the person involved with your case form the insurance company and be hard with him. I dont say im 100% right but that is how my friend got away.

Serjoe, did you miss the bit where the OP told us his solicitor was appointed by his insurance company?...

bikingbarney wrote: »

today i contacted the solicitor appointed to me by my insurance to let her know i was back in the country and also to get an update on how things are going.

sarahg1969

If you're sure there have been no changes in the road markings, your solicitor can obtain confirmation from the council.

Maybe his insurers have pulled the plug on his case and that's why he's gone elsewhere; or maybe he's just gone somewhere that will pursue his claim more vigorously. It doesn't affect the case from your point of view.

serjoe

wealdroam wrote: »

Serjoe, did you miss the bit where the OP told us his solicitor was appointed by his insurance company?...

Still the solicitor should do the things himself and not get his client get sued . the case have to be insurance co. against insurance co. not person to person or ins.co to person in this case. for me its a misrepresentation and if it was me i will be looking for case against insurance co. and the other person.

Quentin

serjoe wrote: »

Still the solicitor should do the things himself and not get his client get sued . the case have to be insurance co. against insurance co. not person to person or ins.co to person in this case. for me its a misrepresentation and if it was me i will be looking for case against insurance co. and the other person.

No.

The insurers role is to cover the costs awarded in any court case (plus the costs involved of going to court).

But the court is being asked to decide who is liable, and that is down to deciding on the argument between the drivers.

Quentin

bikingbarney wrote: »

she also told me that it isn't going through his insurance company now and it is one of these "no win no fee" type things that are acting on his behalf????

my question is then , how does this affect the outcome of the accident with regards to who was at fault??

why aren't his insurance doing it for him, have his insurance wiped there hands of him??

It isn't any indication at all that his insurer has "wiped their hands".

This is not unusual - insurance companies routinely "sell off" cases like this (for a commission) to specialist claim handler solicitors.

(Not wanting to sound too pessimistic, but so as to be prepared it might be worth discussing with your solicitor what are your chances of winning (as your costs are being funded by your insurer losing won't "cost" you - apart from the effect on future premiums and not being able to get back any uninsured losses), as no win no fee companies usually don't take cases on unless they are pretty sure of winning, as losing means a (big) loss to them)

serjoe

yep you are right - "...the court is being asked to decide who is liable,..." The cort have to decide which ins.co. is liable to pay out. not which person to fork out 1000's . that what i am saying. the ins.so is there to protect your interests and pay out at the end. they dont have to leave it to get it personal. That is ive written in the first post- to leave the ins.co to sort it out and not get involved in any court proseedings. if all the evedence is given they should leave the OP alone and not get him involved. and that is my advice - to get them to sort it out and tell them not to get him involved-at the end of the day is what he's paying ins. for. I am talking from personal experience where my friend was due court letter arrived to his home address and thats wrong as any contact between the other party lawyers and the person they are sueing(not his lawyers) is seen as obstruction of the course of justice. and with a simple phone call was back to the ins

Quentin

serjoe wrote: »

That is ive written in the first post- to leave the ins.co to sort it out and not get involved in any court proseedings. if all the evedence is given they should leave the OP alone and not get him involved. and that is my advice - to get them to sort it out and tell them not to get him involved-at the end of the day is what he's paying ins. for.

To but it bluntly, you are giving out this advice in ignorance of the situation.

If the parties cannot agree on liability, then ultimately it ends up in court, where the matter is decided after hearing both sides (ie both drivers stories, not what their insurers say). The defendant and claimant are the drivers, not their insurers!

Once liability is decided, then the insurers pick up the bills!

(The solicitors will be working behind the scene to try and resolve this prior to a hearing, in which case the individuals won't have to attend court)

bikingbarney

Quentin wrote: »

To but it bluntly, you are giving out this advice in ignorance of the situation.

If the parties cannot agree on liability, then ultimately it ends up in court, where the matter is decided after hearing both sides (ie both drivers stories, not what their insurers say). The defendant and claimant are the drivers, not their insurers!

Once liability is decided, then the insurers pick up the bills!

(The solicitors will be working behind the scene to try and resolve this prior to a hearing, in which case the individuals won't have to attend court)

To be fair i did ask the solicitor this and she told me that she had discussed this at length with her supervisor and they decided to keep pushing it as they believe i have a good chance of winning.

at the end of the day the other chap crossed out of his lane and into the side of my car and the road markings show this.

she also told me that she had sent a lengthy letter along with photos to the people representing the other chap explaining that they didn't have much to go on and that he was in the wrong.

they came back and said that the lane markings had changed between the accident and me taking the photos, basically they are clutching at straws.

then i remembered i had this photo........................



this is a picture taken on the day of the accident, the chap stood by the lights is the chap that hit my car and it clearly shows the lane markings for the lane he was in, he should of turned off left from the lane he was in (left lane in the picture) as they road markings clearly go round to the left, instead he tried to carry o round the island from his lane and into the side of me .

so i sent this to my solicitor as she told me it is really helpful and sent it to his side asking them for a response.

fingers crossed.

Quentin

Not being devils advocate, but the straight arrow in the left hand lane maybe doesn't mean you must turn left at the lights, (turn left arrows indicate that with the arrow head pointing to the left). Maybe they have now changed the markings and it does now have a left pointing arrow in the left lane??

As previously posted, the fact that a court date has been set will be concentrating the minds of the lawyers and hopefully they will reach a settlement before you have to actually go to court.