At Fault for Traffic accident - now being pursued in Court

muttley-dps

My wife had an accident last year (October 2010) which resulted in her hitting the car in front. Long and the short of it is she was at fault. She is Fully Comp and as such has left details with her insurance company to sort out - the insurance company informed us that this was what they were there for.

We found out subsequently via post the party hit was going to claim against her. This detail we passed onto her insurance company. Again going back 3/4 months ago we had more contact with details as to what the other party was claiming for (lost wages, doctors costs etc.) though there was no details of exactly what he was claiming in terms of costs. My wife also left this detail with the insurance company and asked that if they were going to pay out then they should look for full details on costs being claimed.

Last night when I got home, my wife had just got a call from a Guard saying her case was read in court today and she's due to appear again in September.

Now she did not receive a summons or any communication stating there was this court date yesterday, neither from a solicitor or her insurance company.

My question then is, would the insurance company not be expected to deal with these matters? If they require my wife to appear this is not a problem but I cannot see how it is she's being left to deal with this when she's fully comp. Also, if the injured party is pursuing her in a civil case, should insurance not also cover this? Otherwise would courts not be full of claims like this - in which case what's the point in having insurance in the 1st place.

My wife will be talking to her insurance company this afternoon to get some clarification but I'm hoping to have some other feedback to try understand what's going on here.

Thanks in advance.

bath handle

Sounds like there is a criminal charge pending against her as well. Nothing to do with her insurance company.

Monty Burnz

bath handle wrote: »

Sounds like there is a criminal charge pending against her as well. Nothing to do with her insurance company.

That's not how I'd see it - perhaps the insurers are just arguing over the specifics of what happened, so the OP's wife is needed as a witness?

godtabh

Monty Burnz wrote: »

That's not how I'd see it - perhaps the insurers are just arguing over the specifics of what happened, so the OP's wife is needed as a witness?

if it was civil the guards wouldn't be involved would they?

bath handle

If that was the case a guard would not be ringing her about it. The insurance company's solicitors would be making contact. In a rear ender they would most likely admit liability straight away and defend in quantum alone.

Monty Burnz

godtabh wrote: »

if it was civil the guards wouldn't be involved would they?

I've no idea to be honest.

TOOYOUNGTODIE

As the Gardai are involved there is a criminal involvement to this matter, unless the Garda was called as a witness in the civil case and was doing your wife a favour by telling her the case was on. if the accident happened less that three years ago its highly unlikely it is anything but a criminal case.

I would suggest your wife contact her solicitor asap, more than likely she is being prosecuted for careless driving, Road Traffic Act 1961 s52. she will very likely lose her licence if convicted.driving.
52.—(1) A person shall not drive a vehicle in a public place without due care and attention, or without reasonable consideration for other persons using the place.

Zambia

If your wife was at fault chances are the gardai are charging your wife with something.

Your insurer does not handle your responsibilty as a driver as regards road rules.

Remember there is no such thing as a car accident.

muttley-dps

To put it in a bit more context.

On the oncoming stretch of road Guards had stopped another motorist for some reason so cars ahead were slowing and rubber-necking. My wife obviously was not switched on to this and swerved to avoid the rapidly slowing cars in front, clipping the left rear bumper of his land rover defender with her yaris on her way past.

I spoke with the Guards and they basically heard the screetch of brakes and turned to see the immediate aftermath of the incident.

For it to be criminal I would imagine she should have been charged there and then by the Guards.

Again, while I know it was her fault, I still would expect a summons or communication from the other party's solicitor, her insurance company or the cops to the fact she was meant to be in court.

Appreciate replies so far, Thanks.

Zambia

Has your wife kept her address details on licence up to date?

MagicSean

Sounds like there was a summons issued for her for a road traffic offence. Judge most likely remanded the case with instructions she should be cautioned to attend on the next date. Was she told to produce her insurance or licence at a Garda station?

muttley-dps

She had her license with her on the day and insurance details were on the car so all that was provided there and then.

Not so sure about address on the license itself. She did provide home address on the scene but this may well have been lost in translation so currently checking with her home address to see if any un-opened post down there.

Cheers.

seamus

muttley-dps wrote: »

For it to be criminal I would imagine she should have been charged there and then by the Guards.

That's not the case unfortunately. Your wife was most likely cautioned at the roadside that she could be charged with a driving offence. This is standard procedure for any traffic accident, they'll usually give the same caution to both/all drivers involved.
It can take some time for the details of the incident to be determined, so charging a driver at the roadside is not possible.

In addition to asking her insurance company what the story is with the civil case, I would also ring the Garda in question and ask him for more details on the case.

The only other thing I was thinking is that perhaps she was called as a witness for the insurance company, but as someone else said a rear shunt is rarely contested by insurance companies and witnesses are not needed.

Jo King

muttley-dps wrote: »

For it to be criminal I would imagine she should have been charged there and then by the Guards.

To be charged she would have to be arrested and brought to a Garda Station, cautioned and charged. Most unlikely the Guards would interrupt what they were doing to bring her to the station. They would use the summons procedure.

muttley-dps wrote: »

Again, while I know it was her fault, I still would expect a summons or communication from the other party's solicitor, her insurance company or the cops to the fact she was meant to be in court.

Appreciate replies so far, Thanks.

Most likely it is a case of a missing summons. The insurance company will not be involved in a criminal prosecution. The other party will only be a witness and will not communicate. Most likely the insurance co. will settle the civil case without ever contacting her. She should tell her insurance company about the criminal case.

coylemj

muttley-dps wrote: »

Last night when I got home, my wife had just got a call from a Guard saying her case was read in court today and she's due to appear again in September.

It's pretty simple really, just get back on to that Garda and ask him/her what the court case is all about - is it a criminal charge or a civil action? If it's a criminal charge then she needs to find out what offence is being thrown at her (dangerous or careless driving) and she needs to get a solicitor to appear on her behalf on the day and most likely turn up herself to defend herself.

If it's a civil action then she needs to contact the insurance company and ask them (1) if they are aware of the court case and (2) whether they want her to turn up. If it's a civil case and is now only about assessing damages then she probably wouldn't be required though in that case the Garda wouldn't be needed either so you'd wonder why he's involved if it's only a civil case.

MagicSean

muttley-dps wrote: »

She had her license with her on the day and insurance details were on the car so all that was provided there and then.

Not so sure about address on the license itself. She did provide home address on the scene but this may well have been lost in translation so currently checking with her home address to see if any un-opened post down there.

Cheers.

A person will still be asked to produce their insurance certificate at a Garda station. The disk is not proof of insurance. If she was told to produce her insurance and didn't she would be summonsed for it.

hopskipandjump

I went in to the back of someone 8 years ago. The Insurance Company were handling it and never heard anything from them, other than I knew the guy I ran in to was looking for money for "injuries". The only damage on the day was material damage to my car, which was a family members car as mine was out of action. A few weeks ago, 8 years later, I got a call from the Insurance Company's solicitor at 5.20pm to know if I would be available to attend Court the next day in Ennis, which is at least a 2 hour drive from me. Needless to say I was stunned! He told me the guy was looking for €80k for injuries and the Insurance Company wanted to fight it and my account of what happened would be very helpful. I found it all strange. No-one ever took a statement from me and the Insurance Company didn't get a statement from the Garda who attended either. I spoke to my own Solicitor, who told me that I would have a contractual obligation to attend. The case was adjourned on the day anyway, I didn't have to attend but it'll be back up in October and they will kindly give me more than 12 hours notice the next time. I wouldn't think there is any case against the OP, it is just a case of somoene suing and all parties involved giving their evidence.

muttley-dps

Thanks for all the replies folks.

The wife followed up with the courts this afternoon and it's a case of the guards prosecuting for careless driving.

They had taken down the wrong address, mistaken a 5 for a 3, and as a result have been sending the summons to #30 instead of #50!

On a side note, anyone ever been done for careless driving and know the outcome eg points, fine, disqualification, other??

Again, appreciate replies through the day. Thanks.

seamus

It carries a maximum penalty of 5 points, €1,500 fine and/or 3 months in jail. It may carry a disqualification or endorsements.

First offence, no injuries and minor damage and I would say she'd probably just get a €500 fine on top of the points.

I would recommend getting hold of a solicitor between now and September.

coylemj

seamus wrote: »

Careless driving is the most severe non-criminal driving offence that you can be charged with.

What exactly do you mean by non-criminal?

Technically all offences that are capable of being prosecuted under Road Traffic legislation are criminal, including parking on a double-yellow line.

coylemj

muttley-dps wrote: »

On a side note, anyone ever been done for careless driving and know the outcome eg points, fine, disqualification, other??

Depends on three things...

1. The circumstances of the accident

2. The quality of solicitor you employ. Believe me you need a solicitor for this summons

3. The judge's mood on the day

seamus

coylemj wrote: »

What exactly do you mean by non-criminal?

Yeah, I was reading definitions from a UK site, which appear to be different to here. By non-criminal I mean that it doesn't come with a criminal conviction. In fact in Ireland Careless Driving can/does come with a criminal conviction, so I removed that from my post.