Friend hit cyclist - claiming not her fault. Next steps?
Discussion
A friend of my Mrs hit a cyclist last week. Her story is that she was turning right at lights on green, when a cyclist rode in front of her. She was going 25mph and the cyclist ended up on the window, causing her screen to crack quite significantly. Thankfully, there were no serious injuries and the young lad on the bike was okay despite not wearing a helmet!
The Police arrived on the scene and took information from witnesses, and said that there’d be no further action taken against any party. Unfortunately my friend’s English is limited and she didn’t take a Police reference number or the details of witnesses and the cyclist.
Her windscreen is pretty badly damaged and my advice to her was to pop it on the drive and get Autoglass out to fix it, as it’s an old Golf. This is what I’d do, personally as I think it’s the most hassle-free course. I’ve told her that it’s unlikely anything will come through from the cyclist as he was a young lad without a helmet, he’s probably had the fright of his life and a b
king from his folks!
However, she wants to:
A) Claim on insurance that she woke up in the morning and the windscreen was damaged like that. I told her that this is Insurance fraud and you should never lie to your insurers! If she is going to claim, she needs to be truthful. I advised her against claiming full stop as I am concerned they may write the car off!
B) Go to the hospital pretending to be injured and try to sue the lad. I think this is outrageous, personally. Young lad has been through enough and it is again fraudulent in my eyes.
Some advice from here may go some way in backing up my thoughts or providing some other options. It’s a piece of st Golf and she’s still pottering around in it even with the damage. Truthfully if she wishes to pursue either of those paths I hope she gets done!
Thoughts? Cheers
The Police arrived on the scene and took information from witnesses, and said that there’d be no further action taken against any party. Unfortunately my friend’s English is limited and she didn’t take a Police reference number or the details of witnesses and the cyclist.
Her windscreen is pretty badly damaged and my advice to her was to pop it on the drive and get Autoglass out to fix it, as it’s an old Golf. This is what I’d do, personally as I think it’s the most hassle-free course. I’ve told her that it’s unlikely anything will come through from the cyclist as he was a young lad without a helmet, he’s probably had the fright of his life and a b
king from his folks!However, she wants to:
A) Claim on insurance that she woke up in the morning and the windscreen was damaged like that. I told her that this is Insurance fraud and you should never lie to your insurers! If she is going to claim, she needs to be truthful. I advised her against claiming full stop as I am concerned they may write the car off!
B) Go to the hospital pretending to be injured and try to sue the lad. I think this is outrageous, personally. Young lad has been through enough and it is again fraudulent in my eyes.
Some advice from here may go some way in backing up my thoughts or providing some other options. It’s a piece of s
t Golf and she’s still pottering around in it even with the damage. Truthfully if she wishes to pursue either of those paths I hope she gets done!Thoughts? Cheers
Have a serious word with your Mrs about her choice of friends !
She hit a cyclist hard enough to break the windscreen and she wants to complain about her injuries ?!
If she wants to make a civil claim for damages - she needs to understand that she will invite a counterclaim from the cyclist for his/her injuries. It's very likely that having been in collision with a vulnerable road user she will be deemed to be at least partly responsible even if the cyclist did jump the lights or cross the path of an established vehicle. The cyclist will claim directly against the insurer. Failing to inform your insurer that you were involved in an RTA where people were injured (even if only yourself) is a very bad idea.
She already has an obligation to declare this incident to her insurers. If everyone has shaken hands and walked away it's a calculated risk that that they will never find out. If she makes a Civil Claim against the cyclist she will create a record of the incident.
If she starts making up stories to her insurers she's very likely to be found out. At best this will increase future premiums - at worst it will make her effectively uninsurable.
If I'd hit a cyclist hard enough to break my windscreen I'd feel very vulnerable if I didn't inform them even if no party intended to make a claim.
Only 2 options here:
1. Phone insurers and report the incident honestly, tell them you believe you weren't at fault and neither party intends to make a claim and pay Auto glass to sort it out.
2. Claim on insurance and report the incident honestly, tell them you believe you weren't at fault and claim for damage to car and any injuries. Let the insurer decide whether to peruse the 3rd party for recovery of costs.
Anything else is asking for trouble. And as you say well deserved trouble ....
She hit a cyclist hard enough to break the windscreen and she wants to complain about her injuries ?!
If she wants to make a civil claim for damages - she needs to understand that she will invite a counterclaim from the cyclist for his/her injuries. It's very likely that having been in collision with a vulnerable road user she will be deemed to be at least partly responsible even if the cyclist did jump the lights or cross the path of an established vehicle. The cyclist will claim directly against the insurer. Failing to inform your insurer that you were involved in an RTA where people were injured (even if only yourself) is a very bad idea.
She already has an obligation to declare this incident to her insurers. If everyone has shaken hands and walked away it's a calculated risk that that they will never find out. If she makes a Civil Claim against the cyclist she will create a record of the incident.
If she starts making up stories to her insurers she's very likely to be found out. At best this will increase future premiums - at worst it will make her effectively uninsurable.
If I'd hit a cyclist hard enough to break my windscreen I'd feel very vulnerable if I didn't inform them even if no party intended to make a claim.
Only 2 options here:
1. Phone insurers and report the incident honestly, tell them you believe you weren't at fault and neither party intends to make a claim and pay Auto glass to sort it out.
2. Claim on insurance and report the incident honestly, tell them you believe you weren't at fault and claim for damage to car and any injuries. Let the insurer decide whether to peruse the 3rd party for recovery of costs.
Anything else is asking for trouble. And as you say well deserved trouble ....
Edited by Seight_Returns on Tuesday 23 April 10:38
Thanks for the good advice so far. I have passed on the comments from this thread to the missus and she'll be passing it on.
I should point out that this girl is an utter muppet and not really a 'friend', but more of an associate through very long and convoluted relationships. Suffice to say that we know her and that we're the first point of contact in anything like this as my missus is the only one who can fluently speak English. Cheers
I should point out that this girl is an utter muppet and not really a 'friend', but more of an associate through very long and convoluted relationships. Suffice to say that we know her and that we're the first point of contact in anything like this as my missus is the only one who can fluently speak English. Cheers
Last time I claimed for a windscreen they never asked about how it happened, just phoned them up and said it had a large crack in it and they send someone out to fix it.
Might also be worth ringing a small independent windscreen company for a quote as it might not be a lot different from the excess.
Might also be worth ringing a small independent windscreen company for a quote as it might not be a lot different from the excess.
Edited by andye30m3 on Tuesday 23 April 10:50
It's pretty obvious to someone who replaces windscreens all day when a widescreen has been cracked by a stone chip that's propagated - or by hitting a pedestrian/cyclist.
You might get away with it - but you're beholden to the Autoglass Technican as to what they write on the report to the insurer as to why the windscreen needed replacement rather than a chip/crack repair.
You might get away with it - but you're beholden to the Autoglass Technican as to what they write on the report to the insurer as to why the windscreen needed replacement rather than a chip/crack repair.
andye30m3 said:
Last time I claimed for a windscreen they never asked about how it happened, just phoned them up and said it had a large crack in it and they send someone out to fix it.
Might also be worth ringing a small independent windscreen company for a quote as it might not be a lot different from the excess.
Same, in fact I never even spoke to my insurance company. When you make the booking with autoglass they just ask who's paying, and if you say insurance they just ask for your details and sort it all out for you behind the scenesMight also be worth ringing a small independent windscreen company for a quote as it might not be a lot different from the excess.
Edited by andye30m3 on Tuesday 23 April 10:50
okgo said:
She sounds like a total tt. You are correct in what you have suggested.
This thread would go far worse if it were the other way round, in standard PH fashion.
Don't mince your words, say what you really think! t. You are correct in what you have suggested.This thread would go far worse if it were the other way round, in standard PH fashion.
You're right though, she does sound a bit open to dishonesty for my tastes...
Get the windscreen fixed for the 100 quid excess with autoglass, get any relevant reference numbers from the police for the incident and report to the insurance company so they don't get blindsided by any claim from the cyclist.
Don't commit insurance fraud, they always find out eventually, especially if you're a muppet who can't keep their story straight.
She sounds like she might fall into the muppet category..
Don't bother trying to get anything out of this, the cyclist is unlikely to be insured, even if your wife's acquaintance did win an action against them you can't get blood out of a stone, if they have nothing of value and no money then you would have spent a fortune and you'll get it back (if you are lucky) 50p a week for the rest of eternity.
Don't commit insurance fraud, they always find out eventually, especially if you're a muppet who can't keep their story straight.
She sounds like she might fall into the muppet category..
Don't bother trying to get anything out of this, the cyclist is unlikely to be insured, even if your wife's acquaintance did win an action against them you can't get blood out of a stone, if they have nothing of value and no money then you would have spent a fortune and you'll get it back (if you are lucky) 50p a week for the rest of eternity.
I would urge her to go straight to the police and her insurance company. being as she is so keen to lie I'd bet her 'cyclist at fault' incident is more than likely down to her. In that situation making a song and dance about it will be bound to cost her money and cause her grief. Which is what people like that deserve.
It's also quite difficult to sue someone if you don't know their name or address.
In my experience the police will release/verify the details of a 3rd party who you've been in collision with if requested - but since she doesn't have the attending officer's details that might be a challenge too.
Any chance of some pics of your Mrs's friend ?
In my experience the police will release/verify the details of a 3rd party who you've been in collision with if requested - but since she doesn't have the attending officer's details that might be a challenge too.
Any chance of some pics of your Mrs's friend ?
Richard-D said:
I would urge her to go straight to the police and her insurance company. being as she is so keen to lie I'd bet her 'cyclist at fault' incident is more than likely down to her. In that situation making a song and dance about it will be bound to cost her money and cause her grief. Which is what people like that deserve.
This was my first thought. If she is so willing to consider submitting a fraudulent claim, I would doubt her version of events too. Snails said:
Richard-D said:
I would urge her to go straight to the police and her insurance company. being as she is so keen to lie I'd bet her 'cyclist at fault' incident is more than likely down to her. In that situation making a song and dance about it will be bound to cost her money and cause her grief. Which is what people like that deserve.
This was my first thought. If she is so willing to consider submitting a fraudulent claim, I would doubt her version of events too. Monkeylegend said:
Snails said:
Richard-D said:
I would urge her to go straight to the police and her insurance company. being as she is so keen to lie I'd bet her 'cyclist at fault' incident is more than likely down to her. In that situation making a song and dance about it will be bound to cost her money and cause her grief. Which is what people like that deserve.
This was my first thought. If she is so willing to consider submitting a fraudulent claim, I would doubt her version of events too. Gassing Station | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff