Insurance companies are often quick to make allegations of fraud if the person making a claim for
personal injury was involved in a minor rear shunt car accident.
In the case of
Armstrong V First York, Armstrong and his passenger were injured in a car accident in which a bus owned by First York collided with the Ford Fiesta car Armstrong was driving. Armstrong and his friend suffered neck and back pain (Commonly known as
“Whiplash” injury).
The bus company defended the claims on the basis that there had been a glancing blow and only minor damage to the car. The damage to the car was slight. It had sustained a five inch long scratch, the depth of which was double the normal thickness of paint.
First York claimed that the force of the impact was not enough to cause the injuries Armstrong and his front seat passenger were complaining about. The bus was driving at 10-15 miles per hour.
Neither Armstrong nor his passenger felt any pain at the time of the accident. They even reported to a passing police officer that they were fine but later that day, they both called into the accident and emergency department of their local hospital.
At the hearing of their claims, the Judge believed Armstrong and his passenger, he found them reliable. The allegations of fraud made by First York were dismissed and Armstrong and his passenger were awarded personal injury compensation for the
whiplash injuries they suffered as a result of the accident.
This decision of the court was right in my opinion and a big blow to motor insurance companies. At least now they are able to negotiate early settlement of minor car accident claims than before.
You don’t need to be an engineer to see that even low impact rear shunt accidents can cause pain to the neck, shoulder and/ or back of a car occupant.
Asiimwe Balinda
Personal injury solicitor