Can I bring a claim even when my insurer has paid out to the other party?

If you are injured in a road traffic accident and your insurance company pay compensation to the other driver, does this prevent you from bringing a claim against that driver for your own injuries?  Interestingly, it doesn’t; provided that your claim has reasonable prospects of success and your motor insurers have settled the claim without admitting that you were responsible for the accident (“without prejudice”).

I recently acted for Mrs C, a driver who was hit when another driver, Mr F, pulled out from a side road and collided with her vehicle.  Mr F was quick to bring a claim against Mrs C and, on the basis of Mr F’s account alone, Mrs C’s motor insurers agreed to compensate Mr F in full on a “without prejudice” basis.

Mrs C had been my previous client and sought my advice on whether she could claim for her injuries as she felt that Mr F was at fault for the accident.  Based on what my client told me, I considered that she had good prospects of showing that Mr F was, in fact, to blame for the accident if we could substantiate her account of events.  I applied for a copy of the police report (which presumably my client’s insurers did not do), which supported what she had told me.  My client was then successful in bringing a claim against Mr F’s insurers and was compensated in full for her injuries.

Given that a claim against my client’s insurance policy by a third party would have increased her premium and the fact that Mr F appeared to have committed fraud (which makes the vast majority of personal injury solicitors extremely angry given the media’s  already less than positive representation of our industry), I also sent a copy of the police report to her insurers.  They can now pursue Mr F for fraud if they wish to.  I was surprised that my client’s insurers didn’t investigate this case properly given that there was objective evidence easily available in the police report.

* Disclaimer: The information on the Anthony Gold website is for general information only and reflects the position at the date of publication. It does not constitute legal advice and should not be treated as such. It is provided without any representations or warranties, express or implied.*