Insurance company blames me!

I was involved in an accident a car that suddenly came into my lane on a roundabout. He was on the inside lane in very slow moving traffic (around 5 -10mph) and I was between two exits. To avoid the car I dropped the bike and came off. The car driver did not indicate before turning and denied the accident was his fault.

I called my insurer and they said it was my fault as I dropped the bike. I don’t accept this can be right as the reason for my evasive action was the car’s sudden change in direction without him indicating. What can I do?

Tom, Bolton

Answer

Your insurer is wrong. If the other driver did not indicate or look properly and simply cut you up then it is likely to be mostly his fault if not entirely his fault. However, there was an unhelpful Court of Appeal case in 2003 called Grace –v Tanner which was decided as 50/50 blame. Court of Appeal case decisions are binding on lower courts in cases of similar facts. As a result, many roundabout accident cases are settled on a 50/50 basis. A lot of the time they should not be due to the individual fact sensitivity of each case. In your case, you should do better than 50/50 and hopefully you will succeed in full. I would need all of the evidence to be more precise on the likely liability outcome.