A friend was recently in a car crash and I'm checking for some initial advice. TV advertising would suggest that I should just phone Claims 4U etc, but I'd like some reasoned advice first.
The crash was in Northern Ireland, it was a hire car, the car crashed into a wall on the left side, so the driver walked away without a scratch but those on the left (front and back) had to be cut out of the car and have various broken bones. The driver was arrested and has been released on bail and I believe has been charged with drink driving.
My friend is now likely to be stuck in bed for a number of weeks, unlikely to be able to work for a few months and we hope not but have been told that they won't have full mobility for at least a year.
I assume the lawyers would say sue the driver (well his insurers as they?re the ones with the money) for injuries, loss of current & future earnings, but if the driver is found guilty of drink driving will his insurance cover his passengers, or will they immediately wash their hands of the case?
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The minimum cover provided on an insurance policy is for third party risks. The policyholder and the insurer are the first and second parties, every thing and everyone else are third parties so the insurers will be obliged to pay out as they have agreed to cover the risk.
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Passengers should, AFAIK, be OK. The driver won't be, though.
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What was their involvement in the ordeal? Did they know he'd been drinking when they got into the vehicle?
Kevin...
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If NI law is the same as England & Wales, any damages will be reduced as they shouldn't have been travelling in the car knowing the driver was over the limit. This assumes they were, or should have been aware, that he was.
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They were coming back from a party and the driver was the designated driver. My friend had had a few drinks so as I understand it, they weren't aware that the driver had been drinking.
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The fact the driver was drunk in some ways assists the claim from the passengers because it establishes the accident is clearly the fault of the driver.
The amount of damages could be reduced if they contributed in any way to their injuries.
Most obvious example would be not wearing a seatbelt, or knowingly getting into an unroadworthy vehicle.
Another might be if they were so drunk they were unable to warn the driver of any hazard - if a hazard is deemed to have contributed to the accident.
No doubt there will be plenty of twists and turns along the way, but at first blush I can't see any reason why a claim from the injured parties cannot proceed.
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Cheers for all the advice, seat belts were worn, there are bruises to prove it. My friend was knocked out, so waiting for the police report to confirm what happened, but it seems the were going to fast, lost control and hit a wall.
I've advised my friend not to talk to the driver until they recieved legal advice, which they will be doing shortly.
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DO NOT phone an ambulance chaser that advertises on the tele or radio.
Seek the services of a local solicitor, who for a small sum will decide if you have a case or not then offer you a "conditional fee aggreement" where you pay some disbursements (medical report and retrieval of patient records mainly) and the solicitor will take his costs from the person you are claiming against.
This way you get a guy who you can see, sit down and talk to who has a vested interest in you and the outcome, rather than a variable team of telephone agents, with legal advice from a book, claiming costs from an insurance policy you suddenly find you are signed up to.
(I am currenly taking legal action against a company for injuries - non motoring)
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I thought it was ilegal to get in a car with a driver which you know is over the limit? Might be different in NI.
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Where does it say they knew he was over the limit?
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Where does it say they knew he was over the limit?
The other assumption I have noticed being made is that if the driver had been drinking he was necessarily to blame for the crash. Legally, if over the limit, he would be forced to accept a share of the blame, but in actual fact he could be entirely blameless.
I'm not saying he was. Just pointing out that he might have been.
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I thought it was ilegal to get in a car with a driver which you know is over the limit? Might be different in NI.
how would you know if the driver was over the drink drive limit without the availability of test equipment and training, even so to secure a conviction a second test has to be carried out at a police station on the more accurate testing machine
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I'd agree - face to face is much better.
This works well if you have a tame solicitor - if you have to find one, then make sure they are experienced in this line and tell them how quickly you are expecting results.
I've found that solicitors are a very variable lot !
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