Money Moral Dilemma: Should I claim on my friend's car insurance for the accident I was injured in?

Aretnap

sheramber said:

has the passenger not got a responsibility to ensure they and their clothing are clear of the door before closing it?

Possibly. But most accidents are the result of more than one cause. The driver also has a responsibility to ensure that it is safe to drive off before doing so. An error in the part of the passenger does not in itself mean there is no claim against the driver. And in general the driver is held to a higher standard, because ultimately he is the one in charge of a ton of metal which can kill people if used carelessly.

akira181

CapeTown said:

How can you not realise that you are pulling someone along. Also my door open light would stay on if something was trapped. And you should always check your mirrors ... both left and right before you move off. Driver would appear to be at fault here. IMHO 

I'm guessing you've never driven a car going by that statement... Unless your car is horribly underpowered, the weight of one person IN a car is barely noticable, nevermind a tug on a jacket after moving away. Furthermore, no-where in the OP did it say that they were dragged for any distance, just pulled to the ground.

If the door closes, the warning light goes off, doesn't matter if anything is trapped within. An item of clothing certainly isn't going to stop the door from closing in the slightest.

A correctly positioned wing mirror should barely show the rear quarter of your own car, zero chance that you will see a jacket trapped in the passenger door. If you can, your mirror is in the wrong position and useless for driving.

Ignoring the fact the driver was likely doing the OP a favour by giving them a lift in the first place, I personally think it's unfair to try and claim it was compeltely the drivers fault. The OP was momentarily careless and trapped their jacket and it was unfortunate that the driver drove off without waiting for the passanger to leave. Not one party is more at fault than the other despite the different severity of the outcomes.

If the OP has a permanent quality of life problem resulting from the accident, I'd say talk to your friend first about claiming since it'll affect their insurance and likely your friendship if you just do it without talking first. It wouldn't surprise me if the insurance provider tried to claim it wasn't the negligence of the driver that caused the accident to avoid paying out, possibly making the whole process messy for all involved.

If there is no lasting quality of life issue and the OP is just after a payout...well, not much good to say about that.

user1977

PaulTee said:

Is this real?

Ed264 said:

Is this real?

These "dilemmas" do usually resemble something the MSE intern has had to fabricate over a lunch hour rather than any of the actual problems posted on the forum...

KaelaLee88

"I accidentally shut my coat in the car door." This tells us everything we need to know. It's unfortunate that you have a disability that will be worsened over time and possibly impacted further by this accident but this is not the fault of your friend, you freely admitted that the fault was yours. If you had left your phone in your friend's car and he/she had "negligently" driven off with it, would you report a theft? No, that would be a complete overreaction like filing this discussed claim would be. Don't claim on the insurance - It's likely going to do you some short-term term financial good (if you were to win a settlement of any kind - God forbid! The money would likely be spent quickly on things not directly related to your injury/possible undefined future impact on your disability) and long-term damage to your relationship with your friend, your friend's insurance premiums and the premiums of all us other insured drivers. If you want to claim money because you have the occasional accident, you need to get personal insurance - leave off suing your friend who sounds as though she was doing you a favour in the first place! X

Lexiemac111

Absolutely! That’s what insurance is for!

I would be absolutely devastated if I’d done that to a friend (or anyone else!) and would be further upset if I knew they’d not claimed for something that’s going to cause them issues going forward

if the friend falls out with you over it, they weren’t much of a friend to begin with. Perhaps a face to face chat about the situation and how you’re feeling might help?

Best wishes for your recovery 

dancingmaster1651

I too am surprised at posters blaming OP, and more so that their medical condition hasn't been mentioned. Having cared -- as I'm sure other readers have -- for people with MS, Parkinson's and similar long term disabilities, I know how often the nervous system goes on strike. That means hands and eyes don't function. So as a driver I double check any disabled passenger's seatbelt, posture etc, and usually do the well-trained chauffeur act in opening the door, or at least watch till they're standing safely. Disabled people struggle constantly with daily activities. A fractured shoulder for most of us means temporarily just using the other hand; but can you imagine, if that other hand doesn't work,  how you can dress, cook, shop . . .? And the shoulder may never regain strength.  
The OP does take their share of responsibility. One would hope that a friend would be willing to take their share and support the insurance claim even with unwanted consequences. I'm not a legal expert but would have expected insurers to hold the driver liable. 
I also have no idea how real these 'dilemmas' are; nonetheless I find them thought-provoking. And if real, deepest sympathy to the person with MS. 

Grey_Critic

It was an accident . Was the OP or driver careless? No doubt if a claim is made then the insurance company will decide - not us.

Existing medical conditions have nothing to do with it - it could happen to anyone and no doubt has in the past, certainly the question of friendship and an increase in insurance premiums just muddy the waters. Even if no claim is made it  needs to be reported to the insurance company.

Should a claim be raised in the future (long term conditions due to the accident and a claim made by the OPs family for example) then it would create problems all round.

A claim for injury/compensation for something the insurance company knew nothing about - that would be a nightmare scenario.

user1977

Grey_Critic said:

It was an accident . Was the OP or driver careless? No doubt if a claim is made then the insurance company will decide - not us.

Eh? It would be a bit stupid to leave it up to the insurers to decide whether or not they should pay out! Ultimately it's up to the courts to decide, not any of the parties involved.

Grey_Critic

user1977 said:

Grey_Critic said:

It was an accident . Was the OP or driver careless? No doubt if a claim is made then the insurance company will decide - not us.

Eh? It would be a bit stupid to leave it up to the insurers to decide whether or not they should pay out! Ultimately it's up to the courts to decide, not any of the parties involved.

It would be up to the insurer they are the people being asked to pay. IF the insurer turned down the claim then the claimant could appeal to the Insurance Ombudsman - The court would be the last resort only is the OP had exhusted all other avenues BUT the drivers insurance company would need to be made aware long before all that - they would have a defence if they were not made aware NOW and a claim was made several years down the line.

I have already said a claim should be made - everything else is OUR OWN personal opinions

Car_54

Grey_Critic said:

user1977 said:

Grey_Critic said:

It was an accident . Was the OP or driver careless? No doubt if a claim is made then the insurance company will decide - not us.

Eh? It would be a bit stupid to leave it up to the insurers to decide whether or not they should pay out! Ultimately it's up to the courts to decide, not any of the parties involved.

It would be up to the insurer they are the people being asked to pay. IF the insurer turned down the claim then the claimant could appeal to the Insurance Ombudsman - The court would be the last resort only is the OP had exhusted all other avenues BUT the drivers insurance company would need to be made aware long before all that - they would have a defence if they were not made aware NOW and a claim was made several years down the line.

I have already said a claim should be made - everything else is OUR OWN personal opinions

She couldn't appeal to the Ombudsman, since she wasn't a customer of the insurer. So straight to court.