crash

[td1982]

Brought my new globe last thursday, been commutin happily for a week nearly, but on journey home tonight i've written it off. hitting a pothole at just over 15mph lost control straight into a parked car. front wheel buckled and right hand side of handle bar bent at 90 degrees. helmet fractured in two places.
lip n gums cut open badly bruised body.
Would i be able to claim off council for this as bad roads, as very ot of pocket......

 

[Keith Oates]

That's very bad luck, td1982, hope the wounds heal quickly. Can't comment on the 'claiming from the council' but no doubt some of the more knowledgable members will be here with advice in the future!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[PBancroft]

I have to ask... what about the car?

 

[td1982]

i know i took the wing mirror out probably a big dent in side as i'm a big lad but was 2 dark to inspect, spoke to the good samaratin who came to help, he said car been parked there for ages not moving called it nuisance belonging to a local garage and not to worry about it.

Bloody sore and hobbling this morning

 

[LOGAN 5]

Glad you're ok. You'll have trouble claiming from the council because in their "defence" they will say they have regular inspections of road surfaces and at the last "inspection" the pothole you fell down wasn't there, even though it probably was. If you report it they are legally bound to fill it within a short space of time or they will be liable if somebody else has an accident caused by it.

 

[fossyant]

See if your house insurance will cover some of the damage - mine did when I wrote off a frame after a transit van hit me. You'll be lucky with the council - I'll echo the words above. I wrote to Macclesfield Council after a bad crash caused by a dairy spill - they wriggled out of it.

 

[td1982]

unfortuantely i don't have house insurance..... so gotta try everything through the council

 

[Maz]

If the car was parked legally and taxed etc, surely you need to contact the owner.

 

[BentMikey]

Ooh, bummer dude, that sucks!

If the car was parked legally and taxed etc, surely you need to contact the owner.

He does, and/or the police to report it.

 

[dondare]

The Council have a legal obligation to maintain the roads so it ought to be possible to claim, I'd contact the CTC about this, they'll probably give you advice even if you're not a member though best if you join.
The CTC have a map that shows all the hazards that have been reported to them and they've reported to the relevent Councils. If the one that scuppered you is on the list then the Council knew about it and your case will be that much stronger; you can find the map at
http://www.fillthathole.org.uk/
with flags to show the locations of the hazards. If there's no flag there already then report it.

 

[biking_fox]

The council are liable, for your and the car's damage - whether or not you'll manage to get anything out of them is another question.

Handle bars and a wheel isn't "written off" though. Providing you haven't bent the crossbar or downtube all you'll need is a new front end. Not cheap - but much cheaper than a whole bike. Get LBS to check for you.

 

[td1982]

got to inspect bike fully but thats the obvious bits been to gp this morning and got sent for x-rays for a suspected fractur to one of the wrist bones

 

[Nigeyy]

Sorry mate, hope you are alright and recover well.

It might be that the bike isn't so bad. If the only damage is the handlebars and front wheel, that's (relatively) speaking not so bad as handlebars aren't too expensive, and at least it's not the rear wheel which are usually more expensive than a front one.

What would worry me more is if the forks or frame have been compromized.

 

[PBancroft]

surely you need to contact the owner.

I'm afraid to say that I agree, hence my original question. I honestly am sorry that such a nice new bike has been damaged outside of your control, but its going to be a PIA from the car owner's point of view too.

Imagine locking your bike up somewhere, and a car loses control - hits a patch of ice or something - and skids into your bike, damaging it.

Then drives off.

Personally, I wouldn't like it. I know it sucks, and I know it wasn't your fault. But really, you need to track down and contact the owner.

 

[maurice]

If the pothole has been previously reported to the council, you're in luck. Sometimes I have spates of reporting them online, sure some other sad gits must to the same, so worth a go.

You do need to contact the owner of that car though, it's immoral not to.