Letter from a solicitor re an RTA in July 2017

midimaomao

IanMSpencer wrote: »

In terms of the accident, no road user should crest a hill without moderating their speed to take account of the visibility - a hill is no different from a corner in that respect. If the crest was severe enough to unsight the motorcyclist, then it implies it was a pretty steep crest (and also it might well be that the little hire car was struggling so not going particularly fast - and also may have been driven according to the limited visibility of the road).

However, we do not know what the circumstances were aside from the OP was confident they had not contributed to the accident, they said they were driving in the normal manner (implies that they hadn't stopped). Judging from the substantial damage, there must have been a high speed differential, so it seems unlikely to be that the motorcyclist was driving with due care. I would suggest the fact that they hadn't been prosecuted for a serious injury accident is a reasonable guide that their driving was an acceptable standard.

The fact that the letter hasn't raised any specific issues and simply seeks to entirely blame the other motorist in these circumstances sounds very much like a speculative punt rather than a serious attempt to fairly apportion an element of blame due to some aspect of driving.

Thank you.

midimaomao

UPDATE:

Hertz has replied already:

"Could you please forward a full description of the events leading to this incident along with any photographs you took at the scene.

I will pass this matter to our Legal Department and ask them to respond to the third party Solicitor."

I have also sent them everything and will follow up with them accordingly.

Thank you very much all.

missile

IanMSpencer wrote: »

... I would suggest the fact that they hadn't been prosecuted for a serious injury accident is a reasonable guide that their driving was an acceptable standard..

Not in my experience.

I was knocked off my motorcycle and sustained serious injury. The Procurator Fiscal decided not to prosecute the lady driver. Fortunately there was sufficient evidence to show she was at fault, 100% liable and I obtained damages following a private prosecution. .......... I would rather have my health.

NBLondon

BeenThroughItAll wrote: »

Hang on... just because the OP hasn't bothered to tell us the exact details, including whether they were slowing or stopped, shouldn't automatically lead one to the conclusion that the biker was at fault or reckless. An alternative conclusion might be simply that OP isn't giving the full story, as has been obvious by the drip-feed of information throughout the thread.

Hang on, I didn't conclude anything - notice the use of the word suggest based on the limited information given. I was highlighting that the situation described seemed unlikely unless the bike was travelling at a significantly higher speed and would have come off worse in the collision - hence the PSNI would have already have been asking key questions and drawing their conclusions. And the OP is now telling us that they have.

BeenThroughItAll wrote: »

From the tone of your post, would it be fair to assume

Assume anything you like...

BeenThroughItAll wrote: »

that you just have a problem with motorcyclists

Nope - only the idiots. You probably know better than I do who they are.

BeenThroughItAll wrote: »

mad, bearded nutcases

Oh - you've met my bike instructor Brother in Law then

BeenThroughItAll wrote: »

who rampage around at high speed taking risks,

some do

BeenThroughItAll wrote: »

murdering prostitutes?

No, that's truck drivers (according to the Great Clarkson).

midimaomao

missile wrote: »

Not in my experience.

I was knocked off my motorcycle and sustained serious injury. The Procurator Fiscal decided not to prosecute the lady driver. Fortunately there was sufficient evidence to show she was at fault, 100% liable and I obtained damages following a private prosecution. .......... I would rather have my health.

Sorry to hear abt this and glad to know all have been sorted out for you. Hope u r recovering well.

DoaM

If you were at all minded to respond to the ambulance chaser ....

Thank you for your letter dated XXX. I am responding to advise you that I have passed this on to Hertz to handle. I deny any liability for this spurious claim and refer you to Arkell vs Pressdram.

Hoof_Hearted

I would get it out of your head that because you were nice to the biker, he should not make a claim. The accident business is full of sharks, charlatans and dishonest people.

He ran into the back of you at speed. To my mind, it doesn't matter whether you were parked or travelling at 50 mph, he was at fault. It must have been one hell of a smash, looking at the damage. Stay strong and don't accept anything less than 0% liability.

missile

midimaomao wrote: »

Sorry to hear abt this and glad to know all have been sorted out for you. Hope u r recovering well.

Many thanks for your kind response.

It took me three years and considerable stress and expense to win my case. It would have been so much easier had the other driver been prosecuted.

I have received excellent medical treatment. Unfortunately, I will never make a complete recovery.

I am more fortunate than many. :A

midimaomao

DoaM wrote: »

If you were at all minded to respond to the ambulance chaser ....

Thank you for your letter dated XXX. I am responding to advise you that I have passed this on to Hertz to handle. I deny any liability for this spurious claim and refer you to Arkell vs Pressdram.

Thank you, I had better not reply to these people otherwise I will keep receiving these emails from them for the rest of my life......which is exactly what I try to avoid....Thank you anyway and I should follow up with Hertz re the final result I guess?

midimaomao

Hoof_Hearted wrote: »

I would get it out of your head that because you were nice to the biker, he should not make a claim. The accident business is full of sharks, charlatans and dishonest people.

He ran into the back of you at speed. To my mind, it doesn't matter whether you were parked or travelling at 50 mph, he was at fault. It must have been one hell of a smash, looking at the damage. Stay strong and don't accept anything less than 0% liability.

Thank you very much for your nice words. I will try not to think about this having all your helpful advice here.

MSE forum is always the BEST.

Thank you all.