Car Accident - Personal Injury Claim

HMorton

My oh had a minor accident with a taxi, minimal damage and he was illegally parked. My oh told him to get his car checked and let us know if there was any damage. He has now come back 3 weeks later to say his car was damaged, he's had it fixed and he wants over £200 for the damages.

He then mentioned that his passenger was also making a personal injury claim but if we were prepared to pay for his car he would make a statement saying the accident was so minor no-one could have been injured.

We advised that we would need to speak to our Insurance Company to which he basically threatened us that if we didn't pay he would be going to his doctor on Monday to say he had a sore neck !!!!

We'll be speaking to our Insurance Co on Monday and advising them, but I was just wondering were we would have stood if we'd paid for his damages and then a month later got a personal injury claim lodged against us.

caz2703

How exactly has the taxi driver communicated these statements to you? If written then keep them and show the police if things escalate. If they are in a phone call then get a dictaphone and record the calls.

Even if you paid this guy off there is nothing to stop him coming after you time after time. It's called blackmail. And to come back 3 weeks later and say they have sore necks!! Although not always instant (unless on my case you've had 2 lots of whiplash), it does not take 3 weeks for someone to get a sore neck. A few hours maybe, possibly a couple of days wondering if you've just slept wrong the night before but not 3 weeks.

HMorton

Thanks, I just think it's scandalous that people are willing to behaviour like this. The accident was so minor, wheel arches touching and a few scuffs on the paint work. The taxi was stationary at the time and didn't move at all. It's because of these people our insurance premiums are so high.

The converstions were in the form of phone calls, but the dictaphone is a good idea, as I'm guessing he won't leave it there.

I'm still wondering were we would have stood if he hadn't mentioned that the passenger was taking legal advice and we'd paid for his damages !!!

fadetogrey

HMorton wrote: »

Thanks, I just think it's scandalous that people are willing to behaviour like this. The accident was so minor, wheel arches touching and a few scuffs on the paint work. The taxi was stationary at the time and didn't move at all. It's because of these people our insurance premiums are so high.

The converstions were in the form of phone calls, but the dictaphone is a good idea, as I'm guessing he won't leave it there.

I'm still wondering were we would have stood if he hadn't mentioned that the passenger was taking legal advice and we'd paid for his damages !!!

Id make a point of mentioning it to the police also,as OP said thats blackmail and although you may not have written evidence of such the fact you mention it to them will be a big plus on your side should he come back claiming for more.

ballyblack

and taxi drivers are always complaining about sky high insurance premiums.

Because of numerous fraudulent claims motor insurance will remain expensive

wacko911

Wonder if the taxi driver's paperwork is legit hence the threats once you say your going to report it.

The fact he was illegally parked has no bearing on the outcome afaik, if you hit a stationary object you are at fault, you have to be able to stop and therefor drive at a suitable speed to achive this apparently.

no-oneknowsme

wacko911 wrote: »

Wonder if the taxi driver's paperwork is legit hence the threats once you say your going to report it.

The fact he was illegally parked has no bearing on the outcome afaik, if you hit a stationary object you are at fault, you have to be able to stop and therefor drive at a suitable speed to achive this apparently.

I have already been posting on a thread the OP has on this subject on the insurance boards and so I was able to tell her that my OH is a taxi driver who has been involved in a few NON fault accidents....he was required by the third party insurers to produce all his paperwork - taxi badge , psv documents and most importantly of all his previous years tax return....

OP , if the driver of the taxi in your IS up to no good then he WILL be found out....and if he is up to no good and is trying to screw money out of your Hubby for this minor bump then he will deserve all he gets!

Next time he telephones you I would casually drop it into the conversation that you have been informed that your insurance co may need to examine all his relevant documents .

If he is trying it on then this may well stop him in his tracks!

HMorton

no-oneknowsme wrote: »

I have already been posting on a thread the OP has on this subject on the insurance boards and so I was able to tell her that my OH is a taxi driver who has been involved in a few NON fault accidents....he was required by the third party insurers to produce all his paperwork - taxi badge , psv documents and most importantly of all his previous years tax return....

OP , if the driver of the taxi in your IS up to no good then he WILL be found out....and if he is up to no good and is trying to screw money out of your Hubby for this minor bump then he will deserve all he gets!

Next time he telephones you I would casually drop it into the conversation that you have been informed that your insurance co may need to examine all his relevant documents .

If he is trying it on then this may well stop him in his tracks!

Thanks for this, as I mentioned before we were quite prepared to honour any damage my husband did and never disputed responsibility. I will mentioned the documents bit, and as you say if he's legit and injury was done I guess he's entitled to his claim. I'm actually glad he mentioned the PI as if he'd said nothing we probably would have paid for the damage on production of an invoice and then had a nasty surprise a couple of weeks later.

wacko911

I've a DVR blackbox fitted to my car (sits behind rear view mirror and is about the size of a packet of fags), it records 320 degrees field of vision, date, time, speed, GPS co-ords which can be overlayed on to google earth, oh and g-force in 3-axis. Should anyone 'try it on' with me then they are in for a suprise. They are getting pretty cheap now, take a look on dealextreme for the 720p ones. Of course if you do have a massive fault accident you can always 'forget' it was there . I do like pressing the record button after every stupid person on the road does something stupid in front of me. Think I might complile the results into a youtube educational video....drivers of craigavon BEWARE!!! The last activation was a drunken cyclist going over the handlebars cycling the wrong way round a round-a-bout.

I only mentioned the way he was parked didnt matter as I would have assumed it should until I saw something simialr on Judge Judy the other day. lol.

HMorton

wacko911 wrote: »

I've a DVR blackbox fitted to my car (sits behind rear view mirror and is about the size of a packet of fags), it records 320 degrees field of vision, date, time, speed, GPS co-ords which can be overlayed on to google earth, oh and g-force in 3-axis. Should anyone 'try it on' with me then they are in for a suprise. They are getting pretty cheap now, take a look on dealextreme for the 720p ones. Of course if you do have a massive fault accident you can always 'forget' it was there . I do like pressing the record button after every stupid person on the road does something stupid in front of me. Think I might complile the results into a youtube educational video....drivers of craigavon BEWARE!!! The last activation was a drunken cyclist going over the handlebars cycling the wrong way round a round-a-bout.

I only mentioned the way he was parked didnt matter as I would have assumed it should until I saw something simialr on Judge Judy the other day. lol.

Thanks, that certainly sounds like a worthwhile investment. No problem about the parking bit, it was irrelevant but I was cross that he'd parked in such a dangerous place, but then to be fair my oh shouldn't have tried to edge past !!!

If it's on JJ that's good enough for me, the illegal parking doesn't matter

yorkie98

wacko911 wrote: »

I've a DVR blackbox fitted to my car (sits behind rear view mirror and is about the size of a packet of fags), it records 320 degrees field of vision, date, time, speed, GPS co-ords which can be overlayed on to google earth, oh and g-force in 3-axis. Should anyone 'try it on' with me then they are in for a suprise. They are getting pretty cheap now, take a look on dealextreme for the 720p ones. Of course if you do have a massive fault accident you can always 'forget' it was there . I do like pressing the record button after every stupid person on the road does something stupid in front of me. Think I might complile the results into a youtube educational video....drivers of craigavon BEWARE!!! The last activation was a drunken cyclist going over the handlebars cycling the wrong way round a round-a-bout.

I only mentioned the way he was parked didnt matter as I would have assumed it should until I saw something simialr on Judge Judy the other day. lol.

I'd love to see the video, I have so many "wish I had a camera" moments it's not even true.. Being in Craigavon area myself, I might even feature in the vid