Ok I know these type of threads have been posted before but it's incredibly hard to find one that's recent.
So on my way to work I was involved in a car accident of which I suffered some pretty serious injuries.
I was driving along a 60mph country road and noticed a car had reversed into the road, the driver was reversing towards me after having just dropped her kids off for them to get on the school bus. She proceeded in the same direction as I was and I decided to overtake. The road on the other side was completely clear but further ahead was a junction on the right side. My speed was between 40-45mph.
The white lines along the road are dashed, not solid. I indicated to make my move, crossed over to the other side of the road and proceeded to overtake. As I was just behind her car (the front of my car was level with the back of hers) the other driver makes a right hand signal and turns.
I'm aware that overtaking at a junction is not advised (it's not illegal, I've checked this). As you can imagine, her car collided with mine.
From what I remember of the accident (during this part) is literally bang bang bang and I find myself completely turned around on the other side of the road facing the opposite direction I was travelling. The other drivers' car was behind me facing the direction I was originally travelling. It transpired that when the cars collided, my car was shunted into a wall of which the corner crushed my drivers' side.
Naturally, this is a pretty horrific thing for any driver to go through (a car accident that is not my specific one) so I am pretty shocked etc. A kind man came up and saw I was trapped and immediately pulled my drivers side door open and managed to rip it off. The road conditions were dry and no reduction in visibility and there is no sign post for the junction.
An off duty nurse came and saw to me whilst emergency services came where I was eventually cut out of the car. Prior to the emergency services arriving, the other driver was walking around and walked right in front of my car asking for witnesses as she claimed she hadn't seen me. I noticed she had a cut on her forehead but otherwise was walking around perfectly fine. I even know what hair colour she had.
My injuries required 10 nights in hospital due to a fractured pelvis. I was operated on where I had a surgical infix fitted across my pubic bone and a sacroiliac screw fitted. The infix was to stabilise the pelvic ring and is due to come out this weekend. The sacroiliac screw is permanent. I was lucky I didn't have any other injuries (physical) and I'm currently in the process of undergoing treatment. I've been told it'll be 2 years of physio involving a swimming pool and that I won't be able to play rugby again. I'm expected to make a majority recovery but will have some issues with pain during cold weather where I may be required to use a cain for support. I'm 30 years old so I'm not looking forward to any of this.
The police are currently investigating and when I spoke to them a month ago they were considering her as the driver responsible and due to my injuries were contemplating prosecution. There were 6 ''witnesses (all under the age of 18, 2 of which are hers). None saw the accident though 2 (not sure which witnesses) claimed to have seen her make the right turn but didn't see my car. I find this incredible as from their direction (all witnesses were at a bus stop behind us) they would have to have either seen my car first or our cars appearing level from their point of view. They didn't notice my car at all which doesn't fit logically as there were no obstructions for their view. It's worth noting that the witnesses were not spoken to until 3-4 weeks after the accident.
The police rang last week and require written statements from myself and the female driver. They've decided the witnesses are not to be used as none saw the actual accident, they're potentially biased as all the kids go to the same school and their parents are all friends with the female driver. They haven't given an indication yet as to what they intend to do currently but have confirmed they've spoken to the person who makes the decision to prosecute. My understanding is when they do prosecute, they will need a statement from me but they would have to formally interview the other driver.
I've a couple of questions based on people's experience (there doesn't seem to be cases where the OP has confirmed what the outcome is). I know each case is different but I've denied liability based on the below info
1) The female driver didn't indicate in due time
2) The driver turned without clearing there were no cars overtaking (this is specifically mentioned in the highway code)
3) The driver admitted she hadn't seen me. She had multiple opportunities to know a car was behind her, first when she reversed into the main road, second when she should have checked her mirrors for her right turn.
4) The damage location on my car is on my passenger side, front wheel. On hers it is the front of her car (therefore confirming she had only just initiated her turn as I was overtaking).
What are the chances of a realistic prosecution of the other driver? This is a real possibility as my injuries were too extreme for any warnings or cautions.
What are the likely liability scenarios? I believe she's 100% liable but then I would as I'm one of the drivers. Personally I don't believe I have any blame as I had made my manoeuvre first, was clearly indicating and I was already level with her car when she collided with me.
What level of compensation would I expect (assuming she is found liable)? It's easier to work this out as if I was 0% liable.
I do appreciate that these types of crashes are often split opinion (I've read a few) with both sides portraying the innocent side. I've tried to put this as I remember and not tried to make the details fit my side. I'm aware that there's every chance I may be penalised for overtaking when approaching a junction.
So on my way to work I was involved in a car accident of which I suffered some pretty serious injuries.
I was driving along a 60mph country road and noticed a car had reversed into the road, the driver was reversing towards me after having just dropped her kids off for them to get on the school bus. She proceeded in the same direction as I was and I decided to overtake. The road on the other side was completely clear but further ahead was a junction on the right side. My speed was between 40-45mph.
The white lines along the road are dashed, not solid. I indicated to make my move, crossed over to the other side of the road and proceeded to overtake. As I was just behind her car (the front of my car was level with the back of hers) the other driver makes a right hand signal and turns.
I'm aware that overtaking at a junction is not advised (it's not illegal, I've checked this). As you can imagine, her car collided with mine.
From what I remember of the accident (during this part) is literally bang bang bang and I find myself completely turned around on the other side of the road facing the opposite direction I was travelling. The other drivers' car was behind me facing the direction I was originally travelling. It transpired that when the cars collided, my car was shunted into a wall of which the corner crushed my drivers' side.
Naturally, this is a pretty horrific thing for any driver to go through (a car accident that is not my specific one) so I am pretty shocked etc. A kind man came up and saw I was trapped and immediately pulled my drivers side door open and managed to rip it off. The road conditions were dry and no reduction in visibility and there is no sign post for the junction.
An off duty nurse came and saw to me whilst emergency services came where I was eventually cut out of the car. Prior to the emergency services arriving, the other driver was walking around and walked right in front of my car asking for witnesses as she claimed she hadn't seen me. I noticed she had a cut on her forehead but otherwise was walking around perfectly fine. I even know what hair colour she had.
My injuries required 10 nights in hospital due to a fractured pelvis. I was operated on where I had a surgical infix fitted across my pubic bone and a sacroiliac screw fitted. The infix was to stabilise the pelvic ring and is due to come out this weekend. The sacroiliac screw is permanent. I was lucky I didn't have any other injuries (physical) and I'm currently in the process of undergoing treatment. I've been told it'll be 2 years of physio involving a swimming pool and that I won't be able to play rugby again. I'm expected to make a majority recovery but will have some issues with pain during cold weather where I may be required to use a cain for support. I'm 30 years old so I'm not looking forward to any of this.
The police are currently investigating and when I spoke to them a month ago they were considering her as the driver responsible and due to my injuries were contemplating prosecution. There were 6 ''witnesses (all under the age of 18, 2 of which are hers). None saw the accident though 2 (not sure which witnesses) claimed to have seen her make the right turn but didn't see my car. I find this incredible as from their direction (all witnesses were at a bus stop behind us) they would have to have either seen my car first or our cars appearing level from their point of view. They didn't notice my car at all which doesn't fit logically as there were no obstructions for their view. It's worth noting that the witnesses were not spoken to until 3-4 weeks after the accident.
The police rang last week and require written statements from myself and the female driver. They've decided the witnesses are not to be used as none saw the actual accident, they're potentially biased as all the kids go to the same school and their parents are all friends with the female driver. They haven't given an indication yet as to what they intend to do currently but have confirmed they've spoken to the person who makes the decision to prosecute. My understanding is when they do prosecute, they will need a statement from me but they would have to formally interview the other driver.
I've a couple of questions based on people's experience (there doesn't seem to be cases where the OP has confirmed what the outcome is). I know each case is different but I've denied liability based on the below info
1) The female driver didn't indicate in due time
2) The driver turned without clearing there were no cars overtaking (this is specifically mentioned in the highway code)
3) The driver admitted she hadn't seen me. She had multiple opportunities to know a car was behind her, first when she reversed into the main road, second when she should have checked her mirrors for her right turn.
4) The damage location on my car is on my passenger side, front wheel. On hers it is the front of her car (therefore confirming she had only just initiated her turn as I was overtaking).
What are the chances of a realistic prosecution of the other driver? This is a real possibility as my injuries were too extreme for any warnings or cautions.
What are the likely liability scenarios? I believe she's 100% liable but then I would as I'm one of the drivers. Personally I don't believe I have any blame as I had made my manoeuvre first, was clearly indicating and I was already level with her car when she collided with me.
What level of compensation would I expect (assuming she is found liable)? It's easier to work this out as if I was 0% liable.
I do appreciate that these types of crashes are often split opinion (I've read a few) with both sides portraying the innocent side. I've tried to put this as I remember and not tried to make the details fit my side. I'm aware that there's every chance I may be penalised for overtaking when approaching a junction.