Lessons From Court Case

javadude · February 3, 2004

Yesterday I went to court about an accident between a nissan micra and my car back in nov '02. I won :) so I finally get my excess back.

I learnt the following in the process which I thought would be useful to pass on:

- The accident happened on the first exit of a roundabout. I'd approached, navigated and exited the roundabout in lane 2 of a dual carriageway although there were no road markings/signs to show that using the right hand lane for the first exit was a valid manouver. The highway code says you should only use the left hand lane for the first exit. In practice though a traffic queue builds up around the roundabout in the right hand lane so it is common practice for people to use that lane for the first exit. So it is possible to have a case go in your favour when you did not adhear to the highway code if you can show it was safer given the traffic/road conditions to adopt a different practice.

- I didn't take photos at the time but I did take some of the scene at the same time of day a few days later. They showed the following things which turned out to be very relevant during the hearing: The level of traffic at that time of day, the queue of traffic in the right hand lane and the common practice of turning left from the right hand lane, the distance from the roundabout to the subsequent traffic lights. So well worth going back and taking photos even if you don't have a camera at the time.

- The other party had a brief description on her claim form and her witness statement appeared pretty short too. (She also changed her story between the time of the claim and the case. It was quite handy when we pulled out a copy of her claim form for the judge to see :) ) I had a full description on my claim form and witness statement with photos and lots of explanation looking at the common practice of other road users, the lanes we both needed to be in for our journeys etc. My barrister's view was that judges tend to base a lot of their decision on the written material supplied before the hearing. My arguments also gave the barrister a good starting point. So take time on your claim form etc -it could be vital later.

- The barrister also mentioned that unless the nature of the damage is very convicing the judges don't like to pay too much attention to it. If it is very convincing then the insurers would probably have sorted things out correctly by themselves.

- I mentioned my previous lost case involving a motorcycle courier weaving between lanes and this barrister said that judges tend to find in favour of motorcyclists in around 95% of all cases. :(

Matthew_McNally · February 3, 2004

I won :) so I finally get my excess back.

glad to hear you finally git this sorted Chris - nice result mate ;)

javadude · February 3, 2004

The other driver's story at the hearing was that I'd taken the roundabout too fast and "cut the corner" encroaching into the left hand lane.

Wooaah where'd that roundabout come from?

Funny but I've driven around that roundabout every week for the last 10 years and for 7 years of that every day on the way home from work. Odd that I'd suddenly misjudge my speed and where the lanes were so badly. And while I had my two small children in the car and a boot load of shopping with a damp road in a rear wheel drive car.... :duh:

AMH · February 3, 2004

Good result and very useful info. for future cases - thank you.

Claire G · February 3, 2004

- I didn't take photos at the time but I did take some of the scene at the same time of day a few days later.
- The other party had a brief description on her claim form and her witness statement appeared pretty short too. (She also changed her story between the time of the claim and the case. It was quite handy when we pulled out a copy of her claim form for the judge to see :) ) I had a full description on my claim form and witness statement with photos and lots of explanation looking at the common practice of other road users, the lanes we both needed to be in for our journeys etc.

So take time on your claim form etc -it could be vital later.

Glad it went your way and thanks for the tips! What are the implications to the Nissan driver - will they now lose their NCB or do the insurers just take the hit?

I agree 100% with your comments - I've just had a claim settled in my favour after an accident last August when I was hit by a lorry. Like you I didn't have a camera at the time so went back the next day to take photo's of the road etc.

I found that my insurer filled in the accident details on the claim form for me from our phone conversation. When it was sent to me, on the advice of my brother who works in insurance, I crossed out the 2 lines they'd written and wrote my own comprehensive account and attached the photo's.

Although it's taken about 5 months to get sorted, my solicitor said it was invaluable information in getting the insurers to find in my favour, refund my excess and restore my NCB :)

javadude · February 3, 2004

What are the implications to the Nissan driver - will they now lose their NCB or do the insurers just take the hit?

I guess if it's not protected then they will loose some NCB. Their insurer originally offered a 50/50 split of blame so we would have both lost our NCB and excess. I rejected it. My barrister explained my insurers readiness to accept the 50/50 deal: By accepting them, even though sometimes they will pay out more in repairs, then in general they keep their legal costs down etc - they also get to keep your excess, raise your premium etc.