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Original poster

How do I prove kids were in car?

185 replies

Icantstopeatinglol · 27/08/2013 07:52

Hi, I just wanted some advice really. A (stupid) woman drove into the back of mine and dh car a few months back when we were on the way back from an afternoon trip with our 2 dc. She has lied all the way along saying there was no damage to the cars....which has now been sorted as garages have shown there was £2.5k of damage over both cars. She has also stated no dc in car!? To be fair she was very shook up but was only interested in herself as all she went on about was how she'd had such a bad day and this was going to affect her insurance badly! We do have rear tinted windows so she probably couldn't see them anyway though she has stated she noticed a pushchair in her statement. My ds banged his head and was quite upset afterwards and dd was thrown forward so much it woke her up and consequently she has woken up screaming quite alot since (this has never happened before). Anyway, the other insurance company are now saying they have received a 'statement of truth' or whatever from said woman saying no children in car?! What do we do now? Why is it upto us to prove our dc were in the car when this woman has lied all the way along?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

OP posts:
InMySpareTime · 29/08/2013 09:08

She said it was 2.5k damage "between the two cars", I'm assuming that means both claims added together.

LEMisdisappointed · 29/08/2013 09:09

How did your ds hit his head?

Rooners · 29/08/2013 09:09

I'm not convinced she is in it for compensation - that assumption tends to be leapt to a lot on here. I've been accused of it myself when it was furthest from my mind.

But still.

ivykaty44 · 29/08/2013 09:13

you can't make money out of children getting hurt in an accident.

if children are hurt in a whiplash scenario then the insurance company will sort out a barrister and the parent will go with the child to court and the judge will decide how much the payment is to be, then the money will be locked up in a court account until the child is 18 years old and then the money will be paid out to the now adult and the interest is added.

I will say the court pays good interest so the money will grow over the years.

larrygrylls · 29/08/2013 09:14

Rooners,

40-50mph?! That would not push a car one car length, but about 10. I would guess the impact, from the OP's description, at 15-20 MPH.

If the children were securely strapped in and not complaining about significant symptoms, what kind of "checking out" do you think would be necessary?

OP,

What are you actually after here? In terms of moral vindication, if you know that your children are in the car, then you know it, does not matter what some stranger claims. In terms of compensation, you just have to go down the normal route; tell your lawyer and insurers what happened and allow them to tell you the next steps.

OhDearNigel · 29/08/2013 09:14

Rooners - from what the OP wrote "this woman drove down a slip road straight into the back of our car (which had been at a standstill for a while)" it appears to me that she was stationery in a queue of traffic waiting to join another road. Driver 2 was going too fast and failed to anticipate the queue, therefore shunting the OP when she was unable to stop in time.

BoozyBear · 29/08/2013 09:16

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Sirzy · 29/08/2013 09:17

I'm not convinced she is in it for compensation - that assumption tends to be leapt to a lot on here.

I agree with you in this case. But at the same time I can fully understand why that assumption is leapt to.

I was a rear seat passenger in a car that was stationary at lights when a bus didn't notice and hit at around 30mph. I was taken to hospital from the scene as I had injured my neck and arm, when in A and E my mum was asked by the doctor "do you not want checking to for the insurance claim" to which her answer was simply "no, I'm not injured"

At the scene my dad had gone onto the bus to make sure everyone was ok. Thankfully everyone fine, one mum took a baby to hospital just to get checked over. only about 6 people on the bus at the time, lots stood at the bus stop waiting to get on.

In the next 6 months we had about 8 letters from people wanting us to confirm they were on the bus for their insurance claims Confused other than the child we were unable to confirm anyone was on the bus!

Rooners · 29/08/2013 09:19

Thanks Larry - yes you might be right. I was finding it very difficult to picture what had actually happened, I think most of us are tbh.

If the OP could clarify a few details it would help.

Rooners · 29/08/2013 09:20

Any one of these scenarios is possible. We just don't know.

RobotHamster · 29/08/2013 09:27

I don't understand this thread. Stop worrying about what the other woman has said and worry about replacing your kids car seats instead. They absolutely do need replacing.

littlemisswise · 29/08/2013 09:28

I agree with Pozzled. Surely the first thing you do when you are involved in a RTC, when your DC are in the car is tend to them. How could the woman not know they were there? I honestly don't understand it unless they didn't cry and didn't need either you or your DH to calm them down and reassure them, which in my mind would be unusual.

LEMisdisappointed · 29/08/2013 09:29

So the op is saying that 1. Her children were injured in the accident and that is why it is pertinent to the claim. 2. The injuries didn't warrant getting checked out despite a "head injury" when asked if her kids were taken to hospital. So I am very confused as to what the op is saying so I am sorry if im wrong but I read this as the op trying to milk the situation. If the kids weren't injured then what does it matter if they were in the car. If they were why thd fuck was that not the ops prioritY AT THE TIME!!!!

KatyDidItAgain · 29/08/2013 09:39

If your DCs didn't need medical attention then you won't get very far. However, the car seats should be paid for - I had a very slight shunt when somebody hit me from behind and their insurance company paid for new car seats without question. The other driver tried to get out of it by saying that I hadn't hit the car in front but my insurance company just wrote letter along the lines 'all that proves is that, unlike you, our customer was not driving too close to the car in front' Grin

Original poster
Icantstopeatinglol · 29/08/2013 09:50

Jesus, some of you need to chill out. I'm just after some advice, I don't particularly care how you feel about the accident.
We were waiting at a roundabout as a car was travelling around the roundabout when the said idiot drove into us. It wasn't a huge accident like I said earlier and my symptoms got worse over a few days. The 'idiot' was so shook up she could hardly write and we were VERY concerned she was going to drive off so were quickly trying to get her details. We pulled over on the road which is why I didn't get the kids out. The damage didn't look too bad but obviously it's whats happened under the bumper that matters. The kids were shocked but ok and in hindsight I wish I had got them checked out but I thought dashing down to the drs after a minor accident when they seemed ok (yea ds did bang his head on his carseat but he was ok) looked more like me trying to get it on record for a compensation claim when this is not what it has been about.
Dh is going to phone our solicitors today for more advice and I'm going to look into new car seats.
Thank you for those being helpful and those judging need to look at themselves and wonder why they're getting so wound up over someone they don't know asking advice from others.

OP posts:
headinhands · 29/08/2013 09:56

Maybe the other driver genuinely doesn't remember the kids, our memories are not great at the best of times but at times of stress they're even worse. As someone else pointed out the insurance will do all they can to not pay/pay as little as possible and it will be them driving the actions of the other driver ie the recent statement saying there were no kids. Difficult but try not to tale it as personally, it's all about the company. Just submit your own statement as its equally valid.

Original poster
Icantstopeatinglol · 29/08/2013 10:00

I think you're right headinhands, she was shook up but now we've received a 'statement of truth' from her insurance company saying she's saying there was def no kids in the car. I shouldn't take it personally but I am angry that they're believing someone who can drive down a very long slip road into a stationary car then tell her insurance company there was no damage at all which has now been proven and yet they accept this 'statement of truth'? I know it's to get out of paying but nonetheless very annoying.

OP posts:
LEMisdisappointed · 29/08/2013 10:02

Im not gettting worked up at all - just saying what i think, which is that a) you should have got your kids checked out and i am stunned that you didn't. I actually know of somoene who lost their little boy in an accident, he was actually checked out and given the all clear but died in the night from a bleed on the brain :( and b) the more likely scenario imo - you think that if you emphasise your children's injuries then you will get some sort of pay out.

As for your neck injury, i do appreciate that wouldn't show at the time as inflammation and bruising would take a few hours or possibly a couple of days.

I think you are over complicating what should be a simply claim. She hit you up the arse, she was at fault and her insurance company should pay out for whatever damage was done to your car, and replace the car seats (which you really should have done already).

LEMisdisappointed · 29/08/2013 10:05

Actually, you should have probably got yourself checked out at the time too

Original poster
Icantstopeatinglol · 29/08/2013 10:07

Lem, yea looking back as I've said I should have got them checked out but thankfully they seem ok. Hopefully it won't happen again but I'll know what to do if it does. I didn't want to waste the police or drs time when we all weren't seriously hurt. I'm mostly annoyed at her lies but not surprised as at the time all she was bothered about was how it would affect her insurance.

OP posts:
Original poster
Icantstopeatinglol · 29/08/2013 10:08

Lem, I got checked out a few days later and given codeine for the pain.

OP posts:
lagoonhaze · 29/08/2013 10:12

Please look at www.Rearfacing.co.uk for info on car seats. The problems your dcs are having dont surprise me sadly. Maybe look for a cranial oestopath too.

LEMisdisappointed · 29/08/2013 10:15

if you had a whiplash injury though OP, then you actually should make a claim for that! my mum did this, this was before the age of claimforastubbedtoe.com and she got about 1k and i don't see why you shouldn't do the same.

LittleBearPad · 29/08/2013 10:15

Try not to take it personally.

If she was as shaken up as you say and the children were in the back she may not have remembered or noticed them.

Simply explain your version of events to your insurer and if need be provide your own statement.

Get the car seats replaced ASAP and add the cost to your insurance claim. Regardless of whether your children were in them they would need to be replaced so proving the kids were present is irrelevant to claiming for new seats.

Good luck and try to ignore the AIBUers above.

larrygrylls · 29/08/2013 10:16

ICantStop,

I think that people are piling in with aggressive and unnecessary ex post facto advice. If my child had had a slight banged head on their car seat, I would not waste an A&E department's time if there were no further symptoms.

On the other hand, I think posters are getting frustrated in trying to understand what you really want from them. Do you really care what someone who banged into your car is saying or thinking? You are never going to see them again. Clearly, their insurance company are trying to minimise their cost so are hardly going to argue with their own client's version of the truth. As I said above, just give your version to your solicitor and insurance company and let them proceed with the claim. I guess what you want is to replace the seats. In that case, it is hardly relevant whether the children were in the car, merely the seats. And, most people wouldn't take their car seats out unless someone else without car seats was driving their children. So, I suspect you would be believed on that basis.