Car swerved into my path

I was riding back from work a few weeks ago on a single carriageway road with one lane in each direction and a 30mph speed limit. A Royal Mail van had stopped in the opposite lane with its hazards on. As a car went past the van, a man stepped out from in front of the van.  The car swerved towards me to avoid the pedestrian, which causing me to steer away and to come off my bike.  I am bringing a claim but my insurance company states I can’t claim against the car driver as he did nothing wrong.  That can’t be right?

Richard, by e-mail

Answer

The accident was not your fault: fault lies with the car driver and the pedestrian. The pedestrian should not have tried to cross a road in front of the van. It is clearly foreseeable that other vehicles may be overtaking. It should also have been foreseeable to the car driver that when a postal van has pulled over in a built up area, people may try to cross the road in front of it. It will depend on the precise movements and timings to give an accurate liability split.

You should claim against the car driver’s insurer and if they want to seek a contribution from the pedestrian then they can do so. It may be the case that he has house contents insurance covering third party liability or even enough assets to pay the claim himself. You could check to see if any CCTV or doorbell camera footage exists to show exactly what happened.