Son knocked off bike, car dented, do I pay?

[Oliphantitus]

Hello, my son was knocked off his bike and left a large dent in the car which knocked him off. I didn't see the accident but he thinks he came out our gate fast, and I think the driver was going too fast as she couldn't stop. ( Son is ok, spent lots of time in hospital but no real injury, phew).

She is sending me the bill through her insurance, but I don't know which insurance I have which will cover it. It happened on a road so don't think it will be home insurance. It didn't involve my car so can't be vehicle insurance? I have no money at the moment so a bit worried. Any advice appreciated...

A child on a bike was speeding and hit me in the boot, I was told it was my fault, even though I breaker.
A child is not insured, has no money, the driver has to claim on her insurance.

*It’s not the bike/your son’s fault-call the police FUCK THAT- the car driver has to sort herself out-your child is a human being!!!!!g

So many ridiculous emotional responses on here that have no basis in fact. Nobody, not even the OP knows what happened because they weren’t there.

It’s not the bike/your son’s fault-call the police FUCK THAT- the car driver has to sort herself out-your child is a human being!!!!!

So many ridiculous emotional responses on here that have no basis in fact. Nobody, not even the OP knows what happened because they weren’t there.

Bold fail.

I think you need to see a police report, if your dog had run out the gate and she swerved and hit a gate post, it would be the dog-owners fault, hence pet insurance. Unless her speed can prooved to be in excees of the limit, all alcohol was detected, I cannot see why an insurance company would pay. On the otherhand if a deer jumps out and damages your car, it comes of your insuarance. As things stand you cannot admit liability, but if your son gave his version of the the accident, and the police believe he was responsible, you may be liable for some or all of the damage to the car. It is the police report you need to see.

My 2 pence, imagining I'm in your situation OP.

The driver was legally required to give me or my son their motor insurance details at the time of the accident. If they haven't done that, I'm contacting the police to chase it up.

If the driver came asking for money, I'd tell them to take a hike. They can claim on their car insurance.

If the driver's insurer comes after me for money, I'll decide then whether to pay up or defend my case. If I plan to defend I'll need to seek legal advice. The same applies in the event the driver tries to sue me directly.

Separately from those considerations, I may opt to claim against the car driver's insurance myself for the injury caused to my son. This will depend how the injury pans out. If he's right as rain a week later I'll probably do nothing, but if a month goes by and he's still having issues then I'd really consider putting in a compensation claim for that. I wouldn't feel bad about asking for the money - it can pay for extra costs incurred, possibly private medical or physio treatment if it's needed to give DS a better quality of life. Sometimes even a fairly low-speed collision can cause years of pain, especially with poor or absent medical treatment. Again, this is something to get a law firm involved to do.

Regarding "fault", keep in mind that in car insurance land the word has a different meaning to what it does in everyday life. To a car insurer "fault" is solely about who ends up paying. For example if you car is hit while parked and the driver responsible cannot be traced, the claim goes down as "your fault".

Do not pay. Your son sounds like a polite child who was in shock and afraid of being told off so thats why he apologised. At 12 the wee darling can’t be held at fault, only a child. It obviously was the drivers fault and she is thinking like a lot or road users that bicycles are the worst thing in the world, no insurance or road tax blah blah blah 🙄 Please do not pay, if she wants to driver can take it to small claims. As police and ambulance were on the scene it is worth finding out incident numbers and if there were any witnesses who you can speak to. I am glad your son is ok. The driver needs to be the adult here and be glad the situation wasn’t a lot worse

Your son is a child, he is not qualified to say whose fault it was. His perception and understanding may be incorrect.
You are letting his uninformed sense of responsibility influence you.

Sorry I have not replied to everyone, I thought the thread was dead! Again, thank you for all your comments. I think I will get cycling insurance for my two kids going forwards so that this situation never occurs again. I will wait and see if I get any messages from the drivers insurance.

@Oliphantitus sorry I haven't read all the posts so apologies if someone has already mentioned this. If your son is a British Cycling member then third party liability insurance is included in most membership categories. You can also get legal assistance in some circumstances and discounts on other things including bike insurance and equipment at various shops so I would consider joining if not already a member - it isn't very expensive.

bruffin I can see that argument might wash if this was a 4 year old, but this DC is 12, and much more likely to be trustworthy to ride a bike.

Even if you get a letter from thr drivers insurance, fault is still not established. Until fault is established by a higher authority than some random insurance company I would not be paying a penny.

This thread will hopefully encourage everyone to get a dash cam though. A dash cam has already allowed me to keep my license.

Please don't be bullied by anyone OP.

I had a similar incident when I was pregnant and in the passenger seat of a car. A person was in the wrong lane of a large roundabout and crash into the back of our car then drove off. My husband chased him and caught up. We exchanged insurance details and found out he was driving his girlfriend's car. Weeks later she tried to sue us for damages! We soon put them right with our insurancers solicitors.
It's so the driver's fault in this case as he's just a kid she should be ashamed of herself.

No don’t pay. Contact the police and your car insurance company to see what they think - they won’t mind. Also your home insurance.

It obviously was the drivers fault

So you witnessed it ???
The police who attended the accident seem to have taken a different view 🤔

If this had happened to me (as a driver) I would NOT have been worried about a poxy dent on the bonnet of my car simple as.
Main and ONLY concern would be for cyclist. And thank the Lord they had not been killed/injured in a life changing way. Contact police op they will let you know who is responsible for said dent. If push comes to it offer to pay excess only. ( but I don't think you'd have to even do that.

@Saraclara
It was not a concealed entrance. Stop saying what you don't know.

Might be worth seeing a soliicitor about whether your son has a claim for his injuries against the driver as the driver's insurer might then back off particularly as your son won't be insured and presumably does not have very much in his piggy bank.

Agree with @mynameisjune She should be able to stop in the distance she can see. She should be aware of driveways & children. It’s a residential street.

There were no witnesses. No way of knowing who was to blame. Say no.

She should be able to stop in the distance she can see.

So if someone dashed out in front of your car 20 foot in front of you, you should be able to think, react and stop in time?

Or should everyone only ever drive at 20mph on all roads where there are houses, parks, friends, turnings?

We don't have enough information to know who caused the accident. The OP wasn't there and doesn't know.

All we know is that the child says he did drive out onto the road without looking. And we know that the car couldn't stop in time. We don't know the cars speed, how close the car was when he came out, etc so it's impossible for us - who weren't there - to know what or who caused the incident.

Is she for real?
She knocked off your DC from their bike. I'd tell her to sling her hook and she's lucky it didn't escalate further.
Definitely a CF!

It’s a residential street.

It’s not. It’s a country lane.

@Oliphantitus

*It is a long, curvy, windy single Country lane road, with multiple driveway and many blindspots.

*This road has no pavement, also doubles as a footpath used by foot pedestrians, Country walkers, horses, etc.

*As a Driver cognizant of the Highway Code Regs, you have to anticipate certain risks and hazards and make sure you have ample time to react and utilise the stopping distance rule in a flash.

*On such road, common sense will dictate you crawl as a Driver, so you can stop in seconds if needs be.

*The Driver has the greater duty of care here.

*Your 12 year old son rode out of the driveway, there was a collision and he landed on the car bonnet and ended up with a broken leg, meaning the lady was not driving with due attention and care.

*The driver is automatically "at fault" here for insurance purpose, as your son is a vulnerable road user and a minor. Her insurance company will pay. Same as it is with hitting animals.

*Your son is 12, a minor that cannot be treated as negligent in Civil act and you are not automatically liable for your son's act of negligence.

*She is a coldblooded chancer trying to milk you on the sly.

*The Insurance company will not try it on because your son has no asset and no means of paying.

*If the Insurance company tries to find your child "at fault" and go down the Civil law route, your child can agree to pay £1 a month.

*Your child can also then countersue for personal injury and costs of replacing or repairing his bike.

The police were on the scene. If it was the driver's fault, they would have taken action.

BillBallBaggins is 100% correct.
She`s a cheeky 4ker.