First ever car accident! Help required.

[girlinabox]

Hi everyone, I'm hoping you can help me. Last night I was involved in a collision in my car on a roundabout. I was on the inside lane coming off at the 4th exit, this roundabout is huge by the way, it has a massive building in the middle of it too. Anyway, I don't have to change lanes to come off at my exit as my lane goes onto this dual carriageway I was coming off at, as I went past the 3rd exit I indicated left, the person who hit me was at the give way lane on the road waiting to come across the roundabout, anyway, I went past that exit and out of the corner of my eye I saw this silver thing move very quickly behind me and then felt my car get hit and I was shoved part way up this dual carriageway, she had moved off so quickly! So, I had to go down the road to turn around and come back, when I found where she had pulled over she was there with another car, a witness. So I got out and said to her 'Why were you not looking???' her answer was 'I'm sorry love, its my fault, I don't know the roads around here'...so anyway, I told her thats no excuse and you learn the highway code when you learn to drive...so anyway, I reported it to the police who have told me to report it in person as well today, now I asked this lady to swap details with me which she said she would, I then called me partner as we live only across the road, this lady then made a phone call. When she got off the phone she said she wasn't required to give me her insurance details by law, only her name, registration and tel. no.....so, as she refused we swapped those few details and my partner said something to her about it being her fault, by then she had changed her mind and wasn't so sure who's fault it was. I asked the witness and she agreed with me and also said she heard her admit liability earlier on, and also confided in me that before I came back the lady had told her she has already had 3 accidents since January!!! So, I went home, called my insurance company, told them I didn't want

[girlinabox]

to make a claim but to claim off of her, they filed in an accident report form and told me they'd find her insurance co. and pursue it....but now, I have been told by a solicitor I know that my insurance co. are not obliged to follow this up as its not in their interest?? I also told them I'm not paying for the damage on my excess I'll wait until liability is admitted and they can pay for it, but this solicitor says it is in my interest to open a case with them straight away....sorry I know this seems like one long ramle and there is no real point so I'll ask my questions below:

1. Given the decription by me as above, do you think she can possibly deny liability? I have heard about people saying the other person changed lanes etc. but firstly I couldnt have changed lanes as it was the inside lane and secondly she was stationary when I passed her!!
2. Do you think I should just wait to hear from my insurance company or will it not affect anything if I also pursue a case with a firm of solicitors?

Thank you everyone, I hope you can advise me.

[bob57]

get onto your insurance company and tell them to get it sorted or you'll take your business elsewhere
because the woman is totally in the wrong
also have you got the witnesses name and address if so give that to your insurance company so they can take all the way to court if need be
but deffinitly keep on at your insurance company till they are sick of you then maybe they'll do something
it pays to kick up a fuss now and again
good luck with your calim

[girlinabox]

Hi Bob thanks for your reply, yes I got the witness' details, she confirmed that the other driver was at fault and I gave all of this information to my insurance company last night, the witness said that the other driver told her I 'came out of no-where' which is strange as I had gone all the way round the roundabout and was on my way off my exit when she hit me!!

[bednobs]

put it all in the hands of your insurers, this is what you pay them for. Dont get costly solicitor involved because for a start your ins co will have their own.
It is common practice to have to pay the excess, and then when liability is settled for your nsurance co to get it back off hers and give it to you. if you dont pay the excess, you might not get your car repaired.
it sounds like she was wrong, but you (necessarily) give a biased account. Admitting liability or previous crashes at the scene means nothing and will have no bearing on what the insuance company decides. If all is as you say it is then her insurance co should pay for the lot

[DONNA1458]

Why was the police called and why did you not take insurance details at the scene?
Anyway if you want to claim on her insurance you do not need to involve yours. You are best of with an accident management company i.e kindertons accident management. She can dispute liability after this is what insurance companies advise people when they have an accident not to admit liablility whether or not they think they are at fault or not. and this does happen a lot.... this is were your choice of insurance comes into play i guess you get what you pay for... did you take out legal protection?You have a good chance with having a witness it just depends on how proactive your insurance are with liasing with the third party insurance...Take photos of the damage to your vehicle. Your insurance will offer you to get repairs done and pay the xs until liability is admitted i would not do this if your vehicle is drivable as there is no garantee you will get this money back.

[girlinabox]

The police were called upon the advice of my witness, not 999 may I add, just the local station, they told me to report again in person today which I did, I asked her for her insurance details but she refused, stating that her daughter is a police officer and told her she is not obliged by law to provide those details, just name and contact number, she wouldnt even give me her address. I have photos of the damage and I telephone my insurance co again today and they told me that the liability team are now pursuing her company.

[DONNA1458]

then you have done all you can sit tight and keep on chasing your insurance for updates it can take a while as everything has to be done by post make sure you get hold of your file handler at the insurance and just deal with that one person. if this is her third accident since jan finger crossed her insurance will go up so much she wont be able to afford to drive on the road to put people like you in this situation. i work for an accident repair centre and this happens a lot to people who have done nothing wrong. good luck

[ianglyn]

hi girl in a box.
are you OK.
you can't count the other drivers previous accidents.the other driver was prob in the wrong,its up to the other drivers insurance to take a look at her accident history and not insure her any more as its prob costing them too much

[girlinabox]

I don't believe it, this woman has lied to her insurance company!!! Basically her version of events are that she was not stationary, she was on the roundabout, I cut across lanes as I had 'changed my mind' and hit the front of her car! So nows it up to the witness to say what actually did happen, but now I'm thinking if this woman can be so devious as to lie about how the accident happened she might get someone she knows to claim they also witnessed it. This isn't as clear cut as thought it would be. Obviously her police woman daughter is coaching her!!!

[numptyjames]

best of luck roundabout accidents are the worst to prove on way or another


good luck