No Fault Shunt - What Next?

[BlueHave]

After a decade and a bit of not having an accident it happened this week. Sitting stationary in traffic minding my own business when the next thing I feel an intense shunt from the right rear. I keep it calm after a few seconds pull the car over into a verge. He admitted he didn't see me and admitted liability we exchange details and take photos of both cars and after 5 minutes he's on his way and I take time to check over my car. He must have hit me between 20-30mph but apart from deep marks on the bumpers and the bumper slightly pushed out at the side it seemed structurally ok to drive.

I was not far from home at this point so decide the best course was to nurse the car home. The person who hit me said he wanted to deal with this outside of insurance which I'm not sure about as I've little or no experience in dealing with these matters. It seems to get a mixed response. I have had two quotes from a reliable bodyshop one is several hundred for a respray and the other is near a thousand which involves bumper replacement and paint.

I got out of the car but over the last few days my lower back has been killing me as my shoulder and hand as I was holding the wheel with one hand at the time. It has been preventing me from carrying on my days work the last few days and it's really getting a right pain in the ****

Any advice on how I should deal with this?

Edited by BlueHave on Sunday 16th December 02:02

[elanfan]

You’ve got nothing to lose in notifying your insurers on a this is for your information basis. If you then want to peruse him through your insurers your case hasn’t been predjudiced. A 20/30mph impact is really quite serious and I’d be surprised if there wasn’t some underlying damage. Also if you’ve damaged your back sufficiently to merit a claim for physio or more you need to make it official.

Insurers also regard it as a material fact so you should tell them anyway.

[SydneyBridge]

go to your GP asap, so its on record that you're injured and see if physio can be arranged
Report to your insurers asap as well and make sure the other driver is insured. Hs wont have reported it, so his insurers will need to contact him

[havoc]

I'm inclined to agree with the above, with one caveat: going through insurance WILL put your premiums up for the next few years. How much will vary by underwriter.

Ref. a PI claim - have you had any prior back problems? On record, that is...if so they'll be used as a get-out by the 3P insurer against any PI claim.

[Evanivitch]

havoc said:

I'm inclined to agree with the above, with one caveat: going through insurance WILL put your premiums up for the next few years. How much will vary by underwriter.
.

This. But my letter of contract you are required to notify the insurance company regardless of fault or claim. They'll probably find out anyway.

[anonymous-user]

I had a non-fault couple of years back, zero difference to my premiums, YMMV.

OP in your place I’d be straight on to the insurance company of the person who hit you and then to the GP to get injuries assessed - it may just be soft tissue damage and will sort itself out or it may need physio etc. Notify your own insurer for information only.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

havoc said:

going through insurance WILL put your premiums up for the next few years. How much will vary by underwriter.

MIGHT. Not WILL

[KungFuPanda]

havoc said:

Ref. a PI claim - have you had any prior back problems? On record, that is...if so they'll be used as a get-out by the 3P insurer against any PI claim.

No they won't. Any decent medical expert will review the OP's medical records and note any pre existing conditions. They will then attribute any exacerbation of or new symptoms to the accident. The OP's PI claim will then be based on that. So no get out by the Third Party insurer.

People do spout a lot of rubbish sometimes.

[havoc]

KungFuPanda said:

No they won't. Any decent medical expert will review the OP's medical records and note any pre existing conditions. They will then attribute any exacerbation of or new symptoms to the accident. The OP's PI claim will then be based on that.

...and be heavily discounted.

I didn't mean to imply a complete get-out, but it will be taken significantly into consideration...

[martinbiz]

havoc said:

I'm inclined to agree with the above, with one caveat: going through insurance WILL put your premiums up for the next few years. How much will vary by underwriter.

Ref. a PI claim - have you had any prior back problems? On record, that is...if so they'll be used as a get-out by the 3P insurer against any PI claim.

Why assume stuff you don't really know? Every insurer is different, I was rear ended last year while stationary 2k of damage, all went through my ins co and they recovered their costs, zero impact on my renewal.

[Mr Tidy]

martinbiz said:

Why assume stuff you don't really know? Every insurer is different, I was rear ended last year while stationary 2k of damage, all went through my ins co and they recovered their costs, zero impact on my renewal.

I spent over 30 years handling general insurance claims, and these days all motor insurers seem to be the same! (As in cr*p).

In this scenario I'd always claim from the insurer of the vehicle that hit me - they'll be liable for any damage to the car AND any injury.

Your own insurer is only interested in the damage to the car as they don't provide cover for any injury to the driver of the car they insure.

Sadly Twig seems to have typed "might" where he should have typed "will" - I wouldn't even tell my own insurer until it was settled!

Any excuse to load your premium - after all if you have a protected NCD that's their only way to screw you! (And they will if they can).

[kestral]

BlueHave said:

After a decade and a bit of not having an accident it happened this week. Sitting stationary in traffic minding my own business when the next thing I feel an intense shunt from the right rear. I keep it calm after a few seconds pull the car over into a verge. He admitted he didn't see me and admitted liability we exchange details and take photos of both cars and after 5 minutes he's on his way and I take time to check over my car. He must have hit me between 20-30mph but apart from deep marks on the bumpers and the bumper slightly pushed out at the side it seemed structurally ok to drive.

I was not far from home at this point so decide the best course was to nurse the car home. The person who hit me said he wanted to deal with this outside of insurance which I'm not sure about as I've little or no experience in dealing with these matters. It seems to get a mixed response. I have had two quotes from a reliable bodyshop one is several hundred for a respray and the other is near a thousand which involves bumper replacement and paint.

I got out of the car but over the last few days my lower back has been killing me as my shoulder and hand as I was holding the wheel with one hand at the time. It has been preventing me from carrying on my days work the last few days and it's really getting a right pain in the ****

Any advice on how I should deal with this?

Edited by BlueHave on Sunday 16th December 02:02

How is this a 'no fault shunt'?

[BlueHave]

kestral said:

BlueHave said:

After a decade and a bit of not having an accident it happened this week. Sitting stationary in traffic minding my own business when the next thing I feel an intense shunt from the right rear. I keep it calm after a few seconds pull the car over into a verge. He admitted he didn't see me and admitted liability we exchange details and take photos of both cars and after 5 minutes he's on his way and I take time to check over my car. He must have hit me between 20-30mph but apart from deep marks on the bumpers and the bumper slightly pushed out at the side it seemed structurally ok to drive.

I was not far from home at this point so decide the best course was to nurse the car home. The person who hit me said he wanted to deal with this outside of insurance which I'm not sure about as I've little or no experience in dealing with these matters. It seems to get a mixed response. I have had two quotes from a reliable bodyshop one is several hundred for a respray and the other is near a thousand which involves bumper replacement and paint.

I got out of the car but over the last few days my lower back has been killing me as my shoulder and hand as I was holding the wheel with one hand at the time. It has been preventing me from carrying on my days work the last few days and it's really getting a right pain in the ****

Any advice on how I should deal with this?

Edited by BlueHave on Sunday 16th December 02:02

How is this a 'no fault shunt'?

I was sat in a queue of traffic not moving. How can I be held at fault?

[TwigtheWonderkid]

kestral said:

BlueHave said:

After a decade and a bit of not having an accident it happened this week. Sitting stationary in traffic minding my own business when the next thing I feel an intense shunt from the right rear. I keep it calm after a few seconds pull the car over into a verge. He admitted he didn't see me and admitted liability we exchange details and take photos of both cars and after 5 minutes he's on his way and I take time to check over my car. He must have hit me between 20-30mph but apart from deep marks on the bumpers and the bumper slightly pushed out at the side it seemed structurally ok to drive.

I was not far from home at this point so decide the best course was to nurse the car home. The person who hit me said he wanted to deal with this outside of insurance which I'm not sure about as I've little or no experience in dealing with these matters. It seems to get a mixed response. I have had two quotes from a reliable bodyshop one is several hundred for a respray and the other is near a thousand which involves bumper replacement and paint.

I got out of the car but over the last few days my lower back has been killing me as my shoulder and hand as I was holding the wheel with one hand at the time. It has been preventing me from carrying on my days work the last few days and it's really getting a right pain in the ****

Any advice on how I should deal with this?

Edited by BlueHave on Sunday 16th December 02:02

How is this a 'no fault shunt'?

The OP doesn't mean no one was at fault, he means he wasn't at fault.

[Durzel]

Out of interest have you ran his plate through AskMID to see if he's actually insured?....

I wouldn't entertain "outside of insurance" deals on anything but the most absolutely superficial damage. As told there is unknown damage behind the bumper and at the very least require respraying and maybe even bumper replacement (and ancillary sacrificial components underneath).

"Outside of insurance" implies - to me - that the starting point will be a budget conscious repair, possibly even done by "a mate who is great with paint", etc, done off the books with little to no comeback if the repair is substandard.

Add the PI element and it really isn't worth it.

[GreatGranny]

Notify your insurance company now.

Do not deal with this outside of the IC'c whatever the other person says.

Did you have a witness?

[Car-Matt]

Notify your insurer as no doubt your policy T&C's state, then let them deal with it, that's what you pay for.

Details of the accident will be available to all insurers come renewal time anyway whichever insurer you call.

[EarlofDrift]

Thought i's give a bit of an update to this case.

Now 8 months on from the accident and I'm still not able to walk properly and at a decent what would be considered normal pace, can't lift anything, can't climb stairs without pulling myself up one step at a time. Climbing stairs is particularly difficult not to mention embarrassing in public which has led to me having to cancel several appointments and meetings in buildings without lifts or ramps. Daily life is a struggle and everything has to be organised and planned. Couldn't even sit in my car for two months let alone drive it.

Medically apart from walking terribly I have been diagnosed with chronic pain, and suspected nerve damage and that's as far as they are able to tell me so far. I'm currently on a spinal injury waiting list, at 16 weeks at least and continue to take fairly strong medication which is really starting to affect me as I have shakes in my hand from withdrawal of other tablets and because I'm putting so much weight on my left leg I get almost daily leg cramps.

In total I've had both 12 weeks of physio, 4 weeks of hydrotherapy, I've been on at least 4-5 combination of meds, I've been seen by 4-5 GP, 2 physios, 2 consultants both NHS and private and none of them know what the hell is going on with my back. I read my medical notes and picked up on a few points made by the radiographer. The GP said she wasn't able to tell me what it was as she was in her words "Just a GP" and the spinal injury unit would know better (in at least 16 weeks time)

So I made contact with a solicitor hoping the ball would roll a bit further down the road. I thought since liability had been admitted by the person that shunted into me he would try and get the insurance to pay for me to go private and absorb some of the costs. This hasn't worked as I've found out that although the person who caused the accident has admitted liability he told his insurance company the crash could not have caused my injury. Now this person doesn't know anything about my injury. All he knows is that I have made a personal injury claim against him.

So at the minute I've decided since my health insurance hasn't kicked in yet and I've a 4 month wait to get to the next stage of treatment I will pay to go private which will on top of everything else cost several thousand pounds.

The best way to describe it is that I'm in a medical no mans land through no fault of my own. Before the accident I was fit and healthy and in nearly 20 years visited the doctors 5 times. Played sport several times a week and my weight my fairly consistent, now in 8 months added another 3-4 stone to my frame, even simple daily tasks are a struggle.

Frankly disgusted that the person that caused my accident is denying he caused them even though liability has been proved and he has no idea the extent of my injuries, he seems only interested in the cost of his insurance premiums.

The main thing I suppose is that I'm still alive albeit in severe pain and struggling.

Edited by EarlofDrift on Sunday 21st July 22:00

Edited by EarlofDrift on Sunday 21st July 22:04

[TwigtheWonderkid]

Whether his claim costs his insurers £100 or £100K, it'll not effect his additional premiums. The cost of the claim is largely ignored, he'll just lose his ncb and get the standard loading for 1 claim.

I'm sure eventually the claim will be settled in your favour and you'll get back all your costs, plus an amount for pain ans suffering both up to now and in the future. But I don't think the tp is to blame for your weight gain. That's down to you. If, because of the injury, you are far less active, you are an adult, and it's up to you to reduce your calorie intake accordingly.

[meatballs]

EarlofDrift said:

Thought i's give a bit of an update to this case.

Now 8 months on from the accident and I'm still not able to walk properly and at a decent what would be considered normal pace, can't lift anything, can't climb stairs without pulling myself up one step at a time. Climbing stairs is particularly difficult not to mention embarrassing in public which has led to me having to cancel several appointments and meetings in buildings without lifts or ramps. Daily life is a struggle and everything has to be organised and planned. Couldn't even sit in my car for two months let alone drive it.

Medically apart from walking terribly I have been diagnosed with chronic pain, and suspected nerve damage and that's as far as they are able to tell me so far. I'm currently on a spinal injury waiting list, at 16 weeks at least and continue to take fairly strong medication which is really starting to affect me as I have shakes in my hand from withdrawal of other tablets and because I'm putting so much weight on my left leg I get almost daily leg cramps.

In total I've had both 12 weeks of physio, 4 weeks of hydrotherapy, I've been on at least 4-5 combination of meds, I've been seen by 4-5 GP, 2 physios, 2 consultants both NHS and private and none of them know what the hell is going on with my back. I read my medical notes and picked up on a few points made by the radiographer. The GP said she wasn't able to tell me what it was as she was in her words "Just a GP" and the spinal injury unit would know better (in at least 16 weeks time)

So I made contact with a solicitor hoping the ball would roll a bit further down the road. I thought since liability had been admitted by the person that shunted into me he would try and get the insurance to pay for me to go private and absorb some of the costs. This hasn't worked as I've found out that although the person who caused the accident has admitted liability he told his insurance company the crash could not have caused my injury. Now this person doesn't know anything about my injury. All he knows is that I have made a personal injury claim against him.

So at the minute I've decided since my health insurance hasn't kicked in yet and I've a 4 month wait to get to the next stage of treatment I will pay to go private which will on top of everything else cost several thousand pounds.

The best way to describe it is that I'm in a medical no mans land through no fault of my own. Before the accident I was fit and healthy and in nearly 20 years visited the doctors 5 times. Played sport several times a week and my weight my fairly consistent, now in 8 months added another 3-4 stone to my frame, even simple daily tasks are a struggle.

Frankly disgusted that the person that caused my accident is denying he caused them even though liability has been proved and he has no idea the extent of my injuries, he seems only interested in the cost of his insurance premiums.

The main thing I suppose is that I'm still alive albeit in severe pain and struggling.

Edited by EarlofDrift on Sunday 21st July 22:00

Edited by EarlofDrift on Sunday 21st July 22:04

To be fair to the other driver, your original post sounds like you got out and inspected the car and showed no indication of injury. They probably have no inclination that so much damage and pain could manifest after the event if it wasn't displayed at the time.

Sounds like a crap situation to be in but hopefully there is plenty of medical evidence to back it up.

Have you consider a claims management company?

Edited by meatballs on Sunday 21st July 22:28