personal injury questions

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Injuries emerge following scooter accident: can I still claim? — by Murdo Maguire — last modified 2007-02-23 04:25

I was riding a scooter when a car pulled out in front of me from a side street. He stopped in my lane and I swerved to miss him. I fell off my scooter and there is some damage to the paintwork and exhaust. At the time I told him I was fine but since then I feel quite poorly. He didn't actually hit me although he did (in my opinion) cause the accident.I have no witnesses although we did exchange details and he said he would pay for repairs. Where do I stand?

Uninsured driver agrees settlement and pays but other party comes back later with injury claim — by Conrad Murray — last modified 2007-02-20 08:43

I had a car accident which was my fault, but I was driving somebody else's car as my car was in the garage getting repaired. As I had fully comprehensive insurance I thought I was automatically covered to drive another vehicle, but to my horror this doesn't seem to be the case. I got in touch with the people who I had crashed into and explained the situation and offering a cash settlement for the damage to their car and loss of earnings. They agreed and come up with a figure that they would be happy with so I paid them the money and they signed a disclaimer stating that the amount paid was the full and final payment and that they and there insurers would not make any more claims against me. To my surprise I have now received a solicitor's letters stating that they want compensation for whiplash. Am I in my rights to refuse because they have waived there rights to claim any more money from me with this disclaimer or will I have to pay again?

I was a passenger injured in crash where driver was responsible. Can I claim compensation and how long will it take? — by Murdo Maguire — last modified 2007-02-11 12:17

I am 19 years old working as a self employed masseur at a health spa. I was involved in an accident as a passenger in a car where the driver, my boyfriend, was probably responsible. My injuries were not too severe - I broke my nose which now has a bump (which I hate and would like to have surgery to correct) - and received some scarring on my forearm and hand as the car tipped over. I also had some problems with whiplash which meant I took five works of work when I was not paid by the spa. My friend says when her mother was injured in a road accident the claim took forever to settle (over 2 years!). Would I not just be better accepting I am not going to get my snubby little nose put back to how it was and should accept my scars and the wages I lost. Also although my boyfriend and me have split up now we still hang around in the same gang and I wouldn't want to cause any problems.

Cyclist hit by car that failed to stop: police don't pursue enquiries — by Murdo Maguire — last modified 2007-02-10 07:37

Whilst cycling I was hit (lowish speed) by a car that failed to stop, I gave the police registration number and vehicle description along with a short driver description (gender, approx age, hair colour). Upon enquiry I have found that they didn't so much as talk to the owner of the vehicle concerned. Is there any action I can take against the police by way of complaint since I'm not sure they did their job adequately.

Scottish personal injury claims procedure — by Murdo Maguire — last modified 2007-02-09 13:04

Scottish law is different to that of England and Wales and you will need one of our Scottish road accident specialists solicitors if you suffer a personal injury in a road accident in Scotland

Pedestrian injured by car on straight road with good visibility. Is there a valid compensation claim? — by Murdo Maguire — last modified 2007-02-08 10:01

I was a pedestrian with good eyesight who thought I had time to cross the road outside my house but there is no designated pedestrian crossing. It was broad daylight and the line of sight is such that driver could see me (had he been observing properly) from 200 yards away but still collided with me. I am sure he was speeding - the road is in a 50 limit. I suffered severe leg injuries but do I have a valid compensation claim and will my misjudgement as to the distance under the circumstances affect my damages?

Foot run over by a bus: am I eligible to claim compensation? — by Murdo Maguire — last modified 2007-02-08 05:50

I was recently in a accident in which I was crossing to the road and a bus passed over my left foot. I was taken by ambulance to hospital where the police took a statement. I suffered severe bruising on my left big toe and shin. Fortunately no bone was not broken. Am I eligible for compensation?

How many injury compensation claim cases actually go to court? — by Murdo Maguire — last modified 2007-02-08 05:33

Will I have to go to court to win compensation for my injury? What proportion of road accident injury compensation cases do get to court?

Compensation claim for brain injury in road accident where liability is disputed — by Murdo Maguire — last modified 2007-02-08 05:27

My 17 year old son was a driver involved in a road accident in which he received serious brain injuries which means he has difficulty communicating and may see him need care for the rest of his life. The other driver was also injured but with no brain injury and he says my son was responsible. The accident took place at night on a narrow road with high banks either side. The road is not quite wide enough for two vehicles to pass and the two vehicles appear to have hit on impacting each vehicle on the driver's side. There were no witnesses. I spoke to our family solicitor about making a compensation claim as this will impose a considerable financial burden on us but he said we would have to wait for the police report and the insurers to agree liability. My daughter said we should seek advice from an injury specialist as they may take more notice of the other driver as he can better argue his corner. I am deeply concerned that my son might be deemed at fault and we will not be able to bring a compensation claim or get the care for my son which he will very much need.

Uninsured motorcyclist on provisional licence: does this mean liability is automatically awarded against him in event of accident claim — by Murdo Maguire — last modified 2007-02-05 01:52

My stupid son bought a motorcycle and was driving it without insurance and with only a provisional licence. A lorry turned into him whilst he was driving to work. This caused him very serious injuries which he nearly died from. My question is, if a claim for damages is made against my son will he be held responsible for the collision due to him not having a valid licence or insurance? Even though the accident was clearly the fault of the lorry driver?

Seat belt law for lorry and van drivers — by Murdo Maguire — last modified 2008-06-30 09:14

I've recently started working as a Light Goods Vehicle driver. I recently went to work for a company through an agency, whilst checking over the vehicle before my journey I discovered that there were no seat belts on the vehicle. Having brought this to the attention of the company and agency, they still wanted me to drive as there were no other spare lorries. They told me the vehicle was legal as commercial vehicles are exempt from having seat belts. I still refused to drive much to their disgust, and the agency have taken me off their books as a result! I have tried to find the exact ruling over seat belts and lorries, and have found something stating that lorries made pre October 2001 are still exempt, therefore drivers can legally drive without wearing one. Is this true?

Hit by foreign lorry who left scene but insurers deny liability: who can I sue? — by Murdo Maguire — last modified 2007-02-01 12:39

I was hit on the M25 by a German lorry in April last year. He did not stop, but I was able to pursue him and phone the police who stopped him. All details were exchanged and the police completed the necessary paperwork. I sent this to my insurance company who have finally reported to me that the MIB appointed Royal Sun Alliance to deal with the case on behalf of the German insurer. Royal Sun Alliance have denied liability. I want to sue the German driver/owner in the Small Claims Court in England. Question 1 - can I serve the Claim on Royal Sun Alliance? Question 2 - If so and I win, can I enforce the judgement against Royal Sun Alliance? The insurers mentioned Section 151, but did not know what the statute was. Many thanks for your assistance.

Motorcycle accident injury follows skid on oil next to garage blackspot. How can I claim compensation? — by Murdo Maguire — last modified 2007-01-31 06:43

My son is a motorcyclist and travels into Taunton on his bike every morning passing a large yard where a number of haulage companies are based. There is also a filling station on site. After the garage the road goes into a gentle slope and slow bend. Yesterday my son was travelling along the road which was damp, but free of snow and ice when suddenly the bike zig-zagged and slipped from under him. He skidded down the road on his leathers but unfortunately crashed into a metal fence. He has a broken arm, leg and ribs plus whiplash and one of the fence poles pierced his upper thigh. His bike and leathers are wrecked. The police of course attended and concluded from the skid marks he had not been speeding. There was a considerable amount of diesel on the road and the officer told me that the accident probably resulted from a lorry from the depot overcharging its tanks. There have apparently been three similar accidents there in 2006. Obviously we would like to make a claim but we cannot identify the individual lorry driver responsible, nor even the particular haulage company concerned. With no defendant how can he recover his losses on the damage to the vehicle and claim compensation for his injuries resulting from the accident?

Car seller drives off with the car and money causing injury on the way: what next? — by Murdo Maguire — last modified 2007-01-31 06:29

My brother and father went recently to buy a vehicle and the person drove off with the money when it became clear that the vehicle still have HP finance owed on the vehicle so he should never have sold it. My brother had been standing in front of the vehicle and it hit him, put him on the bonnet and the man continued to drive on. Luckily he fell off the side but the driver drove on. At the time he felt OK but has that evening had back problems. Firstly can you tell me which law relates to hit and run and although the police have the man's name - they are not pursuing it. What can we do - apart from the fact the finance company will take the car off my father shortly, the man also has £2700 of my father's money and he purposely drove into my brother. Can you please give me some advice on how exactly we can make sure the police follow up with this matter.

Lack of insurance cover for not informing them of penalty points — by Murdo Maguire — last modified 2007-01-31 06:17

A member of my family was recently involved in an accident. He was the second named driver. He drove into the back of someone and someone then drove into the back of him. He forwarded his driving licence on to the insurance company. He had 3 points on it for a driving offence 3 years ago that they did not know about. The company have suspended the claim. what is the likely outcome.

Assessing liability issues after a motorway pile-up — by Murdo Maguire — last modified 2007-01-25 06:59

I was involved in a pile-up in fog on the M1 near Northampton in early January. The circumstances were that an accident took place ahead of me and I braked to have a lorry crash into me from behind and push me into the wreckage ahead. My car is a write off. I broke an arm and a leg and have whiplash injuries. My passenger, my wife, has two broken legs and a broken wrist. I am self employed and my wife is a temp and neither of us have been able to work since the accident occurred. I have just received the accident crash report which states that the police cannot conclusively say whether I was hit before striking the wreckage and subsequently hit by the lorry or if, as I maintain, the lorry collided with me and pushed me into the pile-up. This will obviously affect my claim. How is my insurer likely to react and how should I proceed?

Collision sees driver and passenger injured in what insurers say was a 50:50 accident. I disagree and want to recover my damage and seek compensation. Should I be getting a solicitor to represent me? — by Murdo Maguire — last modified 2007-01-24 11:03

I was involved in a road accident at a roundabout in Liverpool where a driver in the left hand lane planning to leave by the right exit carried on right round without a signal. I crashed into the side of her causing damage to her right side and my front. Witnesses will state this was a correct version of events and my view is it was clearly her fault. My motor insurer now says they plan to settle for the vehicle damage on a 50:50 basis. Can you outline what this means, whether it will affect my four years' no-claims-bonus and whether I should be permitting them to do so. Furthermore both I and my workmate passenger suffered a whiplash injury in the collision and we were planning to make an accident compensation claim for our injuries against the other driver. Will that still be possible in view of how my motor insurer is seeking to deal with my claim?

Works van blown into ditch in high winds: can the driver claim compensation for his injuries? — by Murdo Maguire — last modified 2007-01-24 10:48

I was injured in a road traffic accident on 18/01/2007 after being sent out at work to make deliveries in the works van in East Anglia. The strong winds whipped across the fens and blew the van over. It rolled twice before falling into a ditch where I was trapped. Two men dragged me from the vehicle and I was took to hospital where I was found to have a broken leg, whiplash, headaches, extreme back pain plus cuts and bruises. I have been told by three claims management companies and a specialist personal injury solicitor that I cannot claim as it was an Act of God. Can it be true that I am not entitled to claim compensation for my injuries?

Hit by ininsured driver on minibike, driver swerved into lamppost injuring himself and girlfriend. Do they have an injury claim? — by Murdo Maguire — last modified 2007-01-24 09:56

My son was driving along a street in Cardiff at night adjacent to a recently demolished block of former buildings when a minibike without lights crossed the road striking my son's car and killing the rider. My son braked hard to avoid the crash and both him and his girlfriend suffered whiplash in the collision. My son's car hit a lamppost and his girlfriend passenger suffered a broken leg and arm in an attempt to avoid colliding with the bike. The minibike did not have number plates and it seems the driver was not insured. I have read that the Motor Insurers' Bureau deal with uninsured drivers' claims but while I have sympathy with the relative of the dead man, will my son be able to recover the losses for which we could not be deemed to be responsible?

Passenger injured in car driven by partner over limit. Might her injury compensation claim be reduced? — by Murdo Maguire — last modified 2007-01-22 17:11

I suffered severe spinal and leg injuries after a car driven by my partner crashed into a North London bus shelter and demolished it. He was unhurt but the police found he was marginally over the drink driving limit (40 in breath). We had been at a wedding and while I knew he had a glass of wine for the toast I didn't realise he had anything else. As I am an injured passenger and was in no way responsible for the collision I am seeking to claim compensation for my injuries but having made initial contact with the insurer in my own right (I have not yet appointed a solicitor) I was told that my partner's likely drink drive conviction will mean their offer of damages will be reduced. Why is this and how should I proceed?