Well, I thought I'd heard the last of the car accident. Small crash, no-one hurt, all in the hands of the insurers. Unpleasant, and I felt very bad about the woman (who was very shaken) and her car (which was damaged), but having done all I could (John dissuaded me from sending her flowers) I put it behind me. Or so I thought.
But today - lo! A letter from a solicitor. The woman wants damages for: shock, head pain, shoulder pain, chest pain and whiplash. She has had to take time off work.
WHAT?
When I last saw her, she was shaken, but fine. When I phoned her that evening to make sure she was ok, she was on her way (driving) back to Devon (a long journey), having visited Avebury and Stonehenge in Wiltshire with friends, as planned; quite a long day, even without injuries.
I feel furious. Maybe - just maybe - she really has developed all these symptoms (no actual injuries, and of course no-one can prove or disprove pain). But I have a feeling that someone suggested that she could capitalise on the accident and make a nice bit of money - she might even have worked it out for herself - and one of those no-win-no-fee solicitors has kindly offered to make sure she succeeds.
Would I do the same? I very much hope that I would not.
But I'm glad I never sent those flowers.
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It makes you mad doesn't it, Frances. She clearly wasn't that badly shaken or hurt if she continued with her day out then had a long drive!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you didn't send her flowers too!
I had one of them not so long ago, Frances. The man worked at the same company, stop dead in front of me as we left work. He proudly told me how in ten years of driving it was his nineth accident. I had been driving over 25 years and it was my first. As we were both only doing about 10mph and slowing down at the time because we heading onto the main road. Like your lady, he had time of work and limped around the factory... Yet my car came of the worst and I was back at work the next day.
ReplyDeleteNo wonder car insurance is costly for us all.
Interestingly I had two cold calls today suggesting that I might benefit from suing for damages. Even more interestingly I have been involved in no relevant incidents. The insurance companies have been complicit in the suing game because they sell details to claims firms who then sue us ie them. It is of no worry to the insurers because accountants and actuaries ensure that they bring in more than they pay out. I used to be a believer in basic human decency.
ReplyDeleteTeresa, I'm rapidly losing my faith in people's honesty. I really thought she and I had sorted things out. Oh well...
ReplyDeleteJarmara, you're right. Someone once told me that some people make a habit of stopping suddenly so that the car behind goes into them and they can claim for whiplash injuries!
GB it seems to be happening everywhere. What you say makes sense. I was surprised at how little interest our insurance company took in our version of events. They seem quite happy to pay out anayway. Perhaps it's more expensive to contest the claim?
Sorry to hear that this is taking such an unexpected, unpleasant turn. What troubles you, I guess, is not the money but the behaviour of the woman who now makes you feel let down and cheated on.
ReplyDeleteExactly, Librarian. She seemed nice and honest (although at first, justifiably furious!). But I do wonder whether she has been got at by "friends" with suggestions of compensation. And those ambulance-following legal agencies.
ReplyDeleteBut in the light of what's been happening all over England in the past few days, this all seems very trivial.