Need some legal advice please...

[ShaneW]

Hi guys


Need some legal advice please...


A friend of mine was involved in a motor vehicle accident about 2 months ago, He doesn't earn alot of money and wasn't insured. The accident was not his fault at all, he was driving on a straight road and a lady pulled out from a side road and smashed into his vehicle. The repair quotes to his vehicle were 45k and 48k and he can't drive the vehicle. Poor oke is using a bicycle to work and back every day.


I offered to help him deal with her insurance for the claim as he doesn't even have an email address. It's been going backwards and forwards for about 5 weeks now and we were at the point last week where their legal dept agreed to pay out 60% of the damages. The last step was just for their management to sign off on the claim. I know 60% is not ideal but at least it is something and we managed to find another panelbeater that could fix it for that amount of money.

The problem is that management have now refused to pay on the basis that their client did not admit guilt in her statement. If they had to read her statement they could clearly pick up it was her fault but they not budging.

When I was trying to resolve this with them they recommended we start litigation against their client. They basically saying... Go ahead sue us.


I phoned the lady and explained the situation, she had no idea what her insurance was doing and thought the matter had been resolved. I explained that we will be starting litigation against her in an attempt to get her to shake her insurance up a bit. She was concerned and said she would contact her insurance, well that was on Monday and there is still no resolve.


It sickens me that large companies would do this... They know that lawyer fees are high and there is a good chance he will just drop it. He actually said to me this week that perhaps we must just drop it and he'll take a loan and buy a car... This is exactly what they were hoping for! I'm not prepared to do it and will help him with whatever it takes.


He is very nervous to approach a lawyer because of the costs. I have spoken to my lawyer and she's prepared to take the case on and let him pay her off but I know she doesn't come cheap. She also said it could take a while and the fees could get rather high.


So my question is... Where to from here? Are there lawyers that are prepared to look at the case, take it on and get paid at the end? If so, where do we find them?


Legal aid won't help as he earns slightly more than their criteria. Small claims court can't help as the amount is too large.

Please help...

Thanks

 

[K_klops]

Which city is your friend in? PM me and I might be able to get help to you

 

[Silver]

Hi Shane. Sorry to hear about what happened to your friend. Good mate he has in you trying to help him.

I am no lawyer but surely the best course of action is trying again to get the other party to admit guilt?

Instead of going the legal route.

 

[Andre]

Another option is to go to the police and formally lay a charge of negligent/reckless driving against the other driver.

 

[Nooby]

I always see this ad on TV...

de Broglio Attorneys - If it was'nt your fault, you should have to pay. They will fight the case for you.. Hope it helps

 

[RATZ]

Insurance is saying that you need to prove she was the guilty party before they pay. They are looking after their clients interest. (legal speak)

#human speak :-
They know that lawyers are expensive and people are scared off for this reason.

As long as the incident was reported within 24 hrs then you have a case. You can even recover the lawyer fees. Unfortunately this can take a long time and your friend will be riding a bicycle for a year or two....

A response from a lawyer may be worth the upfront costs

#beenthere

 

[free3dom]

Legal action in cases like these can literally take years. I was involved in an accident, also not my fault, and the insurance companies went back and forth and I finally had to go to court - **5 years** after the accident - and they found that indeed it wasn't my fault and wasted years to get nowhere.

If at all possible, avoid legal action

 

[BigGuy]

@ShaneW Hi I am in the insurance business as my day job VAPE SHOP owner by night lol. Okay this is a normal tactic that is used by insurance companies and because the know lawyers are not cheap most people just end up quitting or they hope they will and as soon as they get a lawyers letter then they change their tune.

My suggestion is for your friend to contact the short term Ombudsman i will attach a link to the contact details and it lays out the process that your friend has to follow. Firstly as far as i know it is a free service and secondly they have the power to enforce payment should they feel that your friend is being done it.

Should you still not have any joy which i highly doubt then you would need to get a lawyer but i have read many a time in the personal finance on a Saturday where clients have won their cases just going to the ombudsman and then the ombudsman sending the insurance company a letter.

http://www.osti.co.za/contact-us.html this is the link to the SHORT TERM OMBUD

 

[BigGuy]

@ShaneW also sorry what was the insurance companies name as i know alot of the senior management and if it is one of the companies i know i can drop a hint that they are going to be contacted by the ombud on a specific case. Done that before for a mate and his claim was paid 3 days later LOL its not what you know its who you know.

 

[K_klops]

@ShaneW also sorry what was the insurance companies name as i know alot of the senior management and if it is one of the companies i know i can drop a hint that they are going to be contacted by the ombud on a specific case. Done that before for a mate and his claim was paid 3 days later LOL its not what you know its who you know.

Great advice @BigGuy. The problem is exactaly that, insurance companies have legal teams comprised of many different specialised legal practitioners who are
Extremely intimidating to the layman.

The strongest tactic they use is to drain the funds of the party instituting action. Big companies are always difficult to take to court unless you have a cut and dry case.
Its appropriate to mention that most cases are settled out of court though, when handled correctly that is.

"A battle of Intelligence is used on paper, whereas egos are used in a court room"

Unfortunately the RAF wont be the correct route to take unless your friend was injured and the accident caused financial damage-excluding the vehicle. Along the lines of employment to be clear. The problem with the RAF is not resources, as they do pay out but the fund is heavily back logged so without an attorney, you wont get far in a claim very quickly.

Litigation itself is extremely costly excluding the attorneys fees.

Just to mention, as most know, when reporting an accident, the parties have 24 hours to 48hours or more depending on certain factors...BUT should criminal action be brought forward it wont help your friend as he will have to still win an award in civil court, and unfortunately unless someone died or the driver commited an offense in contravention of the road traffic act, a prosecuter wont waste his/her time.

As @BigGuy stated it is about who you know. The ombudsman is a great solution.

If the facts are clear and strong enough its an easy case to win where any legal fees will be recovered at the insurance companies expense.

 

[K_klops]

Law clinics are a great idea aswel if attorneys fees are difficult. law clinics have full time attorneys and advocates aswell as practitioners that need to fill their required community service hours.
They are usually situated by universities so that graduates can gain some experience aswell (under direction and guidence from more experienced practitioners). Usually article clerks.

 

[ShaneW]

Thanks for all the great advice guys, really appreciate all the input! You have given me some good ideas to try.

@BigGuy the insurance company is Renasa.

 

[BigGuy]

@ShaneW Sorry dude do not know anyone at Renasa, but tell your mate to go the OMBUD route they have great success.

 

[ShaneW]

@ShaneW Hi I am in the insurance business as my day job VAPE SHOP owner by night lol. Okay this is a normal tactic that is used by insurance companies and because the know lawyers are not cheap most people just end up quitting or they hope they will and as soon as they get a lawyers letter then they change their tune.

My suggestion is for your friend to contact the short term Ombudsman i will attach a link to the contact details and it lays out the process that your friend has to follow. Firstly as far as i know it is a free service and secondly they have the power to enforce payment should they feel that your friend is being done it.

Should you still not have any joy which i highly doubt then you would need to get a lawyer but i have read many a time in the personal finance on a Saturday where clients have won their cases just going to the ombudsman and then the ombudsman sending the insurance company a letter.

http://www.osti.co.za/contact-us.html this is the link to the SHORT TERM OMBUD

The ombudsman office has said they can't help with 3rd party claims, only if it was his insurance he had an issue with.

Renasa has also handed it over to an attorney who has advised this lady not to deal with me. So there goes me getting a letter of guilt from her.

 

[BigGuy]

@ShaneW Let me ask some of my friends their opinion and i will get back to you on a it.

 

[ShaneW]

@ShaneW Let me ask some of my friends their opinion and i will get back to you on a it.

Thank you sir, much appreciated.

My friend has lost hope and is ready to throw in the towel... Exactly what they wanted.

Why do things like this always happen to good people!
Yes he should of had insurance, and I'm sure he's learnt that lesson but still... Makes me mad

 

[johan]

Just a thought: "what is the cut-off amount in the small claims court?

 

[ShaneW]

Just a thought: "what is the cut-off amount in the small claims court?

15k unfortunately

 

[BigGuy]

@ShaneW Another option also is Hello Peter http://hellopeter.com/ as long as you have all the facts and they are 100% accurate. This sounds really stupid but it does work. I had a issue with telkom many years ago that i was paying for 10mbs and my area was 10mbps but i could only get like 2 mbps. I set up a automated email to go off every 20 mins to the local telkom manager needless to say a month later i had new copper all the way to the exchange. Why i mention this is if you threaten back saying you are going to the Ombud and to hello peter and Carte blanche etc. and type up a formal letter and send it off to them this might just sway them into thinking you are not going to back down.

As soon as i have some more info from my mates ill let you know.

 

[ShaneW]

@ShaneW Another option also is Hello Peter http://hellopeter.com/ as long as you have all the facts and they are 100% accurate. This sounds really stupid but it does work. I had a issue with telkom many years ago that i was paying for 10mbs and my area was 10mbps but i could only get like 2 mbps. I set up a automated email to go off every 20 mins to the local telkom manager needless to say a month later i had new copper all the way to the exchange. Why i mention this is if you threaten back saying you are going to the Ombud and to hello peter and Carte blanche etc. and type up a formal letter and send it off to them this might just sway them into thinking you are not going to back down.

As soon as i have some more info from my mates ill let you know.

Thanks... Prepared to try anything at this stage