Minor Accident Enquiry

friday02

Hi,

Can someone please lend advice if possible?

What is the position if someone is involved in a very minor car accident? None of the people were injured. One car was damaged, very minor dent in the rear bumper which has since been repaired. Now the injured party has put in a claim for personal injuries !!!!!

Basically the injured party was stopped at a junction. The car behind (the car at fault) was also stopped. The car (at fault) thought that the car in front (the injured party) had proceeded onto the road but it hadn't so the car at fault tipped the rear of the car resulting in minor damage (very small dent to the bumper of the car). There was no damage at all done to the car at fault. Both drivers got out of the car and as neither had any stationary with them (pen or paper), the injured party agreed to go to the workplace of the car at fault, where they would proceed to swap insurance details. The person at fault was due in work and the workplace was a short distance from the scene of the accident, approx 1 mile.
At the workplace both parties swapped insurance details and the injured party agreed to telephone the guards to report the incident. The car at fault agreed with this. There was no point in both individuals telephoning the guards.
The injured party's car has since been repaired but the car at fault has received a letter saying that the injured party is claiming for personal injuries !!!!
If the injured party is not satisfied with the outcome from the insurance company, can the injured party bring a case personally against the driver at fault? Has the driver at fault committed any offence? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much

Yawns

It will go thru your insurance company and the injured party cannot sue the driver at fault. If you admitted liability to your insurance company and to the injured party, then you can basically do no more. Your insurance company can settle without your consultation.

A lot of small accidents can end up with claims of whip lash as it can only become apparent sometime after the accident, so there are genuine cases as well as fraudulent but it is hard to disprove so many cases get settled.

You should rest easy that the injured party can only deal with your insurance company. This is why you pay insurance and must have it. They cannot claim from you.

Yawns

Also seeing as noone was apaprently injured at the scene of accident there was no need to notify the guards either so don't worry. You did notify your insurance company hopefully. Tell them your side but it seems clear cut enough.

Car behind tips the car in front while stationary. More likely will result in a payout. It may get dragged out a bit unless you admit liability. They will get covered the cost of repair. Try to find out how much your insurance company pays out and if it's a small amount, offer to pay it back to them so they won't load your premium too much.

xxlauraxxox

well i was a victim of this 4years ago when i 1st started driving i ran into sum1 at 20km/ph we were both stopped to preceed onto a roundabout she was gone over the stop sign and than stopped as i was takin off so i hit her

i admitted fault agreed to fix her car etc etc (notifed insurance but said i pay it as it was only 175e)i only broke a clip on her boot i thought that would be the end of it until 2months i receive a letter from my insurance saying she was claiming for personal injuries i tried to dispute it saying she couldnt have been injured but the company said it was a losing battle

u cant dispute it as after all u hit her was wrong and unless uve ever been unfortunate to have been in a tip let alone a crash u shouldnt judge the other person for claiming it can take a day a week or even a month for some1 to complain of whiplash she got 17grand from the crash for neck injuries

id a crash 2 years ago was rammed into a ditch by a car pulling out in front of me on a motorway at 97km/ph 5times more than what i hit the other person i only got a little bit more than her and ive 3crushed discs in my back

jus be thankful no1 was seriously injured and that you have insurance to protect you in cases like these best of luck of it

friday02

Thanks to you both for your replies and yes, my mind is at ease over it. Yes I have fully comp insurance. And yes, I phoned my insurance company immediately after the guards had left and again the following morning where I spoke to someone in the claims section.

Yawns, thanks for your reply. Just wondering in your situation, when the lady put in a personal injury claim. Did you have to go to court yourself or did someone from the insurance company go? I haven't told any of my family about it. My dad is quite sick at the moment and my mam is a worrier, so I don't want to stress either of them out any more. If I mention the word 'accident' they'll be fretting over it, I know they will. So will I have to go to court if it's a personal injury claim and have it splashed all over the local newspapers ????

Rodin

What injuries are possible at that speed? And what proof of said injuries exists?
I'd not take that lying down

friday02

I was speaking to him the following morning when I had spoken to the insurance company (the claims section weren't open the previous evening at the time of the accident). The injured party told me that he had spent most of the night in the hospital where he had some x-rays taken. I was speaking to him a few days later as I was giving him the the name of someone I was nominating to estimate the repair work for the car. I enquired about his well being and he said that the results of the x-ray showed that he had suffered soft tissue injuries!! I can honestly say that the impact of the collision was so low that I am very skeptical that he suffered these injuries! But all I'm concerned about really is that if he is not satisfied with the outcome from the insurance company (as in if they don't feel he has a right to claim personal injuries), can he then bring a case against me personally? Does he have grounds? I'm barely surving on my wage as it is at the moment with this USC deduction, and trying to pay a mortgage on my own, I don't have any money to give him !!!! Will it come to that?

Rodin

friday02 wrote: »

I was speaking to him the following morning when I had spoken to the insurance company (the claims section weren't open the previous evening at the time of the accident). The injured party told me that he had spent most of the night in the hospital where he had some x-rays taken. I was speaking to him a few days later as I was giving him the the name of someone I was nominating to estimate the repair work for the car. I enquired about his well being and he said that the results of the x-ray showed that he had suffered soft tissue injuries!! I can honestly say that the impact of the collision was so low that I am very skeptical that he suffered these injuries! But all I'm concerned about really is that if he is not satisfied with the outcome from the insurance company (as in if they don't feel he has a right to claim personal injuries), can he then bring a case against me personally? Does he have grounds? I'm barely surving on my wage as it is at the moment with this USC deduction, and trying to pay a mortgage on my own, I don't have any money to give him !!!! Will it come to that?

Unless he has the consultant radiologists report stating that the x-rays show soft tissue injuries, I'd do him for extortion

friday02

Well the insurance company have assured me that they will carry out intensive investigation to determine whether he has suffered these injuries or not. But supposing the x-rays say that he has, I don't know at all, but say that he does, will I have to go to court? I am so worried about it. Never been in this situation before thank God and I hope I never will be

emanresu

friday02 wrote: »

. . . . But all I'm concerned about really is that if he is not satisfied with the outcome from the insurance company (as in if they don't feel he has a right to claim personal injuries), can he then bring a case against me personally? Does he have grounds? . . . . I don't have any money to give him !!!! Will it come to that?

No, as Yawns said in an earlier post.

Rodin

friday02 wrote: »

Well the insurance company have assured me that they will carry out intensive investigation to determine whether he has suffered these injuries or not. But supposing the x-rays say that he has, I don't know at all, but say that he does, will I have to go to court? I am so worried about it. Never been in this situation before thank God and I hope I never will be

Couldn't tell ye.
But I'd want MRI evidence of the soft tissue injuries. X-rays are crap for that

Yawns

No afaik you will not have to go to court in any case. It comes down to him dealign with your insurance company. If he has any medical evidence stating he has some injuries he will get paid. The partners mother is a right big c nut for claiming injuries when not injured and she always gets away with it!

She has a bad back so whenever anything happens from a slight fall to a small car tip, she claims the back pain is from the accident and gets a payout. She always gets medical documents and can produce in court to insurance company etc and amazingly is absolutly fine when she gets awared a big payout.

Absolutly disgusts me as it's this kind of reason why insurance prices are sky high. I havn't been involved in an accident *touch wood but she has had about 3 car claims in last 2 years and never really been injured in any but awarded varying amounts from each.

For all you know the guy you hit could have hurt himself playing golf but unless you can prove not much use.

Tom Young

Charter people!

Yawns

Rodin wrote: »

Couldn't tell ye.
But I'd want MRI evidence of the soft tissue injuries. X-rays are crap for that

Unfortunately if the OP claimed liability his insurance company will not take much input from him after the details of the accident itself. It will be between them and the injured party now.

Yawns

Tom Young wrote: »

Charter people!

Sorry,

OP as this is a public msg board, all of this is just pure opinionated advice and not legal 1 at that. A solicitor can help you far better than ourselves.

Rodin

I offered no legal advice, merely that it is my opinion that MRI is better than X-ray for visualising soft-tissue injuries

Yawns

Indeed but OP is no longer in a position to demand / ask anything of either injured party or insurer. assuming he has admitted liability of course.

However he can rest assured the injured party can have no recourse via himself, only the insurance company.

tommy21

Its very simple in cases like these -never ever admit liability even if you land in the seat next to the person in front of you after you ram them repeatedly from behind. Exchange details, say noting (but be polite obviously) and relay the scenario to your insurance company. Saying you are liable opens the door for a whole lot of misery.

rescue16

Rodin wrote: »

Unless he has the consultant radiologists report stating that the x-rays show soft tissue injuries, I'd do him for extortion

X-rays dont show soft tissue injuries thats why whiplash claims are so high because there is no way of telling if the person has or have not got whiplash. Whiplash is a very painful and prolonged injury and takes alot of treatment to get rid of it. Now I will be honest i was rear ended going back in march last year and i did not feel and pain at first only a twinge in my neck noting to bad but the day after i had to go to a+e as i could not move my neck and my back was sore the doctor that saw me said that it was whiplash and it is common that it wont show till a couple of days after. If this person was to claim against you they would have to go through Injuriesboard.ie if i was you i would look it up www.injuriesboard.ie now i have a claim in but i just want my loss of earnings and my medical costs to many people taking the piss out of claiming hugh amounts no wonder or insurance is so high. Hope this helps and good luck.

rescue16

Rodin wrote: »

Couldn't tell ye.
But I'd want MRI evidence of the soft tissue injuries. X-rays are crap for that

Mri dont show it either :mad:

Reloc8

If person in RTA is injured person go to doctor.

If person in RTA feels someone else injured them go to solicitor.

If person in RTA is being blamed for it by someone else go to solicitor.

If person in RTA is being accused of an offence go to solicitor.

There are lots of other options. These include calling around to the other parties gaff and hitting them with a rubber chicken until they say uncle.

I think everyone should do that.

rescue16

Reloc8 wrote: »

If person in RTA is injured person go to doctor.

If person in RTA feels someone else injured them go to solicitor.

If person in RTA is being blamed for it by someone else go to solicitor.

If person in RTA is being accused of an offence go to solicitor.

There are lots of other options. These include calling around to the other parties gaff and hitting them with a rubber chicken until they say uncle.

I think everyone should do that.

LOL well said especially that chicken part lol