Am I liable??

aml1977

Hi All - Just wondering what your thought are

My husband was involved in an accident through no fault of his own.
After pulling up outside his friends house and dropping his friend and his friends 2 sons off after football training
he parked up bumping is front wheel (drivers side) and rear wheel on the pavement as it was one of those street where you have to park like that to allow cars to be able to drive down the road.
our car is a 4x4 jeep and its automatic so when he pulled in he put the car in park and put the handbreak on
his friend got out of the car and he turned and looked over his shoulder to make sure his friends 2 sons got out ok and the rear passenger side
he spoke to his friend for a few minutes through his window and then noticed that on of the boys had not shut the rear door properley and called him back to close the door properley
he then put the car into drive checked his mirrors and slowley edged off the kirb to make his way home.
as he edged off he heard a grinding sound and his froends son shouted that there was a bike under the car
as he was not actually driving just edging off the kirb - he immediately stopped and got out of the car
He found a young boy and his bike under the car and the boys skin on his arm was slightly caught under his rear wheel
he quickly got back into the car and reversed to free the boys skin and was deeply shocked at what had happened
ourt son was also in the car and was traumatised by what he was witnessing
the boy who was injured has downs syndrome and was taken to hospital where he had skin grafts to his arm but has since made a complete recovery
this young boy was know to often fall off his bike and stay on the ground until one of his parents picked him up and he didnt cry
we believe that while my husband had his back turned getting his friends son to close the door that this boy has fallen off his bike and gone under our car

our car has parking sensors on it so when my husband has been pulling away he must have been under the car as the sensors would have beeped to indicate there was someone or something there!!

My husband and my son were severley traumatised after this terrible accident and they both visited this boy often to check he was ok

the police concluded that this was a tragic accident and no further action would be taken.
this happened in June 2010 and in December we received a letter from our insurance company to say they are claiming on our insurance

We feel that my husband was not to blame for this and wonder how and if this is possible

our car has been examined by the insurance company and we have sent the police reports to them also
we have instructed our insurance co not to pay out as we feel he has done no wrong and did all he could do to ensure the rd was clear before begining to set off

this is still ongoing and our insurance is due for renewal in March so will this effect our insurance now aswel as my son and husbands mental state ???

I would appreciate your views on this and any suggestions you may have

thanks in advance

colino

Yes your husband is liable, put it in the hands of the insurer and be grateful nothing more serious happened. You now have a claim against you, so unless there is protected ncb, then there will be a rise in premiums.

vaio

Pretty sure that you don’t have control of whether your insurance pay out or not. You can tell them what you think but they pay or defend as they see fit.

How did the child/bike get under the jeep? Was he completely under?

Quentin

aml1977 wrote: »

the police concluded that this was a tragic accident and no further action would be taken.....will this effect our insurance now aswel as my son and husbands mental state ???

I would appreciate your views on this and any suggestions you may have

The police's "verdict" was that no criminal action would be taken, this didn't mean the third party couldn't take the action you are now facing.

As advised, the ongoing case affects your NCD, and whatever the outcome the incident needs to be declared in future years should you want to change insurer. You can change insurer at renewal irrespective of the ongoing claim, but ensure any new insurer you go to will refund any premium refund due should your NCD be reinstated after the matter is concluded.

As far as your husband and son's mental state is concerned, they need to see their doctor and maybe get a referral to a psychiatrist if their mental state is affected.

marlot

I'm not sure. The claim will presumably be based on alledged negligence - and there could well be grounds for contesting - but you'll need to work with your insurance company if going that route. I would be asking them to refer you to a specialist solicitor for an opinion.

Depending on the size of the claim, the insurance company may prefer to pay it rather than fight it.

marlot

PS. Best wishes to your husband and son, and I'm glad the little lad concerned has made a full recovery.

vikingaero

colino wrote: »

Yes your husband is liable, put it in the hands of the insurer and be grateful nothing more serious happened. You now have a claim against you, so unless there is protected ncb, then there will be a rise in premiums.

Is he really liable?

How many of us check under our cars before driving off? I don't think we should let the fact that a child or a downs syndrome child was involved cloud our judgement. I'd argue that if this incident is likely to occur then the parents should supervise him.

I agree that the Insurance Company will do what it wants to irrespective of your letter.

Tilt

colino wrote: »

Yes your husband is liable, put it in the hands of the insurer and be grateful nothing more serious happened. You now have a claim against you, so unless there is protected ncb, then there will be a rise in premiums.

Bit of a hasty decission without witnessing the incident or seeing any evidence/diagrams/photo's ect.

My problem is the fact that your vehicle was parked partially on the footpath by your own admission. I would guess from your description of the road being 'too narrow for vehicles to pass' that the street would have DYL's at least on one side. In any event if the child was on the pavement and found himself having to change direction to get round your vehicle, then indeed I would agree that your husband is liable. I would also add that had this been the case, it's a bit surprising that the police have taken no action and that's why it leaves me with an open mind and your insurers with an avenue to defend the claim all be it possibly a small one.

NeverAgain_2

...your husband is liable...

If two people have a fight, the police charge the one who wins.

Your husband was in a big 4X4 which squashed a child, so your husband is the equivalent of the winner.

Happily for you as a family, the police took no action in your case.

Had they done so, it would have all but established your husband's liability.

As it is, your insurance company may feel this one is worth resisting, but that is up to them.

Injuries needing skin grafts are not minor.

If you come out of this only having to pay a few extra quid for car insurance, you should be thankful.

The consequences for your husband could have been much worse.

I can't see the police reconsidering after all this time, but if I was you I wouldn't rock the boat.

aml1977

Thank You all for your responses

Colino - I so hope anything like this never happens to you !!!!
so do you get out of your car and check it underneath to see if there is anything there before you drive off??

this little boy has a disability where he does not cry and he feel off his bike inbetween parked cars and was under the car before my husband pulled off
if he had not pulled off as slow as he did he would have ran directly over him!!

Marlot - thank you for your advice and kind words:)

Vikingaero - Thanks for your words - this was our thoughts afterwards - surely a child with his disability should have been supervised
there was absolutely no more that could have been done except climbing out of the car and checking under it before he set off??

my 8 yr old son thought my husband had killed this little boy and that he would be going to jail for the rest of his life
my husband can not get over the fact that he has ran this little boy over - he is so very careful when he drives !!
so it makes me so angry that you can just judge people without knowing all the facts!!!

Quentin

aml1977 wrote: »

...........it makes me so angry that you can just judge people without knowing all the facts!!!

Dunno why you started this thread to ask this then:

aml1977 wrote: »

I would appreciate your views on this and any suggestions you may have

And one thing seems certain - by initially parking his 4X4 on the pavement your husband definitely has that offence on his conscience!

Pavements aren't special parking spots for big jeep owners!