Would appreciate some post crash advice

redvision

Evening all,

Currently cooped up in hospital recovering from a hefty collision earlier in the week, and wondered if anyone has some advice for sorting all the accident insurance claims out when I finally get discharged?

I have no recollection of the accident and was unconscious for several minutes, but the driver and a witness have said I was at fault.
Given the images from the police I have no reason to doubt this. It seems it was my fault. Fortunately I was the only injured party.

I have BC silver membership and plan on calling them as soon as I am discharged. Just wondering what the process is though? Will BC handle everything? Is there anything i need to do to help?

I have not yet seen my bike but have been told the front end doesn't look pretty but the rest looks fine.
It has carbon forks, which I assume are knackered, but the rest is aluminium. I know no-one can say without seeing/ inspecting the bike but I just wondered if anyone knew whether an alumimum frame could survive a 25mph head on impact? Could it really be ok? (I will get it checked out by my lbs but can't do that until i'm discharged, and guess I'm just looking for a bit of hope as even though it was my training bike, I loved it).

Finally, I don't want to turn this in to a helmet debate but there is no doubt the helmet has saved my life, so MET helmets, thank you!

N0bodyOfTheGoat

Can't help with the insurance q, my RTA was all my own doing almost five years back and I didn't even look into claiming, but GWS!

redvision

NitrousOxide wrote:

Can't help with the insurance q, my RTA was all my own doing almost five years back and I didn't even look into claiming, but GWS!

I'm not claiming mate but the driver of the vehicle I hit is.

akh

Think you need to speak to your insurer and possibly seek legal advise ASAP. If you have no recollection of the crash how can you know you're at fault? Witnesses and even the police can be wrong, or mistaken.

I suggest you don't admit to anything until you have a clearer understanding of what happened and what evidence there is (or is not) in relation to what happened. Good luck.

OnTheRopes

If you had accident cover with BC then contact their "incident" line and they will put a paralegal in touch with you

cooldad

And if you have household insurance you should have liability cover, which includes non motorised vehicles, like bikes.

redvision

Thanks for the replies and info.
Already checked and household insurance does cover bicycles, in and away from the house. Although I still hope that the bike is recoverable as I loved that thing.

I guess my biggest concern is the fact that I have no memory of it. I can recall riding through a village which is about 1 mile from where the accident happened, but then the next thing I remember is waking up on the road, with police and people all around me. According to the police I was conscious when they arrived but not coherent.

With everything they have told me, including the images and statement from driver and witness it does seem like it was my fault, although I cannot comprehend what could have happened as it doesn't make sense.

Anyway, not sure when I will be discharged so will give BC a call on Monday and hope they can deal with the drivers claim.

Thanks again for the responses.

StillGoing

AKH wrote:

Think you need to speak to your insurer and possibly seek legal advise ASAP. If you have no recollection of the crash how can you know you're at fault? Witnesses and even the police can be wrong, or mistaken.

I suggest you don't admit to anything until you have a clearer understanding of what happened and what evidence there is (or is not) in relation to what happened. Good luck.

Serious RTC investigation is done thoroughly. As this involves a head injury and a stay at hospital, I'd err on the side that it is initially being treated as serious. That would involve identifying witnesses and recording their account as soon as possible, recording markings left on the road, debris, positions of vehicles after the collision, CCTV opportunities, any actions prior to the collision, the road conditions and signage etc etc. In such cases, mistakes don't happen.

Now if it is being treated as a non-serious RTC, it may be that the attending officer has merely taken the account of the driver and one or two witnesses and not looked into the other avenues of investigation. Mistakes rarely, but do happen.

The Doctor in charge of the OPs treatment is the only person allowed to permit the police to speak to the OP. They do not have an automatic right to speak to them. If they are being contemporaneously interviewed under caution, they are entitled to have a solicitor present.

jgsi

Get well soon, Are BC going to cover your 3rd party?

cooldad

You missed my point. The liability section of your household policy covers third party liability (damage you caused).

So you might have the option of that or BC.

jgsi

cooldad wrote:

You missed my point. The liability section of your household policy covers third party liability (damage you caused).

So you might have the option of that or BC.

You'd think so, considering the cost of their memberships.
Even minor damage to a car can cost the earth to fix, plus any injury claim/lost earnings claim.

akh

philthy3 wrote:

AKH wrote:

Think you need to speak to your insurer and possibly seek legal advise ASAP. If you have no recollection of the crash how can you know you're at fault? Witnesses and even the police can be wrong, or mistaken.

I suggest you don't admit to anything until you have a clearer understanding of what happened and what evidence there is (or is not) in relation to what happened. Good luck.

Serious RTC investigation is done thoroughly. As this involves a head injury and a stay at hospital, I'd err on the side that it is initially being treated as serious. That would involve identifying witnesses and recording their account as soon as possible, recording markings left on the road, debris, positions of vehicles after the collision, CCTV opportunities, any actions prior to the collision, the road conditions and signage etc etc. In such cases, mistakes don't happen.

Now if it is being treated as a non-serious RTC, it may be that the attending officer has merely taken the account of the driver and one or two witnesses and not looked into the other avenues of investigation. Mistakes rarely, but do happen.

The Doctor in charge of the OPs treatment is the only person allowed to permit the police to speak to the OP. They do not have an automatic right to speak to them. If they are being contemporaneously interviewed under caution, they are entitled to have a solicitor present.

I've got nothing against the police, but they aren't infallible, and neither are the witnesses who's testimony will form part of the police investigation. Mistakes are probably very rare, but they can and will happen. No one who's just received a serious head injury, has no memory of an event, hasn't yet been independently advised, should admit to anything from their hospital bed.

Killerclown

Call BC, they have a very good insurance system. They will take care of everything for you. Keep any correspondence, and forward it to them.

harry-s

If you're intending to get in touch with BC, start the ball rolling asap. I've been trying to get in touch for about a week now, but they haven't returned my calls, apparently they're having some sort of problem with their phone lines. It's probably safe to assume there's going to be a backlog of queries.

pblakeney

AKH wrote:

I've got nothing against the police, but they aren't infallible, and neither are the witnesses who's testimony will form part of the police investigation. Mistakes are probably very rare, but they can and will happen. No one who's just received a serious head injury, has no memory of an event, hasn't yet been independently advised, should admit to anything from their hospital bed.

Must be said that for the accident to be a head on, and the cyclist's fault, reads like he was in the wrong lane?
Not many cyclists would put themselves in that position so the story has holes that need filled.

StillGoing

AKH wrote:

philthy3 wrote:

AKH wrote:

Think you need to speak to your insurer and possibly seek legal advise ASAP. If you have no recollection of the crash how can you know you're at fault? Witnesses and even the police can be wrong, or mistaken.

I suggest you don't admit to anything until you have a clearer understanding of what happened and what evidence there is (or is not) in relation to what happened. Good luck.

Serious RTC investigation is done thoroughly. As this involves a head injury and a stay at hospital, I'd err on the side that it is initially being treated as serious. That would involve identifying witnesses and recording their account as soon as possible, recording markings left on the road, debris, positions of vehicles after the collision, CCTV opportunities, any actions prior to the collision, the road conditions and signage etc etc. In such cases, mistakes don't happen.

Now if it is being treated as a non-serious RTC, it may be that the attending officer has merely taken the account of the driver and one or two witnesses and not looked into the other avenues of investigation. Mistakes rarely, but do happen.

The Doctor in charge of the OPs treatment is the only person allowed to permit the police to speak to the OP. They do not have an automatic right to speak to them. If they are being contemporaneously interviewed under caution, they are entitled to have a solicitor present.

I've got nothing against the police, but they aren't infallible, and neither are the witnesses who's testimony will form part of the police investigation. Mistakes are probably very rare, but they can and will happen. No one who's just received a serious head injury, has no memory of an event, hasn't yet been independently advised, should admit to anything from their hospital bed.

Unless witnesses have conspired to lie and give the same account, there is no mistake.

redvision

PBlakeney wrote:

Must be said that for the accident to be a head on, and the cyclist's fault, reads like he was in the wrong lane?
Not many cyclists would put themselves in that position so the story has holes that need filled.

Na, like I said, I only have the info the police have provided including photos of the scene but i was in the correct lane. Somehow I went straight in to the back of a vehicle which had stopped (it was a rural secondary class road)


Tbh, despite the injuries, the thing i'm struggling to understand is what happened. I am always a very observant and experienced cyclist (at least I thought I was). Whilst I have a bike gps, even when training hard I only ever glance at it and only when the road ahead is totally clear.
Just cannot understand what happened.

redvision

Harry-S wrote:

If you're intending to get in touch with BC, start the ball rolling asap. I've been trying to get in touch for about a week now, but they haven't returned my calls, apparently they're having some sort of problem with their phone lines. It's probably safe to assume there's going to be a backlog of queries.

Thanks for the heads up. Tried ringing the number but they still appear to have have technical issues, so emailed them details and will wait for their response.

N0bodyOfTheGoat

redvision wrote:

PBlakeney wrote:

Must be said that for the accident to be a head on, and the cyclist's fault, reads like he was in the wrong lane?
Not many cyclists would put themselves in that position so the story has holes that need filled.

Na, like I said, I only have the info the police have advised and photos of the scene but i was in the correct lane. Somehow I went straight in to the back of a vehicle which had stopped (it was a rural secondary class road)


Tbh, despite the injuries, the thing i'm struggling to understand is what happened. I am always a very observant and experienced cyclist. Whilst I have a bike gps, even when training hard I only ever glance at it and only when the road ahead is totally clear.
Just cannot understand what happened.

Was it raining?

I ploughed into the back of a stationary refuge collection lorry in my RTA, after negotiating a sweeping bend, doing something like ~20mph (no cycle computer or any Strava gadget back in 2013). I realised it was stationary when ~15 metres away from it, but my rim brakes were useless in the rain, the pavement kerbs were all raised and it was unusually busy with traffic in the dark at ~0645 in December... Giving me no safe emergency exit. Last thing I remember is swearing when the brakes were barely slowing me at all, next thing I came around ~25mins later with paramedic over me, with an upper jaw and teeth like a jigsaw puzzle plus a double fractured hand.

I couldn't make sense of why it happened for months, not to mentioned the irony that I've never seen a refuge lorry stationary on this main road approx 1 mile stretch before or since that day... There are better ways to spend your 4th-12th day of being a 40-something, than being in hospital over Xmas, probably.

akh

Could they have brake checked you? If it wasn't at a junction (unsure from posts so far), how could a bicycle possible catch up to a car? Unless it was stopped in the road around a blind bend or something.

Where was this witness?

akh

Also, sorry for all the questions, I realise this isn't answering your question or helping. Have to say it does sound odd and it's got me interested.

cougie

Riding into the back of a parked car happens a fair amount. I've known people to do it.

A distraction of a strange noise on the bike or something ? Doesn't take much.

pblakeney

redvision wrote:

PBlakeney wrote:

Must be said that for the accident to be a head on, and the cyclist's fault, reads like he was in the wrong lane?
Not many cyclists would put themselves in that position so the story has holes that need filled.

Na, like I said, I only have the info the police have provided including photos of the scene but i was in the correct lane. Somehow I went straight in to the back of a vehicle which had stopped (it was a rural secondary class road)


Tbh, despite the injuries, the thing i'm struggling to understand is what happened. I am always a very observant and experienced cyclist (at least I thought I was). Whilst I have a bike gps, even when training hard I only ever glance at it and only when the road ahead is totally clear.
Just cannot understand what happened.

Thanks. Just confused to what actually happened. Much like yourself I dare say.
Though to a much lesser extent, obviously.

DeVlaeminck

As Cougie says on the face of it it's not that unusual an accident - everybody probably thinks they are observant but I bet we've all had our mind on something or looked away momentarily and it's just your bad luck it happened when this vehicle stopped in feont of you.

In my case I had a motorist plough through the back of me without braking because he just didn't see me - was distracted by a car across the road he thought may pull out. Actually 30+ years ago I did similar rear ending a volvo with a 1970 Vespa SS180 that stopped at a pedestrian crossng. Ended ok for me, not so much for the vespa.

BelgianBeerGeek

Contact your insurance and let them deal with it. Cars can be repaired and bikes repaired/replaced.
Concentrate on getting better, sounds like you had a hell of a knock. Get well soon.

BelgianBeerGeek

Oh, and +1 to this happening more than you think (if it helps). Many years ago I was riding my pride and joy and filtering in traffic and on changing lane went into the back of a car waiting at traffic lights. PC off-duty jumped out, flashed her warrant card and yelled “you better not have damaged my car!”. Satisfied I hadn’t, she drove off. My face was mashed and the bike destroyed, but some things are important to some people. Only had the bike a fortnight. That was a long walk home.

redvision

Thanks for all the responses fellas.

It's comforting to hear that riding into a stationary vehicle is more common than I thought. Although I have a feeling I'm never going to live it down :oops:

I guess I have been very fortunate. No-one else was injured, my injuries will heal and the damage to bike and vehicle can be sorted.

And given that I now have lots of bike equipment and clothing to replace, wiggle are probably rubbing their hands (obviously I will be ordering everything in separate orders to max out the free Haribo )

Thanks again for all the responses and advice.
Really appreciate it.

ZMC888

Sometimes this can be a driver trick to get a claim. It's the reverse of crash for cash but it's much older.

Simply stop at an empty junction in your car preferably on a hill that is going downwards, maybe a 2% or more gradient, better if it's raining too. Ideally a small village with a 30mph, where people regualrly speed, there will be enough witnesses, but the othe driver won't be on their guard as in an urban area.

Sit there looking like you're going to turn left, left indictor on and the sucker coming up from behind will presume you are, because the road or driveway you should be turning into is empty. When they realise you're not going anywhere it will be to late, and **slam**. They've hit the back of a stationary vehicle so must be at fault in most cases under UK law. If you're hit by a car or even better a truck or bus then you can claim for wiplash injuries that are almost impossible to diagnose too.

Obviously legitimate rear end collisions are much more common, but keep this possibility in mind. On many occasions the 'claimant' and the 'witness' are friends.

superkenners

I would be aware of witness statements as sometimes they were present and caught either the scene at or after the point of collision but not always the moment of collision itself. In some cases the resulting mess can be a misleading reflection of what actually happened, despite seeming to be conclusive at the time. People are prone to filling in these type of gaps and believing it as reality, brain good at that type of thing. Also if the driver was stationary and you went into the back of him he wouldn't have seen the accident either. Unless he was reversing.

For example, you might have ploughed into the back of a stationary car but its possible he could have just joined the road and have been travelling slowly at the time of impact and then stopped. That would be the drivers fault, but from a witness who caught only part of the event it might appear differently. Or you might have had to swerve out of the way of some other obstacle, cat running out for e.g.

These scenarios might seem unlikely, but its equally unlikely to cycle into the back of a stationary car at full speed. So the whole scene needs to be assessed by you before coming to any conclusions about whose liable and who is not. These type of exercises might also help with memory recovery.

I would suspect any admission of guilt to an event you could not remember would not be admissible in court so don't worry about what you've already said. If you're still in hospital you're probably suffering from shock too.

Remember to consider yourself in terms of claims, you might be encouraged to settle but things like PTSD, which can appear some time after sustaining the initial head injury, need to be treated as would other memory type problems which could damage career etc. You should be covered for things like that too. Legal processes go on for a lot longer than you think.

So focus on your recovery and don't worry (or try not to) about a car bumper or your bike for the moment!

g00se

Hi,

Just for info - the solicitors that BC use are called Leigh Day. It may be worth contacting them directly if BC are having issues.

redvision

Thanks for all the replies and info. Really appreciate it.

Had some good news this morning from the Dr, I may be discharged this week!

Although he negated the good news by telling me I am facing months of recovery and time off the bike still, i am am thanking my blessings because I know how lucky I have been.

I heard from British Cycling and the insurance company. They are dealing with everything. Massive weight off my mind as not only can I not remember the accident, I am forgetting little things (words) and having trouble doing simple tasks since, and was worried about my capacity to complete forms.
So really grateful to them for dealing with everything, and has made me fully appreciate the value and importance of British cycling membership!

Thanks again for all the help and advice.