Accident Advice Wanted (Please!)

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Is "No win, no fee" my only option or can I make a claim direct to the
driver's insurance company?

I'm woefully ignorant about this kind of thing and would appreciate
any help.

I'm really going to miss my daily cycle rides 🙁

If you are a member of the CTC phone their legal helpline. If you are
not, join and phone their legal helpline.

--
Tony

"The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has
taken place"
George Bernard Shaw

Get a copy of Cycling Weekly or Cycling Plus. Lots of ads from solicitors
who deal with cycling related claims - check that the company you deal with
*does* understand cycling

Tony Raven said:

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Is "No win, no fee" my only option or can I make a claim direct to the
driver's insurance company?

I'm woefully ignorant about this kind of thing and would appreciate
any help.

I'm really going to miss my daily cycle rides 🙁

If you are a member of the CTC phone their legal helpline. If you are
not, join and phone their legal helpline.

Thank you for the info, Tony. I've bookmarked their site and will get
back to it later. Must admit the £35 membership fee has suddenly
become a bit of an obstacle though.
--

John Latter

Images of Dover, UK
http://www.panoramio.com/user/250345

Model of an Internal Evolutionary Mechanism:
http://members.aol.com/jorolat/TEM.html

Evolution Research Blog:
http://evomech.blogspot.com/

On Tue, 27 Nov 2007 19:52:03 -0000, "wafflycat"

w*a*ff£y£cat*@£btco*nn£ect.com said:

Get a copy of Cycling Weekly or Cycling Plus. Lots of ads from solicitors
who deal with cycling related claims - check that the company you deal with
*does* understand cycling

I'll check 'em out, wafflycat - thanks!'
--

John Latter

Images of Dover, UK
http://www.panoramio.com/user/250345

Model of an Internal Evolutionary Mechanism:
http://members.aol.com/jorolat/TEM.html

Evolution Research Blog:
http://evomech.blogspot.com/

John Latter said:

Thank you for the info, Tony. I've bookmarked their site and will get
back to it later. Must admit the £35 membership fee has suddenly
become a bit of an obstacle though.

It could pay for itself many times over. Pick up the phone tomorrow
morning and call them. The injury sounds extremely painful. Good luck,
and I wish you a full and speedy recovery.

--
Dave...

On Tue, 27 Nov 2007 21:44:15 +0000,

John Latter said:

Tony Raven said:

If you are a member of the CTC phone their legal helpline. If you are
not, join and phone their legal helpline.

Thank you for the info, Tony. I've bookmarked their site and will get
back to it later. Must admit the £35 membership fee has suddenly
become a bit of an obstacle though.

:-(

I can understand why 35 pounds could be a problem now if you are likely
to be off work for some time. But hopefully, in the future, you'll see
that less than one pound per week as a critical investment.

Have the police been informed? If not then I suggest you do it ASAP.
While it's the drivers responsibility to notify the police of any injury
accident it's probably going to be to your advantage if the police have
your statement about what happened.

The other thing I'd strongly recommend is writing down exactly what
happened in as much detail as you can as soon as possible. This can be
in note form, nobody else has to read it, but should include things like
was it light or dark, was it wet or dry, exactly what time was it, what
lights did you have on the bike, which bike you were riding, whether you
had a rucksack on or panniers, etc.

While your claim might be simple and straight forwards it could also get
quite expensive for the insurance company - enough so that it's actually
worth them trying to pin at least some of the blame on you and taking it
all the way to court. If you make notes now and refer to them when ever
filling in claim forms and the like then you'll have a consistent (and
correct) story. Potentially it could be months or even years before it
gets to court (unfortunately) and it's easy to forget details that at
the moment you think will be etched into your mind for life.

Tim.

--
God said, "div D = rho, div B = 0, curl E = - @B/@t, curl H = J + @D/@t,"
and there was light.

http://tjw.hn.org/ http://www.locofungus.btinternet.co.uk/

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Thank you for the info, Tony. I've bookmarked their site and will get
back to it later. Must admit the £35 membership fee has suddenly
become a bit of an obstacle though.

Call the helpline first and talk to them in that case - they are quite
friendly and happy to help IME if you intend to join. You can then
decide first whether its worth the £35 or not before you pay it.

--
Tony

"The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has
taken place"
George Bernard Shaw

John Latter said:

Hiya,

Last night I was going around a roundabout and about to reach the
point where a dual carraigeway came on to it.

Traffic in the fast lane (nearest to me) saw me, slowed down, and
then stopped. I cycled in front of the fast lane and was then hit by a
car travelling in the dual carraigeway's slow lane.

I've injured my wrist and if it had been a strain or something
relatively simple then I would probably have put it down to
experience.

Unfortuneately, however, the bone in my arm is split lengthwise and I
expect to hear tomorrow about whether or not an operation to insert
metal screws is needed.

Because my part-time job is also likely to be affected I'm now
considering the possibility of claiming compensation and wonder if
anyone could give me any advice:

Is "No win, no fee" my only option or can I make a claim direct to the
driver's insurance company?

If the driver broke the law, yes you can make a claim direct to the driver's
insurance company. (A relative of mine was advised to do this by a
barrister friend specicalising in personal injury and eventually got every
penny claimed). You can claim compensation for personal injury plus
expenses.

It would be wise to get legal advice on the wording of your letters and the
amount to claim. The first letter will be just to inform the company of the
facts and get some acknowledgment. You should wait a while before making
the actual claim in case your injury and recovery is worse than expected.

Keep a diary of all expenses, inconvenience and suffering, and take photos
of any visible injuries.

~PB

Also go to the incident site area and take relevant photos of the area -- your
approach to the spot and the motorists approach ( or as much of it as
possible. You can mark on photos ( especially digital ones on your pc
positions of vehicles and you and you bike before during and after the
incident.

It is obvious that you have had medical attention and X-rays -- it is
important that you GP has knowledge of the injuries and copies ( if possible)
of X-rays taken by the A&E. In any case if you haven't started it already I
strongly recommend that you keep a day to day "medical diary" of how you are
feeling from day to day and how painful the injuries are, what restrictions
have been placed on you with regard to cycling, working , movement about home
and changes to you sleeping patterns. Include photos of injuries as they
develop. Bruising can be extensive but develops slowly.and a photo record is
extremely useful.

Legal help is absolutely essential in reaching a satisfactory settlement and
membership of British Cycling or CTC is a good idea for legal advice/help if
you are a regular daily cyclist.

--
Trevor A Panther
In South Yorkshire,
England, United Kingdom.
www.tapan.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk

"Pete Biggs" <[email hidden]> wrote in
message news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

John Latter said:

Hiya,

Last night I was going around a roundabout and about to reach the
point where a dual carraigeway came on to it.

Traffic in the fast lane (nearest to me) saw me, slowed down, and
then stopped. I cycled in front of the fast lane and was then hit by a
car travelling in the dual carraigeway's slow lane.

I've injured my wrist and if it had been a strain or something
relatively simple then I would probably have put it down to
experience.

Unfortuneately, however, the bone in my arm is split lengthwise and I
expect to hear tomorrow about whether or not an operation to insert
metal screws is needed.

Because my part-time job is also likely to be affected I'm now
considering the possibility of claiming compensation and wonder if
anyone could give me any advice:

Is "No win, no fee" my only option or can I make a claim direct to the
driver's insurance company?

If the driver broke the law, yes you can make a claim direct to the driver's
insurance company. (A relative of mine was advised to do this by a
barrister friend specicalising in personal injury and eventually got every
penny claimed). You can claim compensation for personal injury plus
expenses.

It would be wise to get legal advice on the wording of your letters and the
amount to claim. The first letter will be just to inform the company of the
facts and get some acknowledgment. You should wait a while before making
the actual claim in case your injury and recovery is worse than expected.

Keep a diary of all expenses, inconvenience and suffering, and take photos
of any visible injuries.

~PB

"John Latter" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Tony Raven said:

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Is "No win, no fee" my only option or can I make a claim direct to the
driver's insurance company?

I'm woefully ignorant about this kind of thing and would appreciate
any help.

I'm really going to miss my daily cycle rides 🙁

If you are a member of the CTC phone their legal helpline. If you are
not, join and phone their legal helpline.

Thank you for the info, Tony. I've bookmarked their site and will get
back to it later. Must admit the £35 membership fee has suddenly
become a bit of an obstacle though.

Compared to the £6,000 they got for me, not really so big an obstacle.

John Latter said:

Quoted message said:

If you are a member of the CTC phone their legal helpline. If you are
not, join and phone their legal helpline.

Thank you for the info, Tony. I've bookmarked their site and will get
back to it later. Must admit the £35 membership fee has suddenly
become a bit of an obstacle though.

Read your house insurance booklet. It is entitrely possible you
already have appropriate legal cover. Over-insuring is exactly what
the insurance industry loves of course. I'm using the solicitors paid
for by my NU house insurance right now from being knocked off by a
taxi in March. It's taking a while though.

Jon

Tim Woodall said:

On Tue, 27 Nov 2007 21:44:15 +0000,

John Latter said:

On Tue, 27 Nov 2007 19:35:46 -0000, Tony Raven
<[email hidden]> wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

If you are a member of the CTC phone their legal helpline. If you are
not, join and phone their legal helpline.

Quoted message said:

Thank you for the info, Tony. I've bookmarked their site and will get
back to it later. Must admit the £35 membership fee has suddenly
become a bit of an obstacle though.

:-(

I can understand why 35 pounds could be a problem now if you are likely
to be off work for some time. But hopefully, in the future, you'll see
that less than one pound per week as a critical investment.

Have the police been informed? If not then I suggest you do it ASAP.
While it's the drivers responsibility to notify the police of any injury
accident it's probably going to be to your advantage if the police have
your statement about what happened.

The other thing I'd strongly recommend is writing down exactly what
happened in as much detail as you can as soon as possible. This can be
in note form, nobody else has to read it, but should include things like
was it light or dark, was it wet or dry, exactly what time was it, what
lights did you have on the bike, which bike you were riding, whether you
had a rucksack on or panniers, etc.

While your claim might be simple and straight forwards it could also get
quite expensive for the insurance company - enough so that it's actually
worth them trying to pin at least some of the blame on you and taking it
all the way to court. If you make notes now and refer to them when ever
filling in claim forms and the like then you'll have a consistent (and
correct) story. Potentially it could be months or even years before it
gets to court (unfortunately) and it's easy to forget details that at
the moment you think will be etched into your mind for life.

Tim.

--
God said, "div D = rho, div B = 0, curl E = - @B/@t, curl H = J + @D/@t,"
and there was light.

http://tjw.hn.org/ http://www.locofungus.btinternet.co.uk/

Some very good advice being given here. Did you get witness details
from other drivers at the time? If not then you *Really* need to
start getting them now. Go back to the roundabout with some
waterproof notices with your telephone number and Did you see a
collision between a car and a cyclist at this point on - date - if so
please ... The other side WILL allege the collision was your fault
and WILL attempt to manipulate the system in their favour by paying an
amount into court and forcing you to accept this or risk financial
loss. It's called playing the percentages - and don't be fooled by
the other party having admitted everything at the scene - unless of
course they admitted everything to a police officer who wrote it down
and even then there are some pretty ropey coppers out there - they
will change their story and Lie through their teeth.

Keep a diary of the injuries, how you feel, pain extent of movement of
limbs before pain, take pictures of bruises, cuts and abraisions at
different points in the healing process along with dates to show how
long they took to heal. Keep all receipts and expenses incurred and
obtain a letter from your employer for any days you have off unpaid
showing your gross salary.

In Big big letters you have to be proactive in your claim and
supporting it. It will be at least a year and probably longer before
you see any money from this so don't expect anything to bail you out
quickly. Even if the other side admits liability they will keep you
hanging about for their offer and then make a derisory one to see if
you bite, time is on their side not yours.

Seriously worth having someone experienced do all the legal work on
your behalf but DO DO try and get witnesses if you haven't already and
DO, DO contact the officer that was involved at the scene to find out
what has been said/reported in the collision report book.

Regards

Sniper8052

John Latter said the following on 27/11/2007 21:44:

Quoted message said:

Thank you for the info, Tony. I've bookmarked their site and will get
back to it later. Must admit the £35 membership fee has suddenly
become a bit of an obstacle though.

How much were you hoping to get? I think you'll suddenly find that that
£35 starts to look very cheap.

--
Paul Boyd
http://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/

in message <[email hidden]>, John Latter

(') said:

Tony Raven said:

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Is "No win, no fee" my only option or can I make a claim direct to the
driver's insurance company?

I'm woefully ignorant about this kind of thing and would appreciate
any help.

I'm really going to miss my daily cycle rides 🙁

If you are a member of the CTC phone their legal helpline. If you are
not, join and phone their legal helpline.

Thank you for the info, Tony. I've bookmarked their site and will get
back to it later. Must admit the £35 membership fee has suddenly
become a bit of an obstacle though.

Consider it an investment. What would your wages be for a month off work
(with the damage done to your arm it's going to take a month or six weeks
to heal)? If you're not able to work between now and the new year, what
are the probabilities that you'll lose your job? What is the total
replacement value of your bike and clothing and any accessories and
luggage that got trashed in the incident? What liesure activities would
have taken part in between now and the new year that your will not now be
able to take part in? What are the enhanced risks of arthritis in later
life?

You're looking at at least a four figure sum there; it's not impossible
you're looking at a five figure sum. And remember, if joining the CTC is a
cost of your accident, you can reclaim that too.

Frankly I would. Personally I'm a British Cycling member, but the CTC would
probably be a better bet in your case.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/
Just as defying the law of gravity through building aircraft requires
careful design and a lot of effort, so too does defying laws of
economics. It seems to be a deeply ingrained aspect of humanity to
forever strive to improve things, so unquestioning acceptance of a
free market system seems to me to be unnatural. ;; Charles Bryant

In article <09508719-80a6-418d-b5af-d23144c8e6d1
@f3g2000hsg.googlegroups.com>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Some very good advice being given here. Did you get witness details
from other drivers at the time? If not then you *Really* need to
start getting them now. Go back to the roundabout with some
waterproof notices with your telephone number and Did you see a
collision between a car and a cyclist at this point on - date - if so
please ... The other side WILL allege the collision was your fault
and WILL attempt to manipulate the system in their favour by paying an
amount into court and forcing you to accept this or risk financial
loss.

In the case of cycling accidents far better to go through the Small
Claims track unless the damages are significant. Despite what the
insurance company solicitors will tell you they cannot claim their costs
off you and each side bears its own cost. You are also expected to
represent yourself in Court, not use a solicitor. The big satisfaction
when I did that was not only did I get my money but the insurance
company probably paid out at least ten times as much in their legal
costs and would have done so whether I won or lost.

--
Tony

"The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has
taken place"
George Bernard Shaw

Tony Raven said:

In article <09508719-80a6-418d-b5af-d23144c8e6d1
@f3g2000hsg.googlegroups.com>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Some very good advice being given here. Did you get witness details
from other drivers at the time? If not then you *Really* need to
start getting them now. Go back to the roundabout with some
waterproof notices with your telephone number and Did you see a
collision between a car and a cyclist at this point on - date - if so
please ... The other side WILL allege the collision was your fault
and WILL attempt to manipulate the system in their favour by paying an
amount into court and forcing you to accept this or risk financial
loss.

In the case of cycling accidents far better to go through the Small
Claims track unless the damages are significant. Despite what the
insurance company solicitors will tell you they cannot claim their costs
off you and each side bears its own cost. You are also expected to
represent yourself in Court, not use a solicitor. The big satisfaction
when I did that was not only did I get my money but the insurance
company probably paid out at least ten times as much in their legal
costs and would have done so whether I won or lost.

--
Tony

"The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has
taken place"
George Bernard Shaw

Is that for claims up to £1000?

Sniper8052

Tony Raven said:

In article <09508719-80a6-418d-b5af-d23144c8e6d1
@f3g2000hsg.googlegroups.com>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Some very good advice being given here. Did you get witness details
from other drivers at the time? If not then you *Really* need to
start getting them now. Go back to the roundabout with some
waterproof notices with your telephone number and Did you see a
collision between a car and a cyclist at this point on - date - if so
please ... The other side WILL allege the collision was your fault
and WILL attempt to manipulate the system in their favour by paying an
amount into court and forcing you to accept this or risk financial
loss.

In the case of cycling accidents far better to go through the Small
Claims track unless the damages are significant. Despite what the
insurance company solicitors will tell you they cannot claim their costs
off you and each side bears its own cost. You are also expected to
represent yourself in Court, not use a solicitor. The big satisfaction
when I did that was not only did I get my money but the insurance
company probably paid out at least ten times as much in their legal
costs and would have done so whether I won or lost.

--
Tony

"The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has
taken place"
George Bernard Shaw

Is that for claims up to £1000?

Sniper8052

Hiya,

I would like to thank everyone for all the excellent advice that has
been offered 🙂

I'l lkeep this 'global' reply short, however, because it's very
laborious typing with one finger using my 'other' hand.

CTC took details of the accident and are passing it on to their
solicitors. If they decide to represent me then I have to pay £120 for
a 5 year membership - not too big a problem because they won't want
the money this week.

I have to go and see the consultant about my injuries next week.

No-one stopped after the accident. The driver of the car admitted
liability at the scene and at the hospital and offered to pay for any
damages to my bike. Obviously he may change his story but that is
completely out of my hands. I'm waiting for things to develop on all
fronts, so to speak.

Thank you again - once I've sent this I'm going to console myself
with 400 gms of Cadbury's Whole Nut and won't be answering internet
messages, the telephone, or my front door for about 90 minutes.

John Latter

On Tue, 27 Nov 2007 19:31:06 +0000, John Latter <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Hiya,

Last night I was going around a roundabout and about to reach the
point where a dual carraigeway came on to it.

Traffic in the fast lane (nearest to me) saw me, slowed down, and
then stopped. I cycled in front of the fast lane and was then hit by a
car travelling in the dual carraigeway's slow lane.

I've injured my wrist and if it had been a strain or something
relatively simple then I would probably have put it down to
experience.

Unfortuneately, however, the bone in my arm is split lengthwise and I
expect to hear tomorrow about whether or not an operation to insert
metal screws is needed.

Because my part-time job is also likely to be affected I'm now
considering the possibility of claiming compensation and wonder if
anyone could give me any advice:

Is "No win, no fee" my only option or can I make a claim direct to the
driver's insurance company?

I'm woefully ignorant about this kind of thing and would appreciate
any help.

I'm really going to miss my daily cycle rides 🙁

--

John Latter

Images of Dover, UK
http://www.panoramio.com/user/250345

Model of an Internal Evolutionary Mechanism:
http://members.aol.com/jorolat/TEM.html

Evolution Research Blog:
http://evomech.blogspot.com/

In article <24949fb9-5847-4794-b033-
[email hidden]>, [email hidden]
says...

Quoted message said:

Tony Raven said:

In the case of cycling accidents far better to go through the Small
Claims track unless the damages are significant. Despite what the
insurance company solicitors will tell you they cannot claim their costs
off you and each side bears its own cost. You are also expected to
represent yourself in Court, not use a solicitor. The big satisfaction
when I did that was not only did I get my money but the insurance
company probably paid out at least ten times as much in their legal
costs and would have done so whether I won or lost.

Is that for claims up to £1000?

I think its £5k these days

--
Tony

"The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has
taken place"
George Bernard Shaw