Knocked off and need advice.

[rvw]

Sorry to hear about this. I had a very similar accident nearly 2 years ago - I wasn't at the time at CTC member (I am now) and went down the no-win-no-fee route with Russell Jones and Walker. They were excellent and everything was sorted very smoothly.

 

[400bhp]

p.s. Can somebody create a no-nonsense 'sticky' on this forum for what to do in the event of a bike accident?

Completely agree - and it can be full of caveats by the writer if necessary.

 

[Cyclopathic]

I too can't add anything advice wise but just wanted to point out that it's seems more likely these days people want something for nothing. It's nice too see you taking a moral stand on the personal injury claim.

Out of interest-the abdominal strains. Was this caused by your body over-contracting, rather than something actually hitting you in the stomach?

Yes, the strain was caused by over contracting, or stretching or something similar and not by impact. I was checked out at the scene for abdominal trauma and no impact damage was found. It was bloody painful though and felt like a massive cramp across the whole of my not inconsiderable belly.

 

[Ashaman42]

Out of interest you say you bounced off another car on your way down. Do you know how the damage to that car works insurance wise? Do they claim off you and then you claim off the person who hit you or do they claim straight off the instigator?

 

[Crankarm]

On Tuesday afternoon I was knocked off my bike by a woman in a BMW who turned right without bothering to look properly. I don't think that she is contesting that it wasn't her fault and the driver of a subsequent car that I bounced off on my way to the floor said that it wan't my fault.
My injuries though very painful at the time were mercifully not serious and consist of very badly strained abdominal muscles which has hampered movement and been very painful, some wicked looking bruises and some road rash on my arms, shoulders and head.
The police attended very quickly and must have been passing. The ambulance proper (a small ambucar with a paramedic arrived after 10 minutes) was not so fast and arrived after about 20 minutes.

I have not been in this position before and really want some advice on certain aspects of it all. The police have given me some leaflets with the details of the car that hit me and the car that I subsequently hit. The area that I most want advice about is the insurance. I am working from the assumption that the woman that hit me is insured, if not then it's a whole different matter. My main questions are as follows:

1) Do I contact the woman herself or do I contact her insurance company.

2) What will I need to prove the worth of my bike. It was second hand but also custom made. I got it from Cyclemagic in Leicester and had a lot of work done on it to make it exactly how I wanted it. I am fairly sure that I can put my hands on the receipts for the bike and the work. Where do I stand.

3) Can I make a personal injury claim? On the whole I am against the compensation culture so if I was eligable I would not be looking for anything over the odds. I have no wish to embelish my story or to make out that my injuries are worse than they really are, however I have suffered quite a bit of pain at someone elses hand and it has affected me to an extent.

I am really torn about this because as I said I don't really approve of how we have all been encouraged to be more litigious and I certainly do not approve of lawyers making themselves rich off the back of the whole compensation culture. On the other hand I do feel like I have been wronged and more to the point it has had a real and painful effect on my life. I really wouldn't be looking for the big bucks because my suffering is really quite minor compared to what many people suffer, nevetheless I do feel that some token would be apropriate. Can anybody please help me through the moral and practical issues of personal injury claims. Is there any company that are better than others for bike related claims and so on.

In short, help, what do I do?

Awgh per-leese!!! You had my full sympathy up until this point. Are you suggesting you lie? To get compensation that you are lawfully entitled to takes a long long time and is bloody stressful. All aspects of your claim should be truthful and relate to loss or injury you have suffered as a result of this collision. Get a good solicitor who specialises in PI and preferably cyclists who have been injured. Good luck as you will need it.

 

[Crankarm]

Out of interest you say you bounced off another car on your way down. Do you know how the damage to that car works insurance wise? Do they claim off you and then you claim off the person who hit you or do they claim straight off the instigator?

Don't worry about this a solicitor will sort this out as part of your claim.

If you have third party cover it will cover this angle.

 

[Crankarm]

Many thanks to you both for that. I think my next move is to the doctors and then the CTC solicitors. As I say I have no wish whatsoever to embellish any of the details because I think that sort of thing is a social ill that helps nobody in the long term. However the point made about making a driver think harder about what they are doing is a very good one. It has to be made clear that there are consequences to wiping out a cyclist or indeed any road or pavement user who is vulnerable.
Both of your comments have given me a bit of moral perspective so I'm off to google the ctc and contact them.

You don't need to join the CTC, just conact RJW direct, Levenes for the LCC or Leigh Day for BCF I think or independent solicitors BikeLine-AlysonFrance. They will all still act for you on a no-win-no-fee basis.

 

[Cyclopathic]

Awgh per-leese!!! You had my full sympathy up until this point. Are you suggesting you lie? To get compensation that you are lawfully entitled to takes a long long time and is bloody stressful. All aspects of your claim should be truthful and relate to loss or injury you have suffered as a result of this collision. Get a good solicitor who specialises in PI and preferably cyclists who have been injured. Good luck as you will need it.

What I am suggesting is that there seem to be a lot of ambulance chasing lawyers out there and I have heard a lot of stories about how some of them may try and gently lead a claimant down the path of exaggeration and embelishment . These stories have very much tainted my whole outlook on compensation to the point where I am put off claiming despite having what I consider to be a very genuine case. I don't see how you managed to infer that I was suggesting that I would lie when I was saying the very opposite. I was saying that the dishonesty that some in the industry and some claimants are accused of was discouraging me from having anything to do with the process.
I have also heard exactly what you have said, that getting compensation to which you are properly entitled can be a very stressful and long process. It is not something that I am looking forward to in any way shape or form and could well do without. However I am absolutely effing furious about being knocked off my bike and I am furious that I have spent the time since the accident on Tuesday shuffling around in quite a lot of pain, unable to get on with the things we all have to get on with. I am keen to let this driver know that her carelessness has had a real and painful effect on my life and a personal injury claim seems to be the only way to do that.
I'm not looking for sympathy from you or anybody else, I'm just looking for advice from people who may have been in a similar position and who know what they are talking about and I'm grateful to everybody who has shared what they know. The advice that you gave falls right into that catagory so thank you for that. Your wish of luck sound very ominous but it is what I was expecting to hear.

 

[fossyant]

Cranky, I think you missed what the OP was on about - i.e. he really doesn't want to claim as there is too much ambulance chasing.

It is a stressful process, and can leave you wondering why you bothered, and certainly questioning yourself, especially after numerous medical examinations.

I would strongly recommend CTC/BC or a cycling solicitor though. They know what they are doing.

With reference to some 'legal' professionals pushing the 'claim' - I can confirm that. In my case it was the barrister saying we 'could go for this/that, etc. etc' - If I could have been bothered, and claiming for 'assistance' (i.e. I get help in when I need some heavy work doing because of my shoulder) I could have doubled my settlement. In the end a reasonable amount was offered and I settled, but even then the solicitor was saying if I held out, claimed this/that I could get more. TBH the relief of putting this whole mess behind is the main reason as we all want to 'move on'.

Good luck !

 

[rvw]

In terms of "making the driver think harder about what they are doing" you may get asked whether you prefer the driver to be prosecuted or sent on an awareness course. There's another thread about that here if you want to have a look. Though whether, if you choose to support a prosecution, it will ever happen is another matter entirely.

In terms of needing luck - in my case I think I needed boundless patience rather than fortune!

 

[Crankarm]

What I am suggesting is that there seem to be a lot of ambulance chasing lawyers out there and I have heard a lot of stories about how some of them may try and gently lead a claimant down the path of exaggeration and embelishment . These stories have very much tainted my whole outlook on compensation to the point where I am put off claiming despite having what I consider to be a very genuine case. I don't see how you managed to infer that I was suggesting that I would lie when I was saying the very opposite. I was saying that the dishonesty that some in the industry and some claimants are accused of was discouraging me from having anything to do with the process.
I have also heard exactly what you have said, that getting compensation to which you are properly entitled can be a very stressful and long process. It is not something that I am looking forward to in any way shape or form and could well do without. However I am absolutely effing furious about being knocked off my bike and I am furious that I have spent the time since the accident on Tuesday shuffling around in quite a lot of pain, unable to get on with the things we all have to get on with. I am keen to let this driver know that her carelessness has had a real and painful effect on my life and a personal injury claim seems to be the only way to do that.
I'm not looking for sympathy from you or anybody else, I'm just looking for advice from people who may have been in a similar position and who know what they are talking about and I'm grateful to everybody who has shared what they know. The advice that you gave falls right into that catagory so thank you for that. Your wish of luck sound very ominous but it is what I was expecting to hear.

AFAICS ambulance chasing lawyers are totally removed and irrelevant to your circumstances so why mention it? Waste of time. Yes it does take place so are you going to deprive yourself of compensation because of others' greed? Get yourself signed up with a solicitor from any of the names already mentioned above. Go and see your GP.

 

[classic33]

Write down what happened NOW, save it in a folder in your PC - you will refer to this later. Photograph injuries (bruising and road rash) and the damage to your bike.

Make a "hard copy", be it actually printed or a simple use of the Print Screen button. It makes it harder for them to say that the wording has been changed.

As for recording it now. It doesn't matter how it reads so long as you know what it means & are able to put it "on paper" saying exactly what happenned, in a way that an idiot could understand. The important thing is, start recording now, do not expect to be able rely on memory three years later.

AFAICS ambulance chasing lawyers are totally removed and irrelevant to your circumstances so why mention it? Waste of time. Yes it does take place so are you going to deprive yourself of compensation because of others' greed? Get yourself signed up with a solicitor from any of the names already mentioned above. Go and see your GP.

Have you ever been down that road, I have. If not then how can you speak/advise on it.

There are many of these out there & I believe the opening poster was only making a comment about possibly being placed in the "ambulance chasing" chain. Therefore seeking advice before starting.

 

[PK99]

AFAICS ambulance chasing lawyers are totally removed and irrelevant to your circumstances.

He will shortly begin receiving texts "You may be entitled to £3850 compensation for your accident. Please call......" :who told them:?Hospital. Police. insurance company....

 

[Cyclopathic]

AFAICS ambulance chasing lawyers are totally removed and irrelevant to your circumstances so why mention it? Waste of time. Yes it does take place so are you going to deprive yourself of compensation because of others' greed? Get yourself signed up with a solicitor from any of the names already mentioned above. Go and see your GP.

Thanks for the advice. I do appreciate it. I don't understand why you feel the need to be confrontational about it. Perhaps I'm just a bit over sensitive because I'm feeling a bit run down and it is just your style but really I'm just voicing a few concerns and if I mention something it's because it seems relevant to me at the time. Whether or not it turns out to be so is a different matter but as I've pointed out I haven't been in this position before so I'm not going to be very aware of what is or isn't "removed and irrelevant" to my circumstances.

 

[Crankarm]

Make a "hard copy", be it actually printed or a simple use of the Print Screen button. It makes it harder for them to say that the wording has been changed.

As for recording it now. It doesn't matter how it reads so long as you know what it means & are able to put it "on paper" saying exactly what happenned, in a way that an idiot could understand. The important thing is, start recording now, do not expect to be able rely on memory three years later.




Have you ever been down that road, I have. If not then how can you speak/advise on it.

There are many of these out there & I believe the opening poster was only making a comment about possibly being placed in the "ambulance chasing" chain. Therefore seeking advice before starting.

The clue is in the name "ambulance chasing" lawyers or friends/3rd parties trying to get lawyers business would actually wait in casualty/reception areas of hospitals watching as ambulances came in and went out and following them. Yes this distasteful. Hence the term "ambulance chasers".

On the two occasions I have been knocked down and gone to hospital I have never recieved unsolicited calls or approaches from 3rd parties, insurers etc wanting my business or to settle for next to nothing.

It is still my belief that you mentioning ambulance chasing lawyers is irrelevant to your circumstances unless you have already been contacted by lawyers or claims companies wanting a piece of your action.