Injury after hitting pothole

[ushills]

Suffered a fairly serious injury today following hitting a pothole and loosing the front wheel.

Trip to A&E followed by neck and spine x-rays, then up to facial ward to have lip repaired. Two teeth gone and one suspect.

What should I do next, contact solicitor and go for council or HA.

 

[PK99]

Suffered a fairly serious injury today following hitting a pothole and loosing the front wheel.

Trip to A&E followed by neck and spine x-rays, then up to facial ward to have lip repaired. Two teeth gone and one suspect.

What should I do next, contact solicitor and go for council or HA.

Contact solicitor asap. - russel jones and walker, the CTC linked firm, gave me very good service

Also, go back to the scene asap and photograph the pothole with something in shot to give it scale. Plus knock the doors of close-by houses and ask if they know how long the pothole has been there. Check the CTC pothole reporting site also.

 

[ushills]

Photo, warning

 

[ColinJ]

Bad luck ushills - I wish you luck in this situation, and a good recovery.

You may be interested in reading this report on a local cyclist's case!

 

[ianrauk]

Contact solicitor asap. - russel jones and walker, the CTC linked firm, gave me very good service

Also, go back to the scene asap and photograph the pothole with something in shot to give it scale. Plus knock the doors of close-by houses and ask if they know how long the pothole has been there. Check the CTC pothole reporting site also.

+1 for Russel Jones & Walker.
They are dealing with my case (SMIDSY) at the moment and seem to be very good.
If you are with CTC then the service is free. If you are not CTC then you can join and use the service retrospectively,

 

[rusky]

Ouch, I had a very similar accident when I was 17. Steerer snapped & I went over the bars. Lost 2 teeth, buggered lip, fractured hand etc.

GWS.

 

[Boris Bajic]

Get Well Soon.

It is unpleasant to have a crash like that.

I'm not sure why people are advising you to claim.

There will always be potholes. Some will be larger than others.

Ghastly things happen.

I wouldn't be onto a solicitor if i were you, but I imagine the majority will think me wrong.

All the best with your recovery and don't let these things put you off cycling.

 

[rusky]

If the road wasn't in such a poor state or repair he wouldn't have posted.

I take it you don't bother with buildings or contents insurance either since ghastly things happen.

 

[screenman]

Why did you ride into a pothole, what happened to make you fall off? Have you ridden that road before? was you not aware that there might have been potholes and adjusted your riding style accordingly, do you think the hole could possibly been avoided, where you wearing a helmet. This is just a few of the questions you may be asked to answer.

I wish you good speed with your recovery and hope that it has not put you off cycling.

Would I claim, no way I would have accepted it as an accident that I contributed towards. When every body starts paying considerable more tax and the weather stops changing we may then have silky smooth roads, up till that time accept the conditions and ride to suit.

 

[Boris Bajic]

If the road wasn't in such a poor state or repair he wouldn't have posted.

I take it you don't bother with buildings or contents insurance either since ghastly things happen.

I hope the OP gets well soon and am sorry he had a crash.

I'm not sure how your home-insurance question fits in with my suggestion. Insofar as there is a link, it is tenuous.

I have buildings and contents cover; I also have a framed portrait of Tito in my workshop and a tea cosy that I often wear on my head to amuse guests.

I'm not sure how any of the above facts are connected with my stance on claiming from the local authority after hiting a pothole.

I wouldn't do it. Many would.

 

[rusky]

You stated that "ghastly things happen". So presumably if you were positioning a ladder, slipped & dropped it on your conservatory you wouldn't claim on your buildings insurance?

If the road was in a good state of repair the accident would not have happened. The LA/highways agency is responsible for the roads & there was a pothole that caused personal injury (& presumably damage to property)

 

[growingvegetables]

Ouch - get well soon. And +1 on using a solicitor.

And for Boris - you may well be in (the unusual) position of having a local authority which has adequately maintained the road surfaces for which it is responsible over the last couple of winters. I (and the OP) obviously don't.

They fail in their responsibilities? Their decision to cut corners, their decision to take risks with taxpayers' trust --- so they take the consequences.

 

[screenman]

If people stopped claiming for accidents that could have been avoided maybe we would have better roads.

 

[rusky]

If we had better roads maybe people would stop claiming for accidents.

 

[Boris Bajic]

You stated that "ghastly things happen". So presumably if you were positioning a ladder, slipped & dropped it on your conservatory you wouldn't claim on your buildings insurance?

If the road was in a good state of repair the accident would not have happened. The LA/highways agency is responsible for the roads & there was a pothole that caused personal injury (& presumably damage to property)

Ummm.... Ghastly things do happen. I didn't make that up. It's not my fault or that of my insurer.

I don't have a conservatory. If I did and if I thought the damage worth making a claim on, I'd contact my insurer.

In the past I have damaged bicycles, a car and a motorcycle on poor road surfaces. I put it down on each occasion to bad luck or inattention on my part.

I do not begin to understand how you make the presumption in your second sentence (above) on the basis of the content of your first. Presumably you do....

I don't agree with the idea of claiming from local authorities for pothole damage. Many do. I was just giving a view.