personal injury claim against me

doylerevo

Hi, maybe someone can shed some light on this for me.
I was involved in a motor incident. I pulled out from a petrol station to a main road, upon turning out I had heard a noise from the back of the car like a bottle of water roll in the boot, I paid no heed.Then I was flagged down by someone to tell me I had knocked down an elderly lady!. I looked back and to my horror, she was lying on the road. I called the ambulance, comforted the lady and called the gardai. My car was impounded on the spot and towed away for a PSV inspection for two days. i later made a statement to the gardai which resulted in them telling me that there will be no charges, it doesnt appear to be as a result of negligence and as far as they are concerned it is a closed case. I was not advised at the scene to notify my insurance company. As this was my first incident I didnt know what to do but as seen as there were no charges I didnt report the incident.

At the scene the gardai looked at my car and commented that there isnt a mark on the car, that there isnt even any dirt rubbed off the car. Also at the scene the lady said many times your not ot blame, your not to blame, all while witnesses were there. The psv inspection was fine and as far as I was aware everything was ok.

In the mean time I called the lady to see how she was doing and to try to establish what had happened, at this point I did not agree to any liability as I genuinely can say I didnt hit the lady with the front of my car anyway. She ended the phone call on a polite note and hadnt mentioned following or claiming so I still didnt call my insurance company as I didnt think I needed to. the lady said that she saw the front drivers side of my car coming at her! A nurse that came on the scene later asked me what happened that she had spent the whole evening wondering, as it didnt make sense to her!

Upon discussing and drawing out the geographics behind how I pulled out, crossing to the other side of the road to turn right, the noise I heard at the back of the car and considering what the lady said it didnt make sense to where she fell on the road. I wish i could draw it out here rather than describe it, it would be easier. If I had to have hit her with the drivers side that would mean she was in the middle of the road and I would have either drove across her or she would have gone across the bonnett!!! Am I wrong?

Anyway she is following for personal injuries, but has she suffice evidence considering the gardai see no fowl play, negligence or dangerous driving, otherwise I would have been charged?????? I hope I have described this clearly enough, do you think she has a claim? Also, as I hadnt reported anything to my insurance company Im sure they wont pay out if a claim does arise!!!

Lemlin

Negligence could be argued on her behalf if she walked in front of your car or contributed to being hit but she has a claim as your vehicle struck her.

If you didn't hit her, why would someone have flagged your car down to say you had? They obviously saw something and I'd imagine they've given a statement to the Gardai.

You should report the incident to your insurance company ASAP. If you prejudice their case through late notification, they can deny indemnity to you and, while they will pay her, they will attempt to recover any monies paid from you.

CardinalJ

So you've a claim against you and haven't told your Insurers? Call them now and tell them.

Part of your contract with them is that you have to report any incident to give them a chance to investigate what happened. They will have to pay out regardless of you telling them on time or not, if you're liable, but they would put a loading on your policy for late notification.

Lemlin

CardinalJ wrote: »

So you've a claim against you and haven't told your Insurers? Call them now and tell them.

Part of your contract with them is that you have to report any incident to give them a chance to investigate what happened. They will have to pay out regardless of you telling them on time or not, if you're liable, but they would put a loading on your policy for late notification.

A loading is going to be applied for the claim anyway. The potential consequences of late notification are far more serious as I've outlined above.

doylerevo

Thanks for the quick response, it was my insurance company that notified me so they do know now, but I didnt want to speak to them until I got advice. Now I know it was a silly thing but I had never had an incident before so I wasnt sure. How can she prove negligence if the gardai didnt? They said to me that its clear that there was no speeding or negligence involved, does her case not have to be based on proof of negligence??

doylerevo

Sorry, can you explain what you mean by a loading!??? I appreciate your advice thank you.

nc19

Surely a petrol station would have cctv????

doylerevo

Ill have to ask the gardai if they got that, I know there are cameras but im not sure if they are faced out on the road!!

AndonHandon

Report it to them and let them handle it. The fact you were unaware of the old lady's presence will work against you (them, really, as they are going to be looking after the case). Most likely they will admit liability on your behalf and try to mitigate the old lady's quantum e.g. No mark on car, Gardaí not able to assist, lack of witnesses maybe too. The main thing is to notify them and just relax.

AndonHandon

doylerevo wrote: »

Thanks for the quick response, it was my insurance company that notified me so they do know now, but I didnt want to speak to them until I got advice. Now I know it was a silly thing but I had never had an incident before so I wasnt sure. How can she prove negligence if the gardai didnt? They said to me that its clear that there was no speeding or negligence involved, does her case not have to be based on proof of negligence??

Sorry, didn't realise there was a duplicate thread.

The Gardaí didn't see the incident so how could they say whether you were negligent? The old lady will say that you ran her over as will that person who flagged you down and all you can say is that you didn't see her. Based on that you were clearly negligent. But don't worry about it, your insurance company will handle the case.

coylemj

OP, the fact that the Gardai are not charging you with a motoring offence has very little bearing on whether she can claim against you. If the Gardai charged you and you were convicted of (say) careless driving then it would be an open and shut case and your insurance company would settle with her but even if the Gardai don't charge you, it doesn't mean that she can't claim. The level of proof required to convict you of a motoring offence is much higher than for a civil claim to succeed.

You don't appear to be able to differentiate the business of the Gardai with the issue of civil liability, they are two different things altogether. You should have notified your insurance company immediately. The fact that she told you that it wasn't your fault and all that stuff will count for nothing, a good lawyer will claim that she was in shock and didn't know what she was saying. Even if she genuinely thought that it wasn't your fault, people have a habit of discussing these incidents with friends, most of whom will tell her she's mad not to claim against you - sure isn't it a huge insurance company who won't miss a few thousand and who's going to deny an old lady a few bob for the shock of being knocked down by a car?

Pat Mustard

OP, I would get to a solicitor to take up a copy of all CCTV footage ASAP.

Drag00n79

OP, how much time has passed since the incident?

NUTLEY BOY

coylemj wrote: »

OP, the fact that the Gardai are not charging you with a motoring offence has very little bearing on whether she can claim against you. If the Gardai charged you and you were convicted of (say) careless driving then it would be an open and shut case and your insurance company would settle with her but even if the Gardai don't charge you, it doesn't mean that she can't claim. The level of proof required to convict you of a motoring offence is much higher than for a civil claim to succeed.

You don't appear to be able to differentiate the business of the Gardai with the issue of civil liability, they are two different things altogether. You should have notified your insurance company immediately. The fact that she told you that it wasn't your fault and all that stuff will count for nothing, a good lawyer will claim that she was in shock and didn't know what she was saying. Even if she genuinely thought that it wasn't your fault, people have a habit of discussing these incidents with friends, most of whom will tell her she's mad not to claim against you - sure isn't it a huge insurance company who won't miss a few thousand and who's going to deny an old lady a few bob for the shock of being knocked down by a car?

+ 1.

NUTLEY BOY

The Mustard wrote: »

OP, I would get to a solicitor to take up a copy of all CCTV footage ASAP.

Should OP's insurers not do this ? Hopefully, any recordings are still in existence if a lot of time has passed since the incident.

cerastes

NUTLEY BOY wrote: »

Should OP's insurers not do this ? Hopefully, any recordings are still in existence if a lot of time has passed since the incident.

Im not sure Id rely on the insurance company to look after the OPs best interests, but their own at least in the short term, they may go the route that limits the cost now and go after who its easiest to recover that afterwards.

I dont know how these things go, but I really need to get my dash cams in order, had a cheap chinese one that had a rear camera on it too but it clapped out.
Id have gotten the gardais numbers and comments and witnesses contacts and comments and opinions at the time.

It almost sounds like a scam, Im not saying it is, but how the heck was an old lady in the road?
Its unfortunate you didnt see her or know where she was, that cant be good for you.

doylerevo

Thanks everyone for your responses, I have an appointment with the solicitor Wed. . .Im dreading it!!!!

househero

Some one tried suing me after they drove in to my car? Personal claim companies are chances. Tell your car insurance company and they will sort it out. You have had some odd advice on here. As always boards shouldn't be somewhere to get legal advice!

athtrasna

Are you sure the person who flagged you down was an independent witness op? So many car and insurance scams going on these days, I'd definitely want to see cctv

beauf

CCTV are often wiped after a week as they are on a loop normally.

An insurance company will look after their own interests. That often not the same as yours. I would do my own legwork.

It possible you just didn't see the lady. But its also possible they walked into the car. Were they injured at all?

doylerevo

As far as I am aware yes she was independent, after the event she came up to me and said I didnt actually see you hit the lady so dont worry I wont be saying anything so I got the impression she didnt actually witness it and I know the Gardai dont have her as a witness as they didnt know anything about her until I made my statement, and they had no details for her!

sioux1977

Hi there. It does all sound very odd, to be sure. I'm afraid I can't give you any real advice, but the following information may be helpful.

It doesn't matter one bit whether or not the guards reckon you were at fault or not. In a road traffic collision, they only attend the scene to determine whether someone has broken the law. It is not within their professional capacity to make an assessment of fault in insurance matters. Even if ten guards all attended the scene and gave written affidavits to say they did not believe you were at fault, the woman could still be successful in her claim. I used to be an insurance underwriter, and I can tell you that whether or not the insurance company pays out (and if so, how much) has nothing to do with the opinions of the guards who attended the scene - however informed and professional those opinions might be. They will not take the guards' opinions into consideration at all. The ONLY person who can, and will, determine if you were at fault is a Claims Assessor, who will be sent out from your insurance company to view the scene of the incident. They will take photos and notes there, and make a decision based on what you, the claimant, and any witnesses say. It might be helpful to ask your insurance company if you can meet the Claims Assessor at the scene, to better explain exactly what happened. (I did this when I was involved in an RTC...the claim against me was still successful anyway, but I think it's worth a shot in your case)

Sadly, people are often successful in their claims even when the other person wasn't at fault. It's very frustrating! The only reason I mention the above about the guards is because I wouldn't like you to pin your hopes on whatever the guards have told you, however well-meaning they are. With the best will in the world, they really can't help in an insurance matter, even if they try and tell you they can. Strictly speaking, they are not even supposed to give their opinion either way as to who was at fault (unless charges are being brought)...and it was a guard herself who told me this. They will, however, often say it off the record to you at the scene, as they did to me,but because they're not supposed to give their opinion it's unlikely they would go on the record with it anyway.

I'm really sorry I couldn't be any help - I hope it all gets sorted out well for you...best of luck!

Pat Mustard

NUTLEY BOY wrote: »

Should OP's insurers not do this ? Hopefully, any recordings are still in existence if a lot of time has passed since the incident.

They should. But like old saying goes, if you want to get something done, do it yourself.

doylerevo

Thanks Sioux1977, I would rather be told the truth than be codding myself!!! Regarding section 38 -(1) as outlined below, it mentions a zebra crossing, now there was a pelican crossing very very close by which she would have walked past, im just not sure if the measurement is 50 feet or meters as I read meters somewhere else.
Thanks again for the replies.



Road Traffic General Bye-Laws, 1964
Quote:
34. A pedestrian shall exercise care and take all reasonable precautions to avoid causing danger or inconvenience to traffic and other pedestrians, and, when at a road junction controlled by traffic lights, shall comply with bye-law 13 of these bye-laws in so far as it applies to a driver facing lights at which there is no stop line.

36 (2) At a road junction where traffic is controlled either by traffic lights or by a pointsman, a pedestrian shall cross the roadway only when traffic going in the direction in which the pedestrian intends to cross is permitted (by the lights or pointsman) to proceed, and shall yield the right of way to any traffic turning in front of the pedestrian.

37. A pedestrian about to cross a roadway at a place where pedestrian lights have been provided shall do so only when a lamp of the pedestrian lights facing him is lit and green.

38.—(1) On a roadway on which a zebra crossing has been provided a pedestrian shall not cross the roadway within 50 feet of the crossing except by the crossing.

(2) When a vehicle is approaching a zebra crossing a pedestrian shall not step on to that crossing if his action is likely to cause the driver either to brake suddenly or to swerve.

conorh91

beauf wrote: »

CCTV are often wiped after a week as they are on a loop normally.

More like a month or six weeks any time I've encountered CCTV… perhaps depends on the size of the business.

jaysblades

op : this this happen in kilkenny by any chance?

beauf

conorh91 wrote: »

More like a month or six weeks any time I've encountered CCTV… perhaps depends on the size of the business.

A week any time I've needed it. As you say it probably varies a lot.

NUTLEY BOY

doylerevo wrote: »

Thanks everyone for your responses, I have an appointment with the solicitor Wed. . .Im dreading it!!!!

Don't ! They are there to give you the information and advice that you need in your situation.

I expect that you might feel a bit calmer this evening.