This is a question we are asked by enquirers on a regular basis.<\/p>\n
It appears to be a commonly-held belief that if another driver reverses into the vehicle that you are driving, the insurance companies will automatically assume that you drove into the back of the car in front and will hold you liable for the accident.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m pleased to say that this is not the case for a number of reasons.<\/p>\n
Firstly, insurance companies don\u2019t usually make such general assumptions and will examine the versions of events given by the drivers and any witnesses before deciding which version to accept.<\/p>\n
In the vast majority of cases, the driver who reverses into another vehicle will tell the truth to their insurers who will then compensate the driver and any passengers who were injured in that vehicle.<\/p>\n
If there is a dispute as to what happened, the decision of the insurance companies, or in some cases a Court, will be determined by the strength of the evidence supporting the different versions. The evidence of independent witnesses is very important in these cases.<\/p>\n
In one of my own cases a few years ago, a couple and their children were driving on a residential street in Sheffield when the driver of a commercial vehicle, for no good reason, reversed at speed into the family car. Fortunately the father had the presence of mind to obtain contact details from two bystanders who agreed to be witnesses for him and their evidence persuaded the other driver\u2019s insurers to pay compensation to all the family members who were injured.<\/p>\n
In a more recent case, one of our clients was stationary in his vehicle in standing traffic on the uphill section of a motorway. He was shocked when he saw that the car in front of him started to roll backwards towards him. It gathered speed and hit him with some force. He thought the driver must have passed out, but when he went to check on her health, she looked at him and drove off, refusing to exchange details. Luckily for him, another motorist gave him their mobile number and later provided us with a statement which helped our client win his case.<\/p>\n
Other evidence is also helpful. One of our clients was accused of rolling backwards into another vehicle, but the insurers eventually accepted her very persuasive evidence to refute the allegation in that she was driving an automatic car that could not roll backwards spontaneously, particularly when her car was not on a slope!<\/p>\n
In another case, an expert engineer concluded from the nature of the damage to the vehicles that the opponent had reversed into our client\u2019s vehicle.<\/p>\n
We recently settled a high value claim for a client who was driving into the car park of her GP surgery when the opponent reversed his car into hers at considerable speed. Luckily for the client, she was able to receive immediate first aid at the scene and the driver immediately admitted liability and confirmed the position to his insurers.<\/p>\n
So remember if another driver reverses into your car, don\u2019t just exchange details with them, but look for witnesses who will be able to help you and take plenty of photographs of the scene and the damage to both vehicles.<\/p>\n