my dad blacked out at the wheel of the car he was driving,?

Question

he has damaged his car and the car infront, he is insured with the aa but how does the fact he blacked out at the wheel affect his insurance claim, they know he has a bad heart and has had a pacemaker fitted immediatly after the accident, would he still be insured, he was fully comp and had a clean liscence all his life, will he still be able to claim for himself and the drivers in front, thanks

Answer 1

A few legal questions come to mind, the first being an unexpected medical condition. If your dad has an undiagnosed medical condition causing him to black out then legally your dad is not responsible for the accident. If his diagnosed medical condition is what caused him to black out b/c he failed to take his medication as prescribed...he's totally on the hook.

The next question is assuming the pacemaker failed which in turn caused the black out...is the pacemaker faulty and does the manufacturer share in whole or in part, to the liability. In other words, is this a product liability claim?

The insurance will have to investigate this further in order to resolve liability. Additionally, if it's a product liability issue the manufacturer of the pacemaker would need to get involved as well.

Unless the auto policy specifically excludes claims resulting from an unexpected medical condition, or even a diagnosed one (which I highly doubt) then it has no bearing on the current claim.

Answer 2

Providing he made a full disclosure of his medical conditions then he will still be insured and the company will pay the claim made against him by the other driver. Similarly if he has comprehensive insurance then the insurance company will pay for the cost of repairs (minus the excess) - his no claims bonus will be reduced or he will have lost a life on his protected bonus.

The insurance company might insist on a medical before allowing him to drive again. Similarly I think that you have to report the incident to DVLA in case they want to review his licence to drive.

Hope your father has many years claim-free motoring ahead.

Answer 3

If the Insurance company were aware of his previous medical condition which he had declared to them, then he will be insured...but does the DVLA know? You must inform the DVLA (if in UK) of any medical condition which may affect your ability to drive...if not you commit an offence...It may be that from now on he will find it difficult to find insurance other than from a specialist insurer and this could be very expensive.

Answer 4

Provided the insurers were advised of his condition the insuranc policy will be OK and pay out - although now he has had an accident they may ask him to take a medical before re-insuring him and put up his premium

Answer 5

If the insurance company were made aware of all known health issues when the policy was taken out and told of any new ones then he shouldn't have a problem with his cliam.
The premium he pays will take health issues into account.

Answer 6

well, from my knowledge, your dad should still be able to claim for himself, because when he first got the insurance, they should have already gotten all his heath conditions as well as physical problems when they are filling in the paper work, and decide if he is insurable. since they allowed him to be insured, i believe he will be able to claim for the accident. good luck with this and hope your father is doing well.

Answer 7

Provided the insurers knew about his heart he will be covered. He needs to take medical advice about continuing to drive. Hope he recovers well

Answer 8

With a clean record, he should have no trouble making a claim for himself and others.
Please, for his sake and others, ask him to stop or limit his driving. He was extremely fortunate no one was killed and that none of the other drivers were armed.

Answer 9

I am certain he is still insured. I am sorry your Dad was poorly but am glad he was not badly injured.
Ring your insurer