okay...a woman RAN in front of my car...now 10 days later, she wants to claim??

[lilsmum]

i dont know if any of you remember my thread about a woman running in front of my car?

i was coming off hospital car park, and she ran directly in front of car, i hit her (quite hard) and she landed 10 ft away on car park...i was hysterical, so was dd, the woman fractured her leg and totally admitted liability in front of me, my friend, 2 paramedics, 2 a&e nurses...

well 10 days later (today) i had a call from the police to say she wants to put a claim in against me!! cant believe it!!

no one actually saw the accident apart from me and my friend, but surely because she took full blame (she said she was running for her bus!) she hasnt got a claim iykwim...

TIA for any advice...really need it xxx

Definitely put in counter claim for the dent in your car. Not something I would have bothered with but since she's being a silly cow, go for it.

This sort of thing is one reason I keep a camera in my car. Okay, you're not going to record the actual accident, but you can record the immediate aftermath - where the cars/people are etc.

This idea has already helped my dh when somebody ran into him at a junction.

er, I would have thought that if you hit her, you are liable? sorry but I think its going to be hard to prove otherwise.

Not necessarily Enid - this was a pedestrian who ran in front of the car. If the driver was driving correctly and safely and the pedestrian ran out in front of the car with no warning, it is not the driver's fault. Unless it was on a zebra crossing I think where it's always the driver's fault!

No you're not liable if someone literally runs out in front of you without looking where they're going and you have no opportunity to stop in time.

Lilsmum, you definitely should have reported the incident to the police immediately though. I'm surprised someone at the hospital didn't call the police to attend at the time of the incident as someone was injured.

thanks for all the replies

enid...no i am not liable, i was in 2nd gear, just pulled out of my parking space, and was heading off the car park, this woman ran between parked cars from the right into my side of the car, i slammed on, she actually ran straight in front of my car the car didnt stop in time...this woman was running for her bus (other side of car park), i am a VERY careful driver, even more so when i have dd in the car.

it could happen to anyone..

I think the fact that you have 4 witnesses that work in the hospital to support your claim of events should go in your favour.

However, I would ask for anything and everything from insurance companies in writing.

Out of interest, has she mentioned how much compensation she wants?

We had an accident about 8 years ago. Someone swerved in front of our car, causing us to swerve and be hit by a car that was travelling in the bus lane (during operating hours). The car infront of us, shot off through a red light so he got away. We did report it to the police and gave them the registration number. We recieved a letter weeks later from the police to say they had questioned the driver and were not taking any further action. We ended up having to pay for the damage to our car.

kid...no shes not said, wish i could get in touch with her though...i am so mad about it all!!

maybe its better that you can't get in touch with her. IMHO, she isn't entitled to anything from you, how were you meant to stop if she suddenly appeared between parked cars?

If you were to get in touch with her and she knew how annoyed you are about it, she could decide that you traumatised her over the phone!

threaten to counter sue! you'r dd has started having nightmares since the incident and has started wetting the bed again. You are no longer able to drive because you keep having disturbing flashbacks. Your irritable bowel syndrome has flared up and you are considering asking your gp for antidpressants. You dh has had enough of listening to it and doesn't feel he can support you any more. Now your marriage is also on the rocks! All beacuse some silly cow, forgot to look before crossing the road.

writeto her solicitors and threaten to sue BIG TIME

lilsmum - did you get any further with this!!!