Porsche destroyed in head on crash
Porsche destroyed in head on crash
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Discussion

stichill99

Original Poster:

1,193 posts

203 months

Wednesday 24th May 2023
quotequote all
On Saturday afternoon I left home and got half a mile down the road when a white bmw came at high speed round a blind bend completely on my side of the road and hit me head on. I was going slowly thankfully and suffered 4 broken ribs,punctured lung,severley bruised , scraped legs and whiplash as I was trapped in car and had to be removed by fire brigade with hydraulic rams etc.
After 3 days in hospital I had recovered enough to be allowed home but am now wondering as I am self employed and unable to work if I should get a solicitor to claim for my loss of income .When I last spoke to police they mentioned about it. I presume the claim would me be made against the bmw drivers insurance company? Car was on agreed value insurance so presume that is all in order. I do have my own personal injury at work which will pay me £400 a week but nothing to cover my lost income etc. Any good advice gratefully received.

Grumps.

16,915 posts

58 months

Wednesday 24th May 2023
quotequote all
stichill99 said:
On Saturday afternoon I left home and got half a mile down the road when a white bmw came at high speed round a blind bend completely on my side of the road and hit me head on. I was going slowly thankfully and suffered 4 broken ribs,punctured lung,severley bruised , scraped legs and whiplash as I was trapped in car and had to be removed by fire brigade with hydraulic rams etc.
After 3 days in hospital I had recovered enough to be allowed home but am now wondering as I am self employed and unable to work if I should get a solicitor to claim for my loss of income .When I last spoke to police they mentioned about it. I presume the claim would me be made against the bmw drivers insurance company? Car was on agreed value insurance so presume that is all in order. I do have my own personal injury at work which will pay me £400 a week but nothing to cover my lost income etc. Any good advice gratefully received.
Have they admittedly liability?

Jamescrs

5,858 posts

87 months

Wednesday 24th May 2023
quotequote all
Your potential claim would be against the BMW driver directly, he would then pass it on to his insurer.

I can't comment on how successful a claim would be however, I have no experience of it

stichill99

Original Poster:

1,193 posts

203 months

Wednesday 24th May 2023
quotequote all
I don't know but police have told me they will be charging him with dangerous driving and were happy that my statement confirmed everything they were thinking about the accident.

SydneyBridge

10,912 posts

180 months

Wednesday 24th May 2023
quotequote all
Yes you can claim for any loss of earnings, tough to prove if self-employed but should be ok as long as medical evidence backs if up.
Get a decent solicitor instructed, was the other driver insured?
Take your time, no rush

Mandat

4,399 posts

260 months

Wednesday 24th May 2023
quotequote all
Grumps. said:
Have they admittedly liability?
It's an important legal step, but based on the OP's description and the potential DD prosecution of the BMW driver, it seems that establishing liability won't be a difficult task.

qwerty360

277 posts

67 months

Wednesday 24th May 2023
quotequote all
stichill99 said:
I do have my own personal injury at work which will pay me £400 a week but nothing to cover my lost income etc. Any good advice gratefully received.
It wouldn't surprise me if the insurer for this will expect/require you to recover from other at fault parties if possible. Assuming UK based the NHS can also claim some costs (Weird rules which both limit the amounts and restrict them to claiming amounts covered by insurance).

It is probably worth talking to the injury at work insurer as they might provide solicitors etc for this as part of cover...

surveyor

18,588 posts

206 months

Wednesday 24th May 2023
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My parents were involved in a bad non-fault crash last year when a car pulled out from behind a lorry on a NSL road directly in front of them.

They were pretty banged up, particularly my mother. The injuries part of the claim is still ongoing, partly deliberately I think as it takes time for long term consequences to become clear.

The other driver, did a runner (back to his caravan) but was insured. His insurer has never heard of him, but they are dealing with the claim. Probably. Their own insurer has paid out for the car.

Basically this is going to take time...

TwigtheWonderkid

47,847 posts

172 months

Wednesday 24th May 2023
quotequote all
Speak to your own insurer. They will be trying to claim back the money they pay you for your Porsche so might incorporate your injury and uninsured losses. Or you may have legal expenses cover within your own policy.

fred bloggs

1,379 posts

222 months

Wednesday 24th May 2023
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SydneyBridge said:
Yes you can claim for any loss of earnings, tough to prove if self-employed
Not if record keeping is good.
Regarding injury's, these can manifest many years after the accident, and you will probably be offered settlements with stipulations that you may not re-open a claim.

stichill99

Original Poster:

1,193 posts

203 months

Wednesday 24th May 2023
quotequote all
My work insurance is with a different company to car which was with a classic specialist! I was thinking of getting an independent solicitor to claim for my loss of earnings.. I am a farmer and I am coming up to silage time but have been told not to drive tractor until ribs fully sorted so will need to hire in a contractor at greater expense than if I had been able to do the job myself so wanted to claim all the added costs I am going to have over the next 6 weeks.

SydneyBridge

10,912 posts

180 months

Wednesday 24th May 2023
quotequote all
Are you insured with NFU? They may be able to point you in the right diection. As above, check if you have legal expenses insurance on anything, will make life a million times easier

TonyTony

1,882 posts

180 months

Wednesday 24th May 2023
quotequote all
stichill99 said:
On Saturday afternoon I left home and got half a mile down the road when a white bmw came at high speed round a blind bend completely on my side of the road and hit me head on. I was going slowly thankfully and suffered 4 broken ribs,punctured lung,severley bruised , scraped legs and whiplash as I was trapped in car and had to be removed by fire brigade with hydraulic rams etc.
After 3 days in hospital I had recovered enough to be allowed home but am now wondering as I am self employed and unable to work if I should get a solicitor to claim for my loss of income .When I last spoke to police they mentioned about it. I presume the claim would me be made against the bmw drivers insurance company? Car was on agreed value insurance so presume that is all in order. I do have my own personal injury at work which will pay me £400 a week but nothing to cover my lost income etc. Any good advice gratefully received.
If Police are charging him, he can't really deny fault.

Presuming you are going to claim injury via insurance you can claim loss of earning through the same solicitor.

SydneyBridge

10,912 posts

180 months

Wednesday 24th May 2023
quotequote all
He can still plead not guilty and go to Trial. Same happened to me and the other chap admitted liability the week before ths Trial

QBee

22,092 posts

166 months

Wednesday 24th May 2023
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As mentioned above, don't jump to settle on the personal injury claim.
My daughter, then 18, was excited by the £7k on offer and accepted it before I could stop her.
18 years on, she still gets pain and dislocations from the injuries caused by the texting culprit.

reggie747

263 posts

149 months

Thursday 25th May 2023
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SydneyBridge said:
tough to prove if self-employed
Not at all, just rock up and show them your books...

QBee

22,092 posts

166 months

Thursday 25th May 2023
quotequote all
reggie747 said:
SydneyBridge said:
tough to prove if self-employed
Not at all, just rock up and show them your books...
Agreed - every self-employed person has to create a set of accounts annually to complete a tax return.
That set of accounts includes their turnover and profit, both numbers then go on the tax return.
A certified copy of the submitted tax return (SA302) is what every self-employed mortgage applicant has to provide to the finance people.

Pro Bono

682 posts

99 months

Thursday 25th May 2023
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stichill99 said:
On Saturday afternoon I left home and got half a mile down the road when a white bmw came at high speed round a blind bend completely on my side of the road and hit me head on. I was going slowly thankfully and suffered 4 broken ribs,punctured lung,severley bruised , scraped legs and whiplash as I was trapped in car and had to be removed by fire brigade with hydraulic rams etc.
After 3 days in hospital I had recovered enough to be allowed home but am now wondering as I am self employed and unable to work if I should get a solicitor to claim for my loss of income .When I last spoke to police they mentioned about it. I presume the claim would me be made against the bmw drivers insurance company? Car was on agreed value insurance so presume that is all in order. I do have my own personal injury at work which will pay me £400 a week but nothing to cover my lost income etc. Any good advice gratefully received.
This is the sort of case solicitors have wet dreams about! As the police have charged him, liability won't be in issue, and it's just a matter of how much compo you are entitled to.

So yes, you need a solicitor to handle the claim. There are literally thousands of them who will snatch your hand off for such an easy case on a no win no fee basis.

But beware! Most solicitors who do this type of work will want to deduct a `success fee' of 25% of your compo, theoretically to compensate them for the risk of losing. But in a slam dunk case like there there is no risk, so get a solicitor who will handle the claim without a success fee.

Compensation in such a case will be in the tens of thousands, so 25% is a chunky amount, and worth avoiding if you can (which you can).

Avenicus

572 posts

66 months

Friday 26th May 2023
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Legal cover on house/car insurance?

TwigtheWonderkid

47,847 posts

172 months

Friday 26th May 2023
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Avenicus said:
Legal cover on house/car insurance?
Legal cover on house insurance usually specifically excludes motoring accidents, unless you were hit by a car on a bicycle or as a pedestrian. Car insurance legal expenses would be the answer.