# Cyclist down



## Simba (12 Oct 2010)

Was involved in an RTA earlier, car door opened on me as I was doing around 20 mph, I thought I was far enough away from the door zone. Driver was a knuckle dragger and refused to give me his details. Got his reg and reported it to the police, my bike has slight damage, my right shoulder is a meess as it took the full impact, can hardly move it. Gashes to my leg, wrist and back. Going to A&E soon. I need advice on what to do next.


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## Becs (12 Oct 2010)

Fluffy said:


> Was involved in an RTA earlier, car door opened on me as I was doing around 20 mph, I thought I was far enough away from the door zone. Driver was a knuckle dragger and refused to give me his details. Got his reg and reported it to the police, my bike has slight damage, my right shoulder is a meess as it took the full impact, can hardly move it. Gashes to my leg, wrist and back. Going to A&E soon. I need advice on what to do next.




Are you a CTC member?


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## jonny jeez (12 Oct 2010)

Fluffy said:


> Was involved in an RTA earlier, car door opened on me as I was doing around 20 mph, I thought I was far enough away from the door zone. Driver was a knuckle dragger and refused to give me his details. Got his reg and reported it to the police, my bike has slight damage, my right shoulder is a meess as it took the full impact, can hardly move it. Gashes to my leg, wrist and back. Going to A&E soon. I need advice on what to do next.



Fluffy sorry to hear that.

hope the the damage to you and the bike is not too permanent. I'd follow the standard protocol.

Get to A+E, get fixed up, get it recorded by the hospital, get to the police and report the driver, get photos of all injuries, get reciepts of all costs (travel, repairs, consultants etc).

Get better, get back on the bike

I hope the driver was insured (maybe not if he refused to assist) either way, get well soon.


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## Rob3rt (12 Oct 2010)

1st thing 1st, get yourself seen to!

Then worry about chasing the c*nt down. When your satisfied that you are okay and not seriously hurt, take photo's of all damage and injuries (keep taking photo's of these as they develop and as they subside).


If you reported it to the police, you will recieve a form in the post, at least I did when I got knocked off. Fill it in honestly and in as much detail as possible, such that if you get a lazy copper reviewing it, it makes it easier for them and they are more likely to do something.


Did you get any witness statements or numbers?


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## Arch (12 Oct 2010)

shoot, sorry to hear that.

I think the standard responce is:

Are you a a CTC member. If not, might be worth joining, then you can access their legal services. Although you can go straight to specialist lawyer - Bikeline is a name mentioned often I think.

http://www.bikeline.co.uk/

You've reported to police, good. He should have (I think, does that apply to dooring?). If he doesn't, then he's even more in fault. You may have to badger the police about it - or you may not. Be prepared to do that if you want recompense or justice. Or let the lawyers do it.

Record your injuries, get doctor's opinion, photos of bruises etc, write down how you feel, now and while you are experiencing it.

I hope the police track him down, and that he is insured. I'm not always keen on sueing for huge compensation, but in this case, he bloody deserves it for not giving you his details. 

And get well soon. Look after yourself. Adrenaline may mask effects at first, and shock set in later. While you're busy sorting things out, you may keep going, and then suddenly it'll all hit you, so to speak, when you stop and think about it. So be prepared, and do whatever makes you feel better - chocolate, glass of wine (unless that interferes with pain killers), hug from a good mate.

here, have this


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## EssexRider (12 Oct 2010)

you might not want to report that you went home on the net and posted on a forum before it was time to go a&e though... that makes it sound like there aint much wrong with you.


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## ComedyPilot (12 Oct 2010)

Push the police to prosecute for fail to give details, fail to report, leaving the scene of an injuiry road traffic collision. You were injured as a result of the actions of a car driver, so this should have been attended by police, especially as the 'driver' refused to give details. 

Document EVERYTHING. Every call, hospital report, doctor's appointment, LBS bike repairs, days off sick, the works. 

Yes, you should have been out of the door zone, but an equal emphasis is on the occupant NOT to open the door into traffic


I am sure someone more clued up will verify that list?


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## ColinJ (12 Oct 2010)

Ouch! Sorry to hear that Fluffy - I hope you make a good recovery and don't end up out of pocket.


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## Lien Sdrawde (12 Oct 2010)

Bad news - recover quickly.

I have no experience of this but I think (if I rememberd at the time) i'd use my camera on my phone to snap a 'piccy' of the driver - especially if they are a knuckle dragger or appear slightly unscrupulous... in fact I'd take piccy evidence of anyone other than a nun! 

I think one in ten are un-insured.

Ps, people dont like having thier pic taken so try to do it without making it obvious.


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## Rebel Ian (12 Oct 2010)

Fluffy - sorry to hear of your accident.

I had a similar(ish) incident in June when a guy reversed into me. I got fed up with chasing him for payment so used cycle-claims.co.uk http://www.cycle-claims.co.uk/. They pursued the claim for me for free and 2 weeks ago I received a cheque for the full value of repairs to my bike. I can't recommnd them highly enough - they were extremely professional.


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## fossyant (12 Oct 2010)

Pop to A&E to get the shoulder checked. Then to docs. Plenty of ibuprofen.

Cops should sort him. Bad luck. Heal fast.

Keep us informed. Just reported a knuckle dragger tonight myself.


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## HLaB (12 Oct 2010)

Sorry to hear that Fluffy; I'm not an expert touch wood in claiming against drivers so all I can do is echo CTC and I hope you are OK soon.


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## 2Loose (12 Oct 2010)

Ouchy, +1 to everything said by everyone else. 2 main thoughts, I hope you are going to heal ok and I hope the driver gets what is coming to him.


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## Ravenbait (12 Oct 2010)

Basically what everyone else has said, especially the keep us informed and heal fast parts.

Sam


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## iAmiAdam (12 Oct 2010)

Get patched up, probs a broken clavicle from the sounds of it, I didn't know I'd done mine till I looked in a mirror and noticed a bump.

Wishing a speedy recovery.


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## Simba (12 Oct 2010)

am not in the CTCJust got back from hospital, broken collar bone and plenty of gashes all over. I am not in the CTC, only reason I came here before going is I was waiting for a lift.


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## Spinney (12 Oct 2010)

Fluffy said:


> am not in the CTCJust got back from hospital, broken collar bone and plenty of gashes all over. I am not in the CTC, only reason I came here before going is I was waiting for a lift.



I understand you can join the CTC just after an accident and still get their legal help. Phone them in the morning.
Sorry about the collar bone, but glad it wasn't worse!


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## dan_bo (12 Oct 2010)

Ouch that's stiff. Get well soon and do your best to get your dues from the driver.


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## fossyant (12 Oct 2010)

Argh, that's a few weeks off the bike.....ouch.


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## magnatom (12 Oct 2010)

Ouch And Grrrr at the driver!

For his attitude, you need to throw everything you can at him. Make sure you claim for all your injuries and follow ups.

Good luck with the recovery and the insurance claims.


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## Simba (12 Oct 2010)

fossyant said:


> Argh, that's a few weeks off the bike.....ouch.



The doctors said 6-8 weeks to heal, its a complete break.


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## fossyant (12 Oct 2010)

Fluffy said:


> The doctors said 6-8 weeks to heal, its a complete break.



Was going to say 6 weeks............bugger.....got a turbo ?


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## Simba (12 Oct 2010)

Im just really fed up at the moment, it could have been a lot worse if there was any traffic behind me, luckily there wasn't.


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## ComedyPilot (12 Oct 2010)

Have the police been in touch? It is an Injury Road Traffic Collision, they are duty bound to act as there are injuries.


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## 400bhp (12 Oct 2010)

Bugger. 

At least you're here to tell the tale.

I think I'm right in thinking that opening a door into a cyclist is an instant 3 points?


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## Crankarm (12 Oct 2010)

Sorry to hear of your off and injuries. There are a fair few cyclists getting taken down at the moment. Did some one post a sticky about what to do in the event of being taken down by a moton? As yet again there will be 10 pages of repitition of what to do. Nothing against this but it would be easier if there was a page for those offed wanting to know what they should do and what happens next a few pages where everything is succinctly explained.

If that happened to me I would be dialling 999 for police and ambulance. I would be taking pics of the git and his car providing of course I was able to ie not unconscious or very seriously injured. Yet another reason to have several head cams facing front and rear.

I hope the moton gets done and your injuries heal quickly and you suffer no permanent symptoms. You will need to sue him and to do this you will need a solicitor who specialises in persomal injury work ideally a cycling orientated one eg CycleAid or Alyson France.

In the mean time your injuries are your first priority. Get down to your GP asap to get everything assessed, documented and any necessary treatment started. Take pics or get gf or family member to take them. Use a 50/20/5/2/1p adjacent to any bruising or cuts to give an idea of scale.

Good luck.


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## Svendo (12 Oct 2010)

Sorry to hear that Fluffy. write down all the details NOW, you'd be suprised how the memory fades without you realising it, and having a full detailed account, even of seemingly unimportant details will add to your credibility should it come to that.
Be aware that injuries can be worse than they initially seem, as they swell etc, especially complicated joints like wrists and shoulders, so don't rule anything out now. When I was run over I went back to work and finished my night shift (albeit in a lot of pain by the end of the night), in the end I got £3000 for the injuries.
Where was it by the way, what with me being a fellow Rochdalian?
Others have made recommendations about legal advice, but I can also recommend my friend who did my case, she's a legal rottweiller! PM me if you need to.


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## primalgeek (12 Oct 2010)

Sorry to hear that!

Is this not a time where you could genuinely phone 999 and say "Hello, I'd like to report a hit and run and can you ensure an ambulance is called to the scene". (I'm assuming that after he failed to give his details he left you?)

... pretty sure that'd kick the police into taking some immediate action.


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## potsy (12 Oct 2010)

Get well soon fluffy,follow the great advice given earlier in the thread and hope it gets sorted soon.


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## Simba (12 Oct 2010)

Svendo said:


> Sorry to hear that Fluffy. write down all the details NOW, you'd be suprised how the memory fades without you realising it, and having a full detailed account, even of seemingly unimportant details will add to your credibility should it come to that.
> Be aware that injuries can be worse than they initially seem, as they swell etc, especially complicated joints like wrists and shoulders, so don't rule anything out now. When I was run over I went back to work and finished my night shift (albeit in a lot of pain by the end of the night), in the end I got £3000 for the injuries.
> Where was it by the way, what with me being a fellow Rochdalian?
> Others have made recommendations about legal advice, but I can also recommend my friend who did my case, she's a legal rottweiller! PM me if you need to.



It was on Oldham Road opposite the Prince Albert pub and near the Lincoln Inn

I have a claim on the go, waiting to hear back.


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## snorri (13 Oct 2010)

Crankarm said:


> . Did some one post a sticky about what to do in the event of being taken down by a moton? As yet again there will be 10 pages of repitition of what to do. Nothing against this but it would be easier if there was a page for those offed



Click ' Forums ' top left of page.
Click on ' Commuting ' and see four stickies at the top.
Click on the fourth stickie ' Statement Template '
I hope this helps. 

All the best Fluffy.


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## Simba (13 Oct 2010)

Update, police are coming round today and got a call off a solictor about a claim against him


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## Hicky (13 Oct 2010)

All the best Fluffy, from a fellow Rochdalian.

Nail the person to the wall !


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## gaz (13 Oct 2010)

Sorry to hear about your incident
I hope you recover quickly.


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## jonny jeez (13 Oct 2010)

Fluffy said:


> Update, police are coming round today and got a call off a solictor about a claim against him



Sounds encouraging.

was the solicitor a cold call to you or was he the Knuckle draggers solicitor?if it was the draggers, this sounds like excellent news.

So, how you feeling, whats the deal with the shoulder is it just strapped up or do you need any "work" done on it?

hope your not feeling too sore it looks like the police are taking it seriously for you too, so perhaps you can rest up for a bit and let them get on with it.


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## Simba (13 Oct 2010)

jonny jeez said:


> Sounds encouraging.
> 
> was the solicitor a cold call to you or was he the Knuckle draggers solicitor?if it was the draggers, this sounds like excellent news.
> 
> ...



I called them, using that bikeline that Arch gave me. Shoulder hurts like hell and last night in bed I felt the bone move, dont need an operation though.Its in a sling and I take pain killers as an when I need to.


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## Simba (13 Oct 2010)

The police have been and it doesnt look good for the driver on 2 counts. 1 not reporting the incident and 2 for failing to hand over his details.


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## the reluctant cyclist (13 Oct 2010)

Oh my gosh so sorry to hear about your accident! Hope you recover well! Hugs to you (((((((()))))))))))

I second the suggestion to write everything down before your memory fades! When I got knocked off I did this the very next day otherwise it would have been a bit of a blur! 

My driver wasn't keen on reporting the incident either and lied afterwards about whether or not they were indicating! (I was also doored!)


Please keep us updated and let us know if the driver was insured! Hope your Solicitor gets you a good claim - people need to be more bloody careful and as for being unhelpful at the side of the road I can't even think of words strong enough!! xx


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## Crankarm (13 Oct 2010)

Fluffy said:


> I called them, using that bikeline that Arch gave me. Shoulder hurts like hell and last night in bed *I felt the bone move*, dont need an operation though.Its in a sling and I take pain killers as an when I need to.




 .

Who are Bikeline as I've never heard of them?


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## Simba (13 Oct 2010)

Crankarm said:


> .
> 
> Who are Bikeline as I've never heard of them?


Bikeline/Alyson France & Co solicitors 

Police have called back and I have his name and who he is insured with.


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## fossyant (13 Oct 2010)

Fluffy said:


> Bikeline/Alyson France & Co solicitors
> 
> Police have called back and I have his name and who he is insured with.




The TP is propper 'funked' now !


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## Simba (13 Oct 2010)

fossyant said:


> The TP is propper 'funked' now !



Whats a TP? hehe


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## jonny jeez (13 Oct 2010)

Fluffy said:


> Bikeline/Alyson France & Co solicitors
> 
> Police have called back and I have his name and who he is insured with.




Phew1 I was worried he'd tun out to be uninsured, unregistered and untracable. It should be plain sailing from here (albeit it a long sail I suspect). Plenty of time to rest up and get better. A pal of mine broke his collarbone while we were on the squash court and it smarted a fair bit for a week, once the bone started to knit it soon settled down. and he was just left with restricted movement for a about 6 weeks.

He had no long term effects at all and is back to full mobility now

But, main thing is... the pain stopped after about 10 days! ...he even tried driving after the 2nd week, untill we all told him he was bloody stupid!


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## Crankarm (13 Oct 2010)

Fluffy said:


> *Bikeline/Alyson France & Co solicitors*
> 
> Police have called back and I have his name and who he is insured with.



 .

Looks like the driver is well and truly kippered. A broken collar bone as well as being quite a serious injury
will mean a fairly significant payout plus your other injuries. You may suffer from Post Traumatic Stress as well, lost earnings, pain suffering loss of amenity, loss of earnings, disadvantage on the jobs market .............. repairs/replacement of your bike and property. It all adds up.

Give everything to making sure your injuries heal as best they can. Do not carry on with normal physical activities or tasks until you are 100% fully healed.


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## Origamist (13 Oct 2010)

Good luck with the legal route fluffy (push for criminal proceedings as well as a civil claim) and I hope you make a full recovery.

How come your right shoulder got busted and not your left - did you turn to the left on impact?


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## Simba (13 Oct 2010)

Origamist said:


> Good luck with the legal route fluffy (push for criminal proceedings as well as a civil claim) and I hope you make a full recovery.
> 
> How come your right shoulder got busted and not your left - did you turn to the left on impact?



Looking at the bike, it looks like he hit the top tube in the middle, which means I was almost past the car, he hit the left hand side and I fell to the right very hard.


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## Origamist (13 Oct 2010)

Fluffy said:


> Looking at the bike, it looks like he hit the top tube in the middle, which means I was almost past the car, he hit the left hand side and I fell to the right very hard.




I see - it was the secondary impact with the tarmac that did the damage. I think you were lucky to escape without more serious injuries (if you'd hit the door straight on or if a car had been following, you'd be in serious trouble).


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## Simba (13 Oct 2010)

Origamist said:


> I see - it was the secondary impact with the tarmac that did the damage. I think you were lucky to escape without more serious injuries (if you'd hit the door straight on or if a car had been following, you'd be in serious trouble).



My thoughts exactly, in bed last night I had a lot of flashbacks and what if's going through my mind.


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## Svendo (13 Oct 2010)

Fluffy said:


> It was on Oldham Road opposite the Prince Albert pub and near the Lincoln Inn
> 
> I have a claim on the go, waiting to hear back.



I know it well, I live just round the corner and cycle down there all the time to and from work. I presume he was in the parking bays by the kebab shops. You get a lot of people pulling up outside ChaCha's snack bar on the double yellows too, and I'm usually a bit more wary there as they tend to be a bit more hurried and careless.

Hope you heal quickly. Assuming the Moton's insurer's accept liability, you'll likely get an interim payment for bike and other equipment fairly quickly. The amount for injuries and so on will take longer, and this isn't a bad thing as you want to be sure you're completely better before settling finally, as you can't later go back on it if it turns out there's ongoing problems you didn't realise at the time. My claim took a year or so for final settlement. Don't forget to keep receipts for everything, taxis, especially. Also a tip to have some blank taxi receipts and a bookies pen as half the time the minicab drivers round here don't have one or the other.

Again, commiserations and good luck!


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## Peter10 (13 Oct 2010)

Any pictures of the bike before and after?


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## Jaguar (13 Oct 2010)

Rebel Ian said:


> I ... used cycle-claims.co.uk http://www.cycle-claims.co.uk/.




So did I. Mostly a very good service (except they lost one of my documents - always keep copies!). I got £2k for a smashed up knee (only £100 for a smashed up bike)


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## iAmiAdam (13 Oct 2010)

Fluffy said:


> am not in the CTCJust got back from hospital, broken collar bone and plenty of gashes all over. I am not in the CTC, only reason I came here before going is I was waiting for a lift.




Don't worry, if you didn't have any major pain, it'll heal really quickly, Mine was fine in two weeks, but I didn't ride for a month, to be safe.


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## Arch (14 Oct 2010)

Crankarm said:


> Sorry to hear of your off and injuries. There are a fair few cyclists getting taken down at the moment. Did some one post a sticky about what to do in the event of being taken down by a moton? As yet again there will be 10 pages of repitition of what to do. Nothing against this but it would be easier if there was a page for those offed wanting to know what they should do and what happens next a few pages where everything is succinctly explained.



You start it, I'll sticky it.

Nice and succinct, as you say. People can then add personal experience where it helps or expands on the basics.

I know all I know about this sort of thing, from here. I hope never to have to use it...


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## Simba (15 Oct 2010)

Update: Been to the fracture clinic today and I need an operation on my broken clavicle.


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## ttcycle (15 Oct 2010)

Take it easy and I hope you have a swift recovery..I hope the driver gets what's coming to them.

Good luck and take time to get better


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## Panter (15 Oct 2010)

Just to add to the best wishes, get well soon


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## classic33 (17 Oct 2010)

I'll have to agree with what the others have said, get what happenned down on paper. At this stage it won't matter what it looks like or what your writing on. You can make it a little bit more readable later, as well as making copies.

I found much of what I wrote down the night I was hit made no sense to anyone but me. Simple things like "SU/SU/stop/L-R/Him/me? Was me asking the question at the time of "Do I slow up speed up, or stop. Turn left or right & what would the driver do." 

As regards the driver & vehicle, have you considered making a fee paying enquiry to the DVLA as regards the owner of the vehicle? You have the registration. Just in case the driver wasn't insured to drive the vehicle. Pictures better taken with a still camera rather than a video camera.

Whatever way you go about keeping records try & keep hold of the origional & use copies where possible.


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## Simba (20 Oct 2010)

Update: Got my pre-op assessment on Monday and they are hoping to get the operation done on or before 19th November.


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## ColinJ (20 Oct 2010)

Fluffy said:


> Update: Got my pre-op assessment on Monday and they are hoping to get the operation done on or before 19th November.


Blimey - 38 days from when you broke it - that seems like an _awfully_ long wait to me! Good luck with the operation.


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## Simba (21 Oct 2010)

ColinJ said:


> Blimey - 38 days from when you broke it - that seems like an _awfully_ long wait to me! Good luck with the operation.



Yea the joy of NHS waiting lists. And my operation was marked as urgent.


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## fossyant (21 Oct 2010)

That's crap. Sooner its fixed the easier it mends. Obviously sounds like it will need breaking again, resetting and pinning. I know too well the waits you have to have.


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## fossyant (21 Oct 2010)

Take it easy


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## Simba (3 Nov 2010)

Update: Just got a letter off my solicitor and the other party has admitted liability, this is excellent news for me.


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## Hicky (3 Nov 2010)

Good result


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## magnatom (3 Nov 2010)

Excellent news! Do you know if the police are going to follow him up as well?


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## Mr Cheese (3 Nov 2010)

Just catching up with this thread - I know that stretch of road very well.

Sorry to hear about your accident but glad that you have received good news.


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## Simba (3 Nov 2010)

magnatom said:


> Excellent news! Do you know if the police are going to follow him up as well?



Not heard from them but, I will be chasing them up.


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## JoysOfSight (3 Nov 2010)

Should be an easy prosecution for them if he's admitted opening the door in your path. Could hardly be any clearer.


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