I got hit!!

[dodgy]

Glad you're ok gaz.

I've been in the same situation and here's what I learned.....

Don't assume because you feel ok today that you've not done any persistent damage. My off caused some long-term shoulder problems that weren't obvious until a few weeks after the incident.

As soon as you start dealing with matey's insurance, you are entering a world where right and wrong mean bugger all. They will try any and all means to reduce their exposure, fair or not.

If there's no real damage to you, you are only entitled to claim for actual damage to your bike through the small claims. You are not entitled to claim for any inconvenience or loss of earnings as a result of the damage. Whether you're a member of the CTC, BC or not, a solicitor will not generally get involved in a small claims case. You're on your own. It costs about £50 to bring a case from memory, so the best result will be that you're £50 out of pocket. His insurance won't even speak to you unless you threaten a court case at least.

If you've been injured - and you have, even if its only minor, then solicitors will get the whiff of money and you'll find someone who'll take it on on a no-win no-fee basis. You're a lot better off getting a specialist solicitor for this, as the insurance company will try all the harder to reduce the claim if they think your brief is clueless. The CTC's Russell, Jones and Walker were excellent in my case, but other solicitors are available. You'll also be able to claim for any loss of earnings due to the injury.

Keep all receipts and keep a diary. As long as he was taxed, insured and sober, you'll most likely get a polite call from plod saying they're not going to prosecute the driver. Even so, get a copy of attending plod's notes.

The horse-trading with his insurance company will be hugely frustrating, but persistence pays off.

Did I mention that insurance companies are ladies' front bottoms?

I'm sure I've heard you say all that before, I reckon you've had some bad experience in the past?

My experience:

Knocked off by old woman in September 2001, called www.bikeline.co.uk (Alyson France - she is coincidentally local to me) and within a short time I was booked to see a physio and a doctor to properly assess my injuries. My bike was repaired, I got new clothes that were scuffed and a total claim that was certainly worth the effort.

You certainly DO NOT need to go through small claims to claim for damage to your bike, no idea where you get that idea from!

 

[John the Monkey]

+1 for not assuming that you're ok because nothing hurts now.

My offs have shown the real damage a day or two after (my shoulder and hip are stupidly stiff after my off on Monday due to a cat, for example, but that didn't start to bug me until Tuesday). Keep a diary of where the pain/discomfort is, roughly how bad it is.

Get your bike checked over by someone who knows what they're doing, and can check important stuff like frame alignment &c

As Bollo says, a solicitor will only take the case if the likely damages are above a certain amount - in most cases this entails a personal injury claim - you probably need to decide whether you're going to go down that route now. Personally, I would - little will happen with the Police, if I'm any judge, and the financial penalties are about the only option you have for some kind of "punishment" (for want of a better word) to remind the driver to LOOK.

Keep receipts for anything you pay out for - you'll need them for the solicitor or small claim.

 

[peanut]

good to hear you are ok. Good post by Bollo I thought.

Don't assume that your frame isn't bent .You are entitled to have your bike restored or replaced back to its original condition prior to the accident plus reasonable costs involved in achieving that. As Bollo says keep a diary record with times of phone calls and names in every case . Good luck

 

[totallyfixed]

Don't assume that your frame isn't bent

+1 on that. Had a coming together with a car a few years ago and wasn't until a couple of weeks later that a friend spotted a crease on the underside of the downtube close to the headtube. Twas a titianium frame. Got an engineering friend to x-ray the carbon forks and turned out they had multiple small cracks too.
Good luck, glad you are reasonably ok.

 

[JiMBR]

Glad to hear you're mostly OK.

Hope all goes well.

 

[Bollo]

....You certainly DO NOT need to go through small claims to claim for damage to your bike, no idea where you get that idea from!

Sorry I should have clarified here. There's a chance that the driver could choose to pay for any damage directly, or his insurance company could be feeling generous. Barring any injury and if and when the police decide to do nowt it becomes a civil case, so the only legal mechanism for enforcing a payment will be through small claims unless your bike was worth a couple of grand. It shouldn't get there, but it might. Injuries are different because the amounts quickly get larger than the small claims limit.

Also remember that any compo awarded in a civil case is not there to punish the driver in any way, its purely recompense for actual injury and damage. Think of it more like a contract negotiation than a crusade for justice.

Yep, have been there with this, and I couldn't believe what my SMIDSY's insurance tried to get away with.

 

[Bollo]

Forgot to add that the CTC provide an information pack to members who have to go down the small claims route. From memory, it had loads of advice and some pro-forma letters, but there's nothing that you can't find from elsewhere.

 

[Graham O]

I was knocked off in April and most of what has been said reflects my experience. The only strange thing was that the drivers insurance phoned me a day or two later to admit full liability and they offered a personal injury element to the claim. They have since contacted me every month to find out how the injuries were healing and organised a specialist doctor to have a look at me. They have been very up front and honest, although very slow to deal with. I suppose if they are honest, it keeps the ambulance chasing solicitors off the scene. Yet to see any offer of money.

 

[Danny]

Get your bike checked over by someone who knows what they're doing, and can check important stuff like frame alignment &c

Totally agree.

A few years ago I went into a car that suddenly turned in front of me, and thought I had not actually sustained any damage apart from a buckled front wheel. It subsequently turned out that the front fork had been bent, but I found this out too late to easily get money back from the driver or his insurance.

 

[Flying_Monkey]

Glad you're relatively okay, Gaz - I hope it doesn't come to legal action, but don't count it out yet...

 

[John the Monkey]

Also remember that any compo awarded in a civil case is not there to punish the driver in any way, its purely recompense for actual injury and damage. Think of it more like a contract negotiation than a crusade for justice.

True dat.

My hope was that the inconvenience of dealing with the claim, and some level of increased premium will at least remind the driver that there are consequences for them of depriving me of several inches of skin, putting my bike out of action, and depriving me of three weeks worth of cycling. As Bollo says though, the damages are, in a legal sense, not intended to be punitive.