Hi, maybe i'm posting this in the wrong place but thanks for taking a look....

I was traveling down a narrow(-ish, no white lines) carriageway, with a national speed limit. See Approaching tractor with large rear attachment/plough. I have plenty of time to make appropriate adjustments to speed, slowing to approx 15mph, and to road position, scraping the extreme verge of the road.

Tractor doesn't appear to adjust speed/position, despite occupying more than 50% of the carriageway. A collision occurs when passing, with the attachment catching end of my drivers door, indenting rear drivers side door and compressing rear drivers side wheel arch.

I immediately stop to check damage, where as tractor driver carries on to farm (approx 200 meters). I reversed back to farm, at which point the driver has parked up in a barn and is having a discussion with the farm manager. I approach driver, he accepts awareness and responsibility stated "he thought he'd hit my wing mirror and I'd carried on" I question his road positioning and awareness of his attachment, asking why he didn't leave the carriageway, to which he responds v. defensively/becomes quite intimidating, claiming "its all legal" and accusing me of excess speed. Arguing incurs...

During this time the farm manager has retrieved insurance detail and hands them over to me stating "he'd ring his insurers and tell them to expect a claim from me", i offer my detail, to which he rejects.

Get home and report the claim to my insurers, at which time i realize the farm manager has not included the drivers name or the vehicle reg, therefore the claim can't proceed any further. I give the number the farm manager has written down to my insurance co and they/myself try to contact the farm for the next few day to no avail.

After a few days, i filed an incident report to the police plus give a full detailed account of the collision. Just in case details given to me are false, plus the drivers failure to stop at scene of accident.

Time passes with nothing occurring, despite numerous calls to my insurance and the farm number given, at which point i bite the bullet and return to the farm to seek the farm manager, he somewhat reluctantly gives me the missing details. So eventually the claim can proceed.

Anyway, after a few weeks of sitting in a salvage yard an engineer finally inspects my car and agrees its repairable.

The next day i get a letter from my insurers, stating the third party insurers have offered to split liability 50/50, due to narrow road and no independent witnesses. However, without immobilizing my car in the ditch/verge/hedge (and thus having 100% liability) i could do no more to avoid the collision.

Do you think i have a case to reject liability and endure a potential legal pursuit?

Thanks

 

If it's as you said, reject their offer and see what happens.....

 

I'd pursue the failure to stop angle with the police - their criminality will surely strengthen your case

 

As JonMC said, best of luck