Uninsured motorist at fault

[WonnabeBiker]

A friend was hit at a 90 degree angle and his truck ended up in some Klong (ditch with water).

A retired teacher had run a stop sign. Then he claimed my friend was "speeding 120 km/h".

Me, I had a broken finger thanks to an uninsured motorist and the Police only made him pay the hospital bill.

Q: How can one make someone pay?

Isn't it a crime?

If it was a farmer driving someone else's truck who plows his rice fields with a water buffalo, then I would see that there's no point in demanding payment. But while young teachers usually start at 9,000 Baht, older folks often get many times more. Anyone being serious about restitution could take out a loan or put it on a credit card!

[theslime]

I would think you need to have a charge brought against the teacher, dont be scared of the Cops, as they will go through the motions. Unfortunately, unless you know a Lawyer personally, the lawyer might take your friends money and do F,all, Im sure a few TV members with businesses will know lawyers who seem to be not working in their interests and costing them plenty.

[wprime]

What are you expecting to get? You haven't been specific about other damages. You had some medical expenses from a hurt finger, he paid for that. As far as the police are concerned he's made full restitution for his crime.

In regards to the truck, does your friend have insurance? If so, have him file a claim and let them chase it up. Otherwise he'll need to chase it up himself, make sure he has a police report which indicates the other party to be in the wrong, then work out the damages, send them the bill. Damages to his truck are a civil matter, it's up to your friend to chase it up, not the police.

Edited March 14, 2015 by wprime

[Neeranam]

It is a crime not t have compulsory insurance. I'm sure they did fine him.

You can't make someone pay but you can sue them.

[CharlieH]

MOVED to Motoring

[seedy]

One Nonsense post removed

One Troll / Flaming post removed

[evadgib]

A dashcam paints a thousand words...

[inbangkok]

I know Thai people who have sued for this very thing. Trapped in litigation for years! Seems like squeezing water from a rock. Unless you are ready for a prolonged legal battle, I would not continue down this road. Unfortunately, Thailand has very weak/poor laws regarding vehicle use. We all know that living here and in my opinion, if you can't accept it, might be time to leave.

There is a reason Thailand has some of the deadliest roads in the world. It is not because the police/courts are known for enforcing and/or punishing vehicle violations.

Edited March 14, 2015 by inbangkok

[canopus1969]

Even if the other party was (A) uninsured ( at fault, your insurance would have still paid up for the repair.

[prakhonchai nick]

It is a crime not t have compulsory insurance. I'm sure they did fine him.

You can't make someone pay but you can sue them.

Compulsory insurance does not cover damage to other vehicles or property (what we know in the West as 3rd party insurance) It basically only covers minimal medical expenses and death. . That's why many drivers do a runner every time they have an accident

High time 3rd party insurance was made compulsory for ALL motorised vehicles.

(DELETED)

Edited March 14, 2015 by seedy
politics

[recycler]

I've had 2 accidents with the other party at fault and uninsured.

The first was a motorcycle with 2 poor woman. Within 2 minutes after it happened a baby was delivered to one of them to make it look worse. I was lucky one of our companies drivers arrived soon and some colleagues prevented it from getting bad.

The last time I was hit by a truck of an industrial service company carrying about 15 workers to the job. The truck rammed me from the side when it started overtaking while I was driving next to it. There was no insurance on the truck and the drive gave me a card of his manager in the company and we made a phone call, and he promised to take care of the damage. I didn't feel confident enough to wait for the police and my insurance for an hour or so at a deserted road in an industrial area with 15 guys in safety boots, helmets and heavy tools that would all have their pay cut if I would insist on keeping them there.

I had video footage of what happened and a name card of a manager in the company, filed the incident with the police and my insurance, but forget about any further action also not after several reminders with parties involved.

[Neeranam]

It is a crime not t have compulsory insurance. I'm sure they did fine him.

You can't make someone pay but you can sue them.

Compulsory insurance does not cover damage to other vehicles or property (what we know in the West as 3rd party insurance) It basically only covers minimal medical expenses and death. . That's why many drivers do a runner every time they have an accident

High time 3rd party insurance was made compulsory for ALL motorised vehicles.

(DELETED)

I know.

[Neeranam]

I would think you need to have a charge brought against the teacher, dont be scared of the Cops, as they will go through the motions. Unfortunately, unless you know a Lawyer personally, the lawyer might take your friends money and do F,all, Im sure a few TV members with businesses will know lawyers who seem to be not working in their interests and costing them plenty.

Have you ever hired a lawyer?

Do you really believe all Thai lawyers are dishonest?

unbelievable

[thefactoryoutlet]

You should all have a lawyer number to call to ask him to come on the spot.

[malcoml]

I had a traffic accident police officer said we were equally at fault police initially wanted nothing to do with it. As I was seen as being more capable of paying it was expected I pick up the whole bill.

Other driver was unlicensed and uninsured I'm a rich farang. Either I pay or the police would take an interest and I would receive some sort of black mark against my name.

[stevenl]

Call your insurance company, let them sort it out.

[SOUTHERNSTAR]

I would think you need to have a charge brought against the teacher, dont be scared of the Cops, as they will go through the motions. Unfortunately, unless you know a Lawyer personally, the lawyer might take your friends money and do F,all, Im sure a few TV members with businesses will know lawyers who seem to be not working in their interests and costing them plenty.

Sorry not correct the friends insurance company must take on the uninsured offender for any damages to the friends vehicle. Any claims for personal injury is covered by the third party insurance. Only if the uninsured didn't have a licensed vehicle the friend must go to a laywer to claim for personal injuries.

[Johnniey]

I had a traffic accident police officer said we were equally at fault police initially wanted nothing to do with it. As I was seen as being more capable of paying it was expected I pick up the whole bill.

Other driver was unlicensed and uninsured I'm a rich farang. Either I pay or the police would take an interest and I would receive some sort of black mark against my name.

You are paranoid. Did you call your insurance?

[WonnabeBiker]

Thanks for the comments and replies.

The incident with the broken finger had been unrelated and was my own motorcycle accident. I brought it up to show that the Police doesn't seem to treat this as the serious offense or even crime it is! In California, one could buy extra insurance against this...

Damage: heard of 80,000 Baht. My friend's truck was properly insured but his Thai wife hadn't bought the level of insurance he had wanted (now it came out - wives sometimes have other uses for money )

I thought a retired teacher likely owns a house and could cough up some money. To pay nothing, nada shows a certain attitude which I detest.

...

Regarding lawyers, the one time I hired one the results were mixed. Got a flat-rate deal (don't get me started on my experiences with lawyers in CA ). With 20/20 rear view vision, I now think he screwed me over, was not fighting and the seconds part of the agreement was dropped under a pretense regarding its likely outcome. He simple had the money upfront and didn't want to do the work or have someone in the office do it. He had been recommended by expats...

The court had >secretly< changed the venue. No notice to him or me, so we both showed up in the wrong town on the court day! How can defendants make it happen that the venue is changed to their home town is beyond me. It was Labour Court and then some non-Labour Court judge held the trial. My private thoughts of the whole experience are not fit to be posted here.

[seedy]

One Troll / Flaming post Hidden

[IMHO]

Damage: heard of 80,000 Baht. My friend's truck was properly insured but his Thai wife hadn't bought the level of insurance he had wanted (now it came out - wives sometimes have other uses for money )

Oh well, make her pay then, 555!

[stevenl]

Thanks for the comments and replies.

The incident with the broken finger had been unrelated and was my own motorcycle accident. I brought it up to show that the Police doesn't seem to treat this as the serious offense or even crime it is! In California, one could buy extra insurance against this...

Damage: heard of 80,000 Baht. My friend's truck was properly insured but his Thai wife hadn't bought the level of insurance he had wanted (now it came out - wives sometimes have other uses for money )

I thought a retired teacher likely owns a house and could cough up some money. To pay nothing, nada shows a certain attitude which I detest.

...

Regarding lawyers, the one time I hired one the results were mixed. Got a flat-rate deal (don't get me started on my experiences with lawyers in CA ). With 20/20 rear view vision, I now think he screwed me over, was not fighting and the seconds part of the agreement was dropped under a pretense regarding its likely outcome. He simple had the money upfront and didn't want to do the work or have someone in the office do it. He had been recommended by expats...

The court had >secretly< changed the venue. No notice to him or me, so we both showed up in the wrong town on the court day! How can defendants make it happen that the venue is changed to their home town is beyond me. It was Labour Court and then some non-Labour Court judge held the trial. My private thoughts of the whole experience are not fit to be posted here.

So your hospital bill was paid for by the guilty party. Good for you, but end of story, you're in Thailand, not in the US, so (thankfully) don't expect to be awarded a couple of million for your inconvenience.

[Si Thea01]

Just gone through an incident involving the wife. She is insured with Mitsui Insurance, a Japanese company and they looked after her. I arranged and paid for the policy, 1st class insurance

The accident occurred at 7.30am and the motorcyclist was drunk, unlicensed, not wearing a helmet and the motorcycle was unregistered and uninsured. She was also hit at 90 degrees. She called Police and her insurance company sent a representative to act on her behalf and carry out an investigation in conjunction with police. The family wanted compensation but the wife refused, as did the insurer, but she was required to attend two further meetings where they attempted to get her to agree to pay 100,000 baht, which she didn't. She was in the same boat as you but accepted what the insurer has done for her and has not sought to get money from the other party. A lesson you could learn from.

The doctors report was her saviour as it explained how and why he sustained the injuries that caused his death. The family finally agreed not to seek compensation and this was listed in the police report, which all parties signed. A totally different scenario to what you have presented, here a man died and being at fault, his family receives nothing, in your case, you receive no injuries and are looking to be compensated.

So what are you on about? You want him to pay you compensation, for what. If it was me, then like him, I'd give you nothing. Just because he is a retired teacher doesn't mean he has what you think he has. Even if he did, what right is it of yours to want compensation if you have not suffered any sort of loss or injury

Insofar as you friend, I'd think he must be a little naïve if he didn't go with his wife when obtaining and paying for his insurance. A little late to whinge after the horse has bolted. But given your post it appears that you might have contracted that terrible disease, which started in (DELETED). Greedious Litagious or more commonly known as Litigation. You should remember, "Only In (DELETED).". Don't try to sue here because what you state would never even make it to first base.

Edited March 15, 2015 by seedy
troll / flaming

[lostinisaan]

A dashcam paints a thousand words...

Not necessarily true in this country. It happened about a year ago in Sisaket province, when an American school teacher was on his way to work.

He had a dashboard cam and the whole accident on film. An old guy all in a sudden made a left turn, driving on an uninsured motorbike, no driver's license.

The American in his pick u had no space to avoid an accident and the older guy got hit and finally lost two, or three fingers.You'd think that he had enough evidence that he was innocent, when watching the movie? Nope.

The family was trying to milk him and the whole thing went to court. The easiest would have been for him to say, yes he was guilty, let his first class insurance pay, but he insisted that he was innocent, which wasn't really in his favor.

At court they said that the American guy was to 100 % guilty. He even had a prison sentence on top, with a probation period.

I had an accident where a speeding pick up truck driving Kathoy hit my pick up truck sideways, when doing a red light. He hit me that hard that I was unconscious for a couple of hours, woke up at the Sisaket hospital with broken ribs, no X -Rays of my spine were taken, various stitches at my ear, face, etc..

After only four hours at the hospital, they sent me home. I couldn't even sit on a motorbike, cabs weren't available at this time and I finally ended up paying a guy who works at the SS hospital 400 baht for a 500 meter ride.

It took two more hospitals to find out that I had serious injuries at my spine and was very close to a wheel chair. ( Including upper body!!)

Plenty of witnesses, the main witness, a hotel owner was offered good money to change the story that the farang made the red light and was speeding.

But he's a cool guy and told them not even for 10 million baht would he tell lies. I couldn't go to work for 8 weeks, the truck was redone by a shitty company, which took over one year.!!!

When I got it back, it turned out that the frame wasn't done, chassis and frame damages were visible, even for the insurance guys.

One was for sure. I did all that the car didn't go back to the rip off company and Mitsubishi Sisaket finally redid the whole pick up, including welding the frame properly, which took another six months, or so.

I wanted 300 K, finally received 100 k for my pain and salary. When I got my truck back from Mitsubishi i had to find out that very important stuff of the steering and brake weren't done. Four ball joints were so close to pop out that it scared the shit out of me.

That was the time when I really lost my temper and jelled at the foreman, why the they didn't fix it. His answer was pretty stupid. Because I didn't tell them to do so? I told him that I would be jobless f I'd do such a shitty job and we finally became friends. ( I know that's hard to understand)

Okay left it there again and had to come back on various weekends. Hope no one on this forum has to go through such (DELETED). Without my lovely wife, I'd have stayed in a hospital for weeks.

BTW, the American guy has left Thailand already, pretty much pissed off. Dash cam? Hmmmmmmmm.-

Edited March 15, 2015 by seedy
language

[LivinLOS]

I am exactly the same.. Million baht of costs from an unlicensed uninsured teenager in a car (whose parents excuse was "Well shes been driving fine for 4 years")..

Police gave her a 500b fine.. As far as they were concerned.. thats her punishment.

My lawyer now made them file a criminal case.. I can also file a civil case for costs.. Even if I win, she has no money, currently a negotiating tactic to see what the parents decide their childs criminal record is worth.

I am told I am in a near cant lose situation in the court.. But, even if I win, its probably going to be a few 1000 baht a month for the next 10 years.

[evadgib]

A dashcam paints a thousand words...

Not necessarily true in this country. It happened about a year ago in Sisaket province, when an American school teacher was on his way to work.

He had a dashboard cam and the whole accident on film. An old guy all in a sudden made a left turn, driving on an uninsured motorbike, no driver's license.

The American in his pick u had no space to avoid an accident and the older guy got hit and finally lost two, or three fingers.You'd think that he had enough evidence that he was innocent, when watching the movie? Nope.

The family was trying to milk him and the whole thing went to court. The easiest would have been for him to say, yes he was guilty, let his first class insurance pay, but he insisted that he was innocent, which wasn't really in his favor.

At court they said that the American guy was to 100 % guilty. He even had a prison sentence on top, with a probation period.

I had an accident where a speeding pick up truck driving Kathoy hit my pick up truck sideways, when doing a red light. He hit me that hard that I was unconscious for a couple of hours, woke up at the Sisaket hospital with broken ribs, no X -Rays of my spine were taken, various stitches at my ear, face, etc..

After only four hours at the hospital, they sent me home. I couldn't even sit on a motorbike, cabs weren't available at this time and I finally ended up paying a guy who works at the SS hospital 400 baht for a 500 meter ride.

It took two more hospitals to find out that I had serious injuries at my spine and was very close to a wheel chair. ( Including upper body!!)

Plenty of witnesses, the main witness, a hotel owner was offered good money to change the story that the farang made the red light and was speeding.

But he's a cool guy and told them not even for 10 million baht would he tell lies. I couldn't go to work for 8 weeks, the truck was redone by a shitty company, which took over one year.!!!

When I got it back, it turned out that the frame wasn't done, chassis and frame damages were visible, even for the insurance guys.

One was for sure. I did all that the car didn't go back to the rip off company and Mitsubishi Sisaket finally redid the whole pick up, including welding the frame properly, which took another six months, or so.

I wanted 300 K, finally received 100 k for my pain and salary. When I got my truck back from Mitsubishi i had to find out that very important stuff of the steering and brake weren't done. Four ball joints were so close to pop out that it scared the shit out of me.

That was the time when I really lost my temper and jelled at the foreman, why the they didn't fix it. His answer was pretty stupid. Because I didn't tell them to do so? I told him that I would be jobless f I'd do such a shitty job and we finally became friends. ( I know that's hard to understand)

Okay left it there again and had to come back on various weekends. Hope no one on this forum has to go through such (DELETED). Without my lovely wife, I'd have stayed in a hospital for weeks.

BTW, the American guy has left Thailand already, pretty much pissed off. Dash cam? Hmmmmmmmm.-

His dashcam cannot be blamed for an incompetant legal system. I would have sent footage to the insurance underwrighters & let it roll downhill.