Aibu to claim for this?

[planeymcplaneface]

Im writing this from the childrens ward of our local hospital after myself, 1yo ds and my dog were hit by a car today whilst crossing at a zebra crossing.
The driver said he didnt see us despite my buggy being bright turquiose and being in the middle of the bloody crossing!! By luck my ds was in an icandy peach which has taken the brunt of the impact resulting in a back wheel coming off and the chassis being totally buckled. He was spun about 3mtrs down the road and ive never been so scared in all my life. He has cuts and bruising to his head but seems okay otherwise. I have tissue damage to my foot and my dog is in shock from what happened.
I genuinely dont know how i feel there are so many emotions going through my head. All i wanted was a bacon roll for my lunch from my friends snack van and this happened. Its certainly been an eventful tuesday thats for sure.
My dad said as much as it isnt nice ive to claim for what happened and also the consultant said id have grounds to as well. However i dont know if i do would it not be a long process if even there is grounds?

I'll admit to only reading the first page but shocked at how many people are telling the OP not to claim!

This guy hit a woman, child in pushchair and a dog on a pedestrian crossing FFS! He is absolutely at fault, OP at the very minimum should have a new buggy bought for her plus any vets bills and out of pocket expenses (hospital car parking, meals she had to buy for herself while she is there, loss of earnings etc) paid for.

OP has done nothing wrong here at all. I hope your DC is ok and you're all back up to speed soon. I also hope the driver is prosecuted. Hitting someone on a crossing is not 'just an accident', it's definitely driver error.

Yes you absolutely can claim and you should. The insurance is there for exactly this kind of scenario. When you are looking for a solicitor make sure you check how much their success fee is.
Any money agreed for the injury to your child will be held by the court until they are 18. I would hope you'd get the money for the buggy fairly quickly though.

I think you have every moral right to claim for the loss of your buggy, loss of earnings, costs related to vet bills and stress damage. It might take a while to get it through, but why should you cover the cost of any of this?

I can't believe the horrible comments. She's clearly in shock.

OP what a terrifying thing to happen, I'm so sorry you had to go through this. People react in all sorts of different ways after a life threatening event like this.

As a Clinical Psychologist I would advise that it is too soon to know the impact that this has had on you. Hopefully you and your son will adjust and make a full recovery. However do not feel bad for thinking about what you might need and what you are entitled to, to help you through this process.

Everyone responds differently in a crisis. I have recently been in hospital myself and those night hours really are a fresh kind of hell. Be kind to yourself.

While yes i have some sympathies with the driver as it must of traumatised him however he has injured myself and my son and should have the law deal with him for the accident that he caused

Claiming on his insurance is totally different from suing.

Sorry, pressed send too soon!
I am so sorry this has happened. It sounds terrifying. I wish you & your son well.
I hope the driver is charged for dangerous driving.

You will be able to make a claim for buggy, any incurred costs for physio etc. He paid insurance for a reason.

It is TOTALLY different from a child falling off a wonky wall in a park, breaking an arm & the parents suing the a council for poor up keep. In my mind....

This is why the driver has insurance! Of course claim (although probably don't expect it to be quick)

You know he was going too fast because he was unable to stop at the crossing and hit people!

From the Highway code:

• look out for pedestrians waiting to cross and be ready to slow down or stop to let them cross

if he couldn't do that, he was going too fast.

Oh Planey, that photo is heartbreaking.
I hope he is on the mend very soon and doesn't remember anything about it. You poor things, I can't even imagine the shock.

Please ignore the idiotic comments on here. I've reported them and I'm sure others have as well.

I know your primary issue is not having a buggy, but can you tell us what area you are in? Someone might have or know of a spare that can tie you over until you can get a new one sorted?

Of course you should claim!

You should claim for the injury to you, your DS, your dog, all your damaged property (including your jeans if they are ripped) and the psychological injuries to all of you.

It's even more imperative that you do as you are a vulnerable road user, not just another car!

Absolutely claim. This is exactly why drivers need to be insured. And whether he is charged or not won't affect the claim. You were established on a zebra crossing. He should have seen you. The fact he didn't means he was negligent. This is as open and shut a case of liability as there is ever likely to be.

Anyone that is suggesting otherwise is a fucking idiot and just ignore them.

Hope you're okay and your DS gets better very soon. Could your relatives take your DDog to the vet?

I'm so sorry and of course you should claim. You are currently in a state of shock. My mate was hit on a crossing, the driver went through a red light he hit and ran though and the police are still trying to find him. Onlooker took number plate, bloke sold his van the same day.

My friends injuries involved her having two operations which is awful and months of physiotherapy await but it has changed her and she has lost her confidence.

Only on MN would people be critical of your situation where a mother and child have been run over on a crossing, ffs.

Get well soon.

**also any out of pocket expenses you can claim for those too - eg taxi fares to and from the hospital or vets (get receipts), having to buy calpol and painkillers, creams and bandages (if necessary), everything that this has cost you, you should claim.

And nor should you feel in any way reticent to do so.

spare my mum has a couple of buggies at her house one of which i was going to be getting anyway just so glad he was still in his icandy

Just had a thought.

If you have house insurance then check that as you may have legal cover and they can work on your behalf instead of you having to find a solicitor yourself.

Hope Mini Planey makes a full and fast recovery, and you do too

And Planey Dog too of course :)

Of course it was an accident. I sure as hell hope it wasn't deliberate.

Doesnt mean the op shouldnt claim. Why should she be financially out if pocket because of someone else's mistake.

And until you've stood in her shoes, don't judge. She's clearly very upset about her baby.

Yes you should claim.
I was hit by a car whilst on my bicycle. Took a year to settle.

Jesus! It is impossible to accidentally not see someone in a zebra crossing - the point is that if you cannot see it in its entirety, you slow down until you can.

I'd pursue this to the fullest extent. If the guy had any sense of decency, he'd buy you a buggy today (of course his lawyer would advise against it).

AyeAmorak is absolutely correct

Can someone explain how hitting someone in a zebra crossing could be an accident? Do you mean like if you're emerging from the middle and the driver's line of vision is occluded by another car?

If the driver can't confirm there's no one in the ZC, they should assume there is.

I assume people mean it's an accident in that he didn't intentionally try to injure the OP.

Same as driving into the back of another car is an "accident" as you didn't do it intentionally. But you still did it, you are still negligent and therefore you're still liable for any damage or injury you cause.

There was nothing that would obstruct the line of vision it is a straight clear road that i was on

as the police now say its a road traffic collision no such thing as an accident ther is always fault somewhere

your poor ds op i wish him a speedy recovery

and of course u should claim

The driver was incredibly negligent. I can't see how it's anything OTHER than dangerous driving to hit someone on a zebra crossing. I'm glad you, DS and Ddog are all ok. I wish you all a speedy recovery.

I can't believe some of the responses on here. All you seem to want is the pram that saved your childs life replacing so he can stay as safe. I really don't see how ANYONE can think that's selfish.

It seems a bit like a shock reaction as well. You may be focusing on the pram as your brain is telling you that pram is the reason your baby is here right now so therefore you must get a replacement as soon as physically possible otherwise he isn't safe iyswim?

Please take care of yourself and your baby. You did nothing wrong and you are well within your rights to sue way beyond just the pram. If this guy is always in a hurry maybe the accident is what he needs to learn to show down and pay attention.

I would of thought the driver would offer to buy a new bugger straight away

My BIL hit a cyclist , wreaked his bike, scratched his watch and broke his helmet

First thing he did was offer to replace all the damaged items and of course cyclist accepted

It's the decent thing to do