4 car nose to tail what to do?

[Bunnybigears]

So I was in a 4 car nose to tail accident this morning. I was the third car. The first car admitted they braked by accident. The last car (the one behind me) was trying to convince every one to sort it between ourselves and not involve insurance. DH thinks I should go through insurance, I dont know as the damage I caused to the 2nd car was very minimal but the damage 4th car caused to me was quite significant. WWYD?

I was 3rd car in a 4 car tailgating accident many years ago. Our insurance companies each claimed off the one behind. It was quite simple.

If the first car broke for no reason they are liable for all cars. There is a case where someone broke for a pheasant and they were proven to be liable.

You are completely wrong , cars should always be a safe distance behind to enable them to stop safely

Definitely go through insurance. You don’t know the full extent of the damage/potential injuries at this stage. Let the insurance companies sort it out.

It doesn't matter why car one braked. It could have been nothing or it could have been a small child running into the road.

The cars behind should leave enough distance to stop safely. It scares me when I'm driving my little car and cars behind are sat right up my bumper. I drive on narrow roads and there's often sheep/tractors/wide vehicles coming that mean you need to stop and they certainly don't leave enough room not to go into the back of me!

I'd learn to drive properly and leave a big enough gap to I don't smash into the car in front. Seriously

I didnt at any point in my OP say I was completely blameless I asked for the best way of sorting it out now that it had happened. I literally just touched the car in front, absolutely no damage would have been caused by me had the 4th car not gone into the back of me however I am still very much aware I should have left a bigger gap but thank you for the helpful advice

Thank you for everyone's helpful responses, Incalled the insurance company lst jight but they were closed so I will call them this morning and let them sort it out.

I literally just touched the car in front, absolutely no damage would have been caused by me had the 4th car not gone into the back of me
This sounds like you were pushed forward so could change things. I hope your insurance company can sort it out quickly for you.

To the previous poster who mentioned the pheasant was correct. I believe it was a case of Grattan Storey versus someone. That was way back in the 60s. There can be many accidents where the car who has broken sharply for no reason can be held at fault. I have witnessed this many times in court. What you need though is Dashcam footage.

If the first car broke for no reason they are liable for all cars.

Absolutely not true

Go through the insurance.

Insurance, definitely. Whiplash can take a day to come out, even when the claim is genuine.

DH was in similar on the motorway. The first car braked very suddenly due to the very low sun, everyone else was also affected but drove into the back of each other.

The insurance sorted it all out, our car was a right off as the steering column was broken. I would recommend you find out what they classify it as (fault, non-fault etc) and how much the claim is for. It really helps when you get new insurance quotes if you can put the correct information in. It didn't have a huge impact on our insurance costs to be honest.

@17Tippexy it absolutely is true, the law is very clear on the matter, despite the highway code about breaking distance.