[loui]

I was rear-ended recently and the other driver is disputing liability.

I was braking when I was hit in the rear by the van travelling behind me. They hit me on my right side which caused my car to spin and turn over, ending up lying on it's driver's side facing into the road. I am injured from the crash and my car will be a write off.

From what the police told me, they are not holding the van driver responsible. They said that the rear driver said I stopped suddenly and this is also what was said by a third driver in the opposite lane. According to the police, the third driver also had their wing mirror taken off by the van, though I wasn't aware of this at the time. There is no dash-cam footage.

I don't remember what was happening immediately prior to the accident and I was taken to hospital and too shaken up to get any details or anything at the scene. I got the other driver's details from the police later. It is frustrating me that I can't remember what happened well enough to give the reason why I braked.

Surely though, when I was hit in the rear, the other car is at fault for not maintaining a safe breaking distance? Even if I did brake, they should be prepared for that? It was dark, which means they should have been taking even more care. How important is the third witness statement seen as?

Confusingly, my insurer also said that the other driver said something about me overtaking which doesn’t make any sense to me and is possibly a red herring.

[Nick]

Hey @loui - welcome to the RAC Community and thanks for making your first post, it's great to have you here.

So a few things in here for me.
Being in the rear is usually fairly cut and dry - I say usually and not always just because, well, sometimes there are other reasons at play. the onus us on the driver behind to leave enough distance to stop safely if the car in front (in this case, you) has to stop suddenly - in an emergency. It doesn't really matter what the reason is.

Now you mention that the van behind hit you on the right side - can you elaborate a bit more as to what that means - which part of your car was actually hit?

Just because the police aren't holding the van driver responsible, doesn't mean that the insurance company wont. Get all the information, the circumstances that happened etc, in to your insurers and let them handle it. It sounds to me so far , with what you've said, that you have a good position in all of this, but it's for them to decide when they know the full picture from you, and then what the other party's insurer says back.

[loui]

Thank you. To clarify - the van hit the rear of my car, but rather than being straight on, they hit me towards my driver's side (right when looking at the back). And I think their van was damaged more on their passenger side at the front, which makes sense. Presumably this is because they were trying to swerve to avoid me and pulling towards the centre of the road, which is why they caught the wing mirror of the car coming in the opposite direction. My car then spun, which is presumably because the collision was unbalanced and more on the driver's side of my car. I hope that makes sense.

I know it's really for them to decide, I suppose my worry is that if I pursue personal injury claim (e.g. I think physiotherapy would be helpful), but then I am held partially or wholly liable, will that massively impact my insurance premium such that it is not worth doing? Or is the fact it has happened and been a total loss already going to have the biggest impact and it won't make much difference what the final figure is?

[loui]

Sorry, by right I mean driver's side - the van must have pulled to the right so the impact was the front passenger side of the van with the rear driver's side of my car. I hope that clarifies.

I know it's really down to the insurance companies to hash it out, I suppose my worry is how it might effect other aspects. E.g. if I claim for physiotherapy and I end up being held jointly or wholly liable, does that being added to the cost of the claim mean my insurance premium would get even higher? And thus not worth asking for this?Or is it not going to make much difference since the car is also a total loss anyway and therefore I should just claim for whatever additional costs I have?

[Santa]

You really need legal advice. If your car insurance doesn't cover it, consider checking your home insurance policy. Worth looking into.

If all else fails, then you need a lawyer who will take the case on a "No Win No Fee" basis. Even if you were at fault, you still have a personal injury claim, and your insurers will have to cover the loss of your car.

It's a horrible situation, and I really hope it turns out well for you. Please let us know how it goes.

[Beelzebub]

Originally Posted by Santa

If all else fails, then you need a lawyer who will take the case on a "No Win No Fee" basis. Even if you were at fault, you still have a personal injury claim, and your insurers will have to cover the loss of your car.

.

If the OP were at fault, who would he have a PI claim against?

[olduser]

Just a thought or two;
Usually, with a rear end, the following driver has to prove it was not his fault, the following driver should be driving with enough space to stop if you have to stop.

Did the police who are saying it was not the van drivers fault witness the crash?

The van hitting you on the right (rear side?) is very unlikely if you were overtaking, this is more likely to happen if the van took evasive action, by swerving to the right, trying to miss you?
Is there damage to the right rear corner of your car if so, one scenario could be - van driver swerves to avoid you but hits right rear corner, pushing your car side on to van making your car roll over?

If the police have not charged you with dangerous driving (braking for no reason?) that would suggest they are not sure.

Obviously, I am not saying any of the above is fact, rather they are points that need to be looked at.

In the information you give your insurers, as Nick has suggested, I would include the above points, I would include a sketch of vehicles positions before the crash (drawing this may help you to remember more detail)

Best wishes.

[loui]

I've posted a reply twice and it's not showing up so I hope this one works!

To clarify - by right I mean the rear of my car towards the driver's side - presumably the van swerved to the right to try and avoid me so the passenger side of the front of their van hit the driver's side of the rear of my car.

I realise that it's primarily up to my insurer to sort it out. I suppose what I am currently wondering is if the only evidence they have is the third driver also saying that I stopped suddenly, then is that likely to be viewed as enough? To the question re whether the police observed the incident, no they didn't. And the point that they're not prosecuting me any more than the van driver is a good one so thank you!

My concern currently I suppose is about making further claims for physio and such like. If I end up being held partially or wholly responsible then will making a personal injury claim inflate the cost of insurance for me so much that it isn't worth doing? Or since my car will be written off anyway, is anything additional going to make little difference at this point?

[Nick]

A reasonably similar incident happened to my wife many years ago, where she was hit on the rear passenger side by a truck trying to change lanes behind her on a motorway, spun her around and then hit her again in the side of the car. Our case went on for some time, with them claiming it was my wife at fault and she who was changing lanes. However, I ultimately proved their version of events impossible, producing an annotated image from Google Maps (probably quite revolutionary at the time!) showing what happened. Funnily enough they then offered to settle without going to court, which we'd already said we would go to. I guess it shows not to mess with a fraud investigator from the industry!

Anyway, my point is - it does sound as though you're not at fault - get as much evidence as possible to your insurers, including (but not limited to) sketches, screenshots of the location from Google Maps, reference numbers from the police and Highway Patrol if they attended, images of damage and so on. Get a copy of their report from your insurers and see what it says, being prepared to refute it if it's not what happened. Remember that your insurers are working for you - remind them of that if it feels they're not acting in your best interests.

Good luck @loui and let us know how things progress.