Criminal liability versus civil liability

kilp10

I hope I'm going to ask this correctly. If after an accident, the Gardai assign 100% liability to the third party and prosecute successfully, can the third party still go ahead and deny liability in civil proceedings for an injury claim?

Someone has told me they can although it doesn't make sense that this loophole would exist, does it?!

Little CuChulainn

Yes they can. The burden of proof in a civil case is much lower though so if they were convicted in a criminal court there is likely enough evidence to beat them in a civil court.

coylemj

I assume you mean that one of the drivers was prosecuted and convicted of something like careless driving? In that case they can deny all they like but it's virtually certain that their insurance company will settle based on them being at fault.

Insurance companies will have no truck with stubborn people who refuse to admit their fault, even after they've been convicted, they will settle and that's the end of it. If the other guy sues and it goes to court, it's the insurance company who has to pay the legal costs when he wins as he certainly will. As far as the insurance companies are concerned, a criminal conviction on one side only puts and end to any discussion about who was to blame.

If there is no insurance and the guy is being sued personally, he is wasting his money contesting the civil claim because the other side will straight away tell the judge that he was convicted of a motoring offence arising out of the collision and he will then have a seriously uphill battle to convince the judge that it was the other guy's fault.

Pro Hoc Vice

kilp10 wrote: »

I hope I'm going to ask this correctly. If after an accident, the Gardai assign 100% liability to the third party and prosecute successfully, can the third party still go ahead and deny liability in civil proceedings for an injury claim?

Someone has told me they can although it doesn't make sense that this loophole would exist, does it?!

its not really a loophole, in many cases where liability is not an issue a full defence is submitted its a tactic. In the vast majority of civil cases the defendant has no personal involvement with the case, its all run by the insurance company or MIBI.

Pat Mustard

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People_of_the_State_of_California_vs._Orenthal_James_Simpson

OJ Simpson was acquitted of murder in a criminal trial.

In a civil suit, he was successfully sued for wrongful death, for damages amounting to tens of millions of dollars.

conorh91

kilp10 wrote: »

I hope I'm going to ask this correctly. If after an accident, the Gardai assign 100% liability to the third party and prosecute successfully, can the third party still go ahead and deny liability in civil proceedings for an injury claim?

If there is a sufficiently strong connection between the criminal offence and the civil action, there's likely to be scarce room to deny liability.

The fact that only one party is prosecuted under the Road Traffic Acts is not, however, determinative of liability in a civil action. Factors which were not relevant in another party's RTAs prosecution, e.g. whether or not you were wearing a seatbelt, may become more relevant in the course of your civil action.