Insurance Issue: Driver changing their story

chakattack

A friend of mine was cleaned off his bike on a roundabout by a driver who failed to look. The driver was 100% at fault as my friend was already on the roundabout.

The driver was very apologetic, gave him a lift home and agreed to pay for repairs etc. at the time.

He got the bike repaired ASAP as he needs a bike and now one week later the driver is changing their story and getting in a stink about not "authorising" the repair work without quotes. He is forcing him to go through the insurance company and will refute any liability and say that my friend was at fault and will be seeking damages for the body work on the car.

Amazing how attitudes change when the shock wears off and a bill is looming.

Any ideas what to do? It's his word against the drivers but bike damages and bruises are consistent with a side impact.

Hermy

Talk to a solicitor.

macken04

it must be reported to the police before anything is done. They will advise from there.

chakattack

macken04 wrote: »

it must be reported to the police before anything is done. They will advise from there.

Already been done. They rang the driver but that's all they can do really.

Dermot Illogical

Claim off his insurance, and they should be made aware that he admitted liability at the time.

ROK ON

I was in a car accident recently where a woman drove into me at the wrong side of the road as she completely failed to take the turn properly. There was a lot of damage done to my car. The procedure is (so I am presuming the same for bike), that vehicle is taken to mechanic. The insurance co can nominate a mechanic. The mechanic provides an estimate and the insurance company decides how much if any to cover. If the incident is as you describe then the insurance company should pay out.

Once it goes to the insurance company it is no longer the business of the insured party. If he phones you again then that is harassment - phone the Gardai, and then your solicitor.

I have also hiit by a car while on my bike and the bike was totaled. In both the car and bike incident that I have had, once the insurance company verified that I was not inhured and was not going to sue for personal injuries they paid out the full amount for repair of car/replacement of bike immediately.

Do not speak to this guy at all. Talk to his insurance company. BTW, the insurance companies often like to have a Garda report - as this verifies that there was in fact an incident. A neighbour of mine that is a Garda told me that without a Garda incident report that the insurance company will often walk away as they cannot be sure that an accident took place.

Rules for ca accidents are
(1) Check the health of victims,
(2) If ok, do not remove the vehicles unless authorised to do so by the Garda.
(3) call the Gardai,
(4) get insurance and ID/contact details.

This was told to me by a Garda.

pmcd22

If the Gards were not on the seen of the incident, there is only one persons say over another. Only thing that can stand out for the cyclist is if there was witnesses were present and there details were taken. Maybe CCTV might be in the area.

macken04

Your next step should be to contact the person in questions insurance company in writing regarding the issue, this should be sent by way of registered mail. The letter should lay out the facts of the accident and clearly state all the actions taken by you to resolve the issue.

As the bike has been repaired you need to include all receipts and some pre-fixing photos to show what was wrong. I also believe you need a copy of the report made by the police, however, cannot fully remember.

You should give the insurer 14 working days to respond. Then consider a more decisive course of action. This is what a friend of my did with a scooter accident two years back and all was resolved with the first letter as the insurer agreed the other person was at fault, it was also a roundabout incident.

Hope its some help and hope your mates ok.

Dermot Illogical

pmcd22 wrote: »

If the Gards were not on the seen of the incident, there is only one persons say over another..

Not true. The damage will tell a story too. If the car is damaged to the front and the bike to the side?

kincsem

I was a witness to an accident at a crossroads on the Stillorgan Road.
Both drivers were uninjured, but the cars were badly damaged.
The Garda would not come to the accident.

I was in a motorbike accident years ago.
A car was stopped in the a line of cars waiting to turn right. As I was passing in the empty left lane he turned left into my path. He visited me in hospital and said it was his fault. Then he sued me for damage to his car. My insurance appointed a solicitor. It went to court and the judge said it was 50/50. My evidence wasn't well delivered as I had four wisdom teeth removed two days before the court case. The driver got a £30 award for repairs. Imo he took the case to get a "no fault" verdict to protect his motor insurance status.

Get a solicitor.

blorg

Document your injuries now, take photos, preferably go see a doctor and get him to note them. Cuts and bruises are a personal injury and you are entitled to compensation. It is a good policy always to get checked out by a doc in these cases even if you don't take a claim, just in case.

Option 1: as the driver is being a wànker, take him for whatever you are legally entitled. PI compensation will put the bike repairs in some perspective. You will need a solicitor as he is denying liability, although his insurance co may accept it, if it seems clear, to minimise costs. Then it goes to the PIAB. Don't exaggerate injuries, just document them as they are. This route will take some time, 6-18 months depending on how the negotiations go and if liability is accepted.

Option 2: talk to his insurance co. Every insurance co I have heard of in this situation will fall over themselves to pay for your bike repairs, if it appears by doing so they will avoid a personal injury claim. This will be a quicker route than #1.

I would never make a personal injury claim for cuts and bruises if the driver was being decent. If he is denying liability for an accident that is clearly his fault though I would have no compunction about pursuing him for the maximum possible.