According to statistics, more than a thousand traffic accidents occur every day on the streets of large cities. Every road accident is fraught with difficulties in resolving the dispute that arises regarding the amount and procedure for compensation for damage to property, as well as the health of the victim in the accident.
Despite the requirements of Russian legislation on compulsory motor third party liability insurance for vehicle owners and risk insurance for car owners under CASCO agreements, the number of disputes related to compensation for damage and collection of due insurance compensation from the insurance company is steadily growing.
In this regard, legal assistance to motorists faced with a similar problem is necessary; without it, the interests of the parties can be significantly prejudiced. This material was prepared by employees of the Moscow Legal Bureau, based on practical material and will help you correctly navigate when resolving this type of case.
Road traffic accident
After an accident occurs, participants must fulfill the requirements stipulated by the Traffic Rules, which may include: completely stopping the vehicle, providing first aid to victims, installing appropriate signs indicating the location of the accident. Regardless of the alleged guilt of one or another participant in the accident, the traffic police department should be immediately notified of the fact of the accident. The Federal Law “On Compulsory Civil Liability Insurance of Vehicle Owners” (OSAGO) provides for the possibility of receiving an insurance payment in the event of undeniable guilt of one party, the absence of other victims, and the estimated damage not exceeding 25,000 rubles.
An experienced car accident lawyer can provide a comprehensive assessment, while persons who do not have special skills in assessing the extent of damage to a car, as well as those who are not able to immediately orient themselves at the scene of an accident and determine the culprit of the accident, should be guided by the general rule and wait for the police to arrive.
In simple cases, when one party confirms guilt, police officers draw up a report on an administrative offense on the spot, as well as a resolution on the case of an administrative offense in relation to one of the participants in the accident.
In difficult cases, when the guilt of a person is not obvious, a date and place are set for the so-called. "debriefing groups". It is advisable for any party to seek professional legal assistance. The services provided by road accident lawyers in such cases are significantly less expensive than the costs that may be incurred by road accident participants who do not know the intricacies and nuances of interaction with insurance companies.
When registering an accident, the parties must indicate the significant, in their opinion, circumstances of witnesses to the accident in their explanations filled out on the spot, make appropriate notes on the accident diagram, as well as the protocol. With the technical capabilities available today, it would be useful to take detailed photographs of the location of cars, brake marks, and vehicle wrecks.
Later, during an administrative investigation (in the “analysis group”), these photographs, as well as data stored in the memory of the video recorder, and witness statements will be added to the investigation materials and can help prove their position in the case.
A car accident lawyer specializing in such cases will help you correctly formulate your version of the incident, present the necessary and sufficient evidence, and will also be able to submit reasoned requests for the appointment of technical examinations.
Is it necessary to include a certificate of an accident?
According to the current legislation on compulsory motor liability insurance, to submit an application you must have a certificate of an accident. But, starting from October 20 of this year, a new regulation of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is in force, according to which employees of the state road safety inspection are no longer required to issue a certificate of an accident to each participant.
At the moment, additional innovations that were proposed by the executive director of the RSA are being considered. He was outraged by the cancellation of supporting documents, since insurers would not be able to establish the presence of signs of regression, and the culprit of the accident would remain unpunished. As an alternative, additional information may be included in documents on administrative offenses:
- Series and policy number of the person responsible for the incident.
- Names of insurance companies.
- A note about testing all participants for the presence of alcohol in the blood.
- Traffic rules that were violated.
- The extent of damage to each vehicle.
This addition will help insurance companies process applications without an accident certificate and, based on documents from the traffic police, calculate payments to their clients.
Actions of the victim
A person whose car has suffered property damage and who, after an administrative investigation, has been recognized as injured in an accident, receives the right to payment of insurance compensation under compulsory motor liability insurance.
In accordance with the Federal Law “On Compulsory Motor Liability Insurance” and the Rules for Compulsory Civil Liability Insurance of Vehicle Owners, documents for insurance compensation for damage in case of an accident are submitted to the insurance company, either the culprit of the accident or your own.
The victim is required to submit the following documents substantiating his demands for payment (a complete possible list is given below):
- a copy of the protocol on the administrative offense case;
- passport or identity card;
- a copy of the resolution in the case of an administrative offense;
- certificate of road accident form No. 31 filled out by a traffic police officer. (possibly at the request of the insurance organization);
- expert report, if the inspection and assessment of the damaged vehicle was carried out independently;
- account details for transferring “loss”;
- telegrams notifying about a call for examination;
- a document confirming payment for the services of experts, mail, tow truck, parking;
- claim for damages to the insurance company;
- vehicle registration certificate or technical vehicle passport;
- General power of attorney if the vehicle is not owned.
After submitting all the documents required by law, the insurance organization is obliged to transfer the due monetary payment to the victim within 30 days.
If the insurance company does not pay on time under MTPL or comprehensive insurance contracts, liability is provided in the form of a penalty.
What to pay attention to
When filling out a certificate of an accident, ask the employee politely to indicate the exact GLONASS/GPS coordinates of the scene of the accident. This will help avoid unnecessary suspicion on the part of already suspicious insurers, who see fraudsters in every victim.
Do not forget about the full names of the participants in the accident, which were described above. If the amount of damage exceeds the liability limit under the MTPL policy, then you will also have to sue the culprit, and in this case you need to know exactly not only the full name, but also the address of the culprit of the accident.
Also, no less politely, ask the traffic police officer to tick all the necessary boxes, and also to indicate whether the participants in the accident were examined for the use of alcohol and drugs.
If there are corrections or deletions in the road accident certificate, they must be certified by the employee who issued the certificate. Otherwise, you will then have to run after this particular traffic police officer so that he can certify his scribbles with corrections. And, as we know, employees are people too and can go on vacation, quit, or even go to prison for taking a bribe.
The MTPL policy, state registration plate, make and model of cars must also be clear and readable.
Expertise and compensation
In accordance with the law, insurance organizations, when inspecting and assessing a damaged vehicle, resort to the services of independent automotive technical expertise, with which relevant contracts have been concluded on an ongoing basis. However, it is a well-known fact that such “partnerships” often lead to a reduction in the real cost of restoration repairs, as a result of which victims have justified claims regarding the amount of monetary payment.
This fact can be confirmed by every practicing lawyer (lawyer) in traffic accidents.
Moscow is no exception - capital insurance companies, like others, strive in every possible way to reduce payments.
If the insurance company has already assessed the car, the victim has the opportunity to challenge the conclusions of the examination and claim greater compensation. However, insurance organizations reject the claims made, even if they provide a new independent examination conducted by the victim independently. Such cases have an exclusively judicial perspective, and in most cases the court appoints a third independent judicial auto-technical examination to make final conclusions about the amount of compensation to be paid.
In other cases, with high-quality legal support, when an experienced motor vehicle lawyer for comprehensive insurance and motor insurance is involved, in strict accordance with the law (notification by telegram to the insurance company responsible for the accident, within the deadlines) victims of the accident conduct and organize their own independent examinations and then submit them to insurance organization. However, even in this case, it is not excluded that the insurance company will disagree with the amount of payment, which leads to an unexplained payment of a smaller amount. Such cases are also subject to resolution in court.
Recovery of damages from the culprit of an accident
The Federal Law “On Compulsory Motor Liability Insurance” establishes a maximum limit on payments to victims of road accidents: in terms of compensation for damage caused to the life or health of each victim, the insurance company does not pay more than 160 thousand rubles for compulsory motor liability insurance; in terms of compensation for damage caused to the property of several victims, no more than 160 thousand rubles; in terms of compensation for damage caused to the property of one victim, no more than 120 thousand rubles.
Thus, it should be recognized that the interests of victims in most cases are infringed, because the amount of insurance compensation in the absence of “extended” MTPL contracts for the culprit of the accident, as well as CASCO for the victim, is not enough to cover the damage caused by the accident. If the amount of compensation for damages established by an independent examination exceeds what is permitted by law - as a general rule, 120,000 rubles. – the difference is subject to recovery from the culprit of the accident.
Recovery of damage caused by a traffic accident in most cases does not have a pre-trial prospect of resolving the dispute and ends in court. At the same time, the culprit of the accident has the right and opportunity, in accordance with the requirements of the law, to challenge monetary compensation, even though he has not previously made any claims regarding the quality of the examination performed.
How to obtain a certificate of an accident from the traffic police and what is the time frame for issuing it.
By order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation dated April 1, 2011, number 154, the form of a certificate of a traffic accident was approved. In short, this document is called certificate-154. The traffic inspector who registered the accident is responsible for issuing certificate No. 154. In accordance with letter No. 45/1468 of the State Traffic Safety Inspectorate, a representative of the traffic police must issue the said document to interested parties without delay. If, immediately after registering an accident, the inspector cannot, for some reason, immediately issue a certificate, for example, you urgently need to go to the next accident, the document must be handed over to the victims no later than 24 hours after the accident.
Legal assistance in case of an accident
This article presents typical situations, as well as the most common difficulties. For review, we offer several statements of claim prepared by employees of the Moscow Legal legal bureau, for which positive decisions were received.
It is important to remember that with timely contact with lawyers specializing in road accident cases, a person whose property has been damaged is able to obtain the maximum possible compensation, even when the insurance company does not pay a reasonable amount of money, or when it is necessary to recover damages from the culprit of the accident.
In addition, expenses incurred by the party for the services of a lawyer (lawyer) rendered in connection with an accident are also subject to reimbursement. Moscow is as convenient as possible for the clients of the office - on an ongoing basis we cooperate with leading independent expert organizations that have positive experience in the field of appraisal and forensic examinations.
