Positive breath test - blood sample taken. Help please! Insurance company woes too!

Convicted Driver Insurance

scotty22

New Member
Hi, My wife had a car accident two weeks ago (crashed into a parked car). Ambulance and Police attended and she gave a positive breath test for alcohol – (Fifty something – she can’t remember exactly). She was taken to hospital because she has underlying medical problems (Bilateral Arterial Dissections in her neck). There the Police took blood. She gave them permission to do this and offered her a sample but she was still in shock so didn’t really know what was going on. She is to appear at the Police Station on 6th December to be charged if the blood sample registers over the limit.
My wife reckons she only had a glass of wine within an hour of driving and is shocked that she was over the limit. She is on various medications at present one of which is Aspirin to prevent her blood clotting. I understand that this can increase a blood alcohol reading? Is there precedent for this as a defence? She is now on very strong anti-coagulants and is recovering from her illness - stress- however sets her back. If she is charged can the hearing be postponed until she is well enough?

The second part to my question is with our insurers. They are refusing to payout on our car (which I understand) until they have confirmation of her charges and conviction. However, they also said that if she receives any conviction then they will seek to recover all costs associated with the third party claim as well.

I have been through their policy and have found the following under general exclusions “ We will not pay 15) more than our legal liability under the Road Traffic Act for any claim, if the named driver of the car insured by us was found to have been driving whilst under the influence of drink or drugs at the time of the accident; 31) any liability, loss, damage, cost or expense caused by a named driver with a motoring conviction endorsement that has remained or will remain, on their driving licence for more than five years (unless such a conviction is spent under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act). Examples of such convictions may include careless driving and driving under the influence of drink or drugs such as: DR10; DR20; DR30; DR80; CD40; CD50; CD60; CD70; IN10;” And there is also . . . “ Our right to get back what we have paid If, under the law of any country this policy covers you in, we have to make a payment which we would not otherwise have paid under this policy, we may recover any claim payment from you or from the person who the claim was made against.” Can you confirm they can do this? Are they allowed to hold onto the money owed for our car and can they legally recover the third party claim from us? As the bread winner of the family I am trying to estimate the fallout of this situation as if I have to payout all the costs, my wife is banned and is fined we will probably have to get rid of the house to pay it all off! Some might say that’ll teach her for drink driving – but she has made a simple mistake – has been in and out of hospital due to ongoing illness, with no end in sight, and mother to our three year old son. I feel completely helpless and do not know what I can do to help her or our situation so any advice would be appreciated.

We are based in Southampton - do you cover this area - if so what are your rates?

Many thanks.
 
the police can only take blood if you are a hospital patient and the breath test given at the roadside is not for evidential purposes, if the reading was around 50 with only one glass of wine then something else must be affecting the reading and that it where we need to start looking. The insurance company is a very tough issue these days and it really is up to them as to whether they will make payment or not, insurance companies will rely on any clause no matter how small to avoid paying out, it is worth looking at potential defences as if your wife is acquitted or found not guilty then there is no reason for the insurance company to not pay out. We do cover the whole of the UK and give me a call if you would like some help with this on 01942 774156, all the best
 
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