Privately settled car accident advice

moneillbeauty1

Hi there looking for advice asap. My husband was in a nasty enough car accident Thursday gone. Accident was other drivers fault with witness of a garda as garda car was directly behind my husband. Husband and work colleague I'm his car and lady driver in other car.
She basically pulled out onto a T junction without looking. Hubby jammed on brakes and she.Went into the side of him spinning him around and then hit a wall. Luckily enough they both got out without a scratch. No idea how and lady was ok too. Her car was minor damage, our car wrote off. No ambulance was called as everyone got out ok. Lady blamed my husband until garda stepped in. Lady had no tax or nct and husbands nct out small while. So lady begged to settle it themselves and as husband thought no one was hurt and felt sorry for woman agreed.husband does not agree with claiming when there's no need believes it's bad look. He's a honest man
No garage will repair our car so lady agreed to pay the value of car on saturday coming.
My husband is a soft touch to be fair but my problem is sense Monday he is in agony and went gp( no medical card, works) and had to pay and has to stay out of work until he sees gp again next week which is another 50. Gp Gave hI'm sleepers and muscle relaxants and lain killers.
I would rather he contacts insurance company and claims for loss of earnings and medical expenses but no idea whether it's too late after agreement to settle private or can he claim for I juries even tho settled private.
Need to know before he takes cheque saturday.

Also garda let him go about nct as is booked and also told lady would be in contact as was dangerous driving.
Also he is not pushed on letting it go to insurance company even tho in alot of pain because needs a car for work asap and if goes trough insurance might take ages. Any advise greatly appreciated in advance. Thank you

nick 56

Don't even think of not going to the insurance company.

you will be cheated.

Mikros

Go to the insurance. Seek professional (i.e. solicitors) advice. Don't accept a cheque or settlement while your husband is still suffering from an injury.

Soft tissue injuries such as whiplash etc. can take a long time to clear up and if your husband's work suffers you will only end up out of pocket because of an collision that was not his fault. I'm all for not claiming when it's just some material damage but if he is in agony as you said there is no point being a martyr.

moneillbeauty1

At this moment and time for us to go to a solicitor is out of the question have just recently paid funeral costs for his late father and I'm currently expecting so the money just is not there unfortunately. Will do as he have said and contact insurance and go from there hoping it works out. Thank you both again

Dord

Go to the insurance company. Medical bills can add up quickly, and as mentioned injuries can take a long time to heal.

EDIT: Insurance co may be able to handle the legal side of things, or have someone for that. If not, it's good to get a solicitor on it. Fees will be taken from whatever is awarded.

moneillbeauty1

Dord wrote: »

Go to the insurance company. Medical bills can add up quickly, and as mentioned injuries can take a long time to heal.

EDIT: Insurance co may be able to handle the legal side of things, or have someone for that. If not, it's good to get a solicitor on it. Fees will be taken from whatever is awarded.

Thank you have just spoken to himself and will be contacting them tomorrow

projectgtr

You dont need a solicitor, the process is fairly simple now with the introduction of the Personal Injuries Board (PIB) my partner has just gone through it and it is very straight forward and painless.

Go through the insurance company, thats what insurance is for ...accidents. After you do this i would resist contact with the other party. Its a fairly cut and shut case car will be sorted first then onto personal injuries, if you need any advice dont hesitate to pm me but tbh i have to say both the insurance company (AXA) and the PIB were so good to my girlfriend, they were so helpfull, so dont be worrying.

curioser

moneillbeauty1 wrote: »

Hi there looking for advice asap. My husband was in a nasty enough car accident Thursday gone. Accident was other drivers fault with witness of a garda as garda car was directly behind my husband. Husband and work colleague I'm his car and lady driver in other car.
She basically pulled out onto a T junction without looking. Hubby jammed on brakes and she.Went into the side of him spinning him around and then hit a wall. Luckily enough they both got out without a scratch. No idea how and lady was ok too. Her car was minor damage, our car wrote off. No ambulance was called as everyone got out ok. Lady blamed my husband until garda stepped in. Lady had no tax or nct and husbands nct out small while. So lady begged to settle it themselves and as husband thought no one was hurt and felt sorry for woman agreed.husband does not agree with claiming when there's no need believes it's bad look. He's a honest man
No garage will repair our car so lady agreed to pay the value of car on saturday coming.
My husband is a soft touch to be fair but my problem is sense Monday he is in agony and went gp( no medical card, works) and had to pay and has to stay out of work until he sees gp again next week which is another 50. Gp Gave hI'm sleepers and muscle relaxants and lain killers.
I would rather he contacts insurance company and claims for loss of earnings and medical expenses but no idea whether it's too late after agreement to settle private or can he claim for I juries even tho settled private.
Need to know before he takes cheque saturday.

Also garda let him go about nct as is booked and also told lady would be in contact as was dangerous driving.
Also he is not pushed on letting it go to insurance company even tho in alot of pain because needs a car for work asap and if goes trough insurance might take ages. Any advise greatly appreciated in advance. Thank you

Just backing up the other respones, contact the insurance company immediately. The guilty parties in cases like this invariably do a 180 degree turn in the next few days and claim it ws the injured party's fault - in the case of a lady driver, a male companion will always show up to put her case of innocence.

Outkast_IRE

Insurance company may also sort him out with a rental car for a week or two while its all sorted.

goz83

I was rear ended 2 weeks ago. I am in agony as i type this. My injuries at first were not bad, but have progressively worsened in the past 2 weeks with 3 gp visits, increasing medication each time and 2 physio treatments. Luckily i have a spare car and have not needed to miss work yet, because my work is not strenuous at all and i can work with the pain.

I was also rear ended 2 and a half years ago. That time was not as bad as the recent one. I was still suffering after 2 years, waking mist mornings with a stiff neck.

I understand your husband not wanting to claim. It feels like you're doing something wrong. But insurance is paid for good reason. If it was a small tip and a couple of scuffs, then fine. But his car was spun off the road. Don't let his softness be his undoing, because that injury is likely to last a very long time. All he has to do, is be honest. The lady didn't appear that honest until the Garda stepped in.

Maphisto

Just in case there's still any doubt you have to go through insurance. Doing it private is alright if its just a knock but you could end up badly out of pocket here.

Has this woman actually paid you for the car?

christy02

Can't believe she pulled out of a t junction without looking and still feels the person she hit is on the wrong. Total lack of knowledge of ROR.

I would go through the insurance company for definite. Get a hire car also. Medical costs, time off work, factor it all in.

I also think that you have to inform your insurance company if you are in an accident regardless who is to blame. May be wrong on that.

coolbeans

Ask yourself if you wanna be screwed over OP cos that's what's gonna happen if you don't make a formal claim.

moc moc a moc

moneillbeauty1 wrote: »

Lady blamed my husband until garda stepped in

This alone is enough to predict what will happen if you try to settle.

Protect yourselves. Make the claim.

djimi

moneillbeauty1 wrote: »

husband does not agree with claiming when there's no need believes it's bad look. He's a honest man

I dont understand this mentality at all. There is nothing dishonest about putting in a legitimate insurance claim; its what we all pay our premiums for.

When there are potential injuries you absolutely have to go through insurance. There isnt a hope in hell that the other party is paying medical bills out of their own pocket.

moneillbeauty1

Thanks for all the replies and great advice. We notified our insurance company the day of the accident and explained the situation they were grand and said if any problems contact them. Lady will be paying this saturday. So again contacted ins co half an hour ago and explained how things are now and the pain my husband is in and been off work and was told sense he agreed to settle privately and is now a week later her insurance company will fight to just replace the car and no more as they can state he was fine for a week and then it now in pain even tho went doctors Monday and the fact untill car is looked at and all that he could have to wait 2 weeks before he could even get a rental suplied! That all this might go agaiNat us stating her word against his even tho garda witnessed everything and took photos at the scene which are currently iN garda station! No real help at all. Going directly to a solicitor at 12.30. Have also contacted lady involved to explain are letting insurance handle it and she stated plain out she will be suing my husband for the accident as he was speeding!
What a joke. Have contacted the garda that was there and he will happily give a witness statement and help out any way he can and will also be doing the lady for dangerous driving instead of carelessness and will be out with her later today!
People like her only out for them selves and don't care about anyone else.
Once again thanks for all the great replies and will post more details.

djimi

Since you have a Garda witness I wouldnt worry about a thing; its pretty rare to have an actual reliable witness like a Garda, so there wont be an issue with her suing you (if your husband was speeding then he might be charged seperately, but it does not change the fact that she pulled out of a road illegally and caused an incident).

I also wouldnt worry about the injury claim; its perfectly normal for injuries to take some time to properly manifest themselves, and your husband has been going to a doctor so there should be no issues with this ladies insurance company sorting the medical expenses (assuming they agree that she was at fault). She can rant and rave all she wants; once it goes to the insurnace then its out of her hands and they will pay out where they determine blame to lie. She can talk about suing you all she wants; she wont get very far even if she tries (and lets face it, its highly unlikely she is going to cover the expense of taking a court case against you).

quadrifoglio verde

Op I'd stop all contact with the other party. Let the insurance companies handle it.

randy hickey

quadrifoglio verde wrote: »

Op I'd stop all contact with the other party. Let the insurance companies handle it.

Totally agree with this.


Also OP, I sincerely hope your husband's name isn't Iain.

moneillbeauty1

randy hickey wrote: »

Totally agree with this.


Also OP, I sincerely hope your husband's name isn't Iain.

Thanks everyone. It is now in the hands of our insurance co and solicitor. No hubby is John and unfortunately I brang him back doctors mid day today he just couldn't take the pain much longer and has been admitted to hospital as a result. Doc is not happy with bruising and fluid on his back so will be getting mri tomorrow to see what is going on. Untill then is just a waiting game and luckily enough his boss has kindly offered to keep paying his weekly wage minus a few Bob for as long as he is out of work as he has worked for him 25 years now knowing that me not been a spring chicken and due very soon and as I mentioned earlier money is right right now. Very generous of him.
Solicitor has also said not to be worrying about a single thing as husband is the victim.
Once again truly appreciate all your advice and with the help of God John will be fine and things will be sorted.

Gmol

Hope he is ok, had the same a few years ago, the other insurance company are chancing their arm they know whiplash doesn't happen straight away. The main thing is to look after your OH. One piece of advice is to beg steal or borrow money for physio it is vital.

goz83

Absolutely agree. I stopped physio after my previous accident after only3, or 4 visits, because I was such an invincible MAN. Big mistake. My recovery was much slower as a result. I am currently doing weekly physio and its only €40 a session. If you're based in north Dublin, i can pm you the details of the physio i am seeing. I will also be getting massage to supplement the physio in between. Not taking any chances with my health this time around. It all gets paid back in the expenses. It will take about 2 years, but try think of it like a savings plan if it helps. Whatever is paid today to the physio, it will be returned. Hope John isn't in too much pain. That lady sounds lime a right witch. Too often people try to convince themselves that the other person was at fault and cant admit blame to themselves. Its pathetic really. Good luck and good health.

Henry Ford III

Best wishes to your hubby OP. I hope he'll recover fully and quickly too.

Severe pain is no joke at all.

ironclaw

Just be careful with details OP in the public domain. Maybe generalise your posts (Names, ages, dates etc) a little as its not a good idea to discuss potential legal cases online.

kennM

I would 100% second the general sentiment in this thread... you are entitled to be returned to the position you were in before the accident, car out of pocket and injury.

A word of warning, an insurance company will be more than happy to throw money your way early on to settle in full. On the surface it may seem like a generous offer. Insurance companies know well that the full extent of injuries take time to manifest & in hindsight you may regret accepting an early offer.

I would recommend you don't even think of settling a personal injury settlement until either (a) it's full resolved or (b) the exact long term prognosis is known. And settlement is based upon that.

DO NOT RUSH... patience is something you'll have to learn unfortunately. Most insurance companies will settle for material damages early and personal injuries run their course.

Hope this helps

projectgtr wrote: »

You dont need a solicitor, the process is fairly simple now with the introduction of the Personal Injuries Board (PIB) my partner has just gone through it and it is very straight forward and painless.

Go through the insurance company, thats what insurance is for ...accidents. After you do this i would resist contact with the other party. Its a fairly cut and shut case car will be sorted first then onto personal injuries, if you need any advice dont hesitate to pm me but tbh i have to say both the insurance company (AXA) and the PIB were so good to my girlfriend, they were so helpfull, so dont be worrying.

With regards to AXA I'll balance this one out and put a minus on the other side of the scales from personal experience.

curioser wrote: »

Just backing up the other respones, contact the insurance company immediately. The guilty parties in cases like this invariably do a 180 degree turn in the next few days and claim it ws the injured party's fault - in the case of a lady driver, a male companion will always show up to put her case of innocence.

100% agree with this, she was forced into a u-turn to admit guilt by Gardai you can be sure that it won't be long until she's back to her original position.

christy02 wrote: »

Can't believe she pulled out of a t junction without looking and still feels the person she hit is on the wrong. Total lack of knowledge of ROR.

I would go through the insurance company for definite. Get a hire car also. Medical costs, time off work, factor it all in.

I also think that you have to inform your insurance company if you are in an accident regardless who is to blame. May be wrong on that.

You are entitled to a hire car, you are entitled to medical costs, out of pocket etc. You're correct, you're supposed to report it to your insurance company & outline that it was a no fault accident. Your policy may also have legal cover that may benefit you here.

kennM

moneillbeauty1 wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies and great advice. We notified our insurance company the day of the accident and explained the situation they were grand and said if any problems contact them. Lady will be paying this saturday. So again contacted ins co half an hour ago and explained how things are now and the pain my husband is in and been off work and was told sense he agreed to settle privately and is now a week later her insurance company will fight to just replace the car and no more as they can state he was fine for a week and then it now in pain even tho went doctors Monday and the fact untill car is looked at and all that he could have to wait 2 weeks before he could even get a rental suplied! That all this might go agaiNat us stating her word against his even tho garda witnessed everything and took photos at the scene which are currently iN garda station! No real help at all. Going directly to a solicitor at 12.30. Have also contacted lady involved to explain are letting insurance handle it and she stated plain out she will be suing my husband for the accident as he was speeding!
What a joke. Have contacted the garda that was there and he will happily give a witness statement and help out any way he can and will also be doing the lady for dangerous driving instead of carelessness and will be out with her later today!
People like her only out for them selves and don't care about anyone else.
Once again thanks for all the great replies and will post more details.

If she gets charged with dangerous driving in relation to this accident it almost completely pulls the rug out from any possible defense she may have or attempted claim on her behalf (assuming your husband is not charged with anything)