Compensation for daughter (hit by car) but who from?

[MotherOfDragons27]

Hi everyone, I'd appreciate some advice or knowledge please.

Almost two years ago (sept 2019) my eldest daughter started secondary school. In her 2nd week she was leaving school and was hit by a car as she was crossing the road. The driver was a 17 year old boy from her school who had just passed his test. When it happened another mum got out of her car and told the driver to move his car for some unknown reason, so he did. This means the police were unable to gain any evidence from the scene and as there was no proof of wrong doing there were no further charges against the boy and the case was dropped.

My daughter suffered two breaks to her pelvis and obviously scrapes and bruising. She was in hospital for 10 days and had to use crutches for 6 weeks until her pelvis was healed. I was with her the whole time and had to be signed off work with stress to cover myself work wise.

I have been thinking about trying to claim for some sort of compensation for my daughter but I'm unsure if it's possible? Where would I claim, who would I be claiming from and what are the chances of her receiving anything?

Does anyone have any similar experience where someone was injured in a road traffic accident but no fault was established? We have the letter from the police and the incident number etc so there is record of it. I also have her discharge letter from the hospital.

If anyone can shed any light on this for me I'd be very grateful. Thank you.

@Sometimesfraught82

Insurance here. You don’t have any claim UNLESS the bot was convicted of driving without due care and diligence

Who on earth do you work for?

I worked in PI claims for 13 years for 3 different insurance companies and you're absolutely incorrect.

So if no party “at fault”

Which insurance company gives the compensation?!

And it’s not called compensation, is it!

Remember this is motor insurance

There needs to be an”at fault” party

Yes, I think you would need evidence it was the drivers fault. I hit a child once - similar age to your DD. They ran straight out in front of me. Fortunately they were not severely injured (no broken bones) but my car was damaged and I suffered with nightmares and flashbacks for months. I was told by the police that I was not at fault.

I know someone else who hit a pedestrian and actually sued the child’s parents to fix the damage to his car. They wouldn’t have asked for damages for their car but for the fact the parents tried to get compensation for the child’s injuries. I think in that case it was decided they were both to blame equally.

@Sometimesfraught82

Give it a go Op You won’t get anywhere

I'm starting to think you know op and the driver of the vehicle.

In my experience a fracture of even a limb can be worth £20k in compensation, and usually in addition pain and suffering.

@CovidCorvid

You say there was no evidence of any wrong doing…so I assume the driver said your Dd ran across the road without looking? What did the police say? Because certainly there can be times when a driver wouldn’t be found at fault for hitting a pedestrian in the road.

I ran a girl over about 30 years ago. She was only 7yo and ran out from behind a high hedge without looking and she actually hit the side of my car rather than me hitting her if that makes sense. Both the police and the girl’s dad who saw it happen both said it wasn’t my fault. I was only doing 20mph but it still wasn’t enough stopping space. The police said that in such a case the blame would be placed on the pedestrian. In fact they gave me the impression I could sue the girl’s dad for damage to my car (I didn’t). Obviously if I’d been speeding it would have been different.

But if you have any evidence it was his fault then get a personal injury solicitor. Broken pelvis is a serious injury and could result in problems such as arthritis down the line?

I can tell this still haunts you, even though everyone said it wasn’t your fault. Hope you’re okay.

@Standrewsschool thank you. Yes, I’m ok. But I’d only passed my test two weeks previously…was very scary at the time.

Bloody hell, it's bad advice central on this thread.

1. The boy's insurer would deal with the claim;
2. Assuming you're in England / Wales / Scotland, limitation is 3 years from the child's 18th birthday;
3. Damages are based on the type / severity of injury plus the impact. You can claim for financial losses, but you don't have to have / claim any;
4. Psych injury can also be claimed for;
5. Lack of criminal charges does not mean no hope in a civil case as the standard of proof is lower (beyond reasonable doubt for criminal vs on the balance of probabilities for civil, i.e. over 50%);
6. A fractured pelvis is a relatively-well compensated injury so far as fractures go (bearing in mind injury damages aren't that high in U.K. claims).

Ask me any questions you may have.

About five years ago my ex got about £800 for minor injuries (no broken bones). He was signed off work for only three days. The other driver was at fault but there was no prosecution for dangerous driving.

I had to take him to a private doctor to be checked over. I don't know what info the insurers has from the police.

Things might have changed since then but I thought I'd share.

You absolutely don’t need a conviction to claim from his insurance company. It’s a civil matter, not criminal.

Yes, you can still claim after 2 years - the limitation period for an injury claim is 3 years, but as your daughter is a minor that period doesn’t start until she turns 18 so can claim up until she is 21

As it is a civil matter rather than criminal, liability is decided based on probability rather than needing to find the driver at fault ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’ so if the insurance company disputed it and the case went to court it would be down to a judges decision on the day but quite likely some compensation would be awarded as judges tend to favour vulnerable road users (pedestrians, cyclists etc.)

If you have either the vehicle registration or the insurance details of the driver, or the police have these just contact a solicitor who will pursue a claim through the insurer. If you don’t have the details and the police didn’t record them either than there isn’t much you can do other than contact the Motor Insurers Bureau who have a fund to pay out on claims involving uninsured or untraced drivers but this is slightly more tricky

But someone has to be convicted in law or at fault in an insurance claim for there to be compensation due!!!!

@Sometimesfraught82

But someone has to be convicted in law or at fault in an insurance claim for there to be compensation due!!!!

No, they don't. I'm a PI lawyer. When did you qualify?

Well, they have to be at fault, they certainly don't need to be convicted of anything.

@SacramentoQueen, uninsured MIB claims are quite straight forward. Untraced has the 'reported to police' requirement, which this fulfils. As this was reported, but the boy wasn't charged, they'd have the details for OP's solicitor to use, if she doesn't have them.

I'm not clear what your actual loss is which is what suing is for. You may be able to get a modest 'pain and suffering' award but otherwise I'm unclear what you're pursuing.

It might be that you had lost earnings? Or is there some ongoing physical or psychological impact you haven't mentioned?

@headintheproverbial

I'm not clear what your actual loss is which is what suing is for. You may be able to get a modest 'pain and suffering' award but otherwise I'm unclear what you're pursuing.

It might be that you had lost earnings? Or is there some ongoing physical or psychological impact you haven't mentioned?

It's personal injury damages. A broken pelvis is a significant injury, as is significant psychological trauma. How much do you think a fractured pelvis is worth?

@MotherOfDragons27 everything @NoWordForFluffy has said is correct you really need no other advice apart from hers here ( I work in insurance too )

Thank you, @pumpkinpie01. This type of thread does my head in with all the utter nonsense spouted by armchair lawyers.

There seems to be some real confusion on this thread. There is a difference between the standard of proof needed for a criminal conviction (beyond reasonable doubt) and the civil standard (balance of probabilities). So a driver can be liable for compensation even if not criminally convicted.

It might be that he is not at fault at all if your daughter's actions made hitting her unavoidable.

Compensation is mainly aimed at compensating financial losses (your loss of earnings, taxis, etc) but you can get sums awarded for pain and suffering too.

@Sometimesfraught82 you’re talking out of your arse

You may be able to get a modest 'pain and suffering' award but otherwise I'm unclear what you're pursuing.

Everyone has a different idea of what "modest" means, but in NI pelvic injuries with a straightforward recovery with no residual disability go up to 25k. An award for psychological injuries would be on to top of that, plus special damages. Yes awards in England, Scotland and Wales are lower but they're not so low it wouldn't be a significant figure if OP's claim was successful.

Also a PI insurance lawyer.

Listen to @NoWordForFluffy

Do not listen to @Sometimesfraught82 - complete misinformation!!

Compensation is mainly aimed at compensating financial losses (your loss of earnings, taxis, etc) but you can get sums awarded for pain and suffering too.

I'm surprised that a litigation lawyer has got this so wrong. Compensation for injury is the predominant reason for bringing a claim, in the main. A good 70-80% of my clients have no financial losses to claim. Yes, some people do have financial losses, but we don't encourage claiming for anything without a receipt / provable.

OP has suffered a financial loss in earnings lost. Daughter has a significant injury, which may require additional attention in the future. Maybe physio? And it would certainly have been traumatic. The driving charge, if any, in the UK would usually be driving without due care and attention. Dangerous driving charges are less common.