From full liability to claim dismissed – a great result!

A successful outcome in a claim situation is always the desired result. In this instance, our client went from being held fully liable for an accident to ‘claim dismissed’, thanks to the diligence and detective work on the part of our Trade Account Handler, Joanne Foster.

The initial claim arose after the driver of a recovery truck was held responsible for an accident occurring at a junction on a one-way system in which a third party vehicle sustained extensive damage to their nearside wing and front bumper.

Joanne explains the circumstances:

“The third party insurer held our client responsible, saying that the driver had driven into the front of the third party vehicle. The accident occurred at a junction on a one-way system with both entrances traffic-light controlled. The driver of our client’s vehicle, the recovery truck, stated that it wasn’t his fault and that the third party vehicle had driven into him.”

With no dash cam footage, images or witnesses, it seemed that the best outcome would be a 50/50 liability, based on lack of evidence and that areas of damage supported either version of events. If the 50/50 was rejected, there was the possibility that our client might have to accept full liability. Either way, our client would have a claim on their record.

Joanne decided to take a closer look at the road system and the sequencing of the traffic lights. She explains:

“I found that when the traffic lights on our client’s side of the junction are green, the third party’s traffic lights for going forward are also green, but turning right is red. There was a possibility the third party had got confused and focused on the green light, moving forward when they should have stopped. It seemed unlikely that the driver of a large recovery truck would have risked jumping the lights, straight into a pedestrian crossing.”

Joanne put forward her suggestion of events to the insurer, who disputed liability with the third party, advising that they were being held at fault and asking the third party driver to comment. The third party failed to respond and after sufficient time had passed, the claim was eventually dismissed as a ‘non-fault incident’, with no claim filed on our client’s records.

As Joanne says, “We went from full liability to 50/50 to no claim, a great result for our client, showing that tenacity and attention to detail can often deliver the required outcome, despite circumstances suggesting otherwise. This is the level of service all our clients can expect, giving the reassurance that we will work tirelessly to achieve a satisfactory result in the event of a claim.”