[bobby p]

hes a great window cleaner ,but  quite hot headed .  hes only been on my insurance since May and if im honest i knew he drove a tad aggresively(but not over the speed limit if you get my drift) .

  what made the accident worse was it happened only 10 feet from me as i sat in a coffee bar eating my lunch. he pulled across the highway , guessing a audi tt would brake for him,it didnt  and BAM  Bye bye Peugeot (great van she was )


 Thing is what would you do  now? no point crying over spilt milk(or oil in this case !!)  , hes been the driver in a 2 man team getting good results . this leaves me with 1 van only and 5 of us workers.  Convinced it wasnt his fault he hasnt said sorry
 Anybody know how much insurance goes up by after a claim ? double?

[CLEANCARE WC]

hes a great window cleaner , foreign lad,but  quite hot headed .  hes only been on my insurance since May and if im honest i knew he drove a tad aggresively(but not over the speed limit if you get my drift) .

  what made the accident worse was it happened only 10 feet from me as i sat in a sandwich bar eating my lunch. he pulled across the highway , guessing an Audi tt would brake for him,it didnt  and BAM  Bye bye Peugeot (great van she was )


 Thing is what would you do  now? no point crying over spilt milk(or oil in this case !!)  , hes been the driver in a 2 man team getting good results . this leaves me with 1 van only and 5 of us workers.  Convinced it wasnt his fault he hasnt said sorry
 Anybody know how much insurance goes up by after a claim ? double?

Sorry to hear that Bobby! But thats bad driving, you dont pull out HOPING someone will brake for you. And the fact he has not apologised, even if it wasnt his fault which it sounds like it is, you think he would apologise for the hassle you now have etc.

was it the blue or the green one?

[bobby p]

cheers Dan,   im gutted if im honest ,that light blue van has been with me right from when i was on my lonesome, 7 years ,and it gave me no grief really

what added to it my R.A.C.  recovery policy didnt cover me,not if you have a prang it turns out , i had  to fork out an extra big fee to get the recovery

  

[PurefectWindowCleaning]

Gutted mate.

[supernova77]

Sorry to hear about the van  

Is the guy employed properly with you - as in PAYE?

If not tell him there is no work for him until you get another van on the road?

Andy

[Ian101]

u got a spare car / van ?

[bobby p]

hes employed properly.  hes just this minute tex me that hes now been to the doctors and been signed off for the week with whiplash .

[spongebob]

hes employed properly.  hes just this minute tex me that hes now been to the doctors and been signed off for the week with whiplash .

cheeky sod!!! he should drag himself in.

[Richard Shepherd]

hes employed properly.  hes just this minute tex me that hes now been to the doctors and been signed off for the week with whiplash .

If he gets a claim in for whiplash and is succesful, expect your premiums to go up dramatically. Sounds like he might cost you more than he is worth.

[CLEANCARE WC]

so heres a question for you boys....If a staff member writes off your van and it was their fault, can you sack them for negligence?

[bobby p]

hes employed properly.  hes just this minute tex me that hes now been to the doctors and been signed off for the week with whiplash .

If he gets a claim in for whiplash and is succesful, expect your premiums to go up dramatically. Sounds like he might cost you more than he is worth.

  if he puts a claim in thatll be the end ,no matter how good a cleaner he is.   he knew he was in the wrong but he wanted me to back him up agenst the woman who he crashed into, but i didnt as i saw clearly from where i sat , maybe that is why he did not say sorry cos i didnt back him up .  
 

[Small but perfectley formed]

Tell him straight if he makes a claim you will probably have to cease trading

[andyM]

hes employed properly.  hes just this minute tex me that hes now been to the doctors and been signed off for the week with whiplash .

If he gets a claim in for whiplash and is succesful, expect your premiums to go up dramatically. Sounds like he might cost you more than he is worth.

  if he puts a claim in thatll be the end ,no matter how good a cleaner he is.   he knew he was in the wrong but he wanted me to back him up agenst the woman who he crashed into, but i didnt as i saw clearly from where i sat , maybe that is why he did not say sorry cos i didnt back him up .  
 i personally dont think he has whiplash as i dont think you get that much at slow speed head on crash  and we all sat around for 3 hours after waiting on the recovery and no mention,in fact he went and had a full meal ,nobody else felt like eating

My "unprofessional opinion" (which counts for nothing) is that he probably is stretching the truth.
But in my experience the effects of a whiplash injury can become more noticeable some time after the accident.
I was in an RTA a few years ago, and the effect of a whiplash injury didn't become noticeable to me until 12-18 hours after the accident occurred.

[Griffus]

I thought I was having a rough time lately, you've just put our few issues into perspective as I would be in meltdown over this, especially if I had witnessed what you had. To add insult etc. he's throwing a sickie with no doubt a claim to follow........

You have my sympathy, I can't imagine he won't be going the whole hog with a personal injury claim, a fair bit of time off work etc.

This entire claim may well end up against your policy, unless you counter claim against the third party. If so then this will have to be advised during every insurance quote you get. In a word I'd say you're buggered.

One point, and it'll be an important one. Never admit liability at the scene. It's not your place to do so, it's for the insurances to battle out later. I know you saw the prang and in uour opinion he was in the wrong, but the insurance co might decide differently based on the facts as they see them.

One final point, do you not have a company vehicle / driver policy?

[bobby p]

i didnt admit liability to the other driver . she was a decent person and she knew that i knew , but i explained its down to the insurance to sort it out .  

hes just been added in May onto my commercial van policy , just for that 1 van .  he knows i have employee liability insurance for them all  .  hes built like a tank,bull necked, not a flimsy neck type  by any means

 

[Ferenc G.]

Just a little sidenote, a few years ago had a head on at about 30mph. Got out of the van in one piece, couple of hours later was working as normal no problem. Woke up in the following morning with an awful headache, pain down my neck to the top of shoulders. 8 Weeks physio and I still experience some pain and stiffness sometimes...

[Richard iSparkle]

this is really bad news for you.  what a pain.

i know it may not be help in this instance but are you aware you can get insurance where you get a van with a fitted wfp system in the instance you have an accident.  i have it and am covered with this vehicle if the accident was our fault or not.

if the accident is his fault he cant put a claim in whiplash...  unless its against himself!

regarding your employee, this would really p me off.  not the accident so much as he it was a stupid mistake of his (though of course that is frustrating).  what really winds me up is his being signed off sick with whiplash.  my own WC had a crash 2 weeks back (in his own car) and has whiplash himself, but he hasnt missed a day off work.  he's been on pain killers, and whilst he's stiff he's still turning up every day and working a full day. 

in our contract they are expected to drive the vehicle with care.  i am pretty sure that i could get rid of someone after this type of accident if it is decided to be his fault.  i would start disciplinary proceedings immediately as he could use his 'injury' to really drag any outcome out for you.  i;d also make him sort out his own sick pay.

[AuRavelling79]

See a solicitor and get some advice.

[EandM]

My day's been rubbish - CSA in hot pursuit and the 4wd no longer working on my truck for some inadequately explored reason.

Sounds like your day was worse and I'm sorry to hear about your aggro and hope you can navigate through the minefield with your sanity intact.

Seems like you're doing it the right way too - all the best,

Martin

[geefree]

His fault ,

buy another van and take it out of his wages at £50 per week..... regardless of any insurance claims.