Legal issue in Australia

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BlackSabre7
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25 Aug 2019, 12:30 am

I was in a car accident a couple of years ago
I could not afford insurance so didn't have any
The other guy had insurance
The thing is the accident was his fault because he didn't indicate when he turned into me as I was overtaking him
He didn't indicate and if he had indicated I would have waited for him to turn and not overtaken
But he lied to his insurance company and claimed I ran out of road and turned into him while overtaking him. I'm guessing he didn't want his premiums to go up and didn't realise that he was throwing me under the bus by doing so.
They have been pursuing me to pay and I refused to do so. I sought legal aide available to low income people for free and they assured me I had nothing to worry about but I wasn't aware that he lied and that the insurance company was acting on his story. The legal aide was a waste of time because we didn't know his story.
They took me to court and I defended myself and lost. For their lawyer it must have been like taking candy from a baby. I'm not a convincing speaker at the best of times. And they could not prove I was at fault. They just presented a more convincing story and the judge went on 'balance of probabilities '
They included the fact that I didn't try to seek damages as evidence of my guilt.
I didn't because I just couldn't face doing it. I have had to quit work because of health issues due to stress. I had been in abusive marriage for a couple of decades and and my health has been suffering and I thought I was going to die more than once at the hands of my husband and because of my health. Chasing after money didn't seem worth adding to the stress. My car still runs.
My son was sitting in the rear passenger side right where the man hit my car. My son is now at uni studying engineering, always well behaved and good hearted and I dont think he's ever even been drunk . Yet his testimony meant nothing. I think he's on the spectrum and he really notices flashing lights. He said the driver didn't indicate and he had the best view, seeing that indicator in front of him just before it hit him.
But they didn't argue about the indicator because the guy changed the story.
There was eighty metres of straight road to go before the road even began turning and even then it was only a slight bend. I did not run out of road and I have never had a history of reckless driving.
I am being victimised.
I ironically I was with that insurance company for years whenever I could afford insurance. But stop paying and they turn on you.
I am still angry about this and have been unable to find a way to live with it. I cannot accept being forced to pay for something that wasn't my fault as well as for the lawyer to force me to, and for the liar's time to come and lie some more in court . I feel almost raped and being expected to pay for the privilege. I have always been a law abiding citizen and paid for my mistakes but this one hurts because it wasn't mine. I already hate myself and battle suicidal tendencies and really considering doing it over this but I know it won't affect the liar or the lawyer or the judge or racq. Only my family.
The frustration makes me want to do horrible things and certainly killed what little motivation I had to find a job. Why should I if it's just to give more money to this heartless machine that steps on good people to benefit bad people?
I'm thinking to appeal but I'm running the risk of it costing even more and although it would be as easy decision for me to do it then suicide knowing I cost the bastards more I'm afraid they will take it from whatever I leave behind anyway.
I can't win
I'm struggling to find a reason to live even without this but I feel my state of mind is getting warped and irrational and I'm losing desire to keep going even for my kids.
My being different worked against me because the judge went by what she thought typical behaviour indicates.
I have never been typical but I have also never been reckless.
Being poor and being uninsured being odd is not illegal
But it does make you an easy target :cry:



BlackSabre7
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25 Aug 2019, 6:44 pm

I guess I didn't state that I have to decide whether to appeal by Wednesday
If I lose that it will probably go up from just under ten thousand to around 25 thousand dollars they will try to make me pay
Which I totally cannot afford
But it's the idea of carrying that lie on my record that hurts the most
I am not an irresponsible driver
I always pay my bills and if I don't pay I will look delinquent on my responsibilities
I don't know how all this works and was hoping someone who knew could tell me the odds of winning an appeal and a little about the process
Also if I lose can they take my house
Or make my kids pay if something happens to me
Or take it out of the sale of my house if I am dead and my kids sell the house
And how long they can chase me for the money
Which I would find a way to pay if it were my fault because I always pay my bills
But I can't find a way to accept this one
It's stressing me out too much every time I think of the injustice :(
I suppose like always there will be no help for me
Just empty promises at best



kraftiekortie
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25 Aug 2019, 10:12 pm

If you don’t appeal, you’ll be out $10,000; if you lose the appeal, it would be $25,000?

I would talk to a lawyer as quickly as possible. See if you have a chance. Tell the lawyer all details, especially that you were not insured at the time.



Noca
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26 Aug 2019, 12:06 pm

Did his car have an event data recorder? They can sometimes record whether or not a signal was used prior to the crash. Don't know how severe the crash was though. I'm sorry you have to go through this, I've had similiar instances but argued my case and won.

I was turning in to a very narrow driveway from the 2nd lane from the sidewalk(1st lane would have required me to go up over the curb and destroy my rims because of how narrow the driveway was. The road behind me was empty before I started the turn and this guy in a BMW turned onto the street and crossed all 5 lanes of traffic and must have had to floor it to make it where I was in the street in order to hit me. He initially claimed I made an improper left hand turn (I had been ticketed by that from the cops too), but once I showed them the driveway, and the guy admitted what street he had turned onto he 5 lane street I was on, it was clear that he had to have cut across 5 lanes and been driving significantly fast to get to where I was in order to hit me so it became 100% his fault and my ticket went away.

Another crash this lady was signaling left so I went to pass her on the right and she just turned right instead. She tried to claim that I just hit her in the rear and my fault but I proved that she had to have turned right in order for me to hit her on the right read side of her car otherwise I would have had to drive up over the sidewalk to hit her car where I did. Bs as it was it went from 100% my fault to 50/50 because I passed her, if I didn't I would have been holding up the traffic behind me(she was taking her sweet time) as I had just turned onto this road from an intersection and all the cars behind me would be waiting for me so that they could clear the intersection since I had stopped.



BlackSabre7
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26 Aug 2019, 5:23 pm

If he has an event recorder then maybe that's why he changed his story
He didn't signal so he pretended he had no need to
But does an event recorder record speed at all?
He was almost at a stop just before the collision and he claims he was traveling at about 50-55 kmph
That would disprove his case if I could get that evidence before a judge
Which I am not sure I even can but I'll find out