Might have to go Bankrupt because of a claim bought against me :(

shan7-8-6

Hey everbody,

Im stuck and I have no idea what to do. Basically back in 2009 I hired a van with a driver from a company (usual van hire company, locally based not a national company). Me and a friend bought a load of dental chairs that were on pallets, and basically we had to pick them up from a joinery shop, put them into the van and then offload them at a storage unit I had taken over. At the time of hiring the van I told the company the chairs were approximately 80kg, but I realised they were heavier when we got there (probably around 120kg each). But either way we did not have to physically lift them, we used pallet trucks to manouver them. The driver stayed in the van at all times, and only used a pallet truck to manouver the chairs and place them where he thought best in the back of the truck (he was obv trained and had done this sort of stuff on a daily basis). We got this all done within 2 days, and at no point did he ever say he was injured etc, he even came and picked some food that my mum had made for him.

However, he is now claiming against the van company, that he injured himself during that trip. So the van company family members approached me (harassed really, as they kept turning up at my house and workplace) and said they would need a statement from me, and that I would not have to go to court etc, so me being naive helped with that and signed a statement they had made (not a statement of truth though). There insurance did not cover the driver to drive off the premises so if they lose they will have to pay out themselves. Then the van company's solictitor turned up at my work and said sign a statement of truth, I said thats fine, but just asked again that I would not have to go to court, and he said I may be compelled to! At which point I refused to sign the statement. He then left and I heard nothing from him.

I then received a letter from the claimants solicitors asking me for my insurance etc I just didnt reply (stupidly) and then i received another letter saying I had to attend court as they were trying to have the judge add me a second defendant. I was like what have I got myself into!

Court day was today, I went myself (cant afford a solicitor), I thought the judge would understand and know its utter bull that they can add a customer to a case where I was not the employer. The defendant had a barrister turn up, the judge asked him to say what he had to say. He spoke about why I should be added, mentioned that the van company may have to close so they may not get any money from them, but that they may get money from me (like I was some sort of guarantor even though im broke and have defaults on my name!). The judge listened to my side for like 2 mins, I told her how I was just a customer, and gave an example, something along the lines of this> Just say I was going to post something at the post office, I pay for the service and now lets just say the person handling the parcel hurts his/her back, how does that make me as a customer, liable? After I was done, she basically moved on and had already made her mind up to add me to the case! I was fuming, but obviously I kept calm because I was in the county court. The judge had made her mind up before I'd even got into the room! Now they started talking and she asked would 2 weeks be okay to get a defence together, I was going away for a week, so I said no so she has given me 3 weeks to submit a defence?! I asked her what I should do if I cant afford a solicitor, she said to represent myself!

Now I have no idea what to do, my friend (who was with me the whole time of the actual delivery process) said he would happily be a witness for me. But what do I do now?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, and now I know why my parents always told me never get involved with this sort of stuff, law is a dirty game.

This has really really put me on a downer, really lost as to what I should do, because if I lose the case, or do not submit a defence, I will have a ccj against my name, and I will have to go bankrupt since there is no chance I will be able to pay (I spoke to a solicitor and said if I could not afford pay for a solicitor I would be best off going bankrupt, since the claim would be in the region of £70-£80k!).

Or if you think I should fight my case myself, any advice would be greatly appreciated since I have no idea where to start with submitting my defence.

Thanks In advance

debtinfo

Hi Shan,

Sorry to be the bearer of possibly worse news but, there are certain debts that are not discharged by a bankruptcy, and personal injury can be one of them, it is a complicated area and a suggest you seek some specialist help but here is an excerpt from the OR's technical manual

1. Discharge does not, except to such extent and on such conditions as the court may direct, release the bankrupt from any bankruptcy debt which;
2. consists in a liability to pay damages for negligence, nuisance or breach of a statutory, contractual or other duty, or to pay damages by virtue of Part 1 of the Consumer Protection Act 1987, being in either case damages in respect of personal injuries to any person, or

• arises under any order made in family proceedings URL="http://www.insolvencydirect.bis.gov.uk/freedomofinformation/technical/TechnicalManual/Ch37-48/chapter40/part1/Notes/Notes.htm#18"][COLOR=#0066cc]Note 18[/COLOR][/URL.

A liability of a bankrupt to pay damages to a third party in respect of a personal injury claim is a provable debt in bankruptcy and the bankrupt is not released from this debt upon discharge. However, if not dealt with within the judgment for damages itself, the court would need to decide whether to allow the debt to be pursued by the creditor post discharge. It is for the creditor rather than the official receiver to approach the court in this regard.

geri1965_2

OP, did you have household contents insurance at the time of this incident?

Mouse1812

From what you say you appear to have a reasonable defence to make, but you may struggle with both the legal argument and more importantly the process without proper preparation.

While this is not exactly the right forum for this, and I’m not a solicitor, hopefully the following will point you in the right direction. You should however get in touch with Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/ and arrange to discuss this in more detail ASAP. Please call them tomorrow morning, first thing.


The first step is to examine the claim against you. The other side have to disclose (make available copies of) everything they have and intend to rely upon in presenting their case. There are specific protocols that must be followed - CAB should be able to explain these and help you draft the relevant letters.

In addition to this disclosure, there should be a statement of case which should tell the Court (and you) why they think you are liable. This statement will refer to the relevant law and possibly decided cases. You will then need to study the law and cases which they are claiming under.

I suspect that they are claiming that you were somehow “negligent”. To succeed they need to prove three things. Firstly that you owed a “duty of care” to the claimant. Secondly that you actually “breached” that duty of care and thirdly that the claimant suffered consequential loss or injury because of that breach. If you can disprove any one, the whole case fails and you win.

If however they are claiming a contractual relationship they would have to show what contract you had directly with the driver and what the terms and conditions of the contract were. Somehow I doubt they would be able to do this.


Finally do, as geril1965 suggests, double check if you have any insurance

shan7-8-6

Hi,
They are claiming that I had a "duty of care" and that I "breached" that duty of care and that he suffered loses because of this!

I checked the household insurance, my dad never got the extra legal cover

I'm going to go down to the citizens advice centre tomorrow and hopefully I'll be able to get help with filing a defence.
Thanks for the advice

Mouse1812

Please let us know how you get on, any problem, PM me.

tigerfeet2006

Don't know if you are eligeable for the CLA or if they would be able to help.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Dl1/Directories/UsefulContactsByCategory/Governmentcitizensandrightscontacts/DG_195356

markelock

not being able to make him bankrupt is probably a good thing. He can either be forced to pay, in the event of being found liable, but if you've got no money, they won't get anything.

either that, or if there is insurance in place, they can pay for it (again in the event of it being found in favour of the claimant

hopefully CAB will put you on the right track.

shan7-8-6

Mouse1812 wrote: »

Please let us know how you get on, any problem, PM me.

Thanks, Will do!

Markelock - If they can't get anything from me, which insurance would pay his claim?

Thats if he win's, hopefully I can prove he's just making a false claim!

shan7-8-6

tigerfeet2006 wrote: »

Don't know if you are eligeable for the CLA or if they would be able to help.

I rang them yesterday, for these sorts of situations, I'm not eligible

dt3887

and if/when you prove it is a flase claim, i trust you will be counter sueing them?