I was involved in an accident with a London bus nearly 3 years ago which I posted here not too long after it happened and have been dealing with one of the 'no win no fee' law firms since.
To briefly describe what happened, I was deliberately barged by a driver of a double decker bus on my commute home into another cyclist where the bike was then written off after the driver went over it. I sustained injuries, ended up in A&E, was off work for several days, and have had to commute by public transport ever since the accident in November 2014. This of course has incurred costs from my own pocket since I didn't have a bike to commute. It took just over 8 months for me to get back to normal health.
The solicitors have been very slow, and I have had six different people look at my claim due to people leaving or other reasons which I'm not happy with, since the new person has had to go through the file again and again.
Nonetheless, a new litigation exec is now onboard wanting to put closure to the case and resolve a settlement with the bus company as it's reaching 3 years.
The bus company admitted liability towards the end of 2015 after I attended court along with a witness who was on the bus at the time. The bus driver was fined and disqualified from driving although he failed to turn up, and no representation was made on his behalf. The bus company also fired him after receiving information from my witness.
The interim payment for the replacement of my bike was only received in April of this year, meaning that I'm aiming to provide commuting expenses until then, which amounts to a near £4,000. This does seem excessive although I had no alternative to get in to work to London.
The solicitor has now said that the bus company insurers will look at this figure and the likelihood of the commuting costs be paid out to be null. She has said that I should have kept my costs down to a minimum under the RTA protocol to which I disagree. She also stated that the insurers will ask why I never took a loan out or borrow from friends and family to purchase a bike any sooner. This I find ridiculous as I was in the middle of buying a house and would never request money from others.
I also incurred other costs which the solicitor has said I would not have a chance in receiving compensation for.
My opinion is that if I've incurred costs at no fault of my own, and the interim payment only arrived this year, why would my expenses to get to work not be paid or a substantial portion be paid.
I'd appreciate any advice on the above which would help replying back to the solicitor.
Many thanks. P
To briefly describe what happened, I was deliberately barged by a driver of a double decker bus on my commute home into another cyclist where the bike was then written off after the driver went over it. I sustained injuries, ended up in A&E, was off work for several days, and have had to commute by public transport ever since the accident in November 2014. This of course has incurred costs from my own pocket since I didn't have a bike to commute. It took just over 8 months for me to get back to normal health.
The solicitors have been very slow, and I have had six different people look at my claim due to people leaving or other reasons which I'm not happy with, since the new person has had to go through the file again and again.
Nonetheless, a new litigation exec is now onboard wanting to put closure to the case and resolve a settlement with the bus company as it's reaching 3 years.
The bus company admitted liability towards the end of 2015 after I attended court along with a witness who was on the bus at the time. The bus driver was fined and disqualified from driving although he failed to turn up, and no representation was made on his behalf. The bus company also fired him after receiving information from my witness.
The interim payment for the replacement of my bike was only received in April of this year, meaning that I'm aiming to provide commuting expenses until then, which amounts to a near £4,000. This does seem excessive although I had no alternative to get in to work to London.
The solicitor has now said that the bus company insurers will look at this figure and the likelihood of the commuting costs be paid out to be null. She has said that I should have kept my costs down to a minimum under the RTA protocol to which I disagree. She also stated that the insurers will ask why I never took a loan out or borrow from friends and family to purchase a bike any sooner. This I find ridiculous as I was in the middle of buying a house and would never request money from others.
I also incurred other costs which the solicitor has said I would not have a chance in receiving compensation for.
My opinion is that if I've incurred costs at no fault of my own, and the interim payment only arrived this year, why would my expenses to get to work not be paid or a substantial portion be paid.
I'd appreciate any advice on the above which would help replying back to the solicitor.
Many thanks. P
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