Am I at fault because I apologised?

I was riding to work and filtering through congested traffic a couple of weeks ago when a car exited a side road and I hit the front of it.

I was shaken but fortunately I escaped serious injury. I apologised to the car driver because I thought it was my fault for filtering at that point by the junction. My brother has said that I can make a claim against the driver but as I indicated that it was my fault does this stop me from making a claim against him for my injuries and bike and kit damage?

Martin R, by email

Answer

Admissions of fault or blame made in the immediate aftermath of an accident are not legally binding. When someone is involved in an accident they are often shocked and not in a clear state of mind to assess the accident circumstances and to form a view as to where blame lies.

Many people will make statements at an accident scene that may be misconstrued as being an admission of fault, such as apologising. This will not bind the person to an admission and any apology will be subject to the context in which it is made. For example it may be that you were sorry for him having been in an accident, but this does not mean that you are sorry for having caused the accident.

The law on civil liability for accidents can be complex but yes, you can bring a claim.