How much is my ankle worth?

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  • W1
    W1 Posts: 2,636
    fatherted wrote:
    PM me.
    With your injuries and loss of earnings , 6 figures is achievable.

    Ah, the sound of sirens followed by rapid footsteps....
  • daviesee
    daviesee Posts: 6,386
    First Aspect wrote:
    What chip on my shoulder? I think I'm being prety phlegmatic in relation to the driver.

    Thanks for that. Really cheered me up on a dreary afternoon :wink:
    None of the above should be taken seriously, and certainly not personally.
  • Headhuunter
    Headhuunter Posts: 6,494
    First Aspect wrote:
    I'm a long time commuter, but this is the first time I've had a question for the forum.

    I was recently scooped up by a car and deposited on the tarmac in the middle of the road. A driver who had been in clear view of me (and vice versa) for fully 20-30 seconds jumped out of the side road in which he was waiting, to cross the road I was on, and collected me on his way. He was still accelerating when he hit me. It was entirely the driver's fault (the side window offering a poor view of the road in front of him, but an excellent view of the approaching car he really should have allowed to pass) and he's admitted liability to both the police and his insurance company. This will cost him a £180 fine and 6 points.

    I've got myself a solicitor and there is lots of time before I need to worry about a final settlement. My question related to the value of my ankle, my summer, my hobbies, arthritis and so on.

    My ankle was shattered into about a dozen pieces. I've had two operations and I've got three incisions and had a bone graft from my hip. There are three plates, multiple screws and lots of wire and superglue holding what's left of my ankle together. About 25% of the cartilage on the upper surface of the ankle joint is missing, so the joint will be arthritic (manifesting anywhere between immediately and forever, or in 20 years) and there will be at least some restriction in the range of motion - thankfully most probably not so as to prevent me from cycing annd the other activities I do. Who knows how the ligaments and tendons will behave and what pain will be caused by exercise or for how long.

    I spent 11 nights in hospital, had an external frame for 10 days between operations and I was on morphine for a lot of that time. I passed out twice with pain. In total I'll be unable to put weight through my leg for 12 weeks and the physical therapy will take at least 9 months in total. Who knows how long it will be before I can get back to full fitness.

    Setting aside issues such as damage to property and loss of earnings (none as yet), how much would be a reasonable offer from an insurance company? Anyone work in insurance and know the upper and lower limits? Anyone had injuries of similar severity and had settlements?

    Knowledge is power, as they say, and it would help to have at least some idea in order to assess how good my solicitor is!! That, and I have a lot of time on my hands just now.

    NB: I understand that each case must be considered on its own particular facts, so I request in advance not to be notified by everyone with legal experience that I've asked an impossible question, blah. Part of this thread is about catharsis and the therapeutic value will be negated by know-it-alls (yes, I've followed the odd thread on this forum!!!)

    I'm a bit late to this but, good god... It's things like this that make me think that may be I should get out of cycling now before I lose a leg or something. Perhaps I shuold take up fishing...
    Do not write below this line. Office use only.
  • First.Aspect
    First.Aspect Posts: 17,018
    daviesee wrote:
    First Aspect wrote:
    What chip on my shoulder? I think I'm being prety phlegmatic in relation to the driver.

    Thanks for that. Really cheered me up on a dreary afternoon :wink:
    Sorry I don't get it. You pointing out the typo, or think I mean that I'm full of snot rather than "not easily excited to action or passion, calm"?
  • First.Aspect
    First.Aspect Posts: 17,018
    Headhuunter wrote:
    I'm a bit late to this but, good god... It's things like this that make me think that may be I should get out of cycling now before I lose a leg or something. Perhaps I shuold take up fishing...
    But then you might drown, lose an eye, or suffer a divorce.
  • daviesee
    daviesee Posts: 6,386
    First Aspect wrote:
    daviesee wrote:
    First Aspect wrote:
    What chip on my shoulder? I think I'm being prety phlegmatic in relation to the driver.

    Thanks for that. Really cheered me up on a dreary afternoon :wink:
    Sorry I don't get it. You pointing out the typo, or think I mean that I'm full of snot rather than "not easily excited to action or passion, calm"?

    Both.

    You typed it and yet you don't get it. No wonder some of us get confused.

    I believe "pragmatic" is the word you were looking for. Phlegmatic is a new one on me :?
    None of the above should be taken seriously, and certainly not personally.
  • tailwindhome
    tailwindhome Posts: 19,353
    daviesee wrote:
    I believe "pragmatic" is the word you were looking for. Phlegmatic is a new one on me :?


    I reckon phlegmatic was the word he was looking for.


    This has to be helping your ankle. No?
    “New York has the haircuts, London has the trousers, but Belfast has the reason!
  • HamishD
    HamishD Posts: 538
    daviesee wrote:
    First Aspect wrote:
    daviesee wrote:
    First Aspect wrote:
    What chip on my shoulder? I think I'm being prety phlegmatic in relation to the driver.

    Thanks for that. Really cheered me up on a dreary afternoon :wink:
    Sorry I don't get it. You pointing out the typo, or think I mean that I'm full of snot rather than "not easily excited to action or passion, calm"?

    Both.

    You typed it and yet you don't get it. No wonder some of us get confused.

    I believe "pragmatic" is the word you were looking for. Phlegmatic is a new one on me :?

    Pedantry FAIL. chuckle. :lol:

    [/relurk]
  • First.Aspect
    First.Aspect Posts: 17,018
    TailWindHome wrote:
    daviesee wrote:
    I believe "pragmatic" is the word you were looking for. Phlegmatic is a new one on me :?
    I reckon phlegmatic was the word he was looking for.
    This has to be helping your ankle. No?
    I'd almost forgotten about the ankle.
    I believe that I'm now ready to branch out onto other threads for a festival of sarcasm.
  • UndercoverElephant
    UndercoverElephant Posts: 5,796
    I tell you, one sure way to make the hours fly by is to comment on here about accidents, helmets or red light jumping. Welcome to the board, First Aspect.
    Sun - Rain - Snow
  • First.Aspect
    First.Aspect Posts: 17,018
    Funny you should mention that....

    .... in A&E, both before and after the ketamine, and in the abulance before and after I passed out, I was asked whether I was wearing a helmet.

    This was perplexing, since I had a broken ankle and hadn't hit my head.

    Does this need a whole new thread?
  • UndercoverElephant
    UndercoverElephant Posts: 5,796
    First Aspect wrote:
    Funny you should mention that....

    .... in A&E, both before and after the ketamine, and in the abulance before and after I passed out, I was asked whether I was wearing a helmet.

    This was perplexing, since I had a broken ankle and hadn't hit my head.

    Does this need a whole new thread?

    Excellent move, this could run and run.
    Sun - Rain - Snow
  • First.Aspect
    First.Aspect Posts: 17,018
    Perhaps hey needed to know whether I had suffered rotational ankle injury.
  • t4tomo
    t4tomo Posts: 2,643
    daviesee wrote:
    First Aspect wrote:
    daviesee wrote:
    First Aspect wrote:
    What chip on my shoulder? I think I'm being prety phlegmatic in relation to the driver.

    Thanks for that. Really cheered me up on a dreary afternoon :wink:
    Sorry I don't get it. You pointing out the typo, or think I mean that I'm full of snot rather than "not easily excited to action or passion, calm"?

    Both.

    You typed it and yet you don't get it. No wonder some of us get confused.

    I believe "pragmatic" is the word you were looking for. Phlegmatic is a new one on me :?

    Post of the week for me this one -

    Not only is it a Grade 1 Grammar Pedant Fail , but when you gave him a chance to realise his mistake and apoogise with a definition of phlegmatic, he comes back with more misplaced sarcasm. I would have loved to have seen Davisee's face when he realised what a colassal plonker he'd made of himself. Maybe he can post again and describe the feeling at the moment of realisation, that will test out his creative writing skills and maybe make up for his vocabularly shortfall.

    Fist Aspect - I hope the ankle mends up reasonably well, you get adequately compensated as far as you can be (although money doesn't really buy a new ankle) and you keep yourself amused whilst you are laid up.
    Bianchi Infinito CV
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  • daviesee
    daviesee Posts: 6,386
    t4tomo wrote:
    I would have loved to have seen Davisee's face when he realised what a colassal plonker he'd made of himself. Maybe he can post again and describe the feeling at the moment of realisation, that will test out his creative writing skills and maybe make up for his vocabularly shortfall.

    Meh.................
    None of the above should be taken seriously, and certainly not personally.
  • UndercoverElephant
    UndercoverElephant Posts: 5,796
    t4tomo wrote:
    although money doesn't really buy a new ankle

    You don't know the right shops, matey. *Taps nose*
    Sun - Rain - Snow
  • First.Aspect
    First.Aspect Posts: 17,018
    daviesee wrote:
    Meh.................
    No, that's the US spelling of "ambivalent".
  • greg66_tri_v2.0
    greg66_tri_v2.0 Posts: 7,172
    t4tomo wrote:
    daviesee wrote:
    First Aspect wrote:
    daviesee wrote:
    First Aspect wrote:
    What chip on my shoulder? I think I'm being prety phlegmatic in relation to the driver.

    Thanks for that. Really cheered me up on a dreary afternoon :wink:
    Sorry I don't get it. You pointing out the typo, or think I mean that I'm full of snot rather than "not easily excited to action or passion, calm"?

    Both.

    You typed it and yet you don't get it. No wonder some of us get confused.

    I believe "pragmatic" is the word you were looking for. Phlegmatic is a new one on me :?

    Post of the week for me this one -
    +1. This has not gone awfully well for young daviesee.

    Live and learn...
    Swim. Bike. Run. Yeah. That's what I used to do.

    Bike 1
    Bike 2-A
  • daviesee
    daviesee Posts: 6,386
    Greg66 wrote:
    +1. This has not gone awfully well for young daviesee.

    Live and learn...

    I am not that young :oops: but I did learn a new word :P , albeit not one that I will use.

    Meanwhile it did brighten up my day and my errors have cheered everyone else up.

    Job done! :P

    Otherwise, ambivalent.
    None of the above should be taken seriously, and certainly not personally.
  • walkingbootweather
    walkingbootweather Posts: 2,443
    @daviesee

    Don't worry about Greg - he must have been flummoxed by your agerasia :wink:
    Nobody told me we had a communication problem
  • t4tomo
    t4tomo Posts: 2,643
    daviesee wrote:
    t4tomo wrote:
    I would have loved to have seen Davisee's face when he realised what a colassal plonker he'd made of himself. Maybe he can post again and describe the feeling at the moment of realisation, that will test out his creative writing skills and maybe make up for his vocabularly shortfall.

    Meh.................

    Surely if we're going for one word its "Doh......"
    Bianchi Infinito CV
    Bianchi Via Nirone 7 Ultegra
    Brompton S Type
    Carrera Vengeance Ultimate Ltd
    Gary Fisher Aquila '98
    Front half of a Viking Saratoga Tandem
  • daviesee
    daviesee Posts: 6,386
    t4tomo wrote:
    Surely if we're going for one word its "Doh......"

    Nah. It is 100% meh. :wink:

    Agerasia - That's 2 words in one day :P
    None of the above should be taken seriously, and certainly not personally.
  • d87heaven
    d87heaven Posts: 348
    daviesee wrote:
    t4tomo wrote:

    Agerasia - That's 2 words in one day :P


    Isn't that an arabic news network?
    Weaseling out of things is important to learn. It's what separates us from the animals! Except the weasel
  • cloggsy
    cloggsy Posts: 243
    Speaking from experience, a mate of mine had a similar injury to yours after a motorcycle accident. After 6 or 7 operations to rectify the ankle, the bones had to be fused to make it stable enough to walk on again...

    If this happens to you, are you going to be able to continue to ride?

    All of this needs to be taken into account!
  • First.Aspect
    First.Aspect Posts: 17,018
    cloggsy wrote:
    Speaking from experience, a mate of mine had a similar injury to yours after a motorcycle accident. After 6 or 7 operations to rectify the ankle, the bones had to be fused to make it stable enough to walk on again...

    If this happens to you, are you going to be able to continue to ride?

    All of this needs to be taken into account!
    no, if that happens I will have to make do with kicking the driver square in the nuts.

    In seriousness, it was a pretty close run thing. The only way I'll need another operation now is if the bones don't fuse. But I'm a healthy non smoker so that's fairly unlikely. I could also fall while it is held together by bubble gum and string, so I simply have to be very careful. I don't think the muscles and tendons were too mashed by the accident, because there wasn't a big displacement and it wasn't actually crushed between two objects. Ligaments? Who knows. All I know is that the surgeon is optimistic and hasn't mentioned anything worse than I have mentioned here.

    If it was fused... I don't want to think about it.

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