[govigov]

1. file case.
2. take to surveyor and see what is the amount needed to repair
3. come to an amicable situation.
4. settle out of court
5. put the mutually agreed terms and conditions on a paper. (get signed /blank checks/cash/gold then and there if possible)
6. withdraw case

if you need to go the third party way, then you would need some thing known as diary entry or GD entry stating that it was a freak accident caused by the doc. the third party insurer would then survey the car and pay the amount to your service station post them submitting the bill to the third party insurance the remaining amount has to be paid by you as cash (for eg: fibre and plastic parts, this is what you need to essentially get as cash from him)

If you withdraw case before settlement, he can just say that the accident never happened and can go scott free.

Just adding my 2p.

[Iluvcars]

Drunken driving should be taken very seriously. In my opinion, you should definitely go after the drunken-driving guy (well, unless your life or limb will be at stake if you do so). Why should it matter what one does for a living?
Those who drink and drive should be reminded CLEARLY that their irresponsible act put other road users' life at risk.
Recently, here in the place where I live, there was an accident. Of the 3 members of the family that was in the ill-fated vehicle the father died while the 2 year old boy and his mom survived. The car that crashed into theirs was driven by a fully drunk guy! The fate of the boy stirs my heart.

[SDP]

A little bit of googling threw up the following:
The punishment for drunken driving is a fine for maximum of 2000 Rs OR a jail term max of 6 months OR both.

Needless to say that the law is not on the side of the victim.

[drpullockaran]

Originally Posted by frankmehta

Should I file a case against the owner (he is a Doctor and very particular about his reputation)??
What about insurance??? Should I contact Vitesse and ask them for an independent evaluation?? I have already contacted New India Assurance and they are coming today for an evaluation.

SOMEONE HELP me with how to go about this. Never been in such a situation.

Thanks.

Do not trust that doctor. Immediately get double the no claim bonus and also the cost of repairs put together. Doctors usually will have some connection with higher ups. Once you fail to file the case things can get topsy turvy; which might even result in you having to prove in court that your fiancée did not reverse into a parked Ford fusion at high speed.

I am a doctor too but in my case a few years ago I was at the receiving end at the rear of my car. I was waiting at the signal at a busy junction in Cochin and was rear ended. I preferred not to file a case and alas I had to repeatedly go to the police station to convince them that I had not reversed into the offenders car. The offender had some connections at the police station. I sincerely hope you have taken photographs of the scene of the accident which I had failed to do in my case.
Get the cash transaction done immediately.

[esteem_lover]

Frank, you need to press charges for the following reasons.

1. It was not the Swift's driver's fault, for the parking.
2. The guy who banged the swift was DRUNK, v.v.v.important, get this tested and proved and recorded.
3. Your fiancee should not for whatever reason lose out on NCB or bad insurance, all the blame should be fairly and squarely put on the offender.
4. And who the hell cares what he is, but somebody will at a later stage and try to pacify you and keep you away from pressing charges, his own insurance company will make sure that they don't have to pay for it because he was drunk, this case will go on, but your fiancee will not be disturbed much.


More importantly, don't get too flustered, this has happened and you have to deal with it and I know you can.

[Durango Dude]

I think Dr.Jekyll had too much of his own 'medicine'. I'd say press charges unless he's ready to settle the bill; let him get sober first, before you can hold him to his word, then wangle out a settlement and get a MASS to give an estimate of the damages and then ask the 'drunken monk' to pay up, otherwise you'll be loosing NCB for someone else's mistake.

[one-77]

He should never have driven while drunk, and particularly so because he's a doc. What if someone had been in your car when he rear-ended it? Would you have thought twice before having a case filed? To hell with his reputation! Please go ahead and press charges, and set a precedent for the future. I say this as a student of medicine myself.

[madhu.rj]

Originally Posted by SDP

A little bit of googling threw up the following:
The punishment for drunken driving is a fine for maximum of 2000 Rs OR a jail term max of 6 months OR both.

Needless to say that the low is not on the side of the victim.

Question: Is this for drunken driving (as in 'saturday night checks' situation) and accident under the influence of alcohol?

I reckon they both are different.

Cheers

[SDP]

Originally Posted by madhu.rj

Question: Is this for drunken driving (as in 'saturday night checks' situation) and accident under the influence of alcohol?

I reckon they both are different.

Cheers

I am no expert in this, but let me share my limited understanding anyways. There are 2 cases in such incidences:
#1> State v/s the person who caused the accident
#2> The victim of the accident v/s the person who caused the accident and his/her insurance company (if third-party-insurance is taken)

As per my understanding, the fines and the jail-term I have mentioned is part of #1.

The compensation (if any) is part of the outcome of #2.

In case of an accident NOT caused by negligent/rash driving which has resulted in somebody else's death, the compensation is a lousy 50,000 INR! If the fault is proven, then the compensation is calculated by a formula which takes the deceased person's income and age as input parameters.

If that is the value of the human life, you can imagine what is the compensation one can expect in case of damage to property/car.

[Thad E Ginathom]

How is it that, with evidence of drunken driving, the police need a complaint from anyone else before prosecution? In many countries, he would be prosecuted just because he's committed a serious offence, regardless of whether or not he damaged anything. I guess this is SDP's point #1 above.

Sorry Frank: I guess this doesn't help you --- but I am puzzled!

[womanonwheels]

Somebody has given a fantastic idea of starting a "hall of shame" on this forum to make everyone aware of these people who pose serious threats to well being of others on road. I think the doc and the car in question would be the first entry.

[shivshanker]

Originally Posted by womanonwheels

Somebody has given a fantastic idea of starting a "hall of shame" on this forum to make everyone aware of these people who pose serious threats to well being of others on road. I think the doc and the car in question would be the first entry.

Hall of shame is a bit too far fetched, Mumbai police, display's the list of DD cases on their web site, thsi should be enough for repeat DD offenders.

Come on what's a car without an accident, everybody makes mistakes, if the Doc is willing to make amends, let him pay for it and both parties can and should move on with life.

I am sure, most of us have have had their share of accidents, we learn from our mistakes and now thanks to team-bhp, we learn from other's mistakes too.

[NetfreakBombay]

Originally Posted by shivshanker

what's a car without an accident, everybody makes mistakes

Accident might have been a mistake, but DUI is a crime.

[Iluvcars]

@shivshanker: Committing a mistake by negligence or carelessness is entirely different from causing an accident because you were drunk when behind the wheel. In the latter case, any person would know (unless one is that drunk) that one is prone to cause an accident when one drives under the influence. The person in question is a doctor who should well be aware of what he was up to. Condoning such acts only emboldens such trouble-makers.

[shivshanker]

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay

Accident might have been a mistake, but DUI is a crime.

Please What's a DUI .?, can u kindly elaborate.

Crime / No Crime, I think we should leave that classification to the courts and the learned.

We love our rides, we should protect our monetary interests, In my humble opinion.

if WE at TEAM BHP are so concerned about crimes (pertaining to ROAD and transport) being committed, let us stop;

1. The over crowding of school Buses.
2. Most school buses ply with old worn out tyres.
3. none of the heavy vehicles have their rear & brake lights in working conditions.
4. some of the heavy vehicles moving construction material, have the worst kind of worn out tyres.
5. Signal Jumping, driving on the left most lane, which is equivalent ot the hard shoulder.

The list can go on and on, Are these all not crimes being committed my friend, the crimes committed by these are as heinous as that of the poor doctor. (God only knows why he drinks and drives.)

In summary your first part is correct, it was an accident, but for a crime.. I have outlined my view point of a crime.

anyway what's a DUI