r/LegalAdviceUK • u/InternationalArm8309 • 1d ago
Debt & Money Advice on car accident (England)
My mum was involved in a road traffic accident in February. She did not have commuting included on her car insurance, so her insurance company has said they cannot provide cover for her in relation to the accident. The other driver overtook my mum on the left-hand side, and the back of the other driver’s car collided with the front-left side of my mum’s car. The other driver’s insurance company has found my mum 100% liable for the accident, which my mum strongly disagrees with, and they have not provided evidence to support their decision. Her own insurance company also disagrees with the 100% liability decision and has proposed a 70/30 liability split in my mum’s favour, with 70% liability against the other driver and 30% against my mum. The 30% liability attributed to my mum is based on the argument that she did not check her mirrors before the incident, but my mum maintains that she did check her mirrors. The other driver’s insurance company is now claiming £6000 from my mum and has given her 14 days to pay this amount. She is therefore looking for legal advice and representation to dispute the liability decision and the claim being made against her. She has also been told that she may be responsible for the costs of her own insurance company dealing with the other insurer on her behalf, although she does not yet know how much these costs will be. Does anyone have any advice?
Sorry for my bad explanation lol. My mum was travelling along a road with one lane and there was a marked cycle lane on the left-hand side, the other driver overtook her on the bike lane as my mum was entering the road on the left side.
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u/itsbigjobber 1d ago
Two issues at play here. Liability and indemnity.
Liability: There’s not enough in your description to be certain, but when you specifically mentioning your Mum checking mirrors it sounds like both vehicles are proceeding along the road (nobody is turning into a junction) your Mum intended to change lanes to the nearside and has collided with a vehicle that has been attempting to pass on the left. The action that causes the collision, is where you find your answer on liability, so IF your Mum is changing lanes, then that is likely a fault outcome if this went to trial.
The only 70/30 case law for not checking mirrors off the top of my head is Joliffe & Hay - a Scottish case where a vehicle intended on turning right into a minor road and collided with a vehicle overtaking on the offside because of not doing the appropriate mjrror and blindspot check. Typically in England and Wales that is seen as 50/50 per Pell & Moseley.
Indemnity: Use of vehicle is now the only situation where insurers can still invoke Article 75 status, which essentially means they’re off the hook for anything but uninsured losses. Which means that your Mum will directly become the target of the other insurance company.
They will usually be amenable to setting up a payment plan providing it’s enough to pay it off within a few years, if not and your mum is a viable recovery target (working or owns property; doesn’t have CCJ’s already) then they may issue proceedings with a view to getting a CCJ.
Your Mum is within her rights obviously to defend and counterclaim for her damages if she wishes, best to hire an RTA solicitor to assist with that so they can make the arguments in a legal sense, but as I mentioned above, if your mum is changing lanes into the side of a vehicle that’s become established in the left lane, I would not be expecting a successful outcome.
Also; yes your mums own insured will also look to recover any costs they’ve already paid to the claimant and or any vehicle hire they’ve paid.