Kermitthefrog Posted April 14, 2015 Report Share Posted April 14, 2015 So, my brother was involved in an accident last week. He went up the arse of another car whilst being 4 times over the legal limit. I don't condone drink driving at all, in fact it makes my blood boil - anyone else and I would gladly remind them what stupid F**k ups that they are. But he's my brother, and he will be losing his licence for 2 years. Now, both cars are written off and I gather that my brothers insurance is now void because he was tanked, correct? The guy he hit kindly offered to settle out of court, he just wanted his '96 Camry replaced, and all medical bills and time off work to be compensated. It all sounds very nice! It transpires that because of the impact, the Camry slapped up the arse of a bus. And to make things even more interesting the Camry was uninsured. Am I correct in saying that my brother is only liable for the Camry, and that the Camry is liable for the bus? How should he handle the situation now that he knows the other guy was not insured? What a mess!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daz 330 Cs Posted April 14, 2015 Report Share Posted April 14, 2015 Crikey where to start. The way i see it, the bus would'nt have been damaged if the Camry had'nt hit it, your Bro hit the Camry so i'd guess he's gonna cop for all of it. He's sure to find out in due course how the insurance companies will deal with this. JasonK 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kermitthefrog Posted April 14, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2015 What a mess. The other guy is eager to settle things off the record presumably because he had no insurance. Would my brother still have third party cover if he was over the limit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimp Choker Posted April 14, 2015 Report Share Posted April 14, 2015 Typical concertina situation The camry driver has a responsibility to leave a safe gap between him and the bus. Imo your brother is only responsible for the camry, the insurance company will pay due to 3rd party liability, however may attempt to claim back any funds from your brother due to him being over the limit. In reagrd to bus, the bus companies insurance will most likely pursue a claim against the camry driver via the courts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feva Posted April 14, 2015 Report Share Posted April 14, 2015 As chimp has said you are only liable for whom you hit not who they then hit. But as for him being over the limit regarding insurance don't know mate. Not good though bit can understand why you worried as he is your brother, he's just very very fortunate he hasn't killed someone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kermitthefrog Posted April 14, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2015 Thanks for the replies and info. Yes he is very lucky, and he also knows that he's messed up big time, but if he's looking at 50k in damages then he's in a world of pain... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashley_r84 Posted April 14, 2015 Report Share Posted April 14, 2015 As far as I can see it then your brother would be liable for the lot. My parents were in a bump a few years ago, they were the middle car but the entire claim was made against the car that hit them....including the damage to the car in front. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissyp83 Posted April 14, 2015 Report Share Posted April 14, 2015 As far as I can see it then your brother would be liable for the lot. My parents were in a bump a few years ago, they were the middle car but the entire claim was made against the car that hit them....including the damage to the car in front. as above, typically your brother will be liable for the lot as technically he is the cause of the accident. I work in the industry though not directly in claims/ motor etc ... but my best guess would be unfortunately your brother will be held accountable. Obviously it is a case by case basis and im sorry to say chap I doubt it will be good news. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiamGTR Posted April 14, 2015 Report Share Posted April 14, 2015 (edited) Disregarding the drink for a second, your bro hit an uninsured car... That uninsured car can't say s**t now. What's he gonna do.. Tell the cops he got hit whilst driving a car without insurance? I don't think so. Edited April 14, 2015 by LiamGTR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim27 Posted April 14, 2015 Report Share Posted April 14, 2015 Legally your brother is only liable to the Camry driver. The Camry driver is liable to the bus driver/owner/occupants. Legally they would all claim from the Camry driver who would then claim from your brother for the compensation paid to the bus people. In practice the insurers recognise that this is vastly inefficient so instead utilise subrogation. That is where the middle vehicle of the 3 effectively delegates his right to claim against your brother to the bus, effectively allowing the bus to bypass tbe Camry and claim direct from yiur brother. Whether the Camry driver is insured or not won't matter, other than he may get prosecuted. Doesn't diminish his entitlement to claim against your brother or his right to subrogate to the bus. Even when you're insured all the rights and liabilities are yours personally - your insurance is simply an agreement where the insurer indemnifies you against certain risks (so effectively transfers the risks and any subsequent crystalised liability) in exchange for a combination of money and your permission for them to claim against third parties and exercise your legal rights in your stead (so subrogation). I don't believe thay being in charge of a vehicle whilst under the influence voids his insurance - that would be unfair to any third party he hits. His insurer may reserve the right to subsequently claim against him directly for some or all of their losses but that will be specific to his contract terms & conditions. In a nutshell, the Camry driver and bus people can and undoubtedly will claim against him. Once the Camry driver realises that he can't hide his lack of insurance by taking a cash settlement he'll probably go the whole hog for every penny he can. Unfortunately your brother is undoubtedly about to have a very bad experience lynch86, Ruesta, momo and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob- Posted April 14, 2015 Report Share Posted April 14, 2015 As I understand it, you can still claim/sue someone if you are driving without insurance and are hit. They just take a percentage off the settlement figure. The bus would then attempt to recover costs from the Camry driver. Same rules apply but the money would come from the drivers pockets. Either that or some 3rd party accident helpline b******t company will step in for the bus company and recover the costs from a magic pot in the sky whilst every driver in the country pays more for insurance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiamGTR Posted April 14, 2015 Report Share Posted April 14, 2015 That magic pot can sometimes be a god send. My brother and his best mate were put in hospital 2 years ago by a drunk driver who didn't have insurance. Without that pot.. God knows where him and his little boy would be living now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rasa Posted April 15, 2015 Report Share Posted April 15, 2015 So, my brother was involved in an accident last week. He went up the arse of another car whilst being 4 times over the legal limit. I don't condone drink driving at all, in fact it makes my blood boil - anyone else and I would gladly remind them what stupid F**k ups that they are. But he's my brother, and he will be losing his licence for 2 years. Now, both cars are written off and I gather that my brothers insurance is now void because he was tanked, correct? The guy he hit kindly offered to settle out of court, he just wanted his '96 Camry replaced, and all medical bills and time off work to be compensated. It all sounds very nice! It transpires that because of the impact, the Camry slapped up the arse of a bus. And to make things even more interesting the Camry was uninsured. Am I correct in saying that my brother is only liable for the Camry, and that the Camry is liable for the bus? How should he handle the situation now that he knows the other guy was not insured? What a mess!!!! been theer done that,never done it again,i got chased of police,drugs(ecstacy and coke) and drunk,drove across a roundabout ,puncture,anyway was 127 on the police station blower,nearly four times legal limit,i got 12 month chokey for drink driving and dangerous driving,,i did have a bad driving record also,been to(dc) when i was nineteen in 1987 for dangerous driving,and other various other offences over the years ,i was a pure bellend and can see it easily now,i could have killled someone ,but on the insurance bit,i was insured during police chase but i never had a full license,my car reversed into police car gently,the insurance wouldnt pay out,and i did nt pay,just got wrote into sentence i think,but if i was your brother i would come clean and would have to grass the other bloke he hit in to the police,,will save him money and make him feel better i suppose,best thing that happened to me as ive never drunk and drove again and clean driving licence,i had to pass an extended test also to get license back,dd was on records for 11 year also and dangerous driving for 5 years,so please before any of you get in the car after a drink,think hard and get out coz you could easily kill someone and the guilt would wreck you forever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arry Posted April 15, 2015 Report Share Posted April 15, 2015 I don't believe thay being in charge of a vehicle whilst under the influence voids his insurance - that would be unfair to any third party he hits. His insurer may reserve the right to subsequently claim against him directly for some or all of their losses but that will be specific to his contract terms & conditions. Regardless of being unfair, it's impossible for the insurer to escape third party liability. Generally speaking motor policies don't carry the 'drink driving condition' that some apply to those with previous convictions which in essence specifically shows their intent to pursue their insured in court should they have an accident whilst drunk. I'd suggest just on pure recklessness they'd be able to do so anyway should they so desire but I've never seen it happen in practice. What I would say is they'll use almost certainly use that as a defence against the own damage claim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zonda_ Posted April 15, 2015 Report Share Posted April 15, 2015 Speak to the guy from Adrian Flux who posts on here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie330d Posted April 16, 2015 Report Share Posted April 16, 2015 (edited) So, my brother was involved in an accident last week. He went up the arse of another car whilst being 4 times over the legal limit. I don't condone drink driving at all, in fact it makes my blood boil - anyone else and I would gladly remind them what stupid F**k ups that they are. But he's my brother, and he will be losing his licence for 2 years. Now, both cars are written off and I gather that my brothers insurance is now void because he was tanked, correct? The guy he hit kindly offered to settle out of court, he just wanted his '96 Camry replaced, and all medical bills and time off work to be compensated. It all sounds very nice! It transpires that because of the impact, the Camry slapped up the arse of a bus. And to make things even more interesting the Camry was uninsured. Am I correct in saying that my brother is only liable for the Camry, and that the Camry is liable for the bus? How should he handle the situation now that he knows the other guy was not insured? What a mess!!!! Simple imo, tell the guy in the Camry he's getting nothing, he had no insurance so shouldn't have been on the road, as for the bus your brother must pay. Ask aly he works for insurance company. Edited April 16, 2015 by Jamie330d Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suhail97 Posted April 16, 2015 Report Share Posted April 16, 2015 Tell the Camry guy he's getting nothing out of court, he's asking that because he wasn't insured. Make him fight for it, it'll probably lead to nothing. Jamie330d 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kermitthefrog Posted April 16, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2015 Thanks for the input. After seeking legal advice it looks like he will be liable for the lot. One thing I neglected to say was that this happened in Australia, where insurance laws are different and there's a zero tolerance policy towards dui. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiamGTR Posted April 16, 2015 Report Share Posted April 16, 2015 (edited) Aus!? Yea my friend just received a $835 fine through the post for speeding 140km/h in a 100km/h zone. They don't F' about over there! Edited April 16, 2015 by LiamGTR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gamesman2001 Posted April 16, 2015 Report Share Posted April 16, 2015 my sister in law was killed by a drunk driver he got 18 months she lost her life sorry to say this but I think he has got off lightly . I don't like anyone that drinks and drives its easy to catch a taxi or bus . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BmEagle Posted April 16, 2015 Report Share Posted April 16, 2015 (edited) I was behind a Porsche 911 brand new around 2004 going north along park lane towards Marble Arch, he accelerated and ran the red light as you go round towards Bayswater road, he skidded and hit the kerb, flipped it onto its roof. I stopped and ran over as he started climbing out of the car. He was stinking of drink. He tried to walk off but my mate and I stopped him. He was way over the limit. He got lifted and we gave statements. At the time I heard the officers saying his car wouldn't get repaired by his insurers. He said he just got it on lease and it was 85k. They told me when we were giving the statements at the station that he had a receipt for a hotel cigar bar for drinks over £160. A taxi would have been a fraction of that to get home. What a tool. If it had been earlier in the evening there would have been loads of tourists taking pics of Marble Arch right where he rolled it. There's no excuse. Problem is that drink makes some folk feel invincible and that they are "fine to drive" Edited April 16, 2015 by BmEagle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arry Posted April 17, 2015 Report Share Posted April 17, 2015 At the time I heard the officers saying his car wouldn't get repaired by his insurers Because police officers are always a reliable source of infallible information. They never get even the law wrong..... forbesy1 and StuBeeDoo 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuBeeDoo Posted April 18, 2015 Report Share Posted April 18, 2015 (edited) One thing I neglected to say was that this happened in Australia, where insurance laws are different and there's a zero tolerance policy towards dui. That changes a lot! He's screwed! I appreciate your brotherly concern probably brought-on a knee-jerk reaction, but asking legal advice on a predominately UK forum about something that happened in a country with vastly different attitudes and laws without giving us the full SP seems a bit daft to me. I suspect that everyone who read and/or replied (including me) thought this was a UK incident. Basically, I doubt anyone who has replied here has working knowledge of Australian law. Edited April 18, 2015 by StuBeeDoo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rasa Posted April 18, 2015 Report Share Posted April 18, 2015 argh,well its easy if its in oz,tell the camry driver to go stick rolf harris,s didgereedoo in his fair dincum,shiela shafting hole. Chrissyp83, Kermitthefrog and Pauly123 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pauly123 Posted April 18, 2015 Report Share Posted April 18, 2015 He will probably get off with a fine and a Shane WARNing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
