Out with a friend this last Sunday for what was supposed to be a steadyish 60 mile ride. 17 miles in though it all came to a sudden stop when a car came out of a side junction without checking properly, and as the title says, the next thing I know I am skidding along the middle of the road.
According to my friends account and an eyewitness the car took his back wheel putting him down and I hit the front corner flinging me over the top.
My friend got away with cuts and bruises whilst I end up in the middle the road with blood streaming down my face and unable to move my right leg. I think the first thing I said when a witness came over was that I needed am ambulance.
As a result I am typing this from my hospital bed with a fractured pelvis a cut eye and various other scrapes and bruises. I am hoping to avoid surgery but will not be able to stand on my right leg for 6-8 weeks to avoid the risk of shattering the the socket where the top of the femur goes into the pelvis.
This isn't a post looking for sympathy for whilst this is not good i also recognise that it could have been a lot worse. The damage to my head and face ( may have permanent scar) and of course the helmet itself tells me that the helmet likely saved me from a sever head trauma or worse.
I am more concerned with what happens next and how long I can expect the process to take. I a member of British Cycling so will contact them once I get home. Also the police who have spoken to my friend, but not yet to me, have indicated that the driver was clearly at fault. We have full details of the car involved and the eye witness. Do we have to wait for any potential prosecution the police may make and the outcome before we can claim? Also am I right in assuming that if it is as open and shut as it should be that I am claiming not just for the bike damage but for my injuries also?
As a final question what do I need to be getting now evidence wise to ensure any claim/prosecution goes smoothly?
I had the same scenario, the only difference is that I was on a motorcycle. The claim should be straightforward when, who was at fault is determined, which seems in your case, as in mine pretty much the driver pulling out.
The legal claim crunchers have guidelines on injures and they are pretty much set in stone and also there shouldn't be any problem with damage to your bike and any other stuff like the gear you were wearing, just get quotes for replacing any of them, all that has been determined in my case, but where it got sticky in my case is the loss of earnings, I'm four years down the line in that area as I could not return to my job as a commercial diver as I cannot get a medical, but in your case it should be ok as you say about the sick pay and presumably you will return to work in the job you were doing before the accident, what I would say though is that they will claim back on your loss of earnings up to return as they will argue that why should anyone else be out of pocket when the driver of the car was at fault. Also there may be some bickering to try and give themselves leaway about the fact that your injuries may have a premature effect on your health as in the earlier set in of arthritis but that should be ok if you have not had any other previous injuries in the same area.
Also if you are out of pocket for anything during your recuperation, get receipts for that, and also what I was told to do was log any help I needed after I left hospital, even by family members as you can claim for that too as it outside the norm with you being limited in what you're capable of due to your injuries, but in the end it will always come down to a bun fight between the two parties legal teams obviously one wants to get you what you are due and the other wants to limit the amount they have to pay, but in your case as in mine, we do have the advantage as when you are deemed not at fault, the other side have to pay all the costs and they will not want to go to court as they will be out of pocket unnecessarily, all I would say from that is they will do anything to reduce the payout so do not give them anywhere to go, I have had trackers put on my car by a PI hired by them to watch me and track my movements. it bothered me at the time but in retrospect it went on my behalf as I had nothing to hide.
I've been going through this for four years as I said so went through all the aspects, so if you need any pointers please PM me if you have any questions and I will try and help or clarify anything you may be unsure about when you get involved with the legal twits, as they tend to try to try and befuddle you, even your own side, at the end of the day they are in each others pockets I think, one last thing I'll say is, if at any point you do not feel you are being represented by your appointed solicitors, say so, I have already told the potential Barrister that I was appointed that I wouldn't want him to represent me in an arse kicking competition, never mind in court.....
