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Original poster

Pedestrian caused car accident

45 replies

Nobadvibes · 09/02/2024 15:19

Looking for advise for my mum that is very stressed and upset about the situation.

2 years she was driving down a road as the schools came out. A teenage boy started ducking down and acting odd at the side of her car, this boy then decided to play the game chicken and ran in front of her car and she hit him, lucky for him she was going 10mph and not 30 and there wasn’t a car directly on the other side. He bounce of her car and had injuries that initially weren’t deemed to be serious by the police at the scene of the accident. There are several witness’s along with 3 cars dashcam footage that prove this is what happened. Police investigated, they close the road off which later they admitted they should of as initial assumption he’s broken just his leg was wrong and once at our local hospital they transferred him a well known children hospital. His mother and grandma attended the scene and both reassured my mum it was not her fault along with other witness’s. Police concluded the accident was his fault and advised my mum she take legal action to recoup the damage to her car which a head light and bumper. Him being a child she never did so and also went through her insurance to claim as my dad was ‘rightfully’ worried they may sue.

I know from a local Facebook post his injuries were worse and him to have an operation on his leg and skull. I’ve never shared this with mum as the accident traumatised and she tries to drive when only she has to. The family received £500 from a local business man to help cover costs of going back and fourth to hospital, said man believed the boy had been ran over rather than ran into the road.

So now 2 years on the boys father has some how got hold of mums number plate which has led him to find her insurance details so that he can sue for the accident. Considering the police concluded with evidence and report she was not at fault how far can this go?

OP posts:
Justme2023123 · 09/02/2024 15:22

Couple of things, how old was he at the time? Teenage as in 13 or closer to 18?

And do you still have access to the dashcam footage?

bestmoment · 09/02/2024 15:22

this is all very very odd

downplayed on the one side
but then turns out what sounds like very serious injuries

Nudgethatjudge · 09/02/2024 15:24

Leave it with the insurance company to deal with? It's horribly worrying and emotional so I'd get the insurance onto it.

Bladwdoda · 09/02/2024 15:26

I wouldn’t worth about this. Surely the police report concluding no fault would be fairly dmninng. If not enough I agree just let insurance deal with it.

bestmoment · 09/02/2024 15:26

she did tell her insurance company didn’t she?

Original poster
Nobadvibes · 09/02/2024 16:16

The police played the whole thing down, hence the road not being shut. I only know how injuries were more serious due to them getting money donated. I believe he was 15 but not 100%. Only so much sympathy to provide someone that threw themself infront of a moving car as a game.

Luckily went through the insurance, just very odd how two years later he’s somehow got her insurance details.

Dashcam footage was sent to police so they have all of that. Along with the police report that concluded he was in fact playing chicken.

OP posts:
bestmoment · 09/02/2024 16:19

Luckily went through the insurance

her car sustained damage?

Is the father approaching your mother because the injuries have now been confirmed to cause some kind of permanent disability?

Original poster
Nobadvibes · 09/02/2024 16:23

bestmoment · 09/02/2024 16:19

Luckily went through the insurance

her car sustained damage?

Is the father approaching your mother because the injuries have now been confirmed to cause some kind of permanent disability?

He’s run the insurance up saying he is suing her for hitting him but not much more than that. As where we live is a small area it would be better easy to find out if he has sustain serious injuries that caused him on going issues.

As unkind as it sounds he was the cause of the accident so shouldn’t be able to sue her. She’s very stressed about the whole situation especially when she thought it was behind her.

OP posts:
TeenLifeMum · 09/02/2024 16:27

Leave it to the insurance company to fight and do not engage in any conversations with the family. Do you have a police report of the incident? I’d also try to get a copy.

bestmoment · 09/02/2024 16:28

so the insurance company has contacted you?

or he has contacted you?

you say luckily through insurance…. at the time of the accident or now)

DancefloorAcrobatics · 09/02/2024 16:28

If the father directly contacted her, she needs to advise him to get into contact with her insurance that delt with it at the time and the police.

Advise her not to engage with him on a personal level!
Also, does she still have the incident number from the police and insurance company? Might be worth having these details on standby... just in case.

JobMatch3000 · 09/02/2024 16:28

^ Absolutely this. Leave it entirely up to the insurance company and do not engage with the family.

bestmoment · 09/02/2024 16:29

ah i see - now all through insurance

and what has insurer said to you?

Original poster
Nobadvibes · 09/02/2024 16:29

Plan is to leave it to the insurance company, the post was more to see if anything similar has happened to anyone else and what are the chances he could try to sue her.

Insurance company already have a copy as they used it to note on her file it wasn’t here fault for the claim.

OP posts:
bestmoment · 09/02/2024 16:29

presumably your mother notified the insurer at the time of the incident even if she had no intention or need to claim

YesThatsATurdOnTheRug · 09/02/2024 16:31

She wasn't at fault. He's probably been drawn in by the idea of claiming thousands of pounds for the injuries, when someone drove into the back of me they tried to claim some money on the grounds of 'contributory negligence' - obviously didn't get anywhere as it was entirely their fault (van in front of me emergency stopped so I didn't really have a choice!)

Just ignore and let it run its course. I'm sorry that happened to your mum, must have been very traumatic. I can remember idiot boys doing that kind of thing when I was at school.

Christmastree455555 · 09/02/2024 16:35

I would imagine he has been contacted by a no win no fee injury company, did you mum at that time and does she have at the moment legal cover with her insurance?
I had someone make a claim off my insurance for a minor bump we’d been in where he claimed whiplash some 14 months later. My insurance company were great, they took it too court - we both attended- courts went in my favour through medical evidence and the crash evidence that a bump so minor couldn’t have caused any injury. He was going after about 4/5k at the time…. It was daunting at first as the first thing I heard about it was paperwork landing on my door mat… but my insurance company were great.

tell your mum not too worry- let the insurance companies sort it all out

Original poster
Nobadvibes · 09/02/2024 16:39

She contacted the insurance at the time as my dad wanted to ensure she was covered incase this happened.

The dad has rung the insurance up. She did query how he found out her insurance as that was obviously not shared at the time. He has somehow found out the plate of her car and found it online.

I was hoping it won’t go to hurt as she’s pretty emotional about it currently.

OP posts:
Justme2023123 · 09/02/2024 17:05

Chances are your mum will be fine and it might just go away.

Something to bear in mind is just that he is a minor and a pedestrian, and there's a term called "causative potency" which essentially means that a car driver has a higher duty of care because in the event of a collision, a car will do more damage to a pedestrian than a pedestrian would do to a car, even if the pedestrian is acting negligently.

If he was 15, the courts may view him as being competent enough to understand how dangerous his actions were. The younger the child, the less blame can be apportioned on them in an incident such as this.

The only thing I would consider from their view point, was how long was he messing about by the side of your mum's car? If she was aware of the potential hazard of this child messing about, there's an argument that she should have braked and not moved forward again until he was safely out of the way. That may be too harsh of a viewpoint but just something to consider.

Absolutenonstop · 09/02/2024 18:28

A police response (considering criminal liability) and a claim outcome (considering civil liability) are different standards of proof. He’s pursuing it 2 years later as he has 3 years to pursue (although as a minor he has 3 years from going 18).

it’s very hard to prove pedestrians liable, even when it’s obvious it tends to go split liability. Leave it with the insurance, nothing your mum can do now unless she’s asked for evidence but these things tend to settle on best terms.

source - solicitor who dealt with rtas many moons ago.

LakeTiticaca · 09/02/2024 18:32

Agree Don't engage with this man. If he starts harrassing your mum, get policed involved.
If the police concluded this kid deliberately jumped in front of the car they won't want to be paying out!!

naisspray · 09/02/2024 18:38

They just need to approach your insurance company.

Nothing will happen to your mum.

The boy was injured by a car. Car is insured. Money will be deemed payable due to injuries. Might award the kid nothing as they have been deemed to cause the accident.

It would have been easy to get your number plate - the police have it and you should have exchanged details anyway.

RedHelenB · 09/02/2024 18:40

If she was passing a school at hometime then its on her to be careful, especially if she's aware there are kids playing silly beggars right by her car. As others say, she could have just waited to drive until he'd moved. Luckily she informed her insurance company at the time, so they'll deal with it.

DinnaeFashYersel · 09/02/2024 18:41

This is for her insurance company to deal with. She shouldn't worry about it.

naisspray · 09/02/2024 18:41

RedHelenB · 09/02/2024 18:40

If she was passing a school at hometime then its on her to be careful, especially if she's aware there are kids playing silly beggars right by her car. As others say, she could have just waited to drive until he'd moved. Luckily she informed her insurance company at the time, so they'll deal with it.

There is no law for this