Viewing 28 posts - 1 through 28 (of 28 total)
  • Hit off my bike by a car, what should/can i do?
  • garethcolins89
    Free Member

    Was hit off my bike by a car on the way home tonight, spoken to the police who are not interested, it’s caused a fair bit of damage to my bike and belongings, but thankfully i’m just battered and bruised.
    this is the situation:

    -was hit by a car overtaking and cutting across me on a roundabout.
    -my friend was cycing behind me and witnessed it all.
    -after checking i can be certain i was in the right.
    -i had lights and hi vis clothing and helmet so was very visible.
    -the driver stopped and i have her details.
    -damage to my bike, clothing, rucksack, phone etc…
    -spoke to the police, they have given me an incident number but are otherwise not interested
    -hand is injured an cant ride to work tomorrow, luckily also have a car.

    any experiances or recommendation on what to do would be much appreciated.

    Jamie
    Free Member
    tmb467
    Free Member

    You need to speak to her insurers

    Police won’t do anything yet as there was no obstruction to the carriageway

    Although I’m not a legal expert, any traffic accident is something for insurers to deal with unless there is a suggestion of intent to injure (or other criminal activity) by the driver

    Lummox
    Full Member

    Definitely 100% go for a docs check up and make notes while it’s fresh in your mind. I’m 2.5 months in from mine with no bike (frame can’t be sourced) and dodgy shoulder and ankle.

    Initially I thought I was just a bit bruised and was very dismissive of my injuries

    stayce88
    Free Member

    get your hand checked out at the doctors / hospital, get a repair or replace quote on your bike and gear from a bike shop, get a solicitor and be prepared for a long long wait

    collostomy
    Free Member

    I had a similar accident, used a solicitor who was also a cyclist to handle my case, take pictures of your injuries and damaged kit. Get your bike inspected and a damage report from a reputable bike shop. I can recommend the solicitor who I used e-mail me if you want his details.
    Definitely get checked out at A&E too. I felt a little battered after the incident but couldn’t move for a week the next morning. Also be prepared to wait, these things are not settled quickly. Good luck and hope there are no serious injuries.

    monkeychild
    Free Member

    My mate had something “similar”. A guy hit him from the side, he did a somersault (was clipped in) and landed on his bonnet. Luckily he was ok bar some bruising and muscle strains. His bike was written off and it took almost a year to get paid out!! It was ridiculous.

    project
    Free Member

    http://www.bikeline.co.uk they will take charge of the details and get you compensation for your loses, lots of other cycle claims companys exist as weell look in the back of any cycling magazine.

    As its an injury rtc the police should be informed by thr driver as, she hit someone,unless she braggs about it on twitter.

    garethcolins89
    Free Member

    thanks for all the help guys!
    think i know my way forward now,
    and atleast she has an imprint of my arse on her door to remind her not to do it again.

    stayce88
    Free Member

    Its now been 6 months since I was hit by a car and ive still had no money to replace my bike and still on the nhs waiting list for treatment

    djc1245
    Free Member

    I got hit on a roundabout in the summer. The driver paid me out a few days later. The only damage I had was ripped clothing, smashed helmet, gravel rash on my shoulder and arse, bent gear hanger and a sore thumb. Accepted the pay out then found my thumb was worse than I thought and it turned out I had torn the ligament. Wished I had gone through his insurance now. So I say go for it and get the right damages

    hora
    Free Member

    Police not interested?

    They investigated and decided a RTA then/no intent?

    If I run a pedestrian over Im cool then.

    MikeWW
    Free Member

    I was hit October 15. Have silver membership with British Cycling so free legal assistance. Driver admitted liability, police prosecuted- 7 points plus fine. I received interim payment earlier this month which covers clothing/bike damage.
    Still waiting for full assessment to finalise claim but this was my collar bone (still) at start of last week

    mikewsmith
    Free Member

    It ended up with me refusing to leave until someone at the police station until they took a statement from me (I was also assaulted) sometimes you need to insist.

    stayce88
    Free Member

    MikeWW I wish my case had gone like yours!
    I got hit in August, driver admitted liabililty and did a driver awareness course, his insurance are still refusing to admit liability!
    I also had a broken collarbone, broken jaw, lost teeth, written off bike, 6 weeks off work, still havnt had my teeth fixed or my bike replaced

    bails
    Full Member

    You need to get back to the police and make a proper statement. They might call it an “allegation of bad driving” and have a specific form for it.

    If the person on the desk/101 says no then insist they get someone else.

    Then follow the lfgss/bikeradar guides. Get photos, write down what happened etc
    http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=40052&t=12722930

    ti_pin_man
    Free Member

    And earlier in the week people were giving me grief for buying a helmet cam for my commute. Ha. Ironic.

    Op Good luck with this, let us know how it goes.

    worldrallyteam
    Free Member

    Had the same don to me by a bus. Went straight to police and got a police reference. They need to take it seriously. Get photos of all damage to you you bike and kit. Get either to hospital of doctors for a check up. Get any aches and pains checked and noted by hosp Drs. I took photos while still in kit with all wounds still raw through all holes ripped in kit. Get pics as bruising up. Get to a couple of bike shops to get it checked over and and get a written mechanics documentation from them. Keep a note of all times you contacted everyone, police ,solicitors doctors etc.

    Get onto a bike specific solicitors. Are you a british cycling member?

    I eventually received payment about 16months afterwards. 12 months of which was me trying to make a claim against bus company myself. Once solicitors got involved it was all sorted out in no time.

    I used Cycle Law Scotland

    hora
    Free Member

    driver admitted liabililty and did a driver awareness course, his insurance are still refusing to admit liability!

    Why are they refusing if the driver did admit liability? The course confirmed his admission of fault.

    In this case I really would look at no-fee solicitors.

    martinhutch
    Full Member

    Why are they refusing if the driver did admit liability? The course confirmed his admission of fault.

    In this case I really would look at no-fee solicitors.

    Aye, that’s crazy. He’s clearly liable for your losses, and if his insurance company has failed him by refusing to see that, that’s not your problem. Sue his ass!

    hjghg5
    Free Member

    It was really smooth when I had to claim – I used bikeline and it only took a couple of months. Insurers admitted liability straight away and settled at the amount we suggested. Maybe it helped that I wasn’t trying it on to get every penny I could out of them – went to them with a sensible number (about £3k for written off bike, kit and injuries) and they were fine about it. Really surprised me after some of the horror stories I’ve heard!

    hora
    Free Member

    Stayce88 – give them a quick call to discuss today: http://www.bikeline.co.uk/accident_claims/about_us.htm

    stealthcat
    Full Member

    Stayce – I had the same problem when I tried to claim on the driver’s insurance after they had been sent on a course. Do you have a letter from the police confirming that the driver was found to be at fault? If so, tell the insurer that, and then point out that if they continue to refuse to pay out, you will have to go through a solicitor, which will increase the cost to them…
    Aviva gave in pretty quickly when they saw a copy of the letter from the Met!

    hora
    Free Member

    The ‘funny’ thing is I bet the insurer is increasing the drivers premiums. Stayce don’t let it go- fight it. Its one fight that you’ll regret later in life if you let it go as you ‘hurt’. Personally I’d simply inform them that I am going down the Solicitor route and call that link immediately. Who cares about their costs? They had 6months already to mitigate their losses/do the right thing. They obviously wanted you to quietly go away which saves them money.

    thisisnotaspoon
    Free Member

    ti_pin_man – Member

    And earlier in the week people were giving me grief for buying a helmet cam for my commute. Ha. Ironic I think the point against a helmet cam is the wearer seems to get into a lot more shouty confrontations than non wearers. Correlation (shouty people like the sound of their voice on film) or causation (filming makes people act up) is a seperate argument, but it seems safer not to have one.

    stealthcat
    Full Member

    In my case, the driver had apparently failed to tell his insurance company about the incident, which was why the letter shut them up so quickly – if I was less cynical, I’d suggest there is a certain amount of confusion about whether the insurer has to be notified about driver re-education courses…

    MikeWW
    Free Member

    stayce88 – Member
    MikeWW I wish my case had gone like yours!
    I got hit in August, driver admitted liabililty and did a driver awareness course, his insurance are still refusing to admit liability!
    I also had a broken collarbone, broken jaw, lost teeth, written off bike, 6 weeks off work, still havnt had my teeth fixed or my bike replaced

    Sounds awful-hope you get there. Are solicitors involved-that was my first port of call

    aracer
    Free Member

    stayce88’s case is why I always recommend getting specialist lawyers involved for stuff like this, when lots of people say just go straight to the driver’s insurance (well that and experience of an insurance company even when I did get specialists involved – the firm I used have already got a couple of mentions, so no need for more). Take the advice given and get somebody else to do the work for you – typically in the case of awkward insurance companies they need to be threatened with being taken to court before paying out.

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