Who`s in the wrong ?

Question

My son was involved in a car accident yesterday,in which a women pulled in front of him from a side street.She is now saying it is his fault for speeding,which he denies.Both cars are damaged,will will be able to claim from her insurance ?

Answer 1

This is a common claim often made by people who pull out into the path of another vehicle and then try and blaim the other person for speeding.

Basically she is MOST at fault for joining a major road without checking that it was safe to do so, however your son did have a duty of care to ensure that he could stop in reasonable time so as to avoid an accident (the most common analogy quoted is 'what if it had been a child that had run out). However, it is not always possible to stop before the collision given distances and reaction times.

Most insurers and indeed the courts would find her almost totally to blame, assuming there were no personal injuries the police would not have been called or measured the scene so unless the vehicles have suffered excessive damage that could only be attributed to speed then I think you will find that her insurers pay out

Answer 2

If your son left no brake marks on the road then clearly he was not speeding . have both parties exchanged insurance details i ask this  because if both parties are insured by the same insurance company you need to be careful that they ( the  INSURANCE COMPANY)  don't look for a cheap way of settling both claims and say somthing like neither drivers were fully at fault

Answer 3

Was there a ticket issued?

Answer 4

Her Insurance - as SHE is the one who pulled out of a side street.

Answer 5

It will be up to the insurance companies and what the police statement says, if there is one, which I hope for your sake there is.

Answer 6

yes, your son will have a high probabillity of being able to cliam from her insurence, and if you are able to get video footage, and it shows it was her fault, you will have a 99% chance.

Answer 7

I agree with Amber.

Answer 8

If you have fully comp insurance, then yes. If your insurance is third party, then you will have to prove it was her fault. Even knock for knock wont help you!

Answer 9

ya

Answer 10

She is in the wrong.She must wait till the road is clear before driving into the road. Obviously she has misjudged the speed of the oncoming car,therefore she is at fault.Tell her to read her highway code.

Answer 11

If she pulled out of a side road, then, yes, she's at fault. Your sons insurance company will probably ask him to draw a simple diagram outlining what happened. I had a similar problem a coouple of years ago, when a guy pulled out and I had to swerve around him, but he hit the rear wing of my car. He said it was my fault cos I was driving a sproty car!!! Turned out that he wasn't insured, but my insurance company pressed for compensation from him, and I got £1800!!. Make sure your sons insurance company really work for him...after all, thats what he's paying for!!

Answer 12

her fault  even if he was speeding,

Answer 13

Whether your son is speeding can be determined by an investigator by looking at the skidmarks on the ground at the accident site. However, just let the insurance take care of it. Your son's chances are 90% or better. Even if your son is speeding (and I doubt it was) it has nothing to do with that woman pulling out. Your son has the "right of way" as he's on the main street and she's pulling INTO the street. She's supposed to yield.

Her claim that your son is speeding is a last-ditch effort to deflect responsibility. Most likely she simply didn't look left and right far enough (or did not look at all) before pulling into the road, causing the accident.

Again, let insurance take care of it. Your insurance company won't pay her company a penny more than it needs to, and will investigate this to death to avoid paying out. Just tell your son to answer all questions, but NOT volunteer information, and you both should be fine.

Answer 14

Her saying that is his fault does not make it so (or Vice versa).  The police should have been called.  Now, call YOUR insurance company.  They must be notified.  The 2 insurance companys will work things out.  That is why you buy insurance.  Let them do their job.

Answer 15

The police can usually tell from skidmarks and the amount of damage and so on how fast the cars were going.

Maybe the police weren't called?

Any witnesses?  That can help.

She probably just didn't look properly, but nobody likes to blame themselves.  In fact, you aren't allowed to admit liability - it can invalidate your (their) insurance.

Don't worry about it too much; the insurance companies will take care of it.  You tell your story; they tell their story, and it's sorted out that way.  If the police are involved then it will be different, of course.

Answer 16

her  insurance yes !!! and  if the women pulled in front of him shes in  fault

Answer 17

It depends on what the police report says. I am assuming one was made correct? Whoever is ruled at fault, then that's obviously who's fault it is and is repsonsible.

Answer 18

She will be more likely to be blamed as she failed to give way. Speeding is irrelevant to the damage but may be taken as a factor if there is a personal injury claim afterwards.

If he is comp he should claim off his own then they will recover. If he is TPF&T check if he has legal cover under the policy then use it. If not then my advice would be to get two estimates for repair to the car and send them to her. When her insurers write to you keep the details and only deal with them.

xxFJ

Answer 19

I would say it is probably her fault even if your son was speeding. It is her responsibility to make sure it is safe to pull out. Take it there was no witnesses or that the police were not called? But even so I still think she was a t fault for pulling out of junction when she could not get away from vehicle in time.