Car Accident

rs65

Quentin wrote: »

Whoever is to blame is irrelevant.

The passenger can claim off the insurer of the car she was a passenger in.

Eh? The driver of the car she was in would have to be negligent surely?

Sgt_Pepper_2

rs65 wrote: »

Eh? The driver of the car she was in would have to be negligent surely?

Your walking down to get off a bus and a pedestrian steps out. The driver its the brakes hard and you fall breaking your arm.

Is the driver negligent?

No but the insurance will pay.

raskazz

Sgt_Pepper wrote: »

No but the insurance will pay.

Says who? Any case law to back this ridiculous comment up? Why would the insurer pay where the insured is not, on the balance of probabilities, liable in tort?

rs65

Just from a quick google :-

http://www.accidentclaimcentre.co.uk/accident/passenger-accidents

Even if the bus doesn’t crash but decelerates sharply and passengers are injured the bus company is still liable for their passenger’s injuries if the driver is considered negligent. This isn’t always so simple to work out, especially if the driver claims to have been carrying out an emergency stop. If that’s the case our specialist passenger solicitors will look to see if there was any other motorist involved who should be held responsible

If you’re involved in an accident as a car passenger it is very unlikely that you’ve had any effect on the cause or circumstances of the accident and as such you’re an innocent victim. That means you should be able to obtain compensation from either the driver of your vehicle, if they were to blame for the accident, or any other party who was involved and may have contributed or caused the accident.

To summarise - the driver has to be negligent.

jamhun

Sgt Pepper is correct, the non fault drivers insurance company will then just get it back from the fault drivers insurance company.

James

InsideInsurance

jamhun wrote: »

Sgt Pepper is correct, the non fault drivers insurance company will then just get it back from the fault drivers insurance company

The MAY agree to deal with it on a without prejudice basis but if the insurer is certain their client is innocent or there are indemnity issues with the other party they are certainly not going to be keen to do it and have no legal obligation to do it.

sarahg1969

jamhun wrote: »

Sgt Pepper is correct, the non fault drivers insurance company will then just get it back from the fault drivers insurance company.

James

They wouldn't, they really wouldn't. They will only pay out if their insured was negligent. The passenger has to pursue the fault driver for damages.

no-oneknowsme

About 10 years or so ago , my Husband was working in a factory and him and a friend decided to nip round to the petrol station round the corner at lunch time to grab some lunch.

They were driving along a straight road when a massive lorry decided to pull out from a junction , straight into the side of my Husbands car!

The passenger who was travelling in my Husbands car at the time of the accident lodged a personal injury claim which was entirely dealt with by my Husbands insurer , they then in turn claimed the cost of the claim back from the lorry drivers insurance company.

Then , a few years ago - maybe 3/4 years - my Husband was self employed as a taxi driver.

He had a fare in the car and as they were driving past a junction a car again pulled out and went straight into the side of them!

The passenger again lodged a personal injury claim and again this was dealt with by my Husbands insurance company who again claimed the money back from the third party insurance company.

This is only our own experience which would indicate that it is possible for a passenger to claim off the insurance of the innocent party who will then get reimbursed by the third party.

no-oneknowsme

jamhun wrote: »

Sgt Pepper is correct, the non fault drivers insurance company will then just get it back from the fault drivers insurance company.

James

This is exactly what happend in my Husbands case (as I posted above).

InsideInsurance

What do you mean "dealt with"?

If you mean they provided a solicitor etc to manage the claim then yes, of cause they will as they get up to £1,000 from the solicitor for them giving the passengers details to them.

If you mean they actually argue against the amount they are claiming and ultimately send them a cheque for the agreed settlement figure then they MAY chose to do so but it is relatively rare (but certainly not unheard of)... it is most common when there are no indemnity issues with any of the potentially at fault parties and the injured passenger's solicitors are starting to get threatening.