Advice re accident

[jm2003]

HI

I'm new to the site and just wondered if anyone had ever been in a similar situation..

My 14 year old son was hit by a car when he was crossing a road. Thankfully is is totally fine it was a bump but the driver's car was damaged.

The police officer said my son is responsible as he wasn't on a designated crossing, however he was in the middle of the road when the car hit him - so wasn't a case of running out between parked cars or from behind a bus.

At the time I was in shock, so relieved my son was fine and as the police had said it was my son's fault - I agreed to pay the driver to repair the vehicle rather than go through insurance. He's a mini cab driver and it is his livelihood.

I don't want to spend hundreds on legal fees and I"m sure the mini cab driver doesn't want to either, but should I insist on going through insurance and is a child/14 year old legally responsible in a road traffic accident ?

JM

I am not sure that the policeman is correct there. Can you seek real legal advice?

Non-expert view:

Firstly I don't believe a pedestrian can be held liable for an accident.

Secondly even if your ds was found to be responsible the only claim can be against his personal assets, not yours.

We're just sending this over to legal matters for the OP.

Not a legal expert, but I thought pedestrian always had right of way. You could try the CAB? They may be able to direct you to some free legal advice.

A quick google gives this: www.thompsons.law/support/legal-guides-and-resources/road-traffic-accidents-involving-pedestrians

and

www.safermotoring.co.uk/accidentswithpedestrians.html, which says that:

If you feel that the pedestrian was at fault, and you suffered injury or incurred expense as a result of the accident, you too have the option to make a claim for compensation. Note that, in most cases, a pedestrian would not be insured for a situation like this; the sum claimed would therefore be coming from the person's own pocket and he or she may simply not have the means to be able to satisfy the claim.

Was your ds at fault?

I think the policeman is wrong - we don't just have to cross at designated crossings. Some roads don't have them! What are pedestrians meant to do - walk for miles to cross a road?

If your ds was in the middle of the road, that suggests the driver was going too fast to stop in time/wasn't paying attention and didn't see him.

I certainly wouldn't pay for his car - that's what his insurance is for.

And if he wants to sue your son, tell him to do one.

Do you think it was your son's fault? What does he say? You don't sound very supportive of him.

Pedestrians can be held liable for an incident if for example they walk out into the side of a car or if they do something else similarly dangerous . however if ds was in the middle of the road it suggests that he was there to be seen. Don't pay anything, don't admit any liability. Don't have any further contact with the taxi driver, tell him you need the claim to go through his insurance. If he claims from his insurance they will not be able to claim it back from a child so it's the taxi drivers look out. He should have been more aware of a child in the middle of the road. It could be found as split liability however your son still won't be liable to pay anything because he's a pedestrian. If there was a pedestrian crossing in the vicinity of the area where it happened then he should have used it and that could be taken into account. This would only really matter if your son was making a claim. The taxi driver was very lucky that your son wasn't injured. Ultimately taxi driver is insured presumably fully comprehensive so any effect on his livelihood should be covered by that, ie getting a hire car while his is in for repair. None of that is your problem as your son was primarily the victim.

I would check if your home insurance has legal protection cover or a legal helpline that is included so that you can ask them if you need further advice.

It isn't illegal to cross the road without using a designated crossing.

I think the driver should go through insurance. Most likely outcome - driver gets car repaired and nothing can be proven that your ds was doing anything ridiculously dangerous so won't be held liable.

Is it worth talking to a no win no fee lawyer about counter suing the taxi driver for the upset he has caused your son? That might encourage him to drop the whole thing.

Thanks for the feedback.

I think the police gave me really terrible advice and handled the situation badly - the police officer clearly told me it was my son's fault which I found really odd. He was also incredibly unsympathetic to my poor son. I just wish I had questioned it more at the time. My son says he was on the white line and I trust him completely.

I am requesting CCTV footage (if it exists) and trying to contact the police officer at the scene and also the CAB.

Shes already said her son wasnt injured and you can't claim for inconvenience or upset.

To be honest for now i would just tell him to go through his insurance. You're unlikely to be able to obtain a copy of any police report or cctv but no harm trying. The most useful thing you could do is get your son to write in his own words in as much detail as possible what happened, take photos of the scene and ask him to mark where he was, where the car was, did he see the car and if so when etc etc. then get him to sign and date it all.

You should have legal cover under your household policy. There should be a legal liability section. We used this when dc rode their bike into a stationary car.
I would hand the whole thing to them.
As a motor claims person, the insurers of the car are highly unlikely to pursue a pedestrian full stop. Let alone a 14 year old one.