Hand Controls Failed! Help., Insurance say i'm liable???? Options

[shaggy79]

hi there
i'm looking for advice or anyones experiences with hand controls failing.

baisically i had a smash because the radial hand control accelerator jammed on full throttle, while i was turning right from a stand still in 6pm london traffic. Ended up steering the car into sidewalk railings to avoid the other cars.
i only had about 10 meters to move the car so i barely touched the accelerator.

insurance are saying i have to accept liability. surely this is not right!?

[russ1]

You're liable for the damage to the railing for sure - accepting liability for the accident should just mean that you'll have to pay the excess and that your no claims will be affected but should not mean that the insurance won't pay out. Accepting liability should just mean that you're accepting that it wasn't someone else's fault but you should clarify what the insurance company mean and what effect this will have on the processing of your claim before you do accept it.

[greybeard]

Usual disclaimer: I am not a lawyer so get expert advice.

There are two issues here: your contract with the insurance company, and the defective controls.

If it is your argument that the hand control was defective and because of this it caused you to suffer loss or injury, you would be entitled to claim damages from whoever sold/fitted the device. Any loss claimed would include whatever extra you had to pay out under the contract you have with your car insurance company.

There is no getting out of your obligations to the insurance company if the contract states that in the event of an accident, you will lose a no-claims bonus, or have to pay an excess. Deal with that first and then try to recover any loss caused by the defective equipment.

Good luck.

[shaggy79]

You're liable for the damage to the railing for sure - accepting liability for the accident should just mean that you'll have to pay the excess and that your no claims will be affected but should not mean that the insurance won't pay out. Accepting liability should just mean that you're accepting that it wasn't someone else's fault but you should clarify what the insurance company mean and what effect this will have on the processing of your claim before you do accept it.

thanx, my issue is the principle of the fact, the record and how it could affect any future situations.
Bottom line is i'm not at fault, but because of the nature of hand controls being what they are the only people who might be able to recognise the fault would be the company that fitted them, an unlikely event as liability would be on them. so the only other way i can see of proving that i'm not at fault is if there are any other cases similar to mine

[shaggy79]

Usual disclaimer: I am not a lawyer so get expert advice.

There are two issues here: your contract with the insurance company, and the defective controls.

If it is your argument that the hand control was defective and because of this it caused you to suffer loss or injury, you would be entitled to claim damages from whoever sold/fitted the device. Any loss claimed would include whatever extra you had to pay out under the contract you have with your car insurance company.

There is no getting out of your obligations to the insurance company if the contract states that in the event of an accident, you will lose a no-claims bonus, or have to pay an excess. Deal with that first and then try to recover any loss caused by the defective equipment.

Good luck.

surely my insurance should be at least obliged to investigate the option that if there is proof then, someone else has to pay baisically rather than just blaming me and paying out?

[greybeard]

Usual disclaimer: I am not a lawyer so get expert advice.

There are two issues here: your contract with the insurance company, and the defective controls.

If it is your argument that the hand control was defective and because of this it caused you to suffer loss or injury, you would be entitled to claim damages from whoever sold/fitted the device. Any loss claimed would include whatever extra you had to pay out under the contract you have with your car insurance company.

There is no getting out of your obligations to the insurance company if the contract states that in the event of an accident, you will lose a no-claims bonus, or have to pay an excess. Deal with that first and then try to recover any loss caused by the defective equipment.

Good luck.

surely my insurance should be at least obliged to investigate the option that if there is proof then, someone else has to pay baisically rather than just blaming me and paying out?

Sorry mate. That was the best advice I could give. At the end of the day, you were the driver and assumed to have been in control of the car, and you did hit something causing damage.

Insurance companies are notorious for trying every underhand trick in the book to avoid paying out. Get expert advice if you want to pursue it further.

[Trinity]

surely my insurance should be at least obliged to investigate the option that if there is proof then, someone else has to pay baisically rather than just blaming me and paying out?

I assume that what happened to you isn't very dissimilar to accidents caused by other mechanical failure such as brake failure. Maybe you could see what precedent has been set in these cases.

[wheelywendy]

are you with the aa or rac if so try speaking to their legal advisors, they would be able to help you

[dangerousdave]

I can only go along with Greybeards advise
To state, my brakes failed, my accelorator stuck open, you will have to prove such

So ask the site if anybody has suffered a similar fate with what ever your controls are, when fitted, who fitted them, when, whats your vehical.

Be thankful you weren't sitting beside me in a SAAB 900 auto with the throttle stuck open carreering down the middle lane of a two lane road in Finland with the handbrake on and me trying to turn the igntion key, then bang it reset and I rolled to the side of the road thankfully in one piece.
When I got it back to the garage .. the guy said .. ohh, not again.

[Lucydog]

I suppose it might depend on how old the car and hand controls are and who fitted them.

[guido]

I can only go along with Greybeards advise
To state, my brakes failed, my accelorator stuck open, you will have to prove such

So ask the site if anybody has suffered a similar fate with what ever your controls are, when fitted, who fitted them, when, whats your vehical.

Be thankful you weren't sitting beside me in a SAAB 900 auto with the throttle stuck open carreering down the middle lane of a two lane road in Finland with the handbrake on and me trying to turn the igntion key, then bang it reset and I rolled to the side of the road thankfully in one piece.
When I got it back to the garage .. the guy said .. ohh, not again.

Woa woa WOA! There was another thread a while back about best hand controls, and if a certain type are regularly defective, I think we ought to be posting brand names or (dare I say it) installers - if it's only happening in one place??

Come to think about it: I went through 3 steering wheel balls on this car. The 1st two came off in my hand - which was none too helpful on busy roundabouts. The third one was a different brand and has been good. As I don't know who made them, I suppose my last comment looks a bit weak...!?

[Tinbasher]

Remember your insurance company are only interested in fulfilling their contract with you and are not remotely interested in any civil case you might have against the hand control people. Do you have legal cover with your house insurance? That might pay for an independent engineer to inspect the installation.

Tin

[LuckyinKentucky]

Be thankful you weren't sitting beside me in a SAAB 900 auto with the throttle stuck open carreering down the middle lane of a two lane road in Finland with the handbrake on and me trying to turn the igntion key,

or stick the throttle in a 1967 Buick with a big block pushing 500 ft/lbs of torque. Thank god for the key hey Dave.

If your controls were professionally installed than the installers should have insurance... Qualifying for it should be a matter of being within the maintenance guidelines in the insurance contract. Sometimes a annual check is required to be done by the installer to maintain the coverage. In the states lack of insurance is the biggest hindrance to most mechanics who "could" put them on.

[dangerousdave]

or stick the throttle in a 1967 Buick with a big block pushing 500 ft/lbs of torque. Thank god for the key hey Dave.

When I ws a part bi-ped working in Detroit .. I used a Buick something or other .. V6
It was so heavey on the front (front wheel drive) that I often, unintensionaly went straight on when I was trying to take a corner .. frightening (nothing to do with snow)
But yes, those old yankee big blocks certainly get my interest
Went to several car meets where they are on show in abundance. Nearly always they are in showroom condition. That goes for the model T's too