21 replies to this topic

[silestanix]

I was involved in an RTA tonight at about 00:15hrs down the road from Cassis-R, cruising along Ilford High Road at about 35mph, when I saw a small car about to come out of a side turning and let off the gas incase he drove out, as I got closer he had come half way out of the road, so I got ready to swerve a bit to avoid him, as I got within metres of him, for some idiotic reason he launched himself out of the turning, result me me swerving to avoid him whilst foot on the brakes, but still hitting him.

Police were literally on scene in seconds as I got out of the car and was quite shocked and dazed, all I could say was 'how did he not see me?!' . Police got statements and from what I know, it'sin my favour because regardless of my speed being 20, 30 or 35mph, it was My right of way.

I got checked over in the ambulance because I was shaking and could speak properly, but all cleared up, though my neck is hurting, so gonna visit the GP in the morning about it.

For the first time in my life, I actually bought a car that I liked, and spent on it like I hadn't done on any other car, and now this...I'm not ashamed to say that my eyes did well up a bit once I'd got the courage from the officers to see the damage for myself, as it was on the passenger side...I felt weak at the knees and couldn't stand, just kneeled and looked at the damage.

I'm so gutted, worst thing is, I'm TPFT, the one time in my 7 yearsof driving that I get TPFT instead of fully Comp, and this happens.

Damage to driveshaft, gearbox oil all came out, suspension, wing/body, gearbox won't engage any gear whatsoever , pretty much all the structure of the passenger side front is messed up behind the wing.

I'm gonna pursue the other party through the courts for payment, because there is No way I can afford the repairs with the responsibilities I have at home!



Pictures at the incident:
















After the Police had towed it carefully to the side with their 530d police car:








Back of mate's lowloader and then home:










...Sad, angry upset and depressed doesn't even cover it.

[claymore]

Gutted for you, but why are you worried, you'r the third party, so his insurance will sort it with no issue.

[adieu]

Glad your ok, hope you get the car fixed ok, his
Insurance should cover your repairs.

[Lottie]

You can either go through his insurance company or an accident management company or even your own solicitors. You would be better off going through solicitors as i can se him disputing liability. Despite what the police said at the time, he will dispute it to his insurance company and there is nothing you can do about it until the police release the report which usually takes 6 weeks from when its applied for.

Get your solicitors to ask his insurers for a without prejudice inspection of your vehicle so they can confirm its a total loss and also the market value. They will under value it only because what you have spent on mods usually cant be physically seen by an engineer if they are engine mods. Make sure you have all reciepts for all of the work done. In respect of new tyres or recent services etc, this wont affect the value of the vehilce as its classed as keeping it roadworthy and in a safe condition.

If you need to i can get his insurance details, all i need is the reg and date the accident happened and i can also value your vehicle (this will only be standard though, your solicitors will look to re-claim mods as a seperate head of loss) all i need for that is your reg and the mileage.

Hope all goes well but if you need any questions answered give me a shout.

[silestanix]

Thanks guys and girl (lol)

I've had loads of calls from my insurance and claim companies working on their behalf...

Turns out that because he had a provisional, he's uninsured...what an idiot.

[Lottie]

If there is a policy in his name with his vehicle then they will have to deal with your claim as RTA insurers. Just because they aren't imdemnifying him, they have to deal with your claim.

They may argue it and say they are Article 75 insurers but they have to go to court to obtain this judgement so ask them for a copy of it before you go to the motor insurers bureau (MIB). Its unlikely they have gone to court over this claim specifically due to the low implacted costs at present. If it were over £20k they more than likely would take it to court to get this judgement.

Unfortunately the MIB aren't all that quick but you will get your losses in the end.

If you are going through an accident management company they probably wont pay you much interest as they may not get their hire costs back so your best bet may be to go through a solicitor for the costs of the claim.

[V70Ben]

silestanix, on 06 September 2010 - 15:41 , said:

Thanks guys and girl (lol)

I've had loads of calls from my insurance and claim companies working on their behalf...

Turns out that because he had a provisional, he's uninsured...what an idiot.

Might be worth giving this bloke (who's on PistonHeads) a nod
http://www.pistonhea...?memberId=34556


http://www.europaconsultants.co.uk/

[Cassis R]

HI Harry sorry to hear about this mate, there are many of these types around this way, you can tell a mile off by their standard of driving,
The damage doesn't look too bad from the pics, i might be able to source the parts you need to get her back on the road, or as Lottie has said, go through the channels to get it all sorted,


Gary.

[Flying Brick]

Hello there.

For what it's worth, Helphire will defend your interests (i.e. sort out a hire car, repairs and argue the toss with the other insurer) even if you are only insured third party, for a £10 indemnity. It's not ideal, but it might just help. Provided the other vehicle had a valid insurance policy on it, then they should take it on, since it is blindingly obvious that the other party caused the crash.

It is certainly worth visiting www.autosure.eu and having a look around. Perhaps open up a 'support ticket' or give them a call. They are specialist road traffic accident solicitors and don't charge for these bits of advice. Their Director of Legal Services has a column with Honest John: asklucy@honestjohn.co.uk. I think they also provide accident management.

Remember that if you do want to sue the other driver directly, you should retain receipts and detail all losses. However, suing him personally might not make any difference if he doesn't have the money in the first place. I don't know why you'd want to involve a solicitor this early in the proceedings; perhaps this had better be saved for later, when you've had some time to think about the best way forward.

Just for information, a third party insurer cannot attempt to undervalue your car and thus write it off for a derisory figure. At the same time, you cannot reasonably claim for repairs if they vastly outstrip the car's worth. If, though, the cost of repair is only slightly more than the FAIR price of a car like yours, then you could reasonably ask for yours to be repaired, arguing, inter alia, that your car is so old and well maintained that there won't be another one out there to buy in its place. The key is reasonableness; that is what a judge will look for and it makes sense if we might look for it too.

F.B.

[stedman]

Gutted for you mate. I quite like the Silver 70s with those meteor wheels.

Best of luck getting it sorted

[Larry]

Gutted dude, I know I'd be devastated if one of my vehicles was damaged like that because of someone else's careless driving.

Some really good and detailed advice coming through in this thread though, hopefully you'll get a quick resolution and pay-out!

[sonic-1]

Gutted for yer had same kinda prob after full engine rebuild on my old T5 had it on road 27 hrs , after much haggling i got what i wanted for the car and kept it
its now got main bits rebuilt , going to finish it in next month or 2
dont give up

[Lord B]

Have you found out if there is insurance on other vehicle, as if so you should be able to claim against it, even if it wasn't the owner driving it, unless they had/have reported it stolen (and even then you may be able to claim) 




Otherwise its a case of making a claim against driver, I would assume police have impounded car, you may be able to place a claim against it.

[silestanix]

Morning guys and girls, thanks for the kind comments, I appreciate it all!

...here's an update:

- The other party only had a provisional, hence maybe no insurance. As Lottie said, his insurer should still pay out but Ai Solutions have told me they're gonna claim from M.I.B.

- I'm getting a hire car delivered today, and soon a truck will arrive to pick up my car for repairs...they say it is possible it may be written off, if so, then it'll be the classis 'refuse first offer'. I'm going to show them all the reciepts for the work I had done in August, as it totals £1200!

- Personal wise, my neck isn't too bad, a bit painful but nothing which causes me to scream in pain lol. Main problem is my back, it's painful at the bottom, and I have to keep it moving else it hurts. Also, it's painful if I lay on my side. I keep getting segments of the crash, like, I keep thinking about it and I keep getting up in the night thinking I'm driving the car and crashing repeatedly ...It's kinda disturbing...


...I'll keep you all updated on everything though...

[V70D5]

Sorry to see this but glad you are ok. What is the situation regarding the person who was legally in charge of the vehicle in the passenger seat due to the driver being on a provisional licence? Are they not responsible for the actions of the driver?

Have you been to the doctor regarding your injuries? I'm not at all for claiming for injuries that did not happen or over exaggerating injuries but if your back and neck are injured because of this crash and you are claiming, you aught to claim for this. I know of some one involved in a crash who got more for their injury payment than the car which was written off.

Hope it all pans out ok for you.

[silestanix]

Evening mate; I wasn't going to claim at first on the first day after the accident because the pains weren't bad; my neck is worse but still bearable but my back is in pain now to the point where it's irritating to sit down for more than 5-10 mins... .

She's been taken this evening btw guys...




Gutted man...feel so low...

[shemtek_racing]

i know your gonna be pee'd off mate but its car and it can be mended or replaced, keep ya chin up and be thankful no one got hurt

[silestanix]

Lol yeah I know shem...but stlll, leaves a guy feeling pretty shit man, especially after spending so much on a car to get it right...

[Underpeak]

[quote name='silestanix' timestamp='1283973276' post='150219']
Evening mate; I wasn't going to claim at first on the first day after the accident because the pains weren't bad; my neck is worse but still bearable but my back is in pain now to the point where it's irritating to sit down for more than 5-10 mins... .



You should definitely put in a claim. this kind of injury can seem not too bad at first ,but can drag on and affect you for a long time. it'll be no good in a few weeks claiming that your neck/back pain is due to this incident, as they will just say that you didn't complain at the time!

Hope both you and the car are 'up and running' again soon

Susie

[silestanix]

Cheers susie, I'm definately gonna put in a claim now, got the solicitors paperwork with me now; I'm also gonna claim for psychological effects as well because I keep waking up in the middle of the night thinking im driving at the accident or I'm walking out of the car and seeing the Police there...feels so real until I feel around me and I feel my phone, keys etc on the bedside table.

It freaks me out...