Looking for advice on how to handle a (car-bicycle) claim?

[Two-Wheels]

Top & bottom of it is, I don't know whether to go down the solicitor route (I've been in touch with one & they're saying it'll be handled as NWNF) or whether to deal direct with the guys insurance & claim that way.

Basically I was hit by a car as touched on here. His insurance are saying it's "likely" going to be ruled as a fault claim. I have 2 concerns, having never been in this situation before...
1) His insurance will want to keep costs as low as possible, which means giving me as little as possible.
2) Solicitors will want the claim to be as big as possible so that when they take their (huge?) fee, they'll get maximum for themselves.

I've been told (classic line eh) that solicitors going NWNF are capped at 25% max of the claim.
When on the phone to the guys insurance today & told them i'd been in touch with a solicitor, he said they can charge 10, 15, 20% (sounded like he was guessing but in the area i'd been told).
What worries me is my mother & her brothers/sisters were taken to court when my nans will was contested by 2 other family members (pair of brothers). Story short they were awarded £30k but their NWNF solicitor took £21k of that. I don't know if wills is different to personal injury but still.

Nope, unfortunately I'm not a member of a club/with insurance.

So basically I'm looking for any experienced people who've possibly been involved in a similar situation & can comment on what they did & how it went as right now i'm a little stuck as to which road to go down.


Oh and for the record, I've contacted the solicitor to ask what percentage fee they take of the win. Their response was something The Riddler would come out with. Basically they never gave me a direct answer.

 

[alicat]

Join Cycling UK and you can use their solicitors retrospectively.

 

[classic33]

Have a read of
https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/accident-advice.151618/

Put together to help people who have the misfortune to find themselves in this sort of situation.

I started out chasing the owner and driver, off my own back. Hit a brick wall with regards getting the required information from the police. Got a personal injury solicitor, not familiar with dealing with these type of incidents. Despite their initial claims. Found a solicitor that was used to dealing with these claims and moved everything there.

They don't move fast, so don't give up if nothing appears to be happening.

 

[Two-Wheels]

Join Cycling UK and you can use their solicitors retrospectively.

I've been advised to join "British Cycling" this week.
I imagine it's all much of a muchness. I think for the price of it & what it can offer you, it's probably going to be a good idea I join one of them - and then ask for their advice on which approach to take, even if they wont be able to help directly with this case.

Have a read of
https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/accident-advice.151618/

Put together to help people who have the misfortune to find themselves in this sort of situation.

I started out chasing the owner and driver, off my own back. Hit a brick wall with regards getting the required information from the police. Got a personal injury solicitor, not familiar with dealing with these type of incidents. Despite their initial claims. Found a solicitor that was used to dealing with these claims and moved everything there.

They don't move fast, so don't give up if nothing appears to be happening.

Thanks. I'd seen the thread actually last week or whenever it was but never actually got round to scrolling that far down. Silly I know.

The solicitor I've contacted actually specialises in cycling claims as I believe they're who BC uses/have used. I just don't like not being given a straight answer. It reminds me of my employer & when he doesn't give a straight answer to a straight question it usually means you're going to be coming off worse & they don't want to tell you.

 

[vickster]

I've been advised to join "British Cycling" this week.
I imagine it's all much of a muchness. I think for the price of it & what it can offer you, it's probably going to be a good idea I join one of them - and then ask for their advice on which approach to take, even if they wont be able to help directly with this case.


Thanks. I'd seen the thread actually last week or whenever it was but never actually got round to scrolling that far down. Silly I know.

The solicitor I've contacted actually specialises in cycling claims as I believe they're who BC uses/have used. I just don't like not being given a straight answer. It reminds me of my employer & when he doesn't give a straight answer to a straight question it usually means you're going to be coming off worse & they don't want to tell you.

BC use Leigh Day, for members, their fees have no impact on the settlement awarded to the claimant.
Not sure if you can join and claim retrospectively, unlike CUK mentioned above (who use Slater & Gordon)
Bott & Co are another firm with a specialised cycling practice if you want a further opinion
https://www.bottonline.co.uk/road-t...-much-compensation-claim-for-bicycle-accident

what are you seeking to claim for? Property, personal injury, both?
The solicitors may not be able to give you a specific answer (to whatever questions you asked) at this stage, for example if you still have unresolved injuries, without medical expert opinion etc.

Employee assistance schemes can provide legal advice if your employer offers such a scheme

 

[Sharky]

How serious was the incident? Are you OK? Is the bike OK?

Were the police involved? Is there an independent documented report of what happened?

When I was hit, both me and the bike were damaged and there was police reports. I was a member of the CTC aka Cycling UK and their solicitor claimed for me and I was awarded £9k.

 

[bikingdad90]

Do you have legal cover on your house insurance or car insurance? Both could be routes to look into?

 

[Venod]

As advised above join one of the cycling organisations, I was a CUK member and Slater and Gordon sorted mine out to my satisfaction, before you join make sure you can use the legal services retrospectively.

 

[bagpuss]

I was knocked off my bike last year {RTC} . Although I am a member of the CTC I dealt directly with the drivers inurance company . I had video footage from my bikes rear camera. This was not required because the driver admitted full responsibility . Took me less than 2 months to sort in all out .
1/ Damage to bike claimed . It was a 3 week old titianium frame . All paid out .
2/ Personal injury sorted . I did not need to go to hospital .
Seen by a doctor 2 weeks after the event to check for any injury . Sometimes they become apparent later than sooner .
It all depends on your circumstances / level of injuries etc /Did the police attend? not needde in my case .

 

[Two-Wheels]

Wow, didn't expect to get as many replies. You are a helpful bunch Thanks. Right, let's get cracking....

@vickster - I'll just say you've named one of the guys I've contacted. Probably not right for me to say which one. Maybe I'm expecting too much at this stage, I don't know. I just imagined that they could tell me "we will take X-%" or "up to a max of X-%". I don't expect at this stage for them to be able to say "we will take £4,825.82 from the claim" because who knows how much it'll be, but in terms of percentage, I thought they could do that??
And as I say, the fact my mother was involved in a case where my cousins who took them to court ended up having to 'give up' £21k of a £30k win to their legal team (it was also NWNF) has me concerned, but as I say, I don't know if contesting wills is different or not.

But yes, there are still 'unknowns' going on - I'm still off work, my injuries are still not resolved.

@Sharky - depends on your take of serious (& i don't mean that in a trying to be funny way). I don't feel comfortable laying it on thick. I just tell it as it is to me.
I had injury to my thigh & upper arm which both felt like terrible dead arms - but i'm not even bothered about these. Just a bit sore, no big deal.
It's my elbow that's causing the trouble. 2 weeks in & I'm still struggling to bend it & grip things. I still have nerve damage as there's a section of my elbow that I can't feel (can stick a needle in no problem without feeling pain). I put my works jacket on yesterday which is a tough material & my god it was painful as it's fairly restrictive so as I moved my arm it felt like i was being stabbed in the tip of my elbow constantly.
With the bending issues - even simple things like drinking from a cup, wiping my nose/itching my face (which wouldn't you know i'm having to do loads of now!) are difficult (just use my left). If i use my right then I have to bring my head down as it hurts to bring my hand up that high.

As for the bike - scuffs really. Had it checked over, £50, brake lever is chipped and gear display is scuffed. I wish i'd have got off as lightly as my bike and my bike was as damaged as me but hey ho.
No police, no. Tbh I know it sounds foolish but when it happened 1) I just wanted to get home and 2) I was a little embarrassed by the fuss & everyone stopping so just wanted it over with. I declined offers for ambulances (didn't want to waste their time) and police. I never thought the damage was as bad as what it is.

Funny you mentioned 9k - their insurers said yesterday it could potentially go over 10k. I think this is nonsense though. There's so many variables right now.

@bikingdad90 - I really need to get that looked out. I'm not even 100% on who i'm with. Think it's Admiral. I think legal cover has also been mentioned with my union (Unite). Will have to take a look at this also.
Silly question time - assuming I have legal cover - how would that help me in a NWNF case?

@Venod - I know British Cycling (as they've responded to me this week) said that I could call on them for "advice" to the current situation after joining although they obviously can't help directly with it. This isn't to say I'm swaying towards BC over CUK, i'm just simply saying.

@bagpuss - doesn't help with existing situation but a camera is certainly something I'm considering now. I've not had many close calls, probably as I only get out once per week max, but there's been one or two times where i've encountered someone who's clearly a cyclist-hater & i could've put my hand through their passenger window if they'd had it down kind of thing.
Sounds like you had a decent experience.
The #1 thing I want is this pain to go & feeling to return in my elbow. As that's out of my control, the secondary thing is top compensation for it.
My concern there is as I say - going direct to insurance will have them giving me as little as possible & using a solicitor will have them taking from me as much as possible.

As it's the weekend, not much happening - so first things first is to join one of those clubs, ask for advice & see if they ease my concerns over insurance companies / solicitors.

 

[vickster]

I presume you’ve seen a Dr, either your GP or you’ve been to A&E? If not, you really need to do so asap and get the injuries documented on your medical records. Also photos of any visible cuts and bruising (from their worst through healing). In time, you may need to see medical experts, have scans, physio (the cost of which may come from any payout).

Also keep all and every receipt, email, record of any phone calls etc, any bit of paperwork associated with the claim, any expenses etc.
Any compensation you get will be pegged against previous precedents, it won’t be limitless, you may deem your elbow serious for example while an expert and precedent may only rate as minor. The solicitor fees won’t impact your payout (they’re on top)

Get a solicitor engaged asap, you have 3 years for a PI claim to be lodged with a court if it gets to that …it could take that long to settle if your injuries don’t resolve (or are deemed by an expert that they won’t). 2 weeks is extremely early in the process (My claim took 4 years to resolve).
It can be a stressful process, time consuming and frustrating.

 

[Sharky]

depends on your take of serious

In my case, wiped out by a corsa, air lift to a London hospital. Broken collar bone, ribs, teeth. Bike was written off, although since replaced wheels and handle bars and is as good as new. It happened late summer, but by the next spring I was racing again.

Wasn't the last of my recent spills., but the only one involving a car.

 

[Two-Wheels]

@vickster - Yes, went to A&E on the day. Initially I wasn't going to bother. Just thought well that hurts a bit, I'll probably be a bit stiff in the morning but give it a couple days and 'it-be-reet'
But as soon as I took my top off & saw how puffed and bruised my arm was (not wanting it to sound stupid or big-i-am or anything but I tend not to bruise very easily) I thought there's potential for a break here. Plus by that point the pain was really starting to kick in. I guess the shock of it had dumbed that down at the scene.

So I went to A&E, got myself an X-ray & no breaks, no dislocations. That was the Sunday.
8 days later on the Monday, I'm not convinced A&E haven't made a balls up (largely due to being misdiagnosed as a kid with my other elbow which later lead to them saying they've messed up, my elbow is actually dislocated & now I need a section of it removing - resulting in being unable to totally straighten my left arm).
So I book in with a GP who is adamant that it's not broken or dislocated but goes on to confirm nerve damage & tells me he thinks i'll be good in 4 weeks.

So yeah, there's a paper-trail.


@Sharky - well by your standards, my incident is naff all then

I'd decided to go out and do a bit of climbing so by that point I was on my way home & on my last legs, thankfully. If it'd happened earlier on, I'd possibly have been further ahead which would've been head on, rather than me having to jam on & go in to the side of him. However as I kept telling my mother when I was telling her what had happened & she kept saying "if....". If is pointless. Could've been worse, could've been better but it is what it is.