Car accident claim. Looking for advice

terrylamps

Looking for abit more advice please.

Her insurance wants to go 50/50 as she has told them that they were both reversing. I have made it clear to my insurance that i am not happy about this as my partner was stationary and was NOT reversing. She asked me again what happened on the phone, so i explained it all again. She is going to contact her insurance to ask for her report and the witness report on the accident. (Would have thought they'd already have asked for this, it's only been over 2 months!). The 'witness' is a neighbour of hers who came out 10 minutes after the accident and then was talking to her husband on their driveway, and according to my insurance he shouldn't count anyway as he's a neighbour. I have asked her to find out exactly what this neighbour is saying he saw because he can't say that he saw our car moving because it wasn't. And to find out exactly where he is saying our car was after the impact as our car never moved from when my partner first parked up.

It's looking like they will go for split liability no matter how much i argue with them to fight it on account that we both have the same insurance company so what i want to know is am i just going to have to accept 50/50? They seem to be glossing over the fact that she reversed of her private driveway onto a public road before she hit our car. Surely this should put the blame for the accident in her court, besides the fact that she hit a stationary car?

rs65

You need to point out that you are prepared to stand up in court and fight your case. Keep it simple – she hit your stationary car. The difficulty is proving what happened.

Any witness statements help. Dad should be able to confirm you weren’t moving. Her passengers are unlikely to be able to confirm you were reversing (they were unlikely to be looking backwards).

The neighbour can try to give a statement but if he/she wasn’t there, he/she won’t come across as very credible.

It is likely to be you and your dads word against one other.

terrylamps

Thanks rs65. Don't worry, i have already told them that my partner and his dad are prepared to go to court. We hate liars. His dad is old school and believes if you do something wrong you own up to it. He's prepared to stand up in court and call her and her witness a liar to their faces.

You'd think this so called witness of hers would have come out straight away, not 10 minutes later, if he saw the accident. That's why i want my insurance to find out exactly what he's saying he saw.

It had been raining that day off and on all day and it was cold and her back window was steamed up so she wouldn't have been able to see anything out of her back window and clearly didn't bother to check her mirrors properly.

I'll have to see what my insurance has found out when i ring them in a couple of weeks.

Quentin

As both witnesses will tell opposing stories as will both drivers what decision can the court reach with apparently no other hard evidence (cctv etc)

It may be the insurers view that 50/50 is inevitable and why spend money over a court case where the issue can't be proved either way.

terrylamps

I know they won't take it to court because as you say it is my partners word against hers and they are not going to take themselves to court when it's the same insurance company but we will still fight it for as long as we can even if the end result is the same.

If, or rather when, they are going to end up deciding on split liability would it be worth arguing for a lesser split, say 80/20 in our favour since she was the one that should have been taking more care since she was the one who was reversing of her driveway? Or is 50/50 the best we can hope for?

Quentin

Whatever a split liability is, the effect is the same as far as having a fault claim on both sides records.

The advantage in getting a lower split in your favour is that you will get a greater proportion of your uninsured losses (eg your excess) paid by the other side.

If it is 50/50 you get 50% off the other side, a 20/80 in your favour would mean you get 80% back.

terrylamps

I will see what my insurance says and then try to argue for a lesser split. I have a dashboard camera now to make sure this doesn't happen again.

Thanks for your help.

rs65

I really can't see how it could be any other split.

If you were stationary its 100/0. If you were both reversing then its 50/50.

terrylamps

rs65 wrote: »

I really can't see how it could be any other split.

If you were stationary its 100/0. If you were both reversing then its 50/50.

Except that my partner wasn't reversing. They are going for 50/50 because she lied about what happened. But i understand what you are saying. Looks like we will just to have to accept the 50/50 but not without me arguing with them first :rotfl:

Quentin

terrylamps wrote: »

..... Looks like we will just to have to accept the 50/50 but not without me arguing with them first...

As you weren't at the scene of the collision, then it would hold more weight if any arguing was done by the insured driver involved!

terrylamps wrote: »

....I will see what my insurance says and then try to argue for a lesser split....

If you negotiate for a "lesser split" in liability then you are admitting your partner has some liability!

You will have a better chance of taking them on over this if any split liability imposed on you is accepted "under protest", allowing you to at least appeal and fight your corner.