Help - witness to crash Downs Pk Rd, Hackney, 7/3/10, 6.35pm

coshgirl66

Hi, I was hit by a car pulling out without looking across the junction of Cecilia Road, Downs Park Road, Hackney E8 on Sunday 7 March, around 6.30/6.45. The driver stopped, admitted responsibility and gave me £40. However, while this has paid for the surface damage, I have just discovered that my front forks need replacing as they are bent, which is another £70-odd quid. A woman cyclist on a racing bike got the driver's details, but stupidly I didn't and am now trying to trace her.

downfader

Cant help, but good luck. As said on the CChat you might have a few problems claiming if you do find the driver

symo

Legally you have agreed the compensation there and then. Only thing the driver can be done for now is failing to report an incident, but then again you did not either.

amnezia

symo wrote:

Legally you have agreed the compensation there and then. Only thing the driver can be done for now is failing to report an incident, but then again you did not either.

yep. never under any circumstances accept any cash at the scene of an accident, this pretty much invalidates any further claims you may have.

spen666

symo wrote:

Legally you have agreed the compensation there and then. Only thing the driver can be done for now is failing to report an incident, but then again you did not either.

There is no obligation on the cyclist to report the accident

downfader

spen666 wrote:

symo wrote:

Legally you have agreed the compensation there and then. Only thing the driver can be done for now is failing to report an incident, but then again you did not either.

There is no obligation on the cyclist to report the accident

Spen is right here. My understanding is that if injury is caused then the driver or motorcyclist is obliged to report the incident within 24 hours. I would imagine that if a cyclist hit a ped they'd also be obliged, though I'm unsure on that last bit.

I had a little think on this last night. Could who ever has been hit claim a "shocked state" had lead them to take the money, if so surely this could counter any "deal"?

Aidy

downfader wrote:

Spen is right here. My understanding is that if injury is caused then the driver or motorcyclist is obliged to report the incident within 24 hours.

Only if you don't leave your name/address at the time.
Sounds like he might have done, albeit with a third party.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Highwaycode/DG_069863

if you do not give your name and address at the time of the collision, report it to the police as soon as reasonably practicable, and in any case within 24 hours

Aidy

symo wrote:

Legally you have agreed the compensation there and then. Only thing the driver can be done for now is failing to report an incident, but then again you did not either.

Unless it's in writing, surely you'd be hard pressed to prove what the money was for - or that it had changed hands at all.

benno68

I reckon that coshgirl66 would have a chance of claiming the balance of damages if the driver is traced subject to the usual proof.

I'm not a lawyer but I doubt that it would be considered legally reasonable to simply chuck a small amount of cash at an injured party at the scene of an accident and expect it to be binding as a full and final settlement.

I'm sure that a court would be sympathetic to an innocent person who is simply trying to claim for the actual cost of repairs whether £40 was given to the OP at the time or not.

May be worth contacting the police in case anyone has come forward albeit very doubtful.

mroli

Hmm, sorry, but I reckon that if the OP had a discussion with the car driver where the car driver said "sorry, my fault, how much do you want for the damage" and the OP said "I'll take £40" and then goes away and decides it isn't enough, then it is going to be hard for the OP to get any more. The car driver doesn't have the right to go away, consider the accident and then demand £20 back....

downfader

mroli wrote:

Hmm, sorry, but I reckon that if the OP had a discussion with the car driver where the car driver said "sorry, my fault, how much do you want for the damage" and the OP said "I'll take £40" and then goes away and decides it isn't enough, then it is going to be hard for the OP to get any more. The car driver doesn't have the right to go away, consider the accident and then demand £20 back....

I think you misunderstand the stresses of the situation. Its not like being bumped in a car, someone has gone into you and the adrenalin and stresses come through and you dont think straight. Some people panic, some fluster. Some get angry. Its worse if you're injured or have had a serious fright from it.

This is why drivers shouldnt bung someone a bunch of notes and f off. They should take a little more care and make sure the person they've gone into is in a fit state of mind, offer insurance details and let the other party take down the plates, etc...

..infact I might do a video later thius weekend for advice so people know what they need to do.

benno68

mroli wrote:

Hmm, sorry, but I reckon that if the OP had a discussion with the car driver where the car driver said "sorry, my fault, how much do you want for the damage" and the OP said "I'll take £40" and then goes away and decides it isn't enough, then it is going to be hard for the OP to get any more. The car driver doesn't have the right to go away, consider the accident and then demand £20 back....

The OP said "gave me £40". I don't know the full facts of the discussion afterwards, but the OP has not had the chance to reasonably determine the amount of damage suffered and should be entitled to recover reasonable damages.

I hope the law doesn't work the way you suggest but it would be interesting to hear from someone "in the know", I know there are a few lawyers about here..

nation

Benno68 wrote:

mroli wrote:

Hmm, sorry, but I reckon that if the OP had a discussion with the car driver where the car driver said "sorry, my fault, how much do you want for the damage" and the OP said "I'll take £40" and then goes away and decides it isn't enough, then it is going to be hard for the OP to get any more. The car driver doesn't have the right to go away, consider the accident and then demand £20 back....

The OP said "gave me £40". I don't know the full facts of the discussion afterwards, but the OP has not had the chance to reasonably determine the amount of damage suffered and should be entitled to recover reasonable damages.

I hope the law doesn't work the way you suggest but it would be interesting to hear from someone "in the know", I know there are a few lawyers about here..

Not a lawyer, but I work in insurance and spend a fair amount of time arguing liability and compensation.

You would really struggle to argue successfully that money exchanged at the roadside was a reasonable full and final settlement. Insurance companies struggle to do this in the event that further damage is discovered or injuries take longer to heal than was expected during the negotiations, and that's with everything documented in writing and "FULL AND FINAL SETTLEMENT" printed on the cheque. It's the same with roadside admissions of liability, the fact that someone leaps out of their car and says "Sorry! Totally my fault!" doesn't actually carry any weight (especially since that isn't their decision to make, it's their insurance company's).

What would happen is that any money that has already changed hands would be deducted from any compensation decided later.