What To Do In The Event Of An Accident
(When Both Parties Are To Blame) 

Accidents frequently happen where more than one driver is partly to blame.

Quite often one or more do not accept any fault and some heated exchanges have been known to take place.

The civil courts deal with this under the 'Law Reform (Contributory Negligence) Act 1945' It is necessary to calculate the full cost of the damage caused and then reduce it by the % of blame between the drivers.

There is no precise or scientific way to do this. And the % is negotiable. But it is a method that works quite well and until someone comes up with something better, that is what happens.

The classic example is the narrow road collision. In a road just wide enough for one car, two cars approach each other and one or both fail to stop in time. Both drivers blame the other for failing to stop. There are no witnesses. No evidence to show who is right. Both could be right - perhaps they both failed to stop in time. Cases like this are usually settled with each driver taking 50% of the blame for the accident. The insurance claim is settled on a 50/50 basis. The total cost of all the damage to both cars and associated losses is calculated. Each insurer then pays a half. You would get half of your uninsured losses back.

There are legal text books full to the brim of cases that have gone before the courts where there has been an apportionment of contributory negligence. They cover just about every eventuality you can imagine. Your insurers have access to all this 'case law' in their office.

If you find your self in this position, talk to your insurers about what they feel is a satisfactory position to adopt. They will often be right, if you have told them the truth! Then get negotiating with your opponent. As a last resort consider the small claims procedure.

Some people think that insurers share all claims on a 50/50 basis. This is not so, all claims these days are dealt with on their merit. Some years ago insurers had agreements with each other to resolve cases quickly and amicably. They did not impact upon the issues of liability! The most well known agreement was called 'the knock for knock' agreement. It has all but died a death. So you have no need to be worried about it!

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