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Mumsnet has not checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you have any legal concerns we suggest you consult a solicitor.

Legal matters

Insurance crash for cash

29 replies

frzzled · 20/10/2017 22:36

I have just gone into the back of someone who had stopped in the middle of the road for no apparent reason as i was turning left at a set of lights. I slammed on my brakes but it was wet and i skidded into the back of him. There is no apparent damage to my car but there is to his. Am I at fault even though he had stopped for no reason? I have said I am not accepting liability ad he stopped in the middle of the road

OP posts:

Report

LovingLola · 20/10/2017 22:38

Just because you could not see why he had stopped does not mean he didn't have a valid reason for stopping. In wet weather conditions you should always leave a longer braking distance.
In any event the insurance companies will decide liability.

RaininSummer · 20/10/2017 22:39

Unfortunately going into the back of someone, I think, always counts as your fault. I wonder if there is any way the police or insurers can check to see if they have pulled that stunt before.

SonicBoomBoom · 20/10/2017 22:40

Am I at fault even though he had stopped for no reason?

Yes.

TsunamiOfShit · 20/10/2017 22:41

Unfortunately this is entirely your fault. You should have been prepared for him stopping unexpectedly. You always should be.

frzzled · 20/10/2017 22:43

I left more than enough room for braking as it is a sharp turn and he was well in front of me and turned before I even got to the lights. He just stopped as I turned

OP posts:

frzzled · 20/10/2017 22:45

He stopped in the middle of a main road on a busy junction. Why would I be prepared for him to do that?

OP posts:

RaininSummer · 20/10/2017 22:57

Because a child may have run out, his car may have stalled...

OhtoblazeswithElvira · 20/10/2017 23:02

Unfortunately going into the back of someone, I think, always counts as your fault.

Not always. I know someone who was found at fault even though the other driver went into the back of their car for no apparent reason. Ironically they suspected it was cash for crash (the reverse of the OP) - the police at the scene hinted that the driver was known to them from previous similar incidents. Unfortunately they had to accept liability as they didn't have the funds to defend themselves in court.

frzzled · 20/10/2017 23:12

There was no one around pedestrian wise until some women walked past after I'd hit him. There are very few children around here and the ones there are are aged 7 max and wouldn't be out at 10pm. He just stopped in the middle of the road just before the lights after turning left. His car hadnt stalled as when he got out the engine was running and he soon sped off after we exchange details

OP posts:

LovingLola · 20/10/2017 23:14

Am sure the insurance companies will investigate and if it is found that it was a cash for crash incident they will deal with it appropriately. Have you informed the police?

frzzled · 20/10/2017 23:15

I haven't informed the police as I didn't think it was relevant as we exchanged insurance details. I have got photos of my car, his car and where he stopped though

OP posts:

LovingLola · 20/10/2017 23:28

I think you should. Especially since you think it was deliberate.

RaininSummer · 20/10/2017 23:37

I was just giving you two scenarios as to why you should always be prepared to stop not actually suggesting that was the reason. I suspect it was deliberate and they may well claim whiplash too. There is a lot of that lark going on.

PlectrumElectrum · 20/10/2017 23:41

Tell your ins co - ask them to refer the claim to their validation dept & they’ll investigate if it is fraud or not. Keep the photos, they’ll be important. If this is fraud, it’ll hinge on the strength of your statement/evidence & your willingness to possibly go to court to help defend against any claim they pursue.

wobytide · 21/10/2017 00:07

So a busy junction, a sharp turn, in wet conditions and despite “slamming” on the brakes you skidded into them? Not going to have much luck I imagine unless you can find anyone to corroborate your actions

Migraleve · 21/10/2017 00:21

Police won’t be interested. Neither will the insurance company. A woman did this to me a couple of years back. The impact was so slightly that there was not so much as a scratch on either car. 3 months later i got hit with a £7.5k personal injury claim. My insurance company paid out as it was cheaper and easier for them than arguing the case. The assessor said it was one of the most blatant cases he had seen, but still not worth the fight

LonginesPrime · 21/10/2017 00:48

Why would I be prepared for him to do that?

It’s more that you don’t know what could happen so you should be prepared for stopping for any reason, and allowing yourself a safe stopping distance that should be adjusted for wet weather.

I don’t know where you live, OP, but half the drivers where I am (London) are absolute maniacs - I’m always having to stop suddenly to avoid near misses as people are always randomly stopping, often to try to turn down a side road, or pulling out suddenly into moving traffic when they don’t have right of way.

You’re right in that it’s unexpected behaviour and you wouldn’t expect someone to randomly stop when they appear to be travelling in a certain direction, but it’s impossible to drive safely by assuming you know what another driver is going to do next - the only assumption I make is that many of the drivers I come across probably don’t have a licence or do have a death wish.

Sorry you had a crash though - it’s never a nice experience

HarrietSchulenberg · 21/10/2017 00:55

Insurance aren't intetested in investigating. They'll assess you as being at fault and settle up.

You really do have to be prepared to stop safely and quickly at any time for whatever reason, and I say this as the woman who rear-ended someone 3 years ago in wet conditions.

GreenTulips · 21/10/2017 00:56

You should call the police for any accident, it's part of the road traffic act that all accidents are reported

Collaborate · 21/10/2017 06:36

You should call the police for any accident, it's part of the road traffic act that all accidents are reported
No it isn’t. You only have to report an accident if someone has been injured.

Migraleve · 21/10/2017 07:11

You should call the police for any accident, it's part of the road traffic act that all accidents are reported

No. It is not.

What exactly would the police have done to help this situation? Absolutely nothing. Exchanging details is all that was necessary. The police really do have better things to do than supervise people handing over the name of their insurance company

PlectrumElectrum · 21/10/2017 11:01

Insurance aren't intetested in investigating. They'll assess you as being at fault and settle up.

This ^ is not true. It's my job to investigate these types of claims. You need to ask your ins co to refer the claim to their validation/fraud dept to be looked at. I've won cases in court similar to what the OP has described so the ins co^ will be interested to at least see if there's anything there that indicated deliberate actions to induce an accident

frzzled · 21/10/2017 11:23

I've reported it to my insurance and they said they will pass it to the liability department to assess. There is absolutely no visible damage to my car. I've taken pictures of where he stopped and they said to send them in and they'll look in to it

OP posts:

LurkingHusband · 21/10/2017 17:23

It's your word against the person you hit, unless the insurance company have some more information (and yes, they are very good at sharing ...). If they do, then they could dig further.

This is why I consider a dashcam to be an essential feature on a modern car. Much more so than colour coordinated seatbelts, or fake teak panelling.

worridmum · 23/10/2017 09:40

This is why dash cams are amazing it can show these types of crashes i recomend everyone get one (unless you drive in Belgium as they are illegal there )

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