A typical phenomenon after road accidents, which we encounter time and again in our settlement practice, is the Change of opinion overnight. Immediately after the bang, still at the scene of the accident, all those involved agreed on the course of events and the assurance "Sorry, my mistake...I'll sort it out with my insurance company, of course... I'm really sorry..." had a soothing, calming effect against the adrenaline of the accident. But here we explain what happens when it's one statement against another.
Attention - you should not make these mistakes
For many accident victims, the situation is seemingly clear and they make one or more of the following mistakes in good faith:
No police...
Because of your reasonable behaviour, you did not call the police.
No photos...
You also felt that the extensive photography of both vehicles and the entire situation was inappropriate in the case of such a confessing and co-operative road user.
No witnesses...
I don't need to collect witnesses against someone who says they made a mistake, do I? Approaching passers-by and asking for their contact details just in case often costs a lot of effort and is therefore often omitted.
No acknowledgement of guilt...
You would have felt that demanding a written admission of guilt from the unlucky man was almost coercive, so you decided not to do so.
No dash cam...
Driving around with a sharp camera is not everyone's cup of tea. Just ask Alexa, Siri and Cortana...
In most cases, the further course then looks like this:
- Accident opponent does not report back as agreed
- The other party involved in the accident cannot be reached by phone, does not respond to emails
- The other party in the accident does not report the damage to their insurance company
- When you report a claim to the other party's insurance company, they will inform you that they must first contact the policyholder, the other party involved in the accident
A few days or even weeks later you will receive a letter:
- either from the other party's insurance company:
"...deviating accident description... no obligation to pay benefits recognisable..." Means: The other party in the accident has given a description that does not match your own account and the opposing insurance company therefore sees no reason to pay you. - or from one of the 160,000 lawyers operating in Germany:
"Dear... we indicate that,... our client... on this side prevailing... it is denied... as a precaution... we reserve the right... respectfully...."
Means: I, lawyer XY, represent your accident opponent and before you see a euro from him, you must first have my academic letter translated.
You must bear this in mind if you find yourself in a situation where you have to give evidence
Important: You need Professional help!
The good news first. Good advice does not necessarily have to be expensive. If you can prove your innocence, all the necessary service providers - for example fair regulation - The accident must ultimately be settled with the liability insurance of the person responsible for the accident. The idea of the § 249 BGB is - to put it bluntly - that you end up as you were 1 second before the accident, i.e. fully recovered.
The difficulty: If the evidence is thin on the ground (no police and/or no witnesses and/or no or few photos), your justified claims can only be asserted with detailed settlement work on your behalf.
In addition to the skilful questioning of your accident opponent to uncover inconsistencies, there is also the usually laborious subsequent search for witnesses. Nowadays, social networks offer an astonishing distribution range. You can find out what you need to bear in mind to distinguish between a genuine witness and a bogus witness. here.
One of the most valuable tools in this situation is the so-called plausibility check as part of a damage assessment.
A competent motor vehicle expert can derive valuable information for you about the actual course of the accident from the damage to your vehicle. Conversely, he can refute implausible descriptions by the other party involved in the accident.
The golden rule therefore applies to all those affected: Do not repair / remove traces before the damage and traces that are of extra value in your situation have been documented properly and in detail, preferably by means of a proper damage report.
YOU owe the expert you have commissioned his expert's fee, which can range from around €400 to well over €1,000 depending on the amount of damage. Only if you succeed in proving that the other party was at fault will you have the chance to claim reimbursement of your actual expert fees from the generic liability insurance company. At the latest when your case becomes contentious and goes to court, an accident reconstruction expert will be appointed by the court. In the end, the loser of the case will have to bear the costs on top.
With modern vehicles, it may be possible to read data from the vehicles involved in the event of an escalation. Whether with or without accident data storage (UDS), investigating authorities now have legal access rights and can even disclose mobile phone use as an accident-relevant detail in addition to the speed driven. However, you cannot access this data on your own. You need an investigation to do this, which brings you back to the need for professional support mentioned above.
What is also regularly worthwhile afterwards is a detailed inspection of the scene of the accident. It is not unusual to find skid marks, splinter marks (glass and/or paint), scratches and damage to the road surface, kerbs and street furniture. The rule here is: don't take too many photos! Capture every detail and from all angles. We'll find the right one for you.
In order to make the most of the few remaining options available to you, we strongly recommend the following Commissioning of a professional regulatory service provider. You guessed it, you'll find one on this website... Until then, have a safe journey!
