car crash, how do you work out fault??

[lisad123isgoingcrazy]

Having the worst week so far and DH went to hospital after work to sort out chemo for tomorrow, however on the way someone has crashed into my car :( The driver was behide DH and he turned to do a U turn and the driver smashed into is driver side The driver behide him said he didnt indicate to say he was turning but DH swears he was. The van driver behide him was surely going to quick and too close and surely at fault. How does it work out? If its not classed as other drivers fault or they cant decide I lose my no claims again (last time not by uninsuranced driver but was his fault). Looks like they will be writing it off tbh :(

where are the legal peps when needed

Blimey.

Were there any witnesses?

I'm glad he wasn't injured.

just the other driver girlfriend :( his feeling quite sore now and sweating, hope his ok

I would say that the driver behind is at fault, in that he hasn't given himself enough stopping distance (could have been emergency stopping for a pedestrian rather than a u-turn).

Without witnesses, you may struggle as the other driver can say what they like. Best left to the insurers.

Go back to the site of the bump and look for CCTV cameras. U-turns are a dangerous manoeuvre.

The driver behind is almost always at fault as he/she should be driving with enough space to allow them to respond to any action you take. However, your insurance company is likely to sort it out with the other driver's insurance company. Make sure you give your insurance company the full details. Describe exactly what happened. Take photos of the road and mark where the vehicles were. Draw diagrams. Anything to make it clear what happened.

I'm a bit confused by your description of what happened, but assuming you're saying that the driver of the vehicle behind your DH drove into your DH's car, then it's extremely likely that the other driver will be held responsible. It's generally interpreted that if you are following another vehicle, it is your responsibility to ensure you leave enough time/space etc so that you can react to any event taking place in front of you.

Make sure you give a really clear account when you fill out the insurance forms with diagrams.

Not in this case though.

A U turn is a dangerous maneouvre.

There isn't an easy answer on fault with this one. It depends on exactly what your DH and the van driver did. The basic question is whether the accident was caused by the van driver being too close to your DH and/or driving to fast, or by your DH pulling out in front of the van as it was about to pass him. As the only witness was the van driver's girlfriend (who presumably supports his version of events), I'm afraid your DH isn't in a terribly strong position. Sorry.

I don't understand how the other driver hit your driver's side door. It's not a straightforward rear ender where you can say it was the responsibility of the driver behind to leave a stopping distance etc etc in that case.

If your H was in the left hand lane trying to do a U turn from there, which took him across the path of the other driver in the right hand lane, it's almost certainly your H's fault. If the other driver was overtaking, it's his fault.

It is impossible to give an accurate assessment of blame from the details given here.