Car accident

neighbours

I had a car accident in October the other driver was arrested. I have severe back injuries and had to close my business and move house I'm now on disability.
My insurance company steeled with other side and blamed me. My solicitor said case closed.i rang insurance company asked them whey they said they try to settle these things quickly I asked if they got Garda report they said no and they were not aware of other driver being arrested. They said I could put in a claim against my own insurance. My solicitor sent me this info one month after he knew it by email I'm at a loss what to do ,

ironclaw

neighbours wrote: »

I had a car accident in October the other driver was arrested. I have severe back injuries and had to close my business and move house I'm now on disability.
My insurance company steeled with other side and blamed me. My solicitor said case closed.i rang insurance company asked them whey they said they try to settle these things quickly I asked if they got Garda report they said no and they were not aware of other driver being arrested. They said I could put in a claim against my own insurance. My solicitor sent me this info one month after he knew it by email I'm at a loss what to do ,

There is no one here that can give better advice that either:

1) A fresh look from an independent solicitor. Preferably a specialist in the area.
2) An investigation by the insurance ombudsman (Unlikely to have any affect)

Sorry for the troubles, at the end of the day its all down to the financials for these companies.

MugMugs

Being arrested doesn't determine liability. What was he arrested for ?>

neighbours

I'm told he was over the limit drunk

Henry Ford III

neighbours wrote: »

I had a car accident in October the other driver was arrested. I have severe back injuries and had to close my business and move house I'm now on disability.
My insurance company steeled with other side and blamed me. My solicitor said case closed.i rang insurance company asked them whey they said they try to settle these things quickly I asked if they got Garda report they said no and they were not aware of other driver being arrested. They said I could put in a claim against my own insurance. My solicitor sent me this info one month after he knew it by email I'm at a loss what to do ,

Could you decribe the accident please? The other driver may have been drunk but still not at fault.

MugMugs

neighbours wrote: »

I'm told he was over the limit drunk

Was he prosecuted? What were the circumstances of the accident?

neighbours

I crossed 2lanes of traffic he came flying round a corner hit my back passenger side and sent me into another car. Took him a distance to get stopped before guards came he reversed his car back

Henry Ford III

neighbours wrote: »

I crossed 2lanes of traffic he came flying round a corner hit my back passenger side and sent me into another car. Took him a distance to get stopped before guards came he reversed his car back

That's not near enough info.

What sort of road was it? 2 lanes suggests it's a dual carraigeway or bigger. Why did you let him move his car? Did you tell the cops that he'd moved it? Any witnesses?

neighbours

Wasn't dual carriage guards were told and yes witnesses guards havn't even taken statements yet I was in ambulance so wasn't able to stop him moving car.

thebiglad

The fact that your insurance company have closed the claim means nothing to your own claim - they would not deal with your injuries/loss of work etc anyhow.

Your issue is with your Solicitor - if you are that sure you are right just go to another Solicitor - at the end of the day they will represent you if you pay them and if you are that sure you are in the right (which apparently your 1st Solicitor did not) then break out the wallet and get the matter to a court room - get a clear idea of what it may cost you though as you need to go into this eyes open

As stated by earlier posters simply that the other driver was arrested for drink driving does not make them responsible - if you hit him in the rear and he was arrested he wouldn't be responsible would he? Same applies here too although the circumstances are of course more complicated.

Bottom line - no one here will convince you that you are not at fault and there is no way you can give us enough detail, just go to another Lawyer, preferably one specialising in Motor Accident Claims - there are plenty around.

ba_barabus

neighbours wrote: »

Wasn't dual carriage guards were told and yes witnesses guards havn't even taken statements yet I was in ambulance so wasn't able to stop him moving car.

How did you cross two lanes if it wasn't a dual carraigeway?

It sounds a bit like you cut him off and he had nowhere to go only in to the back of your car. I could be wrong but from the info supplied that's what it sounds like to me.

Henry Ford III

Give us a 200 word account of what happened OP. Maybe a diagram too?

You're not providing enough info to even form an opinion currently.

CiniO

neighbours wrote: »

I'm told he was over the limit drunk

That shouldn't really change anything in relation to liability.
If there is a drunk driver driving correctly, and someone sober crashes into him, then sober person is liable for accident and any damage should be covered from sober's driver insurance.

Obviously drunk driver should suffer all the consequences of driving drunk, but can't be put liable for causing accident which he didn't cause.

neighbours

Ok thanks all il see another solicitor and see how I go

georgefalls

Henry Ford III wrote: »

Could you decribe the accident please? The other driver may have been drunk but still not at fault.

Of course he's at fault. He shouldn't be driving over the limit, so if he hadn't gotten behind the wheel in the first place, he would not have been on that stretch of road at all, ergo there would not have been any accident at all.

keithclancy

georgefalls wrote: »

Of course he's at fault. He shouldn't be driving over the limit, so if he hadn't gotten behind the wheel in the first place, he would not have been on that stretch of road at all, ergo there would not have been any accident at all.

You never know, he might have been arrested for failing to provide a specimen of breath and then later might have passed the urine/blood test, or a doctor might not have been available to test him.

Happens more often than you'd think.

djimi

georgefalls wrote: »

Of course he's at fault. He shouldn't be driving over the limit, so if he hadn't gotten behind the wheel in the first place, he would not have been on that stretch of road at all, ergo there would not have been any accident at all.

That logic makes no sense at all. I agree, they shouldnt have been on the road, but that doesnt change the fact that if they are involved in an accident and they have not caused the accident then they will not be found to be at fault. They might be prosecuted for being over the limit, but that will be a separate matter.

neighbours

It's hard to understand why I'm according to my insurance 100% to blame,
In my eyes he came around a corner speeding and drunk,my insurance didn't get a written Garda report just spoke to a Garda on the phone who wasnt the Garda I was told was dealing with it,and to get this news via an email from my solicitor some weeks after the decision wasn't nice!

TouchingVirus

neighbours wrote: »

It's hard to understand why I'm according to my insurance 100% to blame,
In my eyes he came around a corner speeding and drunk,my insurance didn't get a written Garda report just spoke to a Garda on the phone who wasnt the Garda I was told was dealing with it,and to get this news via an email from my solicitor some weeks after the decision wasn't nice!

Forget about niceness and put personal feelings about your solicitor aside - I've had my fair share of this sort of stuff, it doesn't help anybody. It sounds like you crossed a road at a junction and a car (forget about the driver) hit your rear quarter and sent you into oncoming traffic. Is this correct? Can you send us a link to Google Maps on where it happened and describe it in more detail? Honestly it does sound like it was your fault for crossing traffic when the road wasn't clear but it's hard to say for certain without more details. This is just curiosity though, in the end only a solicitor or the ombudsman will be able to help you if you feel wronged.

djimi

neighbours wrote: »

It's hard to understand why I'm according to my insurance 100% to blame,
In my eyes he came around a corner speeding and drunk,my insurance didn't get a written Garda report just spoke to a Garda on the phone who wasnt the Garda I was told was dealing with it,and to get this news via an email from my solicitor some weeks after the decision wasn't nice!

If you feel that your insurance company did not investigate the matter correctly and thoroughly then you should contact the financial ombudsman and see if they can help you.

I would definitely be looking to seek further legal advice though; a solicitor who specializes in these matters should be able to tell you if it is worth pursuing.