No more Bike Commutes for me.

fossyant

Well if things generally couldn't get more crap, I got T-bonef on 25th November and have just been released from hospital.

Fractured spine at L1 and T12 with the L1 cracked all the way through. Classed as an unstable fracture. 4 ribs 9-12 broken too.

Spent 6 weeks flat on my back through Christmas and New Year. I've got another 6 weeks in a brace and again sleeping on my back, which I find tricky.

Driver admitted fault but police have coked it all up and put me down as minor bruises. Officer who is now looking at case isn't interested after this much time. Fortunately I am with British Cycling and Leigh Day are sorting stuff out.

It has however, meant that I will commute by car into Manchester. Had 3 accidents in 12 months since my office moved into town.

I'm lucky I wasn't paralysed as a big bit of bone was close to the cord. Shoulder is a bit bashed as well. Got about 6 months off work.

meanredspider

Oof - really sorry to hear this. Sounds really grim. I'm glad the damage isn't worse but it sounds plenty bad enough. Get well soon.

edrobbin

Really sorry to hear that - all of our worst nightmares.

Best of luck

itboffin

Bloody hell mate that's terrible, get well soon

veronese68

Hell, sorry to hear that. Best of luck with the recovery, very glad it didn't turn out worse as you say.

davis

Ouch. Bad luck to get so damaged, but good that you (in some ways) "got away with it".

Take your time with the recovery; give yourself the best possible chance of healing.

You might find you get back on the bike, believe it or not.

Good luck for the recovery, and good luck for the legal nonsense.

vimfuego

That sounds nasty enough without the admin side of it getting c0cked up too.

All the best for the recovery.

N0bodyOfTheGoat

Sounds horrific compared to my bike related Xmas in hospital two years ago and sounds positively bizarre that the police put you down on their records with such minor injuries! Given what I went through, my advice is to very gently push yourself physically while recovering unless under strict orders to take it easy , I had 3 months off work and lost masses of general fitness and stamina.

wolfsbane2k

Owch, that's an awful list of pain, and glad, as others are, that it's not worse. Hope your getting the support that you want and need.

On the plus side, enjoy being able to listen to the radio on the drive in from now on.

gabriel959

:O - that sounds awful. I really hope you make a good recovery and that the 'hijo de puta' (spanish) that did this to you pays for it.

roger_merriman

Thats quite bad, and could of been worse.

irritating that the police where/are incompetent.

menthel

Nasty, heal up well and properly. I gave up with the police on mine- it took forever and they basically came back with no case to answer. The driver's insurance have said they will settle on a no fault as they know if it goes to court they will lose!

Remember, don't push yourself and let healing take the appropriate time. I am still having brain issues after mine back in May.

Pufftmw

Glad to see you have a decent PI solicitor working for you as opposed to some claims panel. Get well soon.

mlgt

Sounds horrific. Get well soon, and hope the solicitors sort it out for you. Good luck and speedy recovery!

roger_merriman

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19777906#p19777906]menthel[/url] wrote:

Nasty, heal up well and properly. I gave up with the police on mine- it took forever and they basically came back with no case to answer. The driver's insurance have said they will settle on a no fault as they know if it goes to court they will lose!

Remember, don't push yourself and let healing take the appropriate time. I am still having brain issues after mine back in May.

This, don't rush it. Though I found gentle exercise once I was ready was great if nothing else getting my independence back.

onemoresolo

Where did this happen OP? I find my Manchester commute much worse than my London one ever was, particularly with traffic as out of control as it is currently. As a result I rarely bike in more than once or twice a week, it's just not worth it.

Get well soon.

pastryboy

I read this post earlier today thinking the same things I'm sure everyone else was. Lo and behold tonight I get hit by a van pulling out on me at a roundabout. Fortunately just grazes and a very buckled rear wheel for me.

Be careful out there folks.

menthel

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19778293#p19778293]pastryboy[/url] wrote:

I read this post earlier today thinking the same things I'm sure everyone else was. Lo and behold tonight I get hit by a van pulling out on me at a roundabout. Fortunately just grazes and a very buckled rear wheel for me.

Be careful out there folks.

FFS. Heal up soon, both you and your bike!

fossyant

I was about 300 yards short of my trip down the Fallowfield Loop in North Reddish. I started using a longer and quieter route over a year ago and the loop gets me to near Alexander Park where it's a quiet run into town. Got wiped out on a residential street in Reddish.

Leigh Day are into the case and the driver did report the accident and his insurers serious accident team are on the case.

My solicitor has already demanded an interim damages payment (apparently I've been in hospital the longest out of current spinal cases) and that the guys insurers get a needs assessment done.

I can potter about the house and make a brew but that's it. I can't sleep as the pain is bad lying down so I'm propped up on the settee and posting here at stupid o'clock. I'm avoiding pain killers as my body needs a break from the vast quantities of morphine I had in hospital, over 120mg a day where 10 mg is equal to about 90mg of codeine.

I also thank my lucky stars I'm a fit cyclists. The first week in hospital I had to be put on oxygen as my stats dropped to 70%. I was talking to staff saying I feel fine, cue them calling in a trauma doctor from intensive care That's incredibly low as people die on less than 90%. Thank god for super efficient cycling lungs.

Agent57

Sounds nasty! Glad it wasn't worse as you said. Hope you have a speedy and full recovery.

cruff

Sh1t - that's awful. Sorry to hear it. Manchester drivers in general are actually better than London, but the bad ones are, in my experience, considerably worse. I can't count the number of times I almost got taken off by an utter numpty turning into or out of side roads off the A6 in my time commuting up there

Good to know that Leigh Day are on the case - the British Cycling membership is absolutely invaluable in cases like this.

Hope you can get back on the bike as soon as possible - appreciate that this might not be the first thing on your mind at the moment

Mend soon!

N0bodyOfTheGoat

I have an idea of what you are going through regarding silly sleeping angles, I had to use an insane amount of pillows on my home bed to try and ensure I slept on my back and kept my back at >45 degrees to the mattress (to try and prevent nasty headaches while my skull knitted back together after lower nose and upper jaw fracture repair surgery).

...Very unnatural!

navt

Damn. Heal up soon.

arthur_scrimshaw

Yes, get well soon, that's a horrendous list of injuries but here's hoping you have a full recovery. I have a lot of sympathy for you as I cracked a few ribs back in September and I've never experienced so much discomfort before, you must be going through hell.

If your firm isn't paying you sick pay for the full period (mine do up to 6 months but I think that's unusual) try for an interim settlement from the drivers insurers to avoid any problems, it won't affect the final settlement.

jzed

Sh!t. Good luck with the recovery.

First.Aspect

Jesus, I only just saw this.

Really good to hear that your top half still communicates with your legs, though. Small blessings.

I suggest Netflix.

Snakebite the 2nd

Firstly hope you get better soon.

Secondly, take it easy recovering.

Thirdly I cannot believe the incompetence of the police. Again.
Take them for all you can, don't feel guilty and make sure the policeman involved gets to do nothing more taxing than making tea in the future. He is clearly a disgrace to the job.

fossyant

I'm fortunately on full pay for 6 months. Slow progress. Hobbling round a bit.

Bike has stood up well - just a 6" scratch down the right carbon fork blade, bars and saddle twisted to right which follow's the side impact from the car. The scratch will polish out with a bit of t-cut and elbow grease but I'm not touching it until the third party insurers accept liability. No damage to the cork bar tape, no marks on the levers. Even the panniers are mark free, so all this sits with low speed impact, but being hit side on, it's going to 'twist'.

Got a good Garmin GPS trace as well, so more 'evidence' against the driver. Impact speed was just 13mph.

fossyant

PS, Leigh Day are taking GMP on. There was another cyclist t-boned in the exact same circumstances the day before I was hit, but in Ashton. Both our cases were not investigated. Leigh Day have combined both cases evidence and are pursuing GMP.

gbsahne001

Sorry to hear this but not entirely surprised about the police's inaction.

My spill back in 2013 resulted in No further action by the police against the driver, after notifying the independent witness of this she commented that whilst the police had taken her details, she hadn't been asked to provide a witness statement. 18 months after the accident and a week or so before going to court the other side suddenly admitted full liability....thankfully nowhere near as serious as your accident though, hope you heal well.

jefflad

I was hit by a car in October, spent a few days in hospital and an operating theatre but the Police put it down as minor injuries too! I kicked off as I heard he was just put on a driver awareness course. He too had admitted liability at the scene... As I understand it he was prosecuted and had 3 points after threatening to file a complaint.

Leigh Day are also looking after me and are keeping good care of my case albeit a very slow process. One thing I don't like is the fact I had all my clothes cut off me in the Ambulance and all the 3rd party's insurance has to pay in their value just before the accident not direct replacement other than that I can't complain... yet

FWIW my wife suffered a compression fracture to her L1 and L2 back in 1990 and the fractures are still unstable. The only operation she can have to stop this is a spinal fusion but the lack of movement after this puts her off and her consultant agrees as long as she has relatively good movement. Anyway I digress, what I was going to say is, she has never truly been out of pain and her initial recovery was about a year before she could think about returning to work. Of course this was many years ago and things to help with recovery should have improved and hopefully there won't be loads of head scratching by consultants on best course of action like my wife encountered.

Good luck with your recovery!