UK advice - I was knocked off my bike by a car

JamesHoughton

Hi all,

I could do with a bit of advice about a collision I was involved with a couple of days ago.

I went out for a bike ride before work. At a T junction, I was coming down the "long" arm and saw a car indicating to turn in. I stopped at the junction, but the driver was looking away from the direction of travel an hit me straight on at 20-25mph (it was a wide open junction, so she didn't slow down much before making the turn). I went over the bonnet and windscreen, leaving me lying face down in the road unable to move. A witness called the police and ambulance. The police arrived, breathalyzed the driver and found her at fault. I said I felt okay, so they cancelled the ambulance. After limping off home I started feeling pretty rough, so I went to A&E where I had my arm x-rayed for a suspected fracture. I have no broken bones, but have extensive bruises on my legs and stiffness in my legs, neck and chest. I went to a GP yesterday to seek reassurance about my persistent headache, who also measured and recorded my bruising.

The bike is a mountain bike with a value of £1000. The dropper seatpost has been bent backwards on my leg and is destroyed. The rest of the damage appears cosmetic, but I'm going to visit a bikeshop to have the frame integrity checked; I don't want it to come apart while going down a mountain.

I spoke to Leigh Day solicitors, who said that my injuries sound relatively minor, and their policy is that if a person has injuries that are likely to heal within four to six weeks then they are unlikely to recover their costs and so I'm best off seeking property damage compensation only (no injury compensation) directly from the driver's insurer.

My question is really whether anyone has had a similar experience and could offer any advice. While I often bemoan the suing culture, I'm in agony at the moment, I'm not going to be able to get around comfortably for a couple of weeks, my bike's got at least £200 of obvious damage and I've no idea when I'll be in a good enough physical state to ride anyway. Coupled with the driver's husband's attitude of "no one needs this" and "your bike looks alright" and the fact that she could easily have crippled or killed me, I'm inclined to pursue this for as much as I can. Does anyone think I have a justifiable personal injury claim, and/or can recommend a solicitor?

Thanks,

James

Shuggy76

I claimed for damage to my bike from the drivers insurance company, that should reimburse the costs of the damage at least.
As for Personal Injury, if you feel like you have the appetite for a long winded case, you could do worse than Slater and Gordon I guess. Any recompense could then help offset physio costs etc.

dinyull

Try a no win no fee type.

Few years back my brother and his gf were walking across the road. A taxi came screaming round the corner and knocked both of them over. No serious injuries, just bruising and stiffness.

Taxi driver tried to claim they weren't looking where they were going, but his passengers confirmed the taxi driver was driving like a pratt and that he was in the wrong. Was a drawn out process but they got a decent payout in the end.

craigr

Take pictures of everything including your injuries and keep all your receipts. If witnesses try and get their details.

I got hit at start of year and was same, felt not too bad at the time, but once swelling and bruising appeared overnight i was sore for a good few weeks. Was about a month and a bit before i was completely pain free when back on bike.

I had British Cycling membership and phoned them and they took care of the claim, but receipts, letter from bike shop detailing damage, etc certainly helped.

Hope you recover soon.

surrey_commuter

I am not going to advise bigging up your injuries but you do seem to be downplaying them. You got hit by a car at 20-25mph and dismissed an ambulance and then went to see a GP for reassurance and persistent headaches.

Do not be in too much of a rush. Tendon/ligament damage can be worse than broken bones and this might not show until the bruising and swelling has gone down.

Did the driver fail the breathalyser? the police will write within 14 days to confirm if they are prosecuting - if they do this will strengthen your claim.

There are set levels of compensation. Google will tell you what your injuries are worth.

markhewitt1978

The easiest way is to go directly to the drivers insurance company. IME they are usually pretty good with that sort of thing. Get a quote for your bike from a reputable LBS, don't go mad with it.

Quite likely they'll offer you a cash sum as compensation for your injuries. As a guide in 2013 I was knocked off and suffered a sore knee for a few days and was offered £1,000.

craigus89

I would suggest not going to her insurance company direct. Get a personal injury solicitor and let them make the contact.

I used Slater & Gordon and would highly recommend them, my injuries weren't as bad as yours from the sound of it. It took 6 months until I got any dosh but that is to be expected with anything like this. Bike repairs were included as an expense. They do no win no fee and were super helpful all the way through.

apreading

I would second not going to insurance company direct if you can get a solicitor to take you on - they will never offer a sensible outcome without a professional in your corner and actually sometimes they refuse to negotiate without one.

Are you with British Cycling or CTC? Is that why you spoke to Leigh Day? If you are referred by British Cycling to them then BC underwrite their costs I believe, so they are happy to take you on anyway, even if they injury payout is not large. They were happy to take me on, even though I didnt realise I had fractured my collarbone until 3 days later...! They werent the best though - wanted me to put in a price at a fraction of what my bike was worth because it was a few years old but I made them put in the new replacement price and the insurance company paid without questioning - it was Leigh Day that I had to fight to make the claim at the proper price! Still waiting for outcome on the personal injury side but if you have to take time off work and/or suffer loss of amenity then they should claim for something. There is a book which puts values on various different injuries, based on cases that went to court - which the solicitors will have.

I think maybe your problem with the solicitor might be if you downplayed the injuries to them like you seem to be doing here.

Get an official repair/replacement quote from a bike shop - they may not charge or might charge but then knock the money off the price of any work/parts they subsequently supply. They may find that the frame is twisted in a way not immediately visible (the rear dropouts may not be perfectly aligned anymore). If an aluminium bike then this is terminal, if its a carbon bike then I would not want to ride it without an X-ray, which might not be cost effectively and therefore it is again terminal.

Be honest about the worst extent of the injuries and inconvenience - dont lie or obviously exaggerate but dont hold back because you dont want to seem petty or a wimp. If you need to take time off work or do amended duties then get a note from the doctor advising this.

Only speak to the insurance direct if no solicitor will take it on - if some say no then try a few more.

Good luck.

sloppyschleckonds

JamesHoughton wrote:

The bike is a mountain bike with a value of £1000. r?

You need to post this in the MTB section.

HTH

jscl

Definitely try and seek representation.

I had a nasty crash last year and I lost some teeth, other damage and it was the drivers fault. But Leigh Day have been unable to establish a settlement because they've been too pushy, the insurer is pretty unwilling.

So I've handed the case over to Slater Heelis and they're have much better luck in dealing with the insurer because their approach. I'd recommend giving them a shout http://www.slaterheelis.co.uk/personal- ... olicitors/

norvernrob

Sounds crazy that the solicitors thought they wouldn't recover their costs. I was in a car accident last week and immediately after had a stiff neck, upper back and a headache though I otherwise felt OK. The insurers put me straight onto their partner no-win-no-fee solicitor who said yep we'll take the case on. That's before I started with lower back and leg pain, and I've since been diagnosed with a slipped disc.

As people have said above, try another solicitors, and if you're not already a member of British Cycling, join!

JamesHoughton

Thanks everyone for all the advice. After a few more days of not being able to play with the kids and not being able to breathe without wincing I think I'll be making a phonecall to another solicitor.

surrey_commuter

JamesHoughton wrote:

Thanks everyone for all the advice. After a few more days of not being able to play with the kids and not being able to breathe without wincing I think I'll be making a phonecall to another solicitor.

Maybe it is the way you write or the way I interpret but you need to get your priorities straight and go and see a doctor and be honest with him about your level of suffering.

How can you make a claim when you do not know what is wrong with you.

norvernrob

JamesHoughton wrote:

Thanks everyone for all the advice. After a few more days of not being able to play with the kids and not being able to breathe without wincing I think I'll be making a phonecall to another solicitor.

Definitely do. My solicitors have sorted me private physio within the next week, which is a whole lot more than I've gotten from the NHS. It's not just about claiming compensation, it's about getting better as quickly as you can too.

It's someone else's fault, not yours, and you're obviously genuinely injured so get a claim in.