Lawyer recommendation

bikeav8or

Hello everybody,

got knocked off at the weekend while crossing a roundabout, road rash, bruises and aches pains and a very uncomfortable sore back.
Bike damaged, rear wheel pringled, shifter and saddle damaged but carbon frame "looks " ok at a first glance.

Can anyone recommend a good claims lawyer from first hand experience?

Driver admitted his fault at the scene, "did n't see you" and kept saying sorry.

Police and ambulance attended.

Many thanks

will3

bikeav8or wrote:

Driver admitted his fault at the scene, "did n't see you" and kept saying sorry.

This is comforting as if he did see you and still drove into you then that would be a different situation entirely.

CTC solicitors seem well rehearsed at this sort of thing.

guinea

You'll get the price of the bike bits back at the second hand value of them at the time. You are not entitled to the full replacement value. Since 2nd hand bike are almost worthless after a couple of years you're likely to get very little.

You have no broken bones, long term injuries or psychological trauma.

Best just phone the guy up, ask for the repair money and leave it at that. Your compensation money based on injury will be no more than a couple of hundred quid and you'll have to go through hoops to get it.

But, to answer your question http://www.bikeline.co.uk/ come highly reccommended.

mrushton

we used www.cycle-aid.co.uk

Have to disagree with the above post. You may need physio or other medical treatment/time off work.You are entitled to new kit if yours is irrepairable. My partner required treatment for a damaged shoulder at £30+ a session. She had a consult. with an orthopaedic surgeon etc. Cycle aid got us a few thousand pounds but we will replace the bike as it's slightly out of alignment.

Our claim took about a year to go thro'. The driver may be apologetic but in the cold light of day, you'd be surprised how they may alter their view or their insurance will stall your claim. Cycle aid dealt with all that and their fee comes out of the insurance company not your compensation. DO NOT just settle for a few quid. I almost guarantee that 6 months down the line, you'll find you are still suffering from injuries sustained in your accident. .

will3

guinea wrote:

You'll get the price of the bike bits back at the second hand value of them at the time. You are not entitled to the full replacement value. Since 2nd hand bike are almost worthless after a couple of years you're likely to get very little.

You have no broken bones, long term injuries or psychological trauma.

Best just phone the guy up, ask for the repair money and leave it at that. Your compensation money based on injury will be no more than a couple of hundred quid and you'll have to go through hoops to get it.

But, to answer your question http://www.bikeline.co.uk/ come highly reccommended.

in my experience you are completely incorrect both in the byccycle valuation and the likely compensation for injury, but there you go.

bikeav8or

Thanks for fast replies,
would use CTC but am not a member, shame on me.

I dont yet know if my injuries are long or short term as the symptoms are still present

I would possibly consider ring the chap up, but as I'm a crap negotiator I think the pros are the way to go.

thanks

Any experience with carbon frame damage, especially hard to see stuff?

will3

bikeav8or wrote:

Thanks for fast replies,
would use CTC but am not a member, shame on me.

The solicitor they use are not picky about you being a member

http://www.rjw.co.uk/our-expertise/acci ... -accidents

guinea

I'm going through this at the moment. I'll be candid with the figures.

Re: bike valuation - http://www.bikeline.co.uk/accident_clai ... d_a.htm#Q5 I have a bike valued at £2.3k brand new which I've upgraded. It was a 2006 bike I bought in 2007. Even though its been upgraded I wouldn't even get close to 1/3 of its new value.

I suffered a major break with no long term effects and can expect to get from between £2.5k and £8k.

I haven't been on my bike for over 4 months. My fitness has dropped off a cliff, my training for La Marmotte has gone and I've put on a stone eating crap at home. For this I'm entitled to claim between £350 and £500.

I'm going to lose a year of training and fitness and lose out on the state of my bike for pennies.

Back to the OP/ Given there are no major injuries here, no loss of amenity and a potentially low value on the bike is it worth the medical, statements, form filling and hassle when all you really want is to get back on a properly working bike?

dodgy

guinea wrote:

You'll get the price of the bike bits back at the second hand value of them at the time. You are not entitled to the full replacement value. Since 2nd hand bike are almost worthless after a couple of years you're likely to get very little.

You have no broken bones, long term injuries or psychological trauma.

Best just phone the guy up, ask for the repair money and leave it at that. Your compensation money based on injury will be no more than a couple of hundred quid and you'll have to go through hoops to get it.

But, to answer your question http://www.bikeline.co.uk/ come highly reccommended.

These are not my real world experiences at all. I was fully compensated and had enough money to buy a new bike if I'd wanted to. When you say go through hoops, I filled out a form and sent it to Alyson at bikeline.co.uk, couldn't have been simpler. Money arrived several months later.

bikeav8or

Would it be worth it?

Quite frankly yes, it is n't about the money.
I'm lucky enough to have other bikes to ride so I'll fill in forms and put up with hassle til kingdom come.

/In the blur of panic, just before impact, all I was think was " please not under the car", focuses the mind a bit.

If I dont pursue this to the full outcome I wonder who the next cyclist or child will be that that driver " didnt see" in his rush to save 30 seconds on his drive home.

Good luck with your claim Guinea - dont give up

mrushton

You can't say that your injuries are short-term because you are (I presume) not medically qualified to make a diagnosis. Take the frame to a reputable bike shop and have it assessed. You don't know if there is any damage. Our frame was scratched, but we realised that the chain stays had been been bent v.slightly.
If you choose to go down the legal route you can always say no to receiving any monies, but if you try to settle amicably, you may well be out of pocket. Look at this way.If you had been driving and the other driver had hit your car, would you claim on his insurance?
Sorry to sound mercenary, but your kit is damaged and you are injured, thro' no fault of your own.

jonnycon

Hi
I was rear ended by a car, the driver stopped and provided his details ins etc but denied liability. I tried to deal with his insurance company to recompense me for the bike ( at the time a cannondale 700d equipped with 105, it was about 18mths - 2 years old) They would not deal with me and insisted I get a lawyer, all I wanted to do was argue my claim for a replacement bike. I went through the RAC, the police gave me a pack with their details when I reported the accident, they referred me to a solicitor. I provided pictures of my bike, pictures of the location of the accident and a detailed account of how it had occurred. I was also sent for a medical 1st to my GP then to an independant assessor. My injuries were cuts and bruising to my lower back, cuts and deep bruising to my shin & bone. My bike was inspected and the drivers insurance company. I was provided with a new bike as mine was too costly to repairv=£1200.00 (the chainset etc were fully working still) and £1500.00 injury. My point is that I didn't ask for any of this. I just wanted a replacement bike. If you don't get representation you will receive nothing. His insurance company will default to admitting nothing & you can't guarantee the integrity of your bike !!!!

bagpusscp

Note to ALL make sure you have good cycle insurance . IE CTC , BCF. There is of course the same claims court if you have no insurance. If you are hit by any vehicle and are in a state to do so get the Police involved.As far as I am concerned the statement of "I did not see you " is driving without due care and attention" .The only way thing will changing is by making people THINK , when they are behind the wheel of a vehicle.
{Rant over}
Ps.Get well and riding again soon.

RedJohn

If someone's injured in an acccident it's a legal requirement to get the police - did you / he? As you were injured, if the police weren't called it's likely to be the driver held at fault.

Look at your house contents insurance, often includes legal expenses cover for this sort of thing.

bikeav8or

luckily a police van happened to be passing about 5 mins after the event

Rockhopper

I was knocked off my bike by a car driver who turned without seeing me. I eneded up with four stiched in my head (no helmet!). I dealt directly with her insurance company. I had no time off work and no lasting medical problems. I ended up with £2.5k compensation plus the full cost of replacing my two year old bike plus the full cost of replacing all my damaged clothing.

guinea

You're lucky. Not because you got the money but because their insurance company would deal with you.

Insurance firms can save so much not dealing with a law firm they'll cut a better deal with you. The solicitors fees will dwarf any payout you get so it makes sense for them to avoid that.

Unfortunately, as was mentioned above, most insurance companies deal only with solicitors and the guy working in the call centre will not know how to deal with a savvy customer - regardless of how beneficial it could be to both sides.

dilemna

Sorry to read yet another cyclist has been knocked down.

You can instruct solicitor or not as is your choice. You will find it easier with a GOOD solicitor who specialises in cycling cases. Otherwise prepare to do battle with the other's insured. If you feel you are going nowhere then issue proceedings in the Small Claims Court but bear in mind the limit I think is still £1,000 for personal injury claims and £5,000 for all others. How will you know how much to claim for your injuries without medical assessment and legal advice? If your inuries are minor and you are reasonably savvy and take no sh1t then reaching settlement without a solicitor can be possible. I tall depends on what you are confortable with. But if you do this and then find out later you could have got another £3,000.......... However if you are SERIOUSLY injured you NEED a good solicitor who specialises in personal injury preferably a cycling specific one. To do otherwise would be to drastically reduce your opportunity to obtain suffcient compensation for your injuries and impact on your life, loss of any earnings present and future, pain and suffering and loss of amenity and any medical care costs.

I would sign up with a solicitor. Ten years ago when I was knocked down I signed up with Cycle-Aid who advertise in the back of Cycling Weekly. It was still a battle but I wouldn't have got the amount I did without them. Settlement takes a long time if injuries have an uncertain prognosis ie do not heal quickly and you have residual pain or suffering.

I received around £20k. But the solictor's costs were about £18k!!!!!! although the other's insured paid them. Makes you think that of the overall cost of my claim the solicitor got just under half. If I'd tried to do it alone I wouldn't have got a fraction of this.

I was cycling home from work on my Condor Team 853 bike when negotiating a roundabout a car drove straight into me from behind. I went flying spending time in hopsital from my injuries. The driver was succesfully prosecuted and convicted for driving without due care and attention. He disputed it as well. The rear triangle was knocked side ways, rear wheel buckled and the Ergo levers damaged, bars bent. The new cost of a bike was about £2,750 back in 1999. Condor re-jigged and resprayed the frame re-placing the knackered components which cost £1,400. No issue of my bike being second hand as it was then top spec, only 3 years old and in excellent condition. Strangely I don't remember claiming for a new helmet, long sleeve yellow Castelli jersey or shorts. Drat. But I did get new SIDI shoes, camera and rucksack which were all damaged plus turbo trainer to help with my recovery.

A solicitor will be able to get interim payments which you will struggle to do on your own.

It's your claim you only get one chance to get it right.

alfablue

guinea wrote:

You're lucky. Not because you got the money but because their insurance company would deal with you.

Insurance firms can save so much not dealing with a law firm they'll cut a better deal with you. The solicitors fees will dwarf any payout you get so it makes sense for them to avoid that.

Unfortunately, as was mentioned above, most insurance companies deal only with solicitors and the guy working in the call centre will not know how to deal with a savvy customer - regardless of how beneficial it could be to both sides.

I am not for one moment suggesting that you don't use a solicitor in this case, however, insurance companies not dealing with individuals is an irrelevance. Your claim is against the individual who committed the act, if they choose to use their insurance company that is up to them. If they choose to use their insurance company, the insurance company have a contractual obligation to the insured, they can't walk away from the contract because the claimant has no lawyer.

mrushton

That's fine in principle but Insurance companies will avoid paying for as long as ( if at all) possible. They tried it with our solicitor, delaying papers, decisions etc. The solicitor takes all the minutiae away from you. Put it this way. The Insurance Company is a business. It wants to make as much money as possilble and pay the least out. They don't care if the claimant is screwed i's Caveat Emptor. All that legalese on the insurance forms? lawyers wrote it so why not use a lawyer to interpret it

alfablue

mrushton wrote:

That's fine in principle but Insurance companies will avoid paying for as long as ( if at all) possible. They tried it with our solicitor, delaying papers, decisions etc. The solicitor takes all the minutiae away from you. Put it this way. The Insurance Company is a business. It wants to make as much money as possilble and pay the least out. They don't care if the claimant is screwed i's Caveat Emptor. All that legalese on the insurance forms? lawyers wrote it so why not use a lawyer to interpret it

As I said, I am not recommending not using a lawyer, merely attempting to dispel the myth that if the insurance company says jump, you have to say "how high?".

pepelepew

bikeav8or wrote:

Driver admitted his fault at the scene, "did n't see you" and kept saying sorry.

Police and ambulance attended.

Many thanks

Was his admission witnessed? Did anyone hear him or did he state this in statement to officers. Just a consideration, as he may turn around at a later date and deny saying it.

cougie

Bikeline have done a good job for 2 of my mates - got good money for their damages and hassle. They also did a good job for my wife when she had a head on in her car that wasnt her fault.

Hope its resolved to your satisfaction.