Motor Car accident, brother left with broken collar bone, other driver left scene

My brother and his pals were returning home after a night out. They were on a stretch of road with another car coming towards them. The other car swerved on to their side of the road, causing them to swerve, hit branches of a tree and crash. End result was one of the lads knocked unconscious and my brother left with a broken collar bone. The driver of the other car came to a stop, looked back at their car and then took off without checking to see if they were ok.

Gardai and ambulance were called and my brother will now be out of action for at least 4-6 weeks, which will interfere with his final months of college and no doubt a great deal of pain.

My question on this is does my brother have recourse to anyone over this accident. Obviously his friend who was driving the car was not at fault and the driver of the other car drove off without checking to see if anyone was hurt, first and foremost and of course without any insurance details being given. Unfortunately they did not get his car reg. number so they cannot pursue him over any claims. Someone mentioned to me there is an insurance board you can apply, but I thought I would ask if anyone knows what would need to be done to apply to them regarding a claim.

Hope my questions make sense, thanks in advance for any help.

Hi Paddy

He should be able to claim through the Motor Insurer's Bureau

[FONT=&quot]General:[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]MIBI compensates victims who have been involved in an accident caused by uninsured or unidentified vehicles. If you wish to notify us of a claim online, click here. [/FONT]

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Brendan, thank you very much. Much appreciated.

I think he would have to claim off his friend's policy as he was a passenger in his car. If it was a taxi your brother would claim off the taxi , so I don't see why it would be any different. I think your brothers friend would have to pursue the person responsible for the crash ,or failing that the Insurance fund http://www.mibi.ie/mibipublic/mibi/.This is not a legal opinion, just my thoughts on it. Could have been a lot worse.

Sorry didn't see Brendan's post

I think it's one for the MIBI. Basically the friends insurers will deny liability and redirect him there anyway. Let the insurer and the MIBI sort it out between them....

He needs to sue both.

From what you say, both cars involved seem to be in the wrong.

Were Gardai notified? If suing MIBI, it is a requirement that you report the matter to Gardai as soon as possible.

Hi Ravima, yes the Gardai arrived at the scene of the accident along with the ambulance.
I don't think it would be fair to say that both cars were wrong. The driver of the other car came on to their side of the road and my brothers friend was forced to swerve or hit the oncoming car.
They will obviously try to pursue the driver of the other car, but with no reg. number to chase it will be very hard to do so.

PaddyW said:

Hi Ravima, yes the Gardai arrived at the scene of the accident along with the ambulance.
I don't think it would be fair to say that both cars were wrong. The driver of the other car came on to their side of the road and my brothers friend was forced to swerve or hit the oncoming car.
They will obviously try to pursue the driver of the other car, but with no reg. number to chase it will be very hard to do so.

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It really is not a question of what is fair or unfair, it's a question of procedure - your brother was injured while a passenger in a car driven by his friend and that is were the claim starts. After that it will be up to his friend's insurance company and the Guards as to what happens - determining who is responsible is not in the hands of your brother.

No problem, fully understand. Will inform him as such!