Knocked off!

[Red Light]

What the plods do is irrelevant to your civil claim against this plank of a moton. The police act for the State to prosecute where criminal offences have occurred.

Correct. My mother's car was hit when a lorry pulled out into the side of her to overtake another lorry on a dual carriageway. The driver was found guilty of careless driving but the civil injuries case had to reprove the fault all over again rather than starting from the guilty finding despite the civil standards of proof being less than the criminal.

The police will NOT give the details of the drivers insurers despite the fact that they are required to. They will tell you you need to write in, which you do, but then they ignore you and finally they tell you they can't give the details because of data protection because they are ignorant simpletons.

In my case, even though it was minor, the police phoned me up out of the blue after a couple of weeks to a) check I was OK, b) tell me they had interviewed the driver and taken witness statements and c) give me the details of her insurance company. Which was good because the driver had been ignoring letters asking for the details. The witness statements were freely provided when I asked for them and the only thing they would not provide was the statement taken from the driver.

 

[Red Light]

If you didn't have insurance and lawyers, I'm betting you'd have lost some amount of compensation and the brinksmanship game you've described.

I didn't - they settled in full the day before the Court hearing. But then I had a barrister working for me at the time and have spent a fair amount of time in Court cases myself so was quite familiar with how it all works.

By the way one thing to be very cautious of if going down the full legal route. If your claim is for less than £5k and the personal injury component less than £1k they can apply to have the case transferred to the Small Claims track whereupon your costs of solicitors etc become generally non-recoverable. So don't wrack up too many costs in expectation until you know you are out of the Small Claims option.

 

[The Horse's Mouth]

Not my experience. The insurance company (or rather their lawyers) argued everything. Even though the police had taken statements from witnesses that confirmed the driver's fault I had to go to the ABI to get them to comply with the industry code ( they would not answer letters at all or take months to answer) and eventually had to take them to Court. They finally settled in full the day before the Court hearing.

To clarify what I said above that people seem to have taken exception to, I am not suggesting the OP settle for any less or not have their situation properly evaluated and the costs calculated. But in law the liability is the drivers and they are the person you are claiming off. The purpose of the insurance company is to stand behind the driver and underwrite the costs of any settlement. Your first point of contact has to therefore be the driver unless and until the insurance company take over the case management. In my case, even though the insurance company was handling everything it was still the driver I had to take to Court, not the insurance company.

If its as serious as some have indicated then its very likely the driver will take one look at the potential cost and run straight to their insurance company but if not you probably have a settlement in a few weeks versus what, in every case I've known, turns out to be a long hard battle taking often years and during which you are out of pocket until (if) the settlement comes in. And if its a big claim you can bet they will try every wriggle in the book to reduce it from contributory negligence (you didn't slow down when you saw them waiting to turn) to the injuries were exaggerated and you really didn't need to stay off work that long etc. And you will face the problem of whether to accept the low offer they have pitched or risk going to Court to try for something higher.

In my case it was open and shut as the police had taken witness statements which confirmed the drivers fault. It still took me a year's hard and frustrating slog and close to a Court case to get the settlement thanks to the actions of the insurance company (Nissan Insurance) and their lawyers (who even phoned me up at one point to tell me I was going to lose and they would be claiming costs to the max off me in an attempt to scare me off). Fortunately I had the legal confidence to shrug it off and tell them I'd see them in Court anyway but a lot of people wouldn't. During that year I had to carry the costs of getting the bike fixed and the legal processes (I was not really injured, just damage to the bike so no chance of a no win no fee lawyer) to say nothing of the hours I spent on the process.

I cant comment on this all i can say is what i would do as an insurance claims handler. It is always cheaper to settle claims early. Once i know my driver is liable i will attempt to get the matter settled as quickly as possible.
Yes i would argue contrib Negligence if i can prove it but no point if i cant. A lot depends on how much is involved. To be honest any claim below £5000 isnt really worth doing too much arguing over. Although everything is subject to a bit of negotiating. If they waited to go to the doors of the court to settle then they have cost themselves money what is the sense in that. Very few matters now go to court. 20 years ago it was different. Now i hardly ever see the inside of a court room.

I will say that you are right about the court proceedings being against the driver not the insurance company.

 

[Matthew_T]

£100 worth?

Maybe a little more.

But if it is money we can get back, then dont complain!

 

[Wankelschrauben]

Even if you are not involved in a collision with a motorist, you can claim compensation. I recently came off my bike because I went around a corner too fast. I was in hospital for 4 days and had to have an operation on my knee.

My dad (because I am 17) said that he could claim on the days that I was in hospital for, as he works in the RBS. He told me today that I need to fill in an incident report and attach the online video of it, so that the bank have evidence. I will only probably get £100 but something is better than nothing, and it can go towards fixing the damage to my bike.

You need to push this as far as possible, the police often need a little bit of a kick to get them to do anything, but it will pay off.

Was the road in anyway at fault for you accident?

If the road itself is in good state then I doubt you have any case by which you can claim, your father may want to be re-imbursed his costs but in order to do so there must be a party to blame.

In this case the council must be, within reason, responsible for the upkeep of the road, they are not responsible for a misjudgement on your part of the road conditions at hand.

 

[Wankelschrauben]

By misjudgement of road conditions, I mean factors such as your speed and the weather.

 

[fossyant]

Back to the topic, how are you today PJ ? Any further news from the medical profession?

 

[nilling]

Almost same thing happened to me a year ago to the month, except I clipped their back wing and went over the rear of the car landing head first. Nothing broken but still hurt. My bike was a write-off. Managed to get up and get plenty of witnesses details. Police turned up whilst I was in the ambulance; two vans and a dog unit! Copper came in asked if I was ok and had the driver's details. Then he muttered something about it being an 'insurance job' before disappearing.

Not sure if anyone has mentioned keeping a daily journal? Not only for recording details of the crash, GP visits, medical expenses etc. but how your life has changed as a result of this crash. The things to cannot do because it's painful or you have had to cancel. It's not just about the time off work. Also try and take photos of the damage to yourself and your bike. Believe me in a couple of weeks or months you'll forget about the pain and the nights of no sleep as your mind will just want to 'blank' it all out!

I went the solicitor route and 12 months, on after numerous visits to various doctors, trips to a private physio, an engineer assessing damage to my bike (I had to point out the huge crease in the frame

) and the driver's insurance company dragging their heels, they secured a final settlement of £5.5K.

Try and get your brief to go for an interim payment to cover the replacement cost of your bike, kit and clothing. The medical side will take a good deal longer.

Hope this helps!

 

[PJ79LIZARD]

Back to the topic, how are you today PJ ? Any further news from the medical profession?

Saw the consultant this morning, said it should heal on it's own without intervention, will be left with a lump on my shoulder. Wasn't so sure with this, didn't ct scan my shoulder, he said from the size of the lump he could tell it was a type 3 a/c joint separation. Scar tissue will form reconnecting the ligaments and collar bone. I asked about an operation, but he said they couldn't do one now anyway cause of the cuts on my back which would risk infection.

Got to go back in two weeks to see how it's healing and to discuss operating if that's what i want. Spoke to the driver, the police are prosecuting him for driving without due care and attention, that will be dependent on the cps.

I've wrote his vehicle off apparently, and I'm waiting to hear from his insurers, there probably going to offer a settlement because he admitted liability.

I shall wait and see what they have to say first, then probably get my own pi solicitor involved.

 

[fossyant]

I've wrote his vehicle off apparently, and I'm waiting to hear from his insurers, there probably going to offer a settlement because he admitted liability.

Nice one - wrote it off cool.

Take no notice of a settlement offer. Your shoulder will take time to heal. I was right with a type 3 separation - nasty.

See how it goes, sounds like the consultant is OK - at least you are through the hard bit and getting to see a shoulder consultant.

 

[400bhp]

Hopefully things are looking up.

 

[BrumJim]

Saw the consultant this morning, said it should heal on it's own without intervention, will be left with a lump on my shoulder. Wasn't so sure with this, didn't ct scan my shoulder, he said from the size of the lump he could tell it was a type 3 a/c joint separation. Scar tissue will form reconnecting the ligaments and collar bone. I asked about an operation, but he said they couldn't do one now anyway cause of the cuts on my back which would risk infection.

Got to go back in two weeks to see how it's healing and to discuss operating if that's what i want. Spoke to the driver, the police are prosecuting him for driving without due care and attention, that will be dependent on the cps.

I've wrote his vehicle off apparently, and I'm waiting to hear from his insurers, there probably going to offer a settlement because he admitted liability.

I shall wait and see what they have to say first, then probably get my own pi solicitor involved.

Can you encourage a referal to the Royal Orthapedic Hospital, Bristol Road?

 

[PJ79LIZARD]

Maybe, that's an option I could look into. On the plus side got my replacement lens for my magicshine and fitted it. Just need to heal so I can try them out on a night ride. I'm going to miss cycling, but at least I'll be able to get back on the bike again, it could of been worse though on reflection I'm feeling quite lucky I'm still here.

I'm thinking of setting my turbo trainer up so I can have a gentle ride on it, maybe try that in a weeks time if I'm feeling upto it.

 

[The Horse's Mouth]

PJ good to hear it isnt too bad. Just take your time and dont push yourself too hard. Getting better is more important then cycling. Give the bloke i suggested a call. He is very good!

 

[Red Light]

I'm thinking of setting my turbo trainer up so I can have a gentle ride on it, maybe try that in a weeks time if I'm feeling upto it.

You must be really really bored to be contemplating that