Knocked off!

[Red Light]

[quote name='The Horse's Mouth' timestamp='1314951722' post='1822954']
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.
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My two pleasure out of it was putting it into the Small Claims Track so they had to swallow all their legal and other costs which must have come to many many times what I had been claiming and when they threatened to stick me with all their costs to try to get me to drop the case, asking the lawyer how long they had been in practice and then saying "That long and you still don't know how costs are handled in the Small Claims track? See you in Court" The insurance company was Nissan Insurance - the insurance offered when you purchase a Nissan car from a dealer and their lawyers were a national award winning firm from Manchester. So its not just the cheap and dirty insurers who play hardball and I have to say anecdotally what you are describing is very rare indeed.

 

[Origamist]

You must be really really bored to be contemplating that

You can always liven things up by guaging your level of effort by catching the sweat and pouring it into a measuring jug: 1 litre is a pretty intensive work out...

I hope you make a full recovery and keep the thread updated, PJ.

 

[fossyant]

You must be really really bored to be contemplating that

Heh heh. PS It's hard work climbing on a bike on a turbo with one hand/arm

 

[PJ79LIZARD]

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.

The vehicle was old, I dented the wing, damaged the mirror, cracked the window screen, dented the roof quite bad, and scratches down the side. My 15 stone lump must of put a decent dent in the roof. The cost of repairs was obviously more than the car, but you can still buy them back from the insurance and drive them. Realistically once the window screen is repaired and mirror I don't see why it couldn't Stil be used.

I need to assess the damage on my bike, have to wait for my better half to finish work to help me. Amazingly my biologic iPhone case and phone were intact, an onlooker got my phone out so I could call my mrs roadside. The conversation was a bit vague, had blurred vision and was sweating like a pig. I was that sweaty they couldn't get those sticky patches to stick to my skin, which they hook upto heartrate and blood pressure monitor. In the end they taped them on lol.

 

[skudupnorth]

Sounds like a proper prang,hope you get well soon.I used Alison France when i had a hit and run and they were brilliant !

 

[CopperCyclist]

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. The only way you can get the insurance details from the driver is by instructing a solicitor which you are going to do anyway, who plod will levy a fee!!! So nothing whatsoever to do with data protection they just want to raise cash . %^4H"s!

You've dealt with some police that have it completely wrong. If its an INJURY RTC (and see my earlier post about how some lazy police may try to file it as a non-injury) then the Road Traffic Act is clear - the car driver needs to provide you with his name and address, the name and address of the registered keeper, and his insurance details. Its a requirement by law, so we can and will (or should) facilitate this exchange.

If its non-injury, theres no legal requirement to swop insurance details, so in that case you may it the 'data protection' wall.

If you have a police officer say otherwise, complain.

 

[wintonbina]

With regards to the pain ( i was involved in an accident where I as good as severed 2 fingers, I had micro surgery at Odstock to repair) when I was discharged the next day my consultant told me to drink a good brandy or in my case a good malt!!!

It worked for me so good luck in your rehab and I agree with the majority 'Get a Lawyer'
Cheers,

Tony

 

[Wobblers]

PJ, glad to see you're getting to see a consultant. With any luck, they help you onto a speedy recovery. I wouldn't worry about getting back on the bike just yet - get yourself sorted first! The roads will still be there when you've healed! And I'm sure we can get some sort of bike (night?) ride arranged to celebrate the fact! There's a few pubs over Clent way that look good....

 

[gaz]

Heh heh. PS It's hard work climbing on a bike on a turbo with one hand/arm

I use books to help

 

[Red Light]

I use books to help

They have books on how to get on a bike?

 

[Matthew_T]

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

Well the road was very rough (should have given me more grip probably), and it might have been oily but I dont think there is any room for complaint on that part.

 

[Matthew_T]

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.

Whoa, Whoa, Whoa...slow down...

Wrote his car off? You must have been going about 150mph with that remark. How can a bicycle right a car off? By the sounds of it, he purely cannot afford to pay for the vehicle to be fixed (even if it is a bump).

I would have shouted to the high heavens at this.

What an utter idiot.

 

[The Horse's Mouth]

My two pleasure out of it was putting it into the Small Claims Track so they had to swallow all their legal and other costs which must have come to many many times what I had been claiming and when they threatened to stick me with all their costs to try to get me to drop the case, asking the lawyer how long they had been in practice and then saying "That long and you still don't know how costs are handled in the Small Claims track? See you in Court" The insurance company was Nissan Insurance - the insurance offered when you purchase a Nissan car from a dealer and their lawyers were a national award winning firm from Manchester. So its not just the cheap and dirty insurers who play hardball and I have to say anecdotally what you are describing is very rare indeed.

I work for a Lloyds underwriter maybe we are just better. Out of interest who were these award winning lawyers, message me if you like? Unfortunately if your claim was in the small claims court i assume it was fairly small in size. A lot of motor insurers unfortunately pay peanuts and hence you get monkeys. I know a lot of firms who employ kids who dont know one end of a claim from another to do the smaller stuff. In my own experience if your claim was cut and dry as u say i would be coming down on any claims handler who ended up settling this on the day before trial. Also out of interest did they make any offers prior to that date.

 

[gambatte]

Wrote his car off? You must have been going about 150mph with that remark. How can a bicycle right a car off?

He said it was an old car, you can pick a decent one up for a grand, if you know how to look. If they can see a similar example in the small adds for £500, thats the benchmark they'll use.

"I dented the wing, damaged the mirror, cracked the window screen, dented the roof quite bad, and scratches down the side."

Now repairs... you and I have the option of going to a scrappers etc. Insurers don't tend to do that. They have to guarantee their repairs, parts and labour for 3 years. So they use new parts.

Windscreen needs replacing £200?
Wing mirror replacement and refit?
Looks like a fair bit of bodywork?

They'll not let the repairs get to the level of the 'value' of the car. If it gets close its a financial not mechanical write off. They're in the risk business. They'll not risk paying out £900 for guaranteed repairs to a £1000 vehicle.

Doesn't take much to write off an older car.

 

[Red Light]

[quote name='The Horse's Mouth' timestamp='1314989369' post='1823990']
I work for a Lloyds underwriter maybe we are just better. Out of interest who were these award winning lawyers, message me if you like? Unfortunately if your claim was in the small claims court i assume it was fairly small in size. A lot of motor insurers unfortunately pay peanuts and hence you get monkeys. I know a lot of firms who employ kids who dont know one end of a claim from another to do the smaller stuff. In my own experience if your claim was cut and dry as u say i would be coming down on any claims handler who ended up settling this on the day before trial. Also out of interest did they make any offers prior to that date.
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I'd have to go back through my files to find the name of the law firm so don't have it to hand and would not want to libel someone by getting it wrong.

They did not make any offer until the day before - in fact communication with them was almost unidirectional from me to them with no reply - although I was pretty certain they were going to fold as up to the day before they had still not lodged any case. I think they were just out to make as much work for me as they could with no real intention of fighting but when they offered to settle in full I accepted rather than try and convince the judge their actions had been so unreasonable as to warrant allowing costs for my wasted time (the only route through which you can get costs awarded in the Small Claims track.)

I think in Lloyds you are living in a different world from front line motor insurance offices.