Should I go to court to defend car insurance claim?

samarnold

Last year I had an extremely minor accident at a set of a traffic lights. I took my foot off the brake and my automatic rolled forward - extremely low speed. 

The other driver said they were fine at the time but then subsequently filed for £6k damages to car, and around £4k in injury claim for themselves and their passenger. 

Our insurers are countering the claim and it’s going to court. They’ve ask me to provide evidence in court. I want to provide evidence as I believe I have a morale duty as this is a false claim owing to the low speed meaning there couldn’t be any damage to car the or injuries. Indeed the claimants car was reviewed by an mechanic who determined the damage to be pre-existing. However, in order to provide evidence, I would have to drive to Swindon which is a three hour drive away and would require coordinate with work and babysitters which is difficult in this time. 

Our lawyers have stated that they would drop the case if I didn’t go to court as it would significantly weaken my if I didn’t give evidence. Other than a morale obligation to defend this, are there any other negatives consequences? Eg high total cost of the claim and future insurance prices?

I want to do the right thing, but it will be extremely difficult to coordinate the day so need to consider all factors before proceeding e.g. if my insurance is affectEd regardless of size of claim or whether we win at all. 

penners324

They should be requesting the court case to be nearer to you. The case can be switched to a different court.
Yes you should be there, otherwise the other party gets £6k from the insurance company, it goes down as a fault claim, significantly raising your insurance for 5 years. There's also the chance the insurance company pursues you for costs incurred in relation to the legal case.

davidmcn

Bear in mind that it's pretty likely to be settled at the last minute (once the other side get the impression that the court action is going to be defended and you're likely to attend) - so chances are that you won't actually have to go to court. Very few cases actually involve people going into the witness box.

Narola1976

I had a car accident in December and both sides were claiming non fault. I was confident that I was not at fault but because the driver had a lot more to lose than me, he was a young driver and had only recently passed his test, he was not budging as the impact of a fault claim was significant for him. However, my lawyers said I had a good chance of winning and I asked to initiate court proceedings. I hated the idea of going to court but I think because I was willing to go the other party’s insurance admitted liability and there was no need to go. I would say you should go for it because if not, it may be concluded that it is your fault and you could have significant consequences for yourself financially and in terms of future insurance premiums 

csgohan4

Highlights the importance of having a dash cam as well