The Highway Code
Before making a car accident claim you need to make up your mind whose fault it was. The rules of the road are set out in the Highway Code, and in most cases it should be quite straight forward to work out who was responsible. However, you do need to take into consideration special circumstances.
Accidents involving large vehicles
The Highway Code rule 221 states that you should give extra space to large vehicles if they are turning or carrying out a manoeuvre. Of course, if you are stationary, and a large vehicle stops beside you and then damages your own car before you have pulled away, you cannot be blamed for causing the accident.
Other problems
Some types of accident always cause problems in deciding liability. In particular:
Accidents on roundabouts
Lane changes
Accidents when two or more parallel lines of traffic are moving at different speeds.
If in doubt
Don’t waste your time arguing with the other driver. If the other driver says it wasn’t his or her fault, just exchange details. As soon as you can, report the incident to a specialist claims advisor (click here). The other driver’s insurance company will not admit liability if the other driver doesn’t agree.
Disputed car accident claims
Liability for all accident is always settled in the end. The insurance companies or the drivers’ representatives will argue the toss on the evidence. In some cases responsibility will be settled on a split liability basis (often 50/50), in other cases it may be necessary to take the other party to Court. If the third party does not cooperate with his/her insurers then the claim may be settled on a “without prejudice” basis. This means that responsibility has been conceded but not in a way that might affect any possible litigation. If there is any doubt about liability get specialist help here. Click here.
Car accident claims against animals
Occasionally an accident may be caused by an animal and not another vehicle. In these cases the claim has to be made against the owner or responsible keeper of the animal. However, it is always necessary to prove negligence. If a large animal has escaped from a field and caused an accident by wandering onto a road, the owner or keeper will only be liable if negligence can be proved. For instance, if the owner or keeper can show that the animal was reasonably contained by fencing, which was in good repair, it may be very difficult to prove negligence, and you will not be able to make a successful car accident claim against the third party. However, if the animal broke through a decaying wood fence, it may be possible to make a successful accident claim. Click here for further advice.
Negligence
To make a successful car accident claim against a third party, you have to be able to show that the other driver was negligent. This means that he/she did not pay enough attention to road conditions, other drivers, road markings and signs, and so on, and in nearly all cases is quite obvious.
However, in certain circumstances the other driver may not have been negligent even though he/she was the cause of the accident. For example, let’s say the other driver can show that he was taken to hospital after the incident and diagnosed with hypoglycemia. This condition can make you pass out or go quite dozy, and if the driver had no previous medical history, then there is no basis for a car accident claim against him. However, if it can be shown that the driver had a history of this medical complaint, and for some reason had taken the necessary medication a third party car accident claim could succeed. For further advice click here