Damage caused by vehicle rolling back, or a rear end shunt?

I was recently involved in an incident where I was stopped at a set of lights with my handbrake applied and in neutral, when a large truck broke sharply behind me and bumped into the rear of my car, jolting me forward. When questioned the driver refused to give his details, claiming that I had rolled back into him. My insurance are now questioning the claim. What is the legal position if someone did roll into a third party? Would it be the third party's fault for being too close, or would the 1st party driver have to prove that they didn't roll back and were instead jolted forward?

It is always up to the Claimant to prove a claim on the balance of probabilities and in the case of rear end shunts, it is generally easier to persuade the courts the someone has run into the back of you rather than that the Third Party has rolled back into the front of your vehicle.

Often however, the repair documentation will tell the tale as rolling backwards generally produces minimal damage.

In the event you did roll back, the lorry driver would not be liable for being too close behind you.

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