My advice, at least please file a complaint before they do and get the acknowledgment from the cops, as the cops may not be willing for file a FIR for such a matter.
I am stating this from personal experience.
I had parked my car on the road at a designated parking spot. A young two wheeler rider who was late for work, overtook a vehicle from the left, misjudged the gap to squeeze through and collided into my car, my car suffered from a nasty hit to the rear bumper.
The rider was hurt. he was thrown of his bike, the end of his handle bar hurt his abdomen. While he was crying in pain & rolling on the road, some nosy good samaritans came to his rescue and told me it was my fault
![Frustration](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/images/smilies/Frustration.gif)
.
Thanks to a few auto drivers who were parked in an auto stand close by and were witness to the whole episode, chased the good samaritans away
Being human I inquired with the rider about his health, as he was in pain, i decided to leave the car there and took him to a hospital in an auto rickshaw & got him admitted. (My First mistake, I paid for all expenses till now as the guy claimed that he did not have money and claimed he will give it to me later).
Doctors had a look at him, after a few tests and a scan, told me that his kidney has taken the impact, though no signs of internal bleeding, looks to be bruised badly and will take a couple of weeks to recover & that he needs to be hospitalized for a few days to be kept under observation. While the rider was ok about it i was kind of tense and worked up.
Me and the rider had mutually agreed that neither of us will go to the cops.
(My second mistake).
I left the rider at the hospital, Went back to my car, drove my car to the authorized service center, filed an insurance claim claimed it was a hit and run (My third mistake). Claim was processed and car was fixed in a couple of days.
In the meantime I checked on the guy daily. he was discharged after two days. Thank god he did not ask me to come and settle the final bill.
After about 15 days i got a call from the cops. Rider has filed a so called strong complaint against me. stating that i was driving rashly which resulted in the rider getting knocked down leading to him being hospitalized.
Went to the police station, spoke to the concerned officer who showed me a copy of the complaint and said its a hit and run complaint, serious offence...blah blah blah.... He told me its better to settle out of court rather than go all the way. I was asked to speak to the riders representative. The monetary demand was absurd. It sounded like the rider did not want to work for the next couple of years.
I stayed calm. Went to my lawyer, he first listened to my version, then blasted me for not filing the complaint the same day
![Stupid](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/images/smilies/Sign stupid.gif)
.
Then i told the lawyer i had something which will help me "DASH CAM".
While the complaint was filed that the accident happened while i was driving, i had proof that the accident happened while i was parked in a designated parking spot, the car was stationary when the incident happened and that the fault lies entirely with the rider.
My lawyer and myself decided that we will call the rider and his accomplices to the police station to settle the matter.
We landed at the police station, rider and his accomplices were there too. After initial talk we stated that we want to file a counter complaint about them filing a false complaint, they are cheats, attempting to extort, mislead the police.
They got angry, tried to get aggressive, cops were kind of supporting them (mind you, all this in a police station).
Finally we told them the that car was fitted with a dash cam and we have recordings to prove it all. recording was shown to the cops who suddenly changed sides, they started supporting me.
While the cops were dropping all charges filed by the rider, they were not keen on taking my complaint, requesting me to compromise with the rider, that he's made a mistake....etc.
The riders supporters too immediately changed from being aggressive to begging & pleading, stating that his life will be ruined.
While all this while i had no intention to ask to be repaid for the hospital expenses because he was in a not so well to do situation financially.
I realized that me being human led this greedy guy to try and extort a large sum of money from me. I told the rider that the only way out is to pay for the hospital expenses in full, they agreed and transferred the money immediately.
My lawyer also made sure that a statement was filed in the police station by the rider, that the rider collided with my stationary car, that it was entirely his fault. and that he will not claim compensation of any sorts now or in future.
To be on the safer side, though its a hassle file a complaint first.....while the cops may not necessarily file a FIR, they may be willing to take a written complaint, make sure you have a true copy acknowledged by them.
Thank you all for your patience.
Drive/Ride safe folks.