Jogger ran out in front of car..

Ducksauce2017

Long story short: a jogger ran out in front of my car as I was slowing towards a stop sign today. He clipped off the right hand side as he was running past and fell to ground. Rang ambulance for him and gave statement to guards etc. Trying to find out how he is.. but guards mentioned it just appears to be bruising, though paramedics may have other opinions.

Have witness to corroborate what happened.. that he was running out in front of stop sign and was lucky I was slowing as it could have been a lot worse.

Rang insurance company to let them know in case.. but said they'll need to send out a damage assessor and that it'll affect my NCB.

There's no visible damage to car so is this standard procedure? It was more to let them know in case other party attempts to claim but don't want to claim for damages.

mrsbeebee

Yes it's standard procedure to inspect your car for damage in the event of a potential claim from the pedestrian. If no claim arises your no claims discount may not be affected but they need to warn you it might. There could be a liability issue here, depending on where the accident occurred in relation to the stop line - technically a driver needs to come to a complete stop at a stop sign and an argument could be made that if he came from your right, you really should have seen him before he hit your car (if it was a 2 lane road you were on as he would have been half way across). If a claim arises your insurer may dispute liability and it may have to go to court. Alternatively they may choose to settle as they see fit. All of that is worst case scenario. No claim may arise.

Isambard

don't forget if the guy was to blame (which it sounds like you are saying) and you are out of pocket (ie your NCB) you can take an action out against him to recover that.

Peanut2011

Speak to your insurance company and get them to explain next steps. A friend of mine had his NCB affected for years in a similar circumstance in case the other party claimed.

This was 10+ years ago so that could have changed.

Pugzilla

You screwed up telling your insurance company.

Cee-Jay-Cee

Lodge a claim against the runner now. If you have any damage at all to your car then you are quite entitled to claim to recoup the costs from him if he was at fault.

Pugzilla

Tell them you've got PTSD.

slavetothegrind

Pugzilla wrote: »

You screwed up telling your insurance company.

nope. Not if he actually wants cover....

looksee

mrsbeebee wrote: »

There could be a liability issue here, depending on where the accident occurred in relation to the stop line - technically a driver needs to come to a complete stop at a stop sign and an argument could be made that if he came from your right, you really should have seen him before he hit your car (if it was a 2 lane road you were on as he would have been half way across). If a claim arises your insurer may dispute liability and it may have to go to court. Alternatively they may choose to settle as they see fit. All of that is worst case scenario. No claim may arise.

Whether or not this is a legal observation, in practical terms it is simply not true. A very similar thing happened to me - I was slowing to a roundabout in fairly heavy traffic, in the right hand lane beside a dividing island. I got a brief glimpse of a runner coming across from my right - from the other side of the road, then she disappeared. I was not even sure I had seen her, but I slowed to a stop before I reached the roundabout. Sure enough she ran out across my front without looking - if I had still been moving I would have hit her. All this took only 3 or 4 seconds. The reason she disappeared was she had got to the blind spot at the edge of the windscreen. I got a fright and she ran on oblivious.

Ducksauce2017

Thanks for the replies all.

Have no intention of claiming against runner as there is no damage to my car. As indicated, I was slowing to a stop and runner literally clipped right-hand side going past, and appeared to lose balance and fall.

I'm only informing the insurance company to cover my own ass and get the story straight.

I've photos of the scene including position of the car a good 3 - 4 feet before stop line which is where it was post-"collision".

Maybe I shouldn't have told insurance company but I'd rather pre-empt anything which may come out of it... and I'm trying to stay on the right side of the law here.

Cloudio9

Isambard wrote: »

don't forget if the guy was to blame (which it sounds like you are saying) and you are out of pocket (ie your NCB) you can take an action out against him to recover that.

The chances of claiming against a pedestrian for damage are virtually nil.

If you do this you're almost guaranteeing a personal injury counter claim.

Just stay quiet and hope he doesn't claim.

Ducksauce2017

Oh, and runner came bolting out from my left by the way.. he got practically the whole way past the car but just clipped it on right, and lost balance. Bloody earphones on too! :mad:

A Battered Mars Bar

How can we be sure the jogger didn't pretend to clip the car to make a compo claim?

Ducksauce2017

A Battered Mars Bar wrote: »

How can we be sure the jogger didn't pretend to clip the car to make a compo claim?

I honestly don't think so.. another guy who was on the footpath above where it happened said he went running down past him before it happened at a serious pace.. the jogger did mention he was training for a big race so I'd say he was just being careless. Still feel sorry for the lad but I go out running often, I'd never dart out like that at a busy junction..

mrsbeebee

looksee wrote: »

Whether or not this is a legal observation, in practical terms it is simply not true. A very similar thing happened to me - I was slowing to a roundabout in fairly heavy traffic, in the right hand lane beside a dividing island. I got a brief glimpse of a runner coming across from my right - from the other side of the road, then she disappeared. I was not even sure I had seen her, but I slowed to a stop before I reached the roundabout. Sure enough she ran out across my front without looking - if I had still been moving I would have hit her. All this took only 3 or 4 seconds. The reason she disappeared was she had got to the blind spot at the edge of the windscreen. I got a fright and she ran on oblivious.

Yours is a completely different scenario. Stepping off a traffic island directly into the path of a car in a right hand lane is very different to someone running halfway across a 2 lane road and making contact with a car in the left lane. A solicitor/barrister could (and regularly do) make the argument that the driver should have seen them. Not saying that happened here - I don't know the road layout. I'm just warning the op that there could be a claim, a liability dispute and a settlement. I would advise that he makes sure the insurance company have the witness details and ask them to get a statement now. People's memories fade with time.

Ducksauce2017

mrsbeebee wrote: »

Yours is a completely different scenario. Stepping off a traffic island directly into the path of a car in a right hand lane is very different to someone running halfway across a 2 lane road and making contact with a car in the left lane.

Just to reiterate - car was in left hand lane, jogger came from left to right.

dev100

Ducksauce2017 wrote:

Rang insurance company to let them know in case.. but said they'll need to send out a damage assessor and that it'll affect my NCB.

You will probably be screwed for the next few years . Not sure but I think someone can make a claim up to 3yrs and you probably won't be able to change insurance companies either.

Del2005

Isambard wrote: »

don't forget if the guy was to blame (which it sounds like you are saying) and you are out of pocket (ie your NCB) you can take an action out against him to recover that.

With the way our system works the jogger will be able to claim, I know 2 people who drunkenly fell in front of cars and successfully sued the drivers, while there's near zero chance of getting anything off the jogger/"vulnerable road user"

dev100 wrote: »

You will probably be screwed for the next few years . Not sure but I think someone can make a claim up to 3yrs and you probably won't be able to change insurance companies either.

It's 6 years for the statute of limitations.

ED E

Miike

ED E wrote: »

In this situation if OP had a dash cam would the runner still be able to submit a claim?? Would the footage eliminate the chances of a successful claim and there would be no damage to your NCB?

I'm hoping GM228 can answer this to be totally honest.

GM228

The matter would not be as simple as having a dash cam to prove what happened. Personal injury or damage to pedestrians, cyclists or any other non-motorised user must be covered by the insurance of the vehicle involved, but, that is subject to civil liability - duty of care would be the main element.

A dash cam will show exactly what happened. It can't in any way show or prove what the pedestrian and driver did/didn't notice in their surroundings.

Camera footage will add weight to any evidence given (and may work in the pedestrians favour also), but will not automatically prove or disprove anything.

For example if a jogger is running alongside the car for a few minutes and then comes accross the cars path for whatever reason, the camera is looking forward and only recording such, but the driver and the pedestrian should be reasonably aware of their surroundings.

Motorists and pedestrians owe each other a duty of care, yes a pedestrian owes a duty of care to a motorist, as does a motorist to a pedestrian. The common misconception that the motorist is always in the wrong is just rubbish - which isn't helped by the reality that insurance companies often settle in such cases (see below and which they are entitled to do) and is usually simply not worth trying to pursue the pedestrian for damages/negligence. But such claims are often successfully contested.


The question then which needs to be asked is :-

Did the motorist discharge a reasonable duty of care?

Did the pedestrian discharge a reasonable duty of care?

If the answer is no then a presumption of negligence arises which could mitigate any potential claim.

It will come down to reasonably foreseeable possibilities.

Should the motorist reasonably forsee the possibility of a pedestrian running out in front of them? That would be very much dependent on the surrounding circumstances.

Should the pedestrian reasonably forsee the possibility of being hit by a car when they run onto a road without looking? Do I need to answer that one.....


Ultimately in a case where a pedestrian takes a claim against the motorists insurance, the insurance company will take the safest option to reduce it's potential risk - it will either settle or fight depending on the financial risk and chances of success, often they deem it less riskier and untimately potentially cheaper to settle.

GM228

Del2005 wrote: »

dev100 wrote: »

You will probably be screwed for the next few years . Not sure but I think someone can make a claim up to 3yrs and you probably won't be able to change insurance companies either.

It's 6 years for the statute of limitations.

6 years relates to actions in tort, regarding a pedestrian making a personal injury claim the time limit is 2 years.

Tails142

Pugzilla wrote: »

You screwed up telling your insurance company.

Insurance companies tell you to report any incidents immediately? There's a good chance that the jogger will claim for an easy 20k+

Just wondering on the general consensus of the mob, would you tell your insurer? What happens if you don't and a claim comes in?

GM228

Tails142 wrote: »

Insurance companies tell you to report any incidents immediately?

It's a standard contractual term in insurance.

Tails142 wrote: »

There's a good chance that the jogger will claim for an easy 20k+

All the more reason for them to hear it from you first, just because they make a claim does not mean it will be a successful claim.

Tails142 wrote: »

Just wondering on the general consensus of the mob, would you tell your insurer?

Yes of course, and why not?

If they make a claim then your insurance will know anyway, if they don't claim then it does not affect you in any way - so you have nothing to loose by telling them, plenty of issues could arise if you fail to tell them though.

Tails142 wrote: »

What happens if you don't and a claim comes in?

It's a breach of contract and could arise in a loading for failure to disclose on your renewal, or worse a refusal to renew you altogether.

georgefalls

The first time I ever see a joggist smiling, I might give it a go..!