Friend hit by a car yesterday- advice please

matthewhuggett

Hi everyone,

I am after some opinions or advice.

Three of us were out riding yesterday near Stevenage and had a bit of a disaster. We got to a road (a fast straight B road but perfect visibility in both directions) and needed to cross over from one country lane to another. There were a few cars on the road so I paused briefly without unclipping to let one pass and then I went in a gap which I thought was easily enough to let me and my friend through (my other friend was a bit behind so I knew he would have to wait). I carried on over the road and then 5 secs or so later heard the accident. Stopped and ran back down and my friend (who was previously right behind me) had stopped and then decided to go as the car was upon him. He was hit side on at approx 50mph and thrown into the air, over the car, landing in a ditch. He did not lose consciousness and luckily has no chest or abdominal injuries but has displaced fractures to both right tib/fib and left humerus. The car driver was luckily unhurt but the car (which was old) I reckon will be written off and his brand new Madone 4.7 is totalled.

I cannot comment on culpability as I did not see the accident (I am not sure if his chain came off or if he just hesitated and then made the wrong decision) but I suspect that the car driver's insurance may apportion blame to him as he pulled out in front of the car.

In people's experience, what has happened in similar situations with regard to dealing with insurance companies etc? If he is deemed to be at fault (and assuming the car driver was insured fully comp) will the driver's insurance cover for repairs to both parties (i.e. new bike for him as well as fixing the car) or will my friend be held liable for everything. I do not believe he had any personal accident insurance. If the car insurance pays for the car but not the bike, does anyone have any experience of claiming from house insurance, although I accept it varies from policy to policy? He has private health cover so additional physio etc will not be an issue.

The most important thing is obviously that he is going to be OK (going to theatre this morning) but I would be interested in other people's experience.

Thanks,
Matt

GiantMike

There is a lot of information HERE on the legal side.

Hope your pal recovers soon.

Slow Downcp

Hope your friend recovers soon.

Unfortunately, as I see it, your friend pulled out of a side road into the path of an oncoming car which them hit him so your friend is at fault. The third party insurers will be looking to claim from your friend for all damage - if he doesn;t have insurance, they may pursue personally. This may suck in the circumstances (your friend being injured) but that's why it's so important to take out insurance. His home policy may cover third party damage to the car, so that may be worth checking.

rozzer32

Is he a member of British Cycling? You get free legal cover if you are.

The people I got who are dealing with both my accidents have been excellent. Your friend at fault or not I would still advise getting some legal advice.

GiantMike

I agree with the above post, but did anybody (other than the driver/rider) see the accident?

As with all insurance cases, your friend shouldn't admit liability if he's hoping to claim on an insurance policy. I think liability is up to the insurance company to decide.

nevman

He should have personal liability insurance with BC as well-this is the first port of call if he is a member.Lucky not to have much worse injuries here.

matthewhuggett

Unfortunately he is not a member of BC or any other organisation to give him cover. It sounds then like they may well try and pursue him if they feel like they have a chance. My other friend saw the whole thing and has given a statement to the police and I think there were also a couple of other car drivers who gave statements. My injured friend hasn't as yet given a statement but I will make sure that he doesn't admit liability.

Thanks everyone and to GiantMike for putting the lfgss link up- there is some useful stuff there but unfortunately it is normally the other way around i.e. cyclist being cut up etc by cars and needing to pursue drivers.

If they do pursue him, does anyone have any experience of using legal protection which you often get with house insurance? I am not sure if this would be appropriate but it may be worth investigating.

fossyant

Sounds like he pulled out - not much you can do mechanical or just bad judgement. From the sounds of things it was his own fault. Does he have household insurance, as many give you third party cover.

Mr_Cellophane

I agree this the previous posters. Firstly read his House Contents Policy (if he has one) this should give him 3rd party protection and possibly (although this is usually an extra) legal advice.
Either way it looks to me like he will be down £2k for the bike.

cougie

The loss of the bike is a small price to pay for the lack of injuries.

He could easily have been killed - he got off lightly.

Hope he recovers well.

matthewhuggett

He did, he got off very lightly indeed considering. Fingers crossed he will have coverage on his home contents for the inevitable claim from the insurance company.

It sounds like we should all be members of BC or LCC or something similar. I have been meaning to join BC for ages and so have just done this online as you never know when you'll end up in this situation. The cost of £24 per year is pretty inconsequential for the protection and advice you get.

upperoilcan

Damn !!!!!

Your friend has been a very lucky chap....

Wish him a speedy recovery

MattC59

To be honest, this sounds like it was completely your friend's fault. Whether due to mechanical, or poor judgement if he pulled out in front of on comming traffic, then the accident was his fault. In which case, he will be liable for any repair costs to the car and, if the driver sees fit, and a doctor supports it, any whiplash claim. Hopefuly, your friends house insurance will cover him for third party liability.

I don't mean to be the bringer of bad news, but that's pretty much the bottom line.

Hope he recovers soon !!!

Frank the tank

Sorry to read of your friends mis-fortune, being hit side on at 50mph and living to tell the tale is all that really matters. The rest, is at the end of the day, only money.

topcattim

So sorry to hear of your friend's accident. This made a painful read, and I'm sure the whole experience was horrible for all concerned. Best wishes to your mate for a speedy recovery.

matthewhuggett

Thanks everyone. I'll pass on your advice and best wishes which I'm sure he'll appreciate because, as you can imagine, he's feeling pretty gloomy about the whole thing.

priory

Your friend is a lucky guy. I hope he has some insurance, but even so a few thousand quid is a bargain compared with what might have happened.
Here is the give us a quid or you're getting stabbed joke http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeyajsCZej8

He should phone his house insurers.

I know that the law and most drivers think you have to keep out of their way and if they cannot be proved to have exceeded the speed limit they are blameless. That would probably be the legal position in this case by the sound of it.
But it has never semed reasonable to me to drive at lethal speed toward and through a junction where you can see a group of cyclists crossing. A driver should make sure he can avoid injuring people whatever they are doing. By and large the traffic along the main road near us slows to 30mph (40mph limit)when the children have come out of school , which is the very least that should be expected.

CTC membership gives us 3rd party insurance and legal advice as well as the magazine which is more touring and day-ride based than racing. It was the rumour that people were being sued by motorists for the dents on ther bonnets that got me joining in the first place.

You can drive through the countryside at 60mph+ and if someone gets hurt it's their fault. But if I want to shoot rabbits in the local park people get all indignant about it.''Compulsory flack jackets now!''

MattC59

priory wrote:

Your friend is a lucky guy. I hope he has some insurance, but even so a few thousand quid is a bargain compared with what might have happened.
Here is the give us a quid or you're getting stabbed joke http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeyajsCZej8

He should phone his house insurers.

I know that the law and most drivers think you have to keep out of their way and if they cannot be proved to have exceeded the speed limit they are blameless. That would probably be the legal position in this case by the sound of it.
But it has never semed reasonable to me to drive at lethal speed toward and through a junction where you can see a group of cyclists crossing. A driver should make sure he can avoid injuring people whatever they are doing. By and large the traffic along the main road near us slows to 30mph (40mph limit)when the children have come out of school , which is the very least that should be expected.

CTC membership gives us 3rd party insurance and legal advice as well as the magazine which is more touring and day-ride based than racing. It was the rumour that people were being sued by motorists for the dents on ther bonnets that got me joining in the first place.

You can drive through the countryside at 60mph+ and if someone gets hurt it's their fault. But if I want to shoot rabbits in the local park people get all indignant about it.''Compulsory flack jackets now!''

What a bizarre post !?!?
The sections in bold are utter BS.
Have you been at my Tramadol ?

cougie

TBH - I doubt the guy got hit square on at 50mph. The force of that would surely have killed him side on ?

matthewhuggett

I heard her wheels lock for a VERY short time before the bang so I doubt she scrubbed off that much speed. It was a long straight road and was unrestricted. Luckily he was thrown into the air over the top of the car- seen by my other friend and I think his bike took a lot of the initial impact which is probably why he was not more hurt.

Thanks Priory, I think that lots of people would agree with your sentiments.

Update on his condition- his leg has been fixated but still waiting for the arm to be done. Poor chap.

navrig

Sorry to hear someone got hurt. I also feel sorry for the car driver who, whilst not physically hurt, will be very shocked by the experience.

Hope the both make a full recovery.

I have made bad decisions when at T-junctions but in the wrong gear meaning I have not been able to accelerate quickly enough. I now tend to drop to a very low gear, especially if sight lines are limited.

priory

''Have you been at my Tramadol ?''

No. I think you must be swallowing a bit more than you should.All that and codeine too. It's no wonder you are having cognitive problems.

MattC59

priory wrote:

''Have you been at my Tramadol ?''

No. I think you must be swallowing a bit more than you should.All that and codeine too. It's no wonder you are having cognitive problems.

hmmmmm........... well let's look at your post again shall we ?

priory wrote:

Your friend is a lucky guy. I hope he has some insurance, but even so a few thousand quid is a bargain compared with what might have happened.
Here is the give us a quid or you're getting stabbed joke http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeyajsCZej8

He should phone his house insurers.

I know that the law and most drivers think you have to keep out of their way (No they don't) and if they cannot be proved to have exceeded the speed limit they are blameless. (unless speed is a contributing factor to the cause of the accident, then it is not taken into account. ie. if you pull out in front of a car which is travelling at 50mph in a 40 limit then the speed is not the cause of the accident) That would probably be the legal position in this case by the sound of it.
But it has never semed reasonable to me to drive at lethal speed toward and through a junction where you can see a group of cyclists crossing. (Why ? are you saying that cyclists are morons and are likely to pull out in front of moving traffic. What is a lethal speed ? It is up to the road user joining the road to adjust his speed and behaviour on the road, according to the traffic already on it. ie stay out of the way of on coming traffic. Not my interpretation, just common sense and the law) A driver should make sure he can avoid injuring people whatever they are doing. (Really ? so you're saying that everyone should have right of way over vehicles, when on the road ? So if I'm driving along at 40mph, and someone 2m in front of me steps into my path, then I shuold make sure that I can avoid him ? Be realistic) By and large the traffic along the main road near us slows to 30mph (40mph limit)when the children have come out of school , which is the very least that should be expected.

CTC membership gives us 3rd party insurance and legal advice as well as the magazine which is more touring and day-ride based than racing. It was the rumour that people were being sued by motorists for the dents on ther bonnets that got me joining in the first place.

You can drive through the countryside at 60mph+ and if someone gets hurt it's their fault. (says who ? it may be, it may not) But if I want to shoot rabbits in the local park people get all indignant about it. (are you honestly using that as a comparrison ? Do I really need to explain how daft that last sentance is ?) ''Compulsory flack jackets now!''

priory

'''Why ? are you saying that cyclists are morons and are likely to pull out in front of moving traffic'''

I really think you have had too much tramadol.

verylonglegs

I must admit your assertion that 'A driver should make sure he can avoid injuring people whatever they are doing.' seems like a statement from la-la land. How can any one particular group bear responsibility for the actions of all others in a shared space?

Mr_Cellophane

I was taught to drive as though every other road user was an idiot. Works quite well for both driving and cycling, but I don't take it to extremes. ie Bikability teaches to move more into the centre to the road when passing a minor road on the left (in case a car fails to stop on the Give Way line). It doesn't teach you to slow to a walking pace, which it what it would appear some on the above posts are advocating.