Knocked off my bike - What next?

gandhi

Hello,

I was knocked off my bike on my ride in this morning. I have a bit of a dead leg (but am fine), and my wheel is now buckled, fork may be bent.

I got his details (and gave him mine), he seemed a pretty nice chap.

What should I do next?

dondare

That happened to me once and it turned out the details he'd given me were false.
Get yourself checked out by a doctor and your bike checked out by a bike shop.

dang65

Does anyone call the police to incidents like this? I believe it's a legal requirement to call the police to an RTA where someone is hurt. On one occasion where I was knocked off and hurt quite badly, no one called the cops. I went to the police station a few days later, broken arm bandaged and in a sling, to report it for insurance purposes and they were more interested in having a go at me for not calling the police to the scene, despite the driver and two witnesses being in a far more capable state than I was.

If it happens again, I'm calling the police, fire and ambulance, and possibly the RNLI too. :evil:

cupofteacp

Could I suggest the following

Phone and join CTC if this become a legal battle they'll help you

Go to hospital because although you feel OK now, what happens if you dead leg does not get better for 6 months, or when you wake up tomorrow your backs killing you? If you haven't been to hospital the lawers will say the accident was not serious

Same with the Police, if you don't report it then you'll find any future recource is limited.

When you land him with a bill for £500ish for a new bike, if thats all that wrong, you might find he refuses to pay and unless you've got the police etc lined up what are you going to do?

I know this sounds extreme but this is a tried and tested formula

gandhi

Thanks for your advice guys.

Slim Middleton

Hi Gandhi

I am not sure whether CTC provides an "after the event" insurance or not. There may be a possibility that they are unable to provide legal assistance if the legal assistance they provide is through a legal protection insurance policy. It is a bit like taking out health insurance after being diagnosed with an illness. On the other hand, they may be able to refer you to lawyers that are able to act on a "no-win, no-fee" basis - but you could do that yourself anyway - not that I'm saying that CTC membership is a bad thing.

A solicitor will only be interested in taking the case on if a, there is a reasonable prospect of establishing it was the driver's fault - you don't say anything about this and a lack of witnesses may be a problem and; b, that you are likely to recover in excess of 1000 GBP. If the injury is only minor i.e probably lasting no more than 3 weeks with no complications and/or scarring then you may be pushing it to get above that threshold. Damage to the bike and other associated expenses should be recoverable.

Any personal injury claim with a value of less than 1000GBP is usually dealt with in the Small Claims court. The other guy's insurers may settle before a hearing but if not, you represent yourself before a judge in chambers. You can get more information about this process from your local county court.

You should see your GP asap. It might be worth talking to solicitors in the near future if you are still having problems with the leg. If not then consider writing to the driver (or his insurers if you have details - if you don't have details ask him to pass the letter to his insurers) asking for reimbursement for your expenses - damage to bike, clothing, time off work etc as well as compensation for the inconvenience of being without a bike and compensation for your injury. You could ask your GP for a short report on the injury and include that in the letter. NB - if your leg doesn't heal quickly and without complication (and I hope it does) be sure to talk to solictors. There are many who will make an initial assessment of your case without charging and who may then act on a no-win, no-fee basis.

All the best.

Simon

Slim Middleton

Should add that you shouldn't leave it too long to take action - 3 years from the date of accident is the cut off point (if you're 18 or older) don't leave it that long though and remember that people's memories fade with time so the sooner you start the ball rolling the better. All the best.

Simon

Uzbek

Forgetting compensation for a sec can I also suggest that it is good to get back on a bike and go for a ride fairly quickly after a bad fall, but don't go mad. Through a combination of stupidity and, er, stupidity I had two 'offs' in 2 weeks last year. It took my a while to feel confident on the bike again, and that very nervousness made me have a real whopper of a fall again a few weeks later. So get your bike checked, get back on it and build up your confidence again steadily.

ACMadone

dang65 wrote:

Does anyone call the police to incidents like this? I believe it's a legal requirement to call the police to an RTA where someone is hurt. On one occasion where I was knocked off and hurt quite badly, no one called the cops. I went to the police station a few days later, broken arm bandaged and in a sling, to report it for insurance purposes and they were more interested in having a go at me for not calling the police to the scene, despite the driver and two witnesses being in a far more capable state than I was.

If it happens again, I'm calling the police, fire and ambulance, and possibly the RNLI too. :evil:

I had a crash with a taxi last year, snapped off my rear mech and put a big ding in my rear Kysrium ES. I had a couple of scrathes. Called the Police and they weren't interested. Taxi driver just drove off in the end and left me with the bill to get my bike repaired

gandhi

Uzbek wrote:

Forgetting compensation for a sec can I also suggest that it is good to get back on a bike and go for a ride fairly quickly after a bad fall, but don't go mad. Through a combination of stupidity and, er, stupidity I had two 'offs' in 2 weeks last year. It took my a while to feel confident on the bike again, and that very nervousness made me have a real whopper of a fall again a few weeks later. So get your bike checked, get back on it and build up your confidence again steadily.

Cheers. To be honest my confidence isn't dented at all, and I think I learned a lesson that I've needed to learn for a while. It's nice that I managed to learn it without being badly hurt (he knocked me all the way to the wrong side of the road, so it could have gone badly wrong).

The bike that was damaged is in the shop now - it was my commuting fixed gear. I rode to work on my race bike this morning (nice to have an excuse), and I'm taking the long route home.

It really wasn't a bad crash, he was going about 10 mph, and I was going about 20, he went into the side of me, it felt like when I clip a tree on the MTB. I didn't even do any damage to my clothes.

Uzbek

good for you!

I had a 30mph+ tree/wall/bike coming together, sufficient to buckle and crack a Ti racing frame. Then I bottled a tricky rutted section on my MTB and tumbled 50 foot down a gully. I'd ridden that section several times without really thinking about it but my dented confidence and hesitation led to another dented bike, (plus face/wrist and knee).

downfader

ACMadone wrote:

dang65 wrote:

Does anyone call the police to incidents like this? I believe it's a legal requirement to call the police to an RTA where someone is hurt. On one occasion where I was knocked off and hurt quite badly, no one called the cops. I went to the police station a few days later, broken arm bandaged and in a sling, to report it for insurance purposes and they were more interested in having a go at me for not calling the police to the scene, despite the driver and two witnesses being in a far more capable state than I was.

If it happens again, I'm calling the police, fire and ambulance, and possibly the RNLI too. :evil:

I had a crash with a taxi last year, snapped off my rear mech and put a big ding in my rear Kysrium ES. I had a couple of scrathes. Called the Police and they weren't interested. Taxi driver just drove off in the end and left me with the bill to get my bike repaired

If this is true you should have made an official complaint straight away, logging who the officer was and what day/time. It is the officers duty to take down these details, even if they decide it isnt worth a prosecution.

Mike Healey

If you have a dead leg, you're likely to have a fair bit of bruising. Worst case scenario, there may be some nerve damage, as happened to a friend. It took him several months to fully regain feeling and easy use of the leg.

Of course, you may feel fine in a day or two, but, if not, as previous forumers have said, get it checked out and, if necessary, get a medical report/diagnosis/prognosis if it does turn out to be worse than it feels at the moment. If that is the case, decent photos (bike and injury) will be necessary if it comes to an argument with their insurers - and it frequently does.

In short, keep good records.