Hit by a van - insured van uninsured driver

BenW1985

To whom may be in the know:

I was hit by a vehicle driving the wrong way on an A road as a pedestrian. Police are putting together a prosecution. The vehicle drove off but a witness snapped the license, thankfully.

I sustained a number of injuries and am pursuing a claim against the driver. The vehicle was a company van on company business.

It transpires that if might be that the van was insured, without that particular driver named on the insurance.

Does anyone in the know know my likelihood or any issues in gaining compensation, recovery of treatment and broken property expenses etc, in this scenario?

Regards
Ben

Aretnap

If the driver has been identified then the insurance company is required to cover his liabilities to you, regardless of whether he is actually named on the policy. (The insurer can subsequently pursue the driver and/or the policyholder for whatever they pay out to you - but that's their problem, not yours.)

If the driver cannot be identified then you can claim compensation from the Motor Insurers Bureau under the untraced drivers agreement.

In either case unless your injuries were very minor you should be looking at using a solicitor rather than trying to deal with the insurer/MIB directly. If you have legal cover on your home insurance, ot you are a member of a trade union or similar body, you should be able to get legal assistance free of charge, otherwise look at a no win no fee arrangement.

BenW1985

Thanks for that, very helpful and kind of you to respond.

I'll be engaging with my union's solicitors as I had a lot of injuries.

I imagine the settlement if and when it comes will be quite as I had a head injury amongst other problems that have emerged, though I'm most keen just to check that my physio rehab costs are met.

Ben

nick74

BenW1985 wrote: »

It transpires that if might be that the van was insured, without that particular driver named on the insurance.

That in itself is not unusual with business fleet policies. It would be impractical in many organisations to have to name every single employee individually on a policy, so many of them cover any employee authorised by the company to drive a company vehicle. Their are however often stipulations regarding, age of driver, previous convictions etc.

BenW1985

Thanks Nick. I could speculate further (e.g. if the company let someone drive against policy terms - e.g. with convictions, say) but I'll wait to hear from the insurer.

bennyw1985

This was me in the above query. The person who ran me over plead guilty and the court awarded a small sum for my injuries, these having been laid out in a personal impact statement i provided. Does anyone know how and whether this award will affect a possible Motor Insurance Bureau claim (as it seems my claim may take this route)? I'm imagining it would be deducted from a settlement - rather than be in the place of it (this is my fear). My solicitors have valued my claim between 5k and 20k whereas the court compensation was £150. My solicitors seemed a bit vague hence posting on here - any advice appreciated. 

Manxman_in_exile

I'm certainly no expert but I thought the MIB only came into the picture if the driver couldn't be identified.  If the driver has been charged and has pled guilty, he must have been identified so you should be able to make a personal injury claim against his employer's/the van's insurers.  Or have I completely misunderstood your original thread from November?

I don't see why your solicitors should be vague - they must encounter this sort of thing all the time.

(I don't know if the £150 award from the criminal court will be deducted from any personal injury claim you may win, but it's such a small amount as to be irrelevant - if you are talking potentially £000s in a PI claim).

EDIT:  Simply ask your solicitors what the next step in making a PI claim is.  So long as the vehicle had any kind of insurance, my understanding is that the insurer is liable to you.