Letter to claimant after false accusation

Butterface

I'm not sure if this is the right place for this post, and apologies about the vagueness.

My father was wrongly accused of causing an accident in an amateur sporting event a few years ago. The claim was easily refutable based on damage to my father's vehicle which was stationary at the time.

As these things take time, it was very dragged out and while not a big deal in the scheme of things, for an elderly man it caused him (and us) some stress over the past few years.
The individual's solicitor continued to send letters to my father, despite the claim having to be made through the sporting organisation as my father was on duty at the time.

Not only that, but his local sporting club (he is a member for 40+ years) refused to address the issue and come out in defence of him while the investigation was ongoing, despite the evidence clearly showing that he was not at fault.
Over the past 3 years, my father felt that his reputation was damaged within the sporting club, and he has really reduced his participation in the sport.

This week, finally, the insurance company rejected the claim against my father. The damage to my father's vehicle was found to be caused by the injured party's own negligence. We knew this would be the outcome from day one, but it was still a relief.

My mother asked me whether it would be inappropriate to write a letter to this individual to address the false claims and let this individual know how much stress his false claims caused, and also seek an apology for my father and his club (that hosted the event).

But, should my mother just drop it and move on? Would it be entirely inappropriate to send a letter to this person, not to mention completely futile anyway?

Seth Brundle

How long will that take and what will you have achieved by the end of it?
Enough time and stress has been spent on this -
let it go IMO!

seamus

I wouldn't bother contacting the individual. They didn't chase the claim out of malice, they chased it because they believed they were in the right, and probably still do.

Contacting them to put them on a guilt trip won't achieve anything.

It would probably be worth, however, sending a letter to the chairman of the club in the same vein expressing your disappointment that the club wasn't more supportive of such a long standing and dedicated member, and that you feel like your father has been personally hurt by their indifference.

Don't make out like it's being sent on your father's behalf - make it clear that you're sending it as a concerned family/spouse who has seen the effect on him.

_Brian

If it's something she needs to do to get over it then let her go at it.

But it's a waste of a stamp.

Fred Swanson

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Has the other person exhausted all options already?

If they are happy to waste money on solicitors letters they might make complaints to the insurance regulator or might they go to court?

ohnonotgmail

Fred Swanson wrote: »

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a single letter?

Fred Swanson

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Peregrinus

Absolutely let it go. There can be no good outcome from such a letter, and conceivably a bad outcome - at the very least it could cause further bad feeling, but it could even motivate the claimant to take the matter further in an attempt to vindicate themselves. ("So an insurance company has rejected my claim! Perhaps a court will take a different view!")

Moving on is an important life skill, and now's the time to deploy it.

ohnonotgmail

Fred Swanson wrote: »

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the legal definition of harassment includes the word persistent. how can a single letter be said to be persistent? I see nothing in the OP that meets the legal standard of harassment.

Fred Swanson

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Butterface

Peregrinus wrote: »

Absolutely let it go. There can be no good outcome from such a letter, and conceivably a bad outcome - at the very least it could cause further bad feeling, but it could even motivate the claimant to take the matter further in an attempt to vindicate themselves. ("So an insurance company has rejected my claim! Perhaps a court will take a different view!")

Moving on is an important life skill, and now's the time to deploy it.

Thanks for the quick feedback everybody!

That was also my initial reaction, but I wanted some advice from a legal perspective to dissuade my mother. I will try to direct her disappointment towards the club, however, I wouldn't hold my breath for an apology from them either.

While the claim never had a chance of being upheld, there isn't really a sense of relief either. He's a stoic Irishman, so the stress bubbled under the surface for the past 3 years. Hopefully he will keep up his involvement in the sport!

aujopimur

Put a copy of the insurance companies letter on the club notice board.

Pat Mustard

I also think that it would be unwise to make direct contact with the claimant/person who claims to be the injured party.

I would say to retain a copy of all of the relevant evidence ; photographs, reports, everything.

I don't know if your father intends to do anything about the damage that was caused to his vehicle but if he does, he should see a solicitor without any further delay. A solicitor can advise on the statute of limitations with regard to the time limits involved in various types of actions.

Victor

aujopimur wrote: »

Put a copy of the insurance companies letter on the club notice board.

One would need to be very careful in such a situation. The letter is likely to contain only certain information and there is a risk of defamation or other issues.

NUTLEY BOY

Victor wrote: »

One would need to be very careful in such a situation. The letter is likely to contain only certain information and there is a risk of defamation or other issues.

And there is exactly the danger in writing to get something out of your system i.e you run the risk of creating a new problem by trying to repair something that is not actually damaged.

Silence would be golden here.