DD hit by car

[rak5a]

Our 12 yr old DD was hit by a car as she got off the bus and was crossing the road. The driver had crossed over the reservation to drive on the wrong side of the road to beat traffic to make a turn and hit DD head on. It was awful but she will recover eventually. She has a broken bone and serious concussion and lots of cuts and bruises. It will take months to heal and she is in a bad way.

The police have said they will pursue either dangerous or careless driving (driver at least stopped and stayed at the scene). We feel strange thinking about it, but presume we should make a claim against the driver’s insurance. However we don’t know where to start - all these “no win no fee” websites just feel dirty. We think our DD should be compensated for her suffering and would put any award into a savings account for her to have when she gets older. Has anyone been through this? We want to be sensible but aren’t looking to “milk the system” so don’t want a horrible ambulance chaser. Any advice gratefully received.

FIrst of all check your house insurance to see if there is legal cover for this situation.

If so persue with them, if not then you need to speak to the cars insurance firm and state that there were severe injuries and you will be making a claim. YOu will need a solicitor, its up to you what sort you go with - can be no win no fee or can be straight forward paid for by you. You need a personal injury lawyer.

Whichever sort you go for THE OTHERSIDE should be paying for it albeit eventually. SO when the claim is put together you include legal costs for the other side to pay as you should not be out of pocket as you did nothing wrong.

In the mean time keep every receipt as a result of the injuries - so car parking, pain medication, time off work, tutors if needed at home and so on and so forth. Set yourself up a file and log everything. Work with your daughter to document her side of the story, get contact details of any witnesses, any well known to you ask them for a statement in their own words. Get a police report if you can, get details of what they are pursuing other driver for and keep it all together logically. All of this will help in the long run with the claim.

The claim will have compensation for injuries, out of pocket expenses, legal expenses and possibly also trauma/mental impact so you need to think about all elements. For injuries there is usually a standard amount they will go for. They (lawyers and judges) often like everything to be done and dusted and recovered from before putting a final claim through (ie so signed back to health) but in longer and bigger cases they will do interim payments - this is a good sign as it means the other side admits liability and they are just quibbling about totals.

Get an appointment with a PI lawyer and go through whats what with them, get a cost from them and an idea of the total legal fees involved. ANy payout should be kept for your daughter and used for her benefit (you would effectively be her trustees for the amount so you might want to think about what the money should be used for/how it should be managed etc. A couple of grand is less onerous than say 50k. But you would be suprised how things add up

I have had concussion just wanted to say they say no screens for a while and this really is important as you need to I suppose to rest your brain. I ended up listening to music and staying in bed for a while. Get well soon to your DD.

Firstly, I hope your DD makes a full recovery.

My brother was knocked off his bike recently when a car pulled out of a junction into him on the road. He was not at fault.
His injuries were minor but his bike was badly damaged and cannot be repaired.
The matter is still ongoing but he has appointed a solicitor to deal with the driver’s insurance and act on his behalf.
Perhaps your local citizens advice can help you to decide the best course of action and whether your daughter can seek Legal Aid?

You may be able to get legal advice from the following sources: house insurance, employee assistance schemes and trade unions.

As a student mid 90’s, I was knocked off my bike by a car pulling out of a side road on to the main road where I had right of way. I went over the bonnet and was battered and bruised but nothing broken. Arm in a sling for a couple of weeks to ease the swelling. Very difficult to dress and look after myself as I was living in student accommodation with only one male housemate! My bike was wrecked. The police actually told the driver not to worry about it, so about a million miles away from taking any action!

my parent’s union pursued the driver’s insurance. As PP have mentioned, it really is only actual losses that are compensated for. As a student it was hard to prove - obviously there was my bike but I also mentioned loss of sporting opportunity and trauma. I also had to have a private medical review. I was offered £950 which I accepted to avoid going to court. It took just over a year to come through.

maybe try to think about what would help your daughter eg if you daughter is missing school, might she need a teacher? Also, if YOU have missed work or need parental leave, maybe that could be considered an actual loss too?

I would definitely recommend you pursue this - first off, your daughter and you HAVE incurred actual losses, second the police may choose not to pursue any action against the driver and you need to think about how that would make you feel - I was actually very upset that the police trivialised my accident and actually consoled the driver!

I think recent changes around who is vulnerable on the road mean this is easier to pursue ie a child pedestrian is just about the most vulnerable and a car driver has responsibilities around what to expect of other road users and what they should or shouldn't do - she wasn't overtaking in moving traffic with a stopped bus, she was in a traffic jam and whipped out of her place to take a left turn further up which is not an approved move however you look at it, with no regard for other road users ie pedestrians. She was indeed reckless and good for the police pursuing it in my view.

Perhaps something to note for other parents is that bright clothing should be worn or at least bags or coats with reflective strips anything to catch the light as nights draw in. Can't hurt although we all know what older kids are like regarding compliance with anything deemed uncool

Just to say - fine and points comes from the criminal court. Compensation comes from the civil court (county court) and it is worth doing although it may take a long time. The insurance are quite likely to settle it out of court without anyone having to attend and then the only bit you have to do in court is go to have the "infant settlement" approved, as the money can be held in trust for your daughter until she is 18. The court has to approve it to check the amount offered by the insurers is appropriate (unlike for an adult, where if you agree to an amount that's too small for the injury, that's your lookout).

This why in Canada and the US vehicles cannot by law overtake a stationary school bus when pupils are getting on or off. Also oncoming traffic have to stop as well and not pass it. They take a very dim view of anyone who doesn't adhere to this and you could lose your licence.

My sister did this recently when a cracked step and badly lit path left her with two broken ankles, broken ribs and a punctured lung.......she wouldn't have sued if the venue owners hadn't been so ridiculously defensive. Even placing blame whilst she was lying on the floor leaving members of the public to help and ring and ambulance etc.

She just used a local firm, it was very easy. They've done all the work for her, she's even had private physio funded which has made a huge difference.

I read that as no zebra or other black and white crossing but I suose it's not clear.

DS was run down on a crossing. I approached some injury lawyers, who knew exactly what to do and got him a good payment. They knew which doctor to go to for a suitable report - all very straightforward.

Only if it is in the contract. Some no win no fee charge by the hour if they win and expect their client to pay.
There are a number of people who have won their case but ended up near bankrupting them with the bill their NWNF solicitor hands them after the case

Please do claim. I was rear ended whilst stopped at lights y a newly qualified driver. They got out of the car and admitted liability in front of 2independent witnesses, one of which was an off duty policeman.
The other driver had been looking at a display outside a shop instead of paying attention to the road
I had injuries to my shoulder, neck and right arm and was signed off work for 6 weeks on SSP so was out of pocket. Like a pp has said I had to go to the hairdresser to wash my then very long hair. I also had mandatory training for work ( moving and handling) that was postponed and once I was able to attend the course was only being run 60 miles away so I had to pay travel expenses.
Honestly your solicitor will do the majority of the work for you. Keep records and receipts for any out of pocket expenses.

Hope your daughter feels better soon 💐

The driver was driving on the wrong side of the road

I was hit by a car and injured to the point of needing an ambulance. The police attending advised me to make a claim for personal injury so I did. We just used a local solicitor who we knew of and left it all in his hands. If you need to get taxis or any other additional expenses make sure you get receipts and give those to the solicitor. Same goes for the bill you might get for having an ambulance (at the time of my accident it was standard practice to bill the patient for this. This may have changed, I don't know). It all goes to the solicitor and you just get on with healing while they sort it out.
Mine was settled out of court.

Hi OP.

I got hit by a car cycling about 8yrs ago. The police took the driver to court for bad driving as well. As soon as I was better I googled some local law firms that did personal injury claims and looked at reviews as well. In hindsight I should have claimed for the depression and mental impact the accident had but I was also weirdly worried about being money chaser.

Anyway this is what car insurance is for ! So don't feel bad making a claim .

I work for this firm they are absolutely experts at this kind of stuff.

But the driver in this case wasn’t overtaking the bus. She was in a queue of traffic on the opposite side of the road, decided she didn’t want to wait til she got to her right hand turn so moved into the right hand lane to go past the stationary traffic and turn right. The OP’s daughter’s bus stopped in the clear lane, and the daughter was crossing that side of the road.

So that rule wouldn’t have helped in this case anyway!

OP - I hope your daughter makes a full & speedy recovery. Good luck with your claim!

Speak to the insurance company of the person who got your daughter and see if they accept liability and will start the claim process. Another option is to employ a solicitor or speak to your home insurance provider as you may have free legal advice cover provided with that and they can give you some helpful advice.

Don't enter into liability discussions with people in Mumsnet!

@Tillow4ever
Where we lived in Canada you had to stop even if you were on the opposite side on normal two way roads. It was irritating sometimes as it could really slow your journey but obviously safety first

Oh sweetheart, your poor poor little baby. Please give her a hug from me, and I hope she recovers quickly and well. I have no advice for the legal side of things, but I wanted to say get well soon to dd and that it is absolutely not her fault at all. Deck xx

Fair enough but the point here is the driver was already driving dangerously/irresponsibly by zooming past the queue if traffic - the bus is almost completely irrelevant as it sounds as if the daughter would have been hit regardless if she were crossing there and no bus!

From OP's description, it doesn't sound like this car was overtaking the bus. It sounds like it was trying to pass a queue of cars on the other side of the road leading up to a junction. That is not a legitimate manoeuvre. Even if the driver was overtaking the bus, they clearly were not paying enough attention. They hit a pedestrian. At worst, OP's daughter may be held to have some contributory negligence, although I think that is unlikely in the circumstances. Trying to blame her simply won't wash. If this goes to court, there is no way the driver will avoid having to compensate OP's daughter.

@rak5a

My friends son was involved in a head on collision with a car, luckily at low speed but nasty injuries non the less.

I'd encourage you strongly to claim. do you have legal insurance through your home insurance?

They might be able to point you in the right direction.

My friends son has had ongoing problems with injuries and some 10 years later is still battling difficulties as a result of the accident.

I think it's easy to say phew, no one died, and that they will heal. Yes, they will, but can have life long residual difficulties as a result of the physical trauma. Often these don't become apparent until further down the line.

Take it all the way, don't be afraid. Your daughter did nothing wrong. The other person will have car insurance for the very reason of protecting injured third parties.