Leaving the scene of an accident with out permission: No insurance coverage protection?

Anybody who leaves the scene of an accident with out permission doesn’t routinely commit a breach of fiduciary obligation to their automobile insurance coverage firm. It depends upon the person case – and the burden of proof is on the insurer.

That is illustrated by a choice (see: 46 S 58/22) of the Berlin Regional Courtroom, which is reported by the Site visitors Regulation Working Group of the German Attorneys Affiliation (DAV).

Witness statements incriminated the fugitive

This explicit case concerned a person concerned in a automobile accident. He left the positioning with out calling the police. Nevertheless, the accident didn’t go unnoticed. Witnesses alerted the police. She discovered the person in a close-by cafe.

The motive force’s insurance coverage firm filed a lawsuit in opposition to the person, accusing him of negligence. Because of this insurance coverage cowl would not apply.

Nevertheless, this didn’t get up in a listening to earlier than the district courtroom; the courtroom dominated in favor of the motive force. The insurance coverage firm appealed in opposition to this.

It is usually doable to make too many calls for as a substitute of malice

However this was rejected by the regional courtroom, which confirmed the judgment of the district courtroom. The reasoning is: Sure, the accused had left the scene of the accident with out permission. Nevertheless, this needn’t be seen as malicious habits. Catastrophe typically overwhelms these affected.

They don’t essentially intend to hurt the pursuits of their insurance coverage firm. As well as, the particular person concerned needed to anticipate witnesses on the website, who then acted. Nonetheless, the person went to a close-by cafe, which was a danger of being discovered.

Within the opinion of the courtroom, this spoke in opposition to the presumption of purposeful conduct that disregarded the pursuits of the insurance coverage firm. As a result of the insurer needed to show fraudulent intent and lacked ample proof, the lawsuit was unsuccessful.

Site visitors Regulation Working Group

Conclusion in a phrase