Small Bump - Advice please
Discussion
So back at the end of June I was in a small, low speed accident where I went into the back of another car, totally my fault there. The damage was minimal, it broke the number plate on my car and left two small marks from the plate screws on his bumper. So there I was kicking myself for dropping the ball and being at the mercy of the insurance industry, hoping that the repair costs would be minimal and that he'd have enough moral integrity to not claim whiplash.
Anyhow, I've had a letter today from an ambulance chaser firm stating that he went to the hospital and has indeed got whiplash. The letter says I was doing an estimated 20 - 30 mph, which is obviously false, the witness is the passenger, and the guy's needed 12 days off work (presumably to visit his physiotherapist in Tenerife)
So what's going to happen next? In my confusion I forgot to take any photos of the damage... I know that there have been lots of iffy whiplash claims going round, is my insurer likely to have to pay for this? What should I do next, other than phone my insurance? Thanks!
Anyhow, I've had a letter today from an ambulance chaser firm stating that he went to the hospital and has indeed got whiplash. The letter says I was doing an estimated 20 - 30 mph, which is obviously false, the witness is the passenger, and the guy's needed 12 days off work (presumably to visit his physiotherapist in Tenerife)
So what's going to happen next? In my confusion I forgot to take any photos of the damage... I know that there have been lots of iffy whiplash claims going round, is my insurer likely to have to pay for this? What should I do next, other than phone my insurance? Thanks!
Flying Toaster said:
he went to the hospital and has indeed got whiplash.
Are you disputing the doctor's assessment?Whiplash is common in low speed bumps. If it was enough to cause bumper damage it was enough to potentially cause whiplash.
If you suspect that it was a crash-for-cash case, I hope you reported it to the police? If not, then please look where you're going.
Last year my wife was hit from behind at about 15mph while stationary at a busy junction. She was changing the radio station at the time so was slightly twisted to the left. She wasn't sore the first day but had a tingly arm so went to hospital. The result was a month of acute pain followed by several months of dull pain. 2 weeks off work, weeks of physiotherapy (not in Tenerife, in a scummy business park) and of course the faff of having to get the car repaired.
I would never have believed it if it was anyone else. The damage to the car was just a slightly dented/cut bumper. But my wife had to be dragged to the hospital and she doesn't take sick-leave for anything (her work piles up when she's not there, and she gets complaints) so I was amazed when she said she was too sore to go in.
I'm sure the lady that hit her thought the same as you when the claim came in, but the fact is my wife could have been spared a lot of pain if that lady had kept her eyes on the road.
Edited by R E S T E C P on Wednesday 3rd August 17:06
Flying Toaster said:
Yes insurance are aware. I'll just phone them and tell them that's not what I thought happened. The fact that both cars were able to drive away is evidence that it wasn't that fast.
So you're going against people's advice already. Let them deal with it. Your uneducated opinion as to whether the third party has or hasn't got whiplash has no bearing on how the insurers deal with the claim whatsoever. They can deal with the claim as they see fit.
R E S T E C P said:
Are you disputing the doctor's assessment?
Whiplash is common in low speed bumps. If it was enough to cause bumper damage it was enough to potentially cause whiplash.
If you suspect that it was a crash-for-cash case, I hope you reported it to the police? If not, then please look where you're going.
Last year my wife was hit from behind at about 15mph while stationary at a busy junction. She was changing the radio station at the time so was slightly twisted to the left. She wasn't sore the first day but had a tingly arm so went to hospital. The result was a month of acute pain followed by several months of dull pain. 2 weeks off work, weeks of physiotherapy (not in Tenerife, in a scummy business park) and of course the faff of having to get the car repaired.
I would never have believed it if it was anyone else. The damage to the car was just a slightly dented/cut bumper. But my wife had to be dragged to the hospital and she doesn't take sick-leave for anything (her work piles up when she's not there, and she gets complaints) so I was amazed when she said she was too sore to go in.
I'm sure the lady that hit her thought the same as you when the claim came in, but the fact is my wife could have been spared a lot of pain if that lady had kept her eyes on the road.
Do I doubt he has whiplash? Somewhat, obviously I have no way of knowing if he actually does or doesn't so maybe he does, in which case I can only apologise, the Tenerife remark was a little flippant, I admit.Whiplash is common in low speed bumps. If it was enough to cause bumper damage it was enough to potentially cause whiplash.
If you suspect that it was a crash-for-cash case, I hope you reported it to the police? If not, then please look where you're going.
Last year my wife was hit from behind at about 15mph while stationary at a busy junction. She was changing the radio station at the time so was slightly twisted to the left. She wasn't sore the first day but had a tingly arm so went to hospital. The result was a month of acute pain followed by several months of dull pain. 2 weeks off work, weeks of physiotherapy (not in Tenerife, in a scummy business park) and of course the faff of having to get the car repaired.
I would never have believed it if it was anyone else. The damage to the car was just a slightly dented/cut bumper. But my wife had to be dragged to the hospital and she doesn't take sick-leave for anything (her work piles up when she's not there, and she gets complaints) so I was amazed when she said she was too sore to go in.
I'm sure the lady that hit her thought the same as you when the claim came in, but the fact is my wife could have been spared a lot of pain if that lady had kept her eyes on the road.
Edited by R E S T E C P on Wednesday 3rd August 17:06
The thing is the speed claimed is too high, it wasn't 20, it wasn't 15. It was less than 5 mph. Also, forgive me if I'm wrong here, isn't the reason that it's so easy to claim whiplash because there's no visible symptoms to the doctor looking? So if the person can put on a good act of pretending they've got a stiff neck then that's it.
I will look out in future, because people never have unfortunate lapses in concentration. Ever.
For the record, here's the results of a 12 mph impact:
Different cars but the effect is the same. If I'd have hit him at the speed he claimed there would have been some considerable damage, but there wasn't any outside of the two small marks left by the screws, no broken bumper mountings, cracks, nothing. On either car
Jasandjules said:
snorky782 said:
So what? Your insurance is paying, not you. There will be no more impact on your premium due to this additional head of claim.
So what? Well, if the person is being fraudulent I care. I'd like to see such people jailed....snorky782 said:
Jasandjules said:
snorky782 said:
So what? Your insurance is paying, not you. There will be no more impact on your premium due to this additional head of claim.
So what? Well, if the person is being fraudulent I care. I'd like to see such people jailed....OP, I understand your frustration. Slightly different situation, but years ago I was hit by an uninsured driver. No injuries but both cars heavily damaged and written off. Other party did a runner and never caught, police (and witness) agreed it was 100% their fault. About 6 months later I got a bill from the local council for about £700 for repairs to railings which had been damaged! Really wound me up as it hadn't even been my car which hit the railings. I was the only party they had details for so was an obvious target.
I was tempted to call the council and tell them to stick it, but calmed down and just left it to the insurance company to sort, at the end of the day that's what you pay them for.
I was tempted to call the council and tell them to stick it, but calmed down and just left it to the insurance company to sort, at the end of the day that's what you pay them for.
ash73 said:
snorky782 said:
ash73 said:
Get a dashcam.
What will that prove other than the OP hit the other car? Whiplash is a slow speed impact injury, so it will happily make the case for the other side. Every car should have one, imo.
ash73 said:
I agree, but it will provide evidence that can assist the owner in other scenarios. For example if someone brake tests the car behind and deliberately causes an accident; the person behind is normally assumed to be at fault but a dashcam would provide evidence to the contrary.
As that's not the case here, then it's a bit of a moot discussion. ash73 said:
For example if someone brake tests the car behind and deliberately causes an accident; the person behind is normally assumed to be at fault but a dashcam would provide evidence to the contrary.
I obviously have no sympathy for crash-for-cash drivers, they should be locked up and banned for life.But in most videos of crash-for-cash bumps I've seen, it could have been avoided if the "victim" maintained at the very least a 2 second gap.
In most of these cases, a dashcam only proves that the car behind was driving too close.
Sometimes people brake suddenly for non-malicious reasons.
It does make me wonder.
People go diving, bunjie jumping, do tough mudder, fall off chairs, bump in to each other etc...
Yet a tapped bumper on their VW Golf puts them in hospital.
Not saying everyone is morally corrupt, But i think a potential pay out must have some strange effect on the nervous system.
People go diving, bunjie jumping, do tough mudder, fall off chairs, bump in to each other etc...
Yet a tapped bumper on their VW Golf puts them in hospital.
Not saying everyone is morally corrupt, But i think a potential pay out must have some strange effect on the nervous system.
Prizam said:
It does make me wonder.
People go diving, bunjie jumping, do tough mudder, fall off chairs, bump in to each other etc...
Yet a tapped bumper on their VW Golf puts them in hospital.
Not saying everyone is morally corrupt, But i think a potential pay out must have some strange effect on the nervous system.
Of course it does. It seems strange to me though how nobody on here ever seems to claim. You'd think that the law of averages would show some claims on here. People go diving, bunjie jumping, do tough mudder, fall off chairs, bump in to each other etc...
Yet a tapped bumper on their VW Golf puts them in hospital.
Not saying everyone is morally corrupt, But i think a potential pay out must have some strange effect on the nervous system.
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