Need Legal Advise - Police made a wrong decscion, how unusual

[Eav00l]

Hi all last month i was involved in a 6 car pile up with the skyline. my car was number 5 in the 6,

All of us had stopped and i got hit from the behind, causing my foot to come of the brake and pushing me into the car in front,

Now this Water police that was on his way home from picking his id up from school told cars 1,2,3 and 6 to go as me and the guy i hit were the worst.

The guy in front made a statement that he only felt 1 hit meaning i got hit then ran into him ( if he felt 2 hits i hit him then she ran into me)

But the lady behind is syaing i hit him 1st then she hit me, this is not true.

Now i have been charged with neg driving (im not pying it) and i want to take it to court.

I am after some "Free" legal advise weither i would have a case and what legal costs i would be up 4.

i only recieved the infringment notice today 2/7/04 and i have to return it within 21 days.

Im inb the Hills District.

Thx for your help guys.

Craig

0410 635 901

[email protected]

[Eav00l]

Also, the officer said that he made his decision ans the damage to the front of my car, the raere of the guys i hit and the person that hit me does not justify that i got hit from behind.

Damage to car #4 $12000

Damage to my Car $12500

Damage to Car #6 $1500

although when you look at the damage the my car has hit straigt on, if i had hit him 1st i would have been braking and the car would have been pointing downwards, casuing more damage to the top of the car.

and

My air bag did not come out. which i have been told if i hit him with that much force while braking (facing downwards) it would have.,

also there is heaps of damage to the rear of my car.

hmmmm????

[red900ss]

Talk to your insurance company and maybe a lawyer. If it goes to court tell the truth.

Good luck.

[[WLDCRD]]

just want some things clarified:

1) cars 1, 2, and 3......did they even hit each other?

2) was the cop on duty or off duty? as far as i am aware, he cant charge you for anything if he isnt on duty, he can only report you to someone else. Was he even anywhere near seeing the accident, or did he just use his "better judgement"? I am pretty sure that he can only tell what he sees and not come up with some conclusions as its not his speciality ie him being a water cop.

3) dont quote me on this, in the eyes of the insurance company, its always the last person in the queue that is to blame. Either way, if the lady behind you hit you, it means she was too close. But i dont know the circumstances of hard everyone was breaking.

In any case, if you want free advice, go see Legal Aid. Its free and it might be worth while if you dont want to spend big bucks on lawyer fees. Good Luck.

[Duncan]

In a similar accident I had I was held responsible for the front of my car and the front and rear damage to the 4 cars in front.

A car that then hit me from behind was held responsible for their damage and my rear damage.

I guess the difference is that I did hit them before the lady behind hit me.

And I got a neg driving charge to

And the airbag didn't go off for me either....we hit pretty hard....

Not really advice just my experience....I didn't worry about who did what too much coz I had to make a big at fault insurance claim anyway, it doesnt really matter if the bill is $5,000 or $50,000

[Kel]

In a similar accident I had I was held responsible for the front of my car and the front and rear damage to the 4 cars in front.

A car that then hit me from behind was held responsible for their damage and my rear damage.

I guess the difference is that I did hit them before the lady behind hit me.

And I got a neg driving charge to

And the airbag didn't go off for me either....we hit pretty hard....

Not really advice just my experience....I didn't worry about who did what too much coz I had to make a big at fault insurance claim anyway, it doesnt really  

matter if the bill is $5,000 or $50,000

Off topic but D was shit out of luck in this accident- the bloke up the front actually caused the chain reaction IMHO and got off scott free. Take it to your insurance company with all the facts you've given and good luck.

Worst case- at least you and everyone else is around to tell the story...

[CerealKiller]

Off topic but D was shit out of luck in this accident- the bloke up the front actually caused the chain reaction IMHO and got off scott free. Take it to your insurance company with all the facts you've given and good luck.

Worst case- at least you and everyone else is around to tell the story...

who did the guy up front cause the chain reaction? If he broke suddenly and everyone else rammed him from behind then he's not at fault as they were too close to him. My ex-gf's dad got caught in a chain reaction like that, and the guy up front wasn't regarded to be at fault.

But back on topic. What did the damage assessors say? Because from their experience they should be able to determine who hit who first. And also car #4 would always feel 2 hits (I'm going on your side for this explanation) because the first hit would be from you, followed by the second hit to car #3. The question is, did she feel a third hit which is from car #6 which you believe is at fault. Using logic and clear thinking, I'm sure that you'll be alright. Make sure you keep us informed.

[Eav00l]

']just want some things clarified:

1) cars 1, 2, and 3......did they even hit each other?

2) was the cop on duty or off duty? as far as i am aware, he cant charge you for anything if he isnt on duty, he can only report you to someone else. Was he even anywhere near seeing the accident, or did he just use his "better judgement"? I am pretty sure that he can only tell what he sees and not come up with some conclusions as its not his speciality ie him being a water cop.

3) dont quote me on this, in the eyes of the insurance company, its always the last person in the queue that is to blame. Either way, if the lady behind you hit you, it means she was too close. But i dont know the circumstances of hard everyone was breaking.

In any case, if you want free advice, go see Legal Aid. Its free and it might be worth while if you dont want to spend big bucks on lawyer fees. Good Luck.[/quote

WLDCRD

1) yesa but only lightly no real damage

2) that cop that told every1 to go away no whe wasnt on duty but he, left just before the officers on duty arrived, the cop on duty is the one that charged me.

3) yea thats what i though butmy insurance company really didnt seem interested what i caled them upo asking for help, ill ring em back., appaeratnly its 2 accendents not 1, which is not true, but ill give legal aid a call, wouldnt have a phone number for them would you.

[Eav00l]

Bump

[Sydneykid]

Hi Eav001, Are you an NRMA member? If so they have legal advice as well. Plus your insurance company may well be interested because if you are charged they have to pay. If someone else is charged then their insurance compay has to pay.

As for evidence, take plenty of pictures of the car and get an opinion as to the height of the rear when struck, this will proove you were braking (nose down, tail up) at the time. NRMA Technical can help on this one. If you can prove you were already braking when hit then, you get off. Because no one can prove that you would have hit the person in front unless you had been hit yourself.

My suggestion would be to get a solicitor and fight it, as it will stay on your record FOREVER. Every time you go to court the Police Prosecutor will bring it up, even 20 years later they will dig it up and use it against you. It will cost more to fight than just pay and shut up, maybe you can share or offload the costs with your insurance company.

Hope that helps

[Eav00l]

sydneykid.

im only with the NRMA for CTP, i have been told that they will not help , im with famous, i spoke to my solicitor today he said the cops cant book you just for the damage done, which is what he was going off, ill see if famous can help......

my solictor said fight it and u will most likely win, ill have to see if the smash repairer took piks cause i didnt.

also he told me there is more dmage done to the rear than the front of the car, not in parts but partsd and labour was over 1/2 of the whole quote from the rear. hmmmm

[wrxhoon]

Eav00I ,

if you were stopped when the car behind you hit you are not at fault no ifs no butts .

if you where still moving though then its not as clear basicaly you are both at fault unless you can prove that if the car at the rear didnt hit you you where going to stop before you hit the car in front ( pretty hard to prove ) as for the damage i wouldnt worry as you are insured ( they can get it sorted out ).

you can get free legal advice at your local courthouse just ring them up and they will make an apointment for you .

did the cops book the driver that hit you ? they are responsible to the damage to the rear to your car , it doesnt matter if they hit you before you hit the car in front or not .

she should get a neg driving regardless ( she hit you fron behind )cause she was driving to close to you .

if i was you i would fight it in court but it will cost you about $1000 for legal fees .

fill the notice that the cops gave you and send it in . they will send you a summons , you go to court on your own , its only for mention they will give you a hearing date then you will need a solicitor .

[Sydneykid]

im only with the NRMA for CTP, i have been told that they will not help

You don't have to be insured with NRMA to use their services, just be a member of the Road Service, probably cheaper than paying a solicitor.

[RedX]

I Concur with the NRMA concurrence It is a bullshit cop out way of handling the acco buy the cops I stacked it into a wanker that decided to pull across and slammed on the anchors to turn left (I was in a 78 corona and him in a new falcon) i got pinged and he got his damn repairs done free. from that day on i will always go to court armed with photos of skid marks and what not from the scene, THANK GOD FOR CAMERA PHONES.

[Eav00l]

SydneyKid - i dont beleive in NRMA road assistance - NOT REAL MECHANICS AUTHORITY

it took 8 guys over 3 days to fix a lead issue fromt he spark plug.

there idiots

[Sydneykid]

SydneyKid - i dont beleive in NRMA road assistance -  NOT REAL MECHANICS AUTHORITY

it took 8 guys over 3 days to fix a lead issue fromt he spark plug.

there idiots

I didn't say use the road service, just join up to get free legals, cheap towing and discounts for members.