Mentally ill brother is being sued for a car accident 3 years ago. Can this be right?

[deepakchop]

Hi, I would love some help with this please.

I have a 40 year old brother who is mentally ill - he suffers from depression, anxiety, but he is not diagnosed and refuses any help. He manages to hold down his warehouse job and has a boss who understands him and is something of a father figure.

My brother had a letter today saying he is being taken to court regards a car accident that happened over 3 years ago. The claimant is the other driver, the 1st defendant is my brother, and the 2nd defendant is his insurance company at the time.

When he called the insurance company they say they have no records of his policy but I have asked him to call again because this can't be the case. Perhaps the operator he got didn't look properly?

I'm not sure what to do to help. I don't think he will get legal aid as he works and can't afford a lawyer. I'm worried he could be sued for thousands or more.

Can anyone offer any advice on this?

Can you start a court case relating to a vehicle collision 3 years after the incident?

Thanks

What does it say on the top of the document they've sent to him? Does it say notice of trial?

3 years is the cut off for filing. I'm thinking to you its roughly 3 years ago so what's the exact date of the accident?

I agree its a good idea for you with your brother to contact the co-accused to get as much information as possible. They're required to keep records for a minimum of 5 years. So either its a mistake on the insurance companies behalf or your brother misunderstood.

You need to know what's going on asap. Your brother may be able to get legal costs paid either by the original or current insurers.

On the top of the letter it says Notice of Transfer of Proceedings (they are changing the court location)

He did have a letter preceding this one but sent it back with his reply which was 'my insurance company will deal with this'. He cannot remember what it said. I was annoyed he hadn't kept a copy.

Google tells me there is no time limit for him to have reported the incident, but I'm not convinced.

Or a summons? Whatever they've sent, near to the insurance companies name does it have their reference? It might be useful to give this to the insurance company when he calls them. Or when you call them.

Exact date of the accident was December 2012.

Both my brother and the other driver think the other was at fault.

OP I'm concerned that the insurance company has no record of your brother's policy. The fact that they are named on the suit does not mean that he has valid cover at the time of the incident. It likely means that he provided that information to the other driver or the police. The policy may have been expired or lapsed.

Your first call must be yo the insurance company to sort out the coverage issue. If he did indeed have valid coverage at the time of the incident, he should be ok even if he didn't report it to them. It will be a hassle, especially to someone who is bad at dealing with this kind of thing, but the insurance company will cover all of the costs. If he is not insured, you need to find a way to get a solicitor's advice and ideally representation, whether through a free or paid source.

For those wondering why the brother and insurance co are both named, but only the claimant individually, basically the claimant is seeking money from the brother. His insurer is not involved. The brother is the one ultimately liable for the accident, but if he has insurance they will pay on his behalf. Because it is their money on the line, they will do all they can to minimize what has to be paid, including provide a solicitor to act on the brother's behalf. But ultimately, the brother is the one who is responsible.

OP it sounds like your brother is lucky to have you. This is not something he can ignore. If he fails to respond it will be a lot worse. Good luck.

His insurance company would still deal, they have to if they insured the vehicle.
Your brother needs to call his insurer asap. If he doesn't have the policy number they can find it from the vehicle reg.
They can appoint their legal team once your brother has spoken to them.
If he accepts fault they'll settle it straight away & that's it done.
If he disputes fault, they can discuss that with the other side and try to agree settlement without going to court.
If they can't agree & his insurer believes they have a strong case & your brother would makea good witness it could go to court. From what you have said about his mental well being he may not make a good witness though.

If the insurers haven't nominated solicitors to accept service then the claimant solicitors will need to serve court documenta on him as the defendant. He just needs to contact his insurers. It's very unlikely to be anything to worry about.

Insurance companies can find out another person's insurer if they have their registration (and possibly also other details) so they probably do have the correct insurer.

Also encourage your brother to be pleasant and cooperative with anyone from his insurance company and any solicitor they provide. He may have to appear for various things and it may be a pain, but his insurer will be trying to help him. He needs to return phone calls promptly, show up when and where he is told, and provide all requested information thoroughly and thoughtfully. He would not be doing himself a favor by making it difficult for those working on his behalf. Can you tell I used to work for an insurance company?

The fact that the other driver is making the claim himself and not through an insurance company, does that indicate he may not have been insured do you think?

If his insurance had lapsed I am quite concerned what could happen

I'm not sure I would class someone with undiagnosed depression as mentally ill...I have diagnosed depression and don't class myself as mentally ill!

Depression is a mental illness. If you have depression you have a mentall illness, if its diagnosed you have a diagnosed mental illness.

OP if your brother was insured, there is nothing to worry about. The insurance company will deal with it.

Are you sure the other driver is making the claim himself?

No deepak. As the claimant his insurance would not be involved unless they had paid out and were seeking reimbursement. Any money the claimant gets goes to him, not his insurer, so there's no reason they would be involved.

Hi OP
The statute of limitations is THREE years for personal injuries. There is no five year limitation for damage to property. There is a 6 year limitation period for general torts (negligence is the most common and would cover damage to property).

BUT for a car accident, I cannot see why anyone would sue for the damage to the car now because that would have been resolved at the time between the insurers. It would be for personal injuries instead, in which case they are out of time.

The exception is where the injury was not discovered until a later date (in which case it is from the date of knowledge).

Limitation is a very basic thing so it would be very odd if the solicitors advised him to claim now if he was clearly out of time. In PI it is quite rare for claimants to be unrepresented as there are so many no win no fee solicitors.

BUT one concerning thing is that you say he has received a 'court summons'. I presume you mean a notice of hearing. For PI claims, claimants have to follow the pre-action protocol and this would be the following:
Before issuing proceedings, claimant sends a letter of claim to defendant setting out basis and possible value of claim
Defendant gets a chance to respond to the letter of claim- admit or deny liability or agree/disagree on quantum
If parties cannot agree or defendant does not respond, claimant issues proceedings by filing claim form and particulars of claim.

Defendant has an opportunity to respond by filing a defence
Case is then listed for a hearing/case-management conference

The fact that your bro has now received communications from the court makes me wonder whether he has just been sitting on paperwork that he received last year and that the claimant did issue his claim in time. Could that be the case? Could you get him to show you everything he has in terms of paperwork and let me know what it says and I will try to assist further.

It doesn't sound right to me that your brother suggest that this has come out of the blue. I imagine he has had lots of correspondence but this is the first that you may have heard of it. If I were you I would call his insurance company and get him to give you permission to speak on his behalf and find out exactly what has gone on up until this point and what they are intending to do about the court proceedings. You don't have to go into detail about his mental health but it may assist in handling the claim if they know that he may be an unreliable witness. The insurance company may have instructed their own solicitors by this point. As the document is a transfer of proceedings it suggests that the claim has already been issued so I doubt that limitation would apply. In personal injury cases it is 3 years from the date of the accident. So you urgently need to speak to your brothers insurance company to find out what is happening because it may be that they are expecting him to attend court and that may not be in his best interest.

The fact that the other driver is making the claim himself and not through an insurance company, does that indicate he may not have been insured do you think?

No, this is completely normal. You claim in your own name against the individual defendant.

She said it was notice of transfer of proceedings he's received this time.

Oh, I am sorry. I just saw that you say it is a transfer of proceedings he received. Yes, agree with pp that limitation is unlikely to be an issue in that case. The claim will have been issued and presumably transferred to your brother's local court.

Take the letter to a solicitor or at least to Citizens advice.

Thisisafakename and others have given good advice and this should not be the first (or second) letter he has received. It seems likely that either your brother has had other letters or this is not what it appears to be. Either way getting the letter checked out will help.

There is a faq here which explains some of the process and terms which might help? Apparently only around 5% of case go to trial so it will almost certainly be sorted before that stage. www.simpsonmillar.biz/downloads/guides/personalinjury/personal-injury-claims-faqs.pdf

First, If the Claimant has made the insurance company a defendant that is because it was your brother's insurer at the time - the solicitors will not have chosen that insurance company to sue out of thin air.

Second, that means that the insurance company is the real defendant - not your brother. Your brother does not need separate legal representation.

Third, whether the Claimant really is the other driver or is in fact the other driver's insurers, the claim runs in the driver's name.

Fourth, if there is a notice of transfer that means the case is already under way. You can find what year it was issued in by looking at the number in the top right hand corner; it will probably begin with letters but then there should be the first two numbers of the year such as 13, 14, 15; if it is any of those it is in time.

But the important point is point 2. Legally, this is not your brother's problem, it is the insurance company's headache. I appreciate that this will nevertheless be a worry to him and to you.

Thank you everyone. I have just emailed the insurance company on my brothers behalf and will follow up with a call tomorrow. Hope it's as simple as handing it all over to them.

My Dp was involved in a serious accident in December 2013 and we are still not at the Court stage for sorting out the claim although it's getting there.

The sheer volume of paperwork that has gone backwards and forwards is eyewatering. It doesn't just 'go to Court'.

There have been meetings with Barristers, endless hospital and medical appointments for Dp (although not in your DB's case) and although the women who caused the accident has been to Court for her negligence (6 points and a poxy fine) I don't know how much paperwork she would have been receiving as I assume it's going direct to her insurance company.

I know that if and when dp's case goes to Court, it will be against her insurance company, not her personally and I doubt very much that she will be in Court or even aware of proceedings taking place.

Although... by him being listed as 1st defendant and the insurer as second defendant its a possible indication there could be an issue with the policy.