High posibility of going to court because of accident in August! advise?

Well, the zaga continues...

In August last year a drunken driven crashed and totalled my car. So, I lost my car and I'm still recovering from severe whiplash and freaking out everytime I get in a car. Today I found out that we may have to go to court because the "other part" is claiming it wasn't his fault...

Now I'm freaking out!!! I've been driving for +15 years with a record of ZERO accidents or tickets!!!  I don't know what to expect, what to do... don't know much of how these things work here in England.

Has anybody been in this situation before? Do you have any advise??

Do you have any advise??

Sorry to hear of your experience. Hope you feel better soon.

Have you spoken to your insurance company? You obviously need to keep them in the picture.

Gather as much information as you can.  If you have no claims reports for driving and a clear license you should use those.  You should also get a statement from your doctors with regards to the whiplash and the trauma problems for driving again.  Speak to your insurer because they sometimes have their own legal team to help you.

Hope it works out ok.

The fact that the guy was drunk ( was he arrested? did he have a breatherliser test ?

If so, that goes against him straight away...it won't go to court if thats the case. 

Any witnesses?  If so, contact them.

Yes, I've been dealing with my insure's solicitor. . I've done the doctor's evaluation, statements and accident diagrams.
My solicitor seemed to think it was a pretty straight forward injury claim, until now.
The other part is claiming it wasn't his fault. He was arrested and charged on the day and even been to court (for criminal charges). I've been told that the fact he was over the limit doesn't blame him immediately because the injury claim is a civil case. He (the other part) is saying that the police report is vague, and that the police didn't do a full investigation. Unfortunatelly I was on a stretcher on my way to the hospital when the police arrived and whatever happened then I don't know. My car was gone by the time I came back from the hospital...

So, since the other part is note claiming liability my solicitor is now thinking we may end up in court. And since I'm an expat, don't really know what to expect or how to prepare!! I'm freaking out!!!

Any witnesses?  If so, contact them.

I was under the impression there were. At least I remember one lady that stopped right after the impact and said she wanted to stay to  testify. However, as I mentioned I don't have any info of what happended or even the lady's name because I was in shock and in an ambulance!

I need to contact the police because there is no mention of witnesses in the report....

Good luck.  I pray justice will prevail for you.

This is a normal part of the haggling process in cases such as this.  The other party, or to be more precise, their solicitor, will try to counter what is, in reality, a straightforward case.
Don't forget, the solicitor will be working for the insurers, and nobody ever admits guilt.
It's all to do with getting the lowest possible pay-out.
Is your solicitor, YOUR solicitor, or your insurers?
When this happened to me, I dumped the insurers, and own solicitor, and went for one of those "no win, no fee" bunch.  It is then in their interest to get the best possible result for you.

Is your solicitor, YOUR solicitor, or your insurers?

Theirs...    Do you think I should dump him and get my own? We are 5 months into the process....

Good luck.  I pray justice will prevail for you.

Thanks!

Hi Matsfets,

First of all, take some deep breaths!

Going to court in your case probably won't be as traumatic as you're currently thinking - after all, from what you've said (i may have read the original post you refer to/ if indeed there was on here on UKY) it really does sound as though the other guy is just trying it on by contesting it. When it comes to court, by you explaining what you know, should show that it was his fault and not yours. However, as I or anyone here doesn't know the case it 'could' go the other way..

A few pointers I've been told from all my legal beagle mates

1. dress well for the court appearance - i.e don't go casual, don't look scruffy.
2. Wear a pair of glasses - even if they're plain lenses! - this one came from a good barrister mate of mine when i was 'potentially' going into court! apparently, it makes you look more intelligent!
3. Always be respectful in the courtroom and don't be afraid to ask for the question to be said again or that you need some time to remember the details etc before answering.

4. To help you in court, speak and be in close contact with your lawyer, and do as much background eveidence collection as possible before hand. Advice has already been given, speak to the insurance company and their legal dept. etc.

5. it also sounds as though his lawyer is trying to use technicalities to lay the blame on you - these things do happen as part of the whole 'legal' process.

6. I'd have doubted the fact your an expat should play much bearing, aside that 'they' might claim you are new to the UK and therefore inexperienced etc etc. I'd say don't be afraid to point out your previous exemplary history in the US and that you have and are more cautious here as you build up experience etc.

Some more advice may follow from others, but overall, i'd say not to worry too much, even 'if' it's decided against you, I'm assuming you have comprehensive insurance, it'll go down as a claim against you at most and an increase (possibly) on your premium.

good luck with it all though !

cheers! DtM! West London & Slough UK!

Theirs...    Do you think I should dump him and get my own? We are 5 months into the process....
Thanks!

In our case, the insurer's solicitor tried to get us to accept a fifty/fifty deal against someone who was clearly at fault.
Although there were no independent witnesses, we photographed the scene, took necessary measurements, disposed of the insurer's solicitor and went for no win no fee.
We won.

Given that this person was subsequently done for drunk driving etc, you have a really good case.  A good solicitor would have picked this up an run with it.
So, if your solicitor does not seem to be fighting your corner, then I would certainly think of getting someone better.
Really, this should not even get to court, seems pretty cut and dried.
But this really is part of the normal legal wrangling that goes on in insurance claims. 
Talk to your solicitors and ask what they are doing? Express your dissatisfaction, and tell them what you feel.  Despite the fact that they work for the insurers, they do exist to represent your best interests.
The point has already been made about expat status.  Exemplary record etc. But you could also turn this to you advantage if you think about it.
Just things to ponder..............

Talk to your solicitor before dumping him. 

The thing about this solicitor is that he has to act in the best interests of the insurers, not in your best interests.  If you lose this case, then (I assume) the insurers will pay any fine and you will lose a whack of your no claims.  If the solicitor is instructed by the insurers to settle, then he has to do so, even if his personal belief is that you can win.  Sometimes the insurers just won't be bothered, and as all their losses will be covered by premium increases, they don't really care about taking a hit.

The problem is that if you dump the insurer's solicitor and get your own, if you were to lose then you may find that the award against you is not covered by the insurance, so check this before doing anything.

A final word about 'no win, no fee' lawyers.  They make their money by inflating their fees.  If you win, then the costs to the other side will be huge, and the guy who hit you may well be pushed into a serious financial position.  I understand that you may think he deserves it, but I have known of cases like this where families have been made homeless as a result of these ambulance-chasers sucking blood out of them.  I wouldn't use no-win, no-fee guys if my life depended on it.  But that's just me!

Good luck!

Vicky

thanks for your advise! I just want to make it clear that I'm not after the money per se - part of it is that my life has changed so much since the accident and  I'm sure putting a favorable end to this and knowing justice was made, it will give me peace of mind.

The car was totalled and I couldn't afford another car (of equivalent type/make etc) with the money the insurance gave me because I had a loan against the car that I had to pay off - so no money left. and that was when this whole credit crunch started so didn't want to ask for another loan... so no car for me anymore (plus I think I will have a panic attack next time I get behind a wheel)

But most importantly I still need physiotherapy and very probably counseling, and I cannot afford it! Ok - I could go the NHS route... don't really want to!

I'm not dumping my solicitor just yet...

one question: what happens if the insurance company tells him to settle? that's it? I have no saying on it?

A few pointers I've been told from all my legal beagle mates

2. Wear a pair of glasses - even if they're plain lenses! - this one came from a good barrister mate of mine when i was 'potentially' going into court! apparently, it makes you look more intelligent!

Since this is a driving case and they're trying to blame her would it be smart to wear glasses? If she didn't have them on that day or in her license (do they even say if you need glasses on your license here)? Just wondering if they'd call her out on it and then hear her explain she is wearing fake glasses, etc. might be a little negative in its connotation.

Though this is probably a far-fetched scenario!

But most importantly I still need physiotherapy and very probably counseling, and I cannot afford it! Ok - I could go the NHS route... don't really want to!

You must use the NHS.  You must get medical evidence of how this has affected you.

Sit down and discuss all of this with your solicitor.  Ask him who he is representing, you or the insurers, and tell him what you want.


Vicky