Friend has been knocked off their bike; driver hit them from the left at a mini-roundabout. Friend had right of way, driver has admitted fault as far as we know.

The bike has a mangled front wheel, and being an aluminium fram, may be damaged further. What’s the best way to get it examined properly?

The victim sustained injuries tot heir hip, and went to hospital for an x-ray (no fractures fortunately).

So, what’s the next step? Waiting for police report of accident. If, as is almost certain, the driver is charged with driving wihout due care, how to go about claiming for damages etc? Are they entitled to copmpensation for their injuries? Can they claim for cab fares from hospital, to recover the bike, and for journeys that weekend that had been pre-planned but now required using a cab?

They’re not looking for a fortune, just sufficient to cover the cost of their material loss (helmet also dmaged and written off), plus possibly a reasonable sum to compensate for their injuries.

Does anyone have experience and knowledge of such matters?

Is he claiming off the drivers insurance Mike? Surely if the drivers insurance company is responsible, then regardless of whether you’re a cyclist or another driver, then the same principles apply.

I’d say if the police are involved then you’ve got a claim. A roadie mate was involved in something similar, where after an ‘accident’ (it was debatable whether the word ‘accident’ covered it), the driver was charged with dangerous driving. He ended up with £3 grand in damages to cover his bike and nackered helmet etc

Went out and spent it on a rather nice bike

Mike: If you want me to put you in touch with him, so you can see how he went about it, drop me an email. Address in profile

Last time this happened to me, the driver’s insurance wrote within 10 days offering full liability and wanted me to contact them to agree compensation.
The phone call ended after they offered £1k and they put me in touch with a mediation company. 8 months later we settled on £5k.

I will never use a mediator again…just get a rottweiller solicitor (specialist personal injuries lawyer, I know a few) and take them properly to the cleaners.

PaulD

A few tips here

http://www.lfgss.com/thread4213.html

£3-5K?? I think they’re expecting a coule of hundred quid tops!

A replacement bike would be about £4-500 tops, if it comes to that. A new wheel about £70. Helmet about the same.

They’re not looking to milk it, just get a proportionate amount of compensation really.

When and how can they claim thogh? How does the process work? Do they need to wait for a court verdict? they’d rather get the bike sorted asap, rather than waiting ages. Does the bike need to be examined by any particular organisation or persons?

The insurance company will agree replacement value for bike and clothes over the phone and a small amount for pain and suffering. If you have more serious injuries, then they will want medical records and possibly examinations. They do not want to get as far as court because of the extra costs…and if they have already agreed liability it is only a matter of agreeing ‘damages’.

That is why I would engage a lawyer on a no-win-no-fee basis as they are guaranteed their costs….and that would include any costs for third-party expert examinations…it will cost you nothing.

My more serious incident 11 years ago took nearly 5 years to close.

PaulD

Thanks for the link nickjb. very informative.

So the likelihood is, that as long as the driver has admitted responsibility, it should be quite straightforward?

As to the full amount of compensation, how is that set?

Mike get your friend to go to a reputable solicitor. No win no fee is a myth, any settlement from an insurance comp covers the claimants costs.

The initial consultation will generally be foc and they will outline what they are entitled to claim for. Do not accept any offer from the insurance comp before your friend has spoken to a solicitor.

Beyond damaged property and loss of earnings, ‘damages’ are agreed from a reference book that all lawyers share that is based on severity and long-term consequences.

Get your friend to start keeping a very detailed diary of all expenses, trips and injuries as well as photos of injuries and damaged kit.
Show you are in control of the situation and are not a pushover.

PaulD

But when can this process start? we’re still waiting to hear from the police as to their course of action. We’re assuming the driver will be charged, but until we have this confirmed, is there anything we can do?

Can we only claim if the driver is convicted? Will this take a long time? If they admit the offence, does that speed things up? Will they have to go to court?

Who do we get to check the bike and helmet? What will we need to do?

Mike you can go to a solicitor now and tell them all information you have to date. They will keep you right.

A conviction for the driver is irrelevant to any settlement as the claim will be a civil matter. The process can be lengthy however, could be a few years.

Your (civil) claim is against the driver. It does not matter what the police do unless they decide your friend was to blame. The insurance settlement is not related to the police (in)action.
Contact the insurance company now if you wish to get it moving immediately.

PaulD

All we have is the vehicle registration; the police took the driver’s details. My friend was injured and waiting for the ambulance, and the driver made no attempt to check if they were ok.

How do we contact the driver’s insurance company? Can we get those details from the police?

A solicitor is being lined up. that part, fortunately, isn’t a problem.

Can the bike be assumed to be ‘written off’ following a heavy side impact? because such damage isn’t always visible. How can dmage be legally assessed?

How do we contact the driver’s insurance company? Can we get those details from the police?

I used to work for a (lawyer called) Mike O’Connor. Not the sort you need, though (unless you’re heavily into PFI financial deals).

Your claim is against the driver. They have insurance to pay for the liability they incur. You can ask the police (though they may be reluctant under data protection rules to release the information).

You can also contact the DVLA to get the address of the registered keeper (was this the driver?) and then go from there.

If you have a lawyer lined up, just get them to do it (will cost a little bit, though, but that will be recoverable as part of the settlement).

The driver may then ask their insurance company to pick this up for them. In which case, you deal and agree the settlement with them instead.

Can the bike be assumed to be ‘written off’ following a heavy side impact? because such damage isn’t always visible. How can dmage be legally assessed?

Any sensible LBS (preferably one which deals in that brand) will be able to produce a report on the extent of the damage and the cost of repair/replacement. This forms part of your claim against the driver.

Hope your friend feels better soon..!

I’ve worked for both a claimant law firm and now work on the defendant side for an insurance company.

Make sure they go to a good solicitors (some good ones advertise in the back of the cycling mags) not just any personal injury firm off the TV or internet, a lot these days are just costs motivated and deal with the claims with the aim of just getting it settled asap (i’ve worked for ones like that)

The Police should provide to you the name and the insurance company, once you have the insurer, they can trace the policy by the registration number.

If not then the law firm can do an MID search and that should bring the insurance details up.

With regards to any injury claim, make sure that you document any bruising etc with photos. Keep receipts for any medication or treatment that they have etc, the more you can document something, the more likelihood you have of claiming it back.

With regards to the bike damage, if you do not have an original purchase receipt a good bike shop should either be able to place somethig on headed paper to state what the bike is worth to replace, or if just a few components need replacing a “pro-forma” invoice as to how much parts and repairs will cost.

The process can start now, and claim instigated straight away as long as the driver has reported the matter to their insurers. If not, then the Police report may come into play in proving fault. The police won’t release the report until they have finished any enquiries though.

Thanks for all the replies. We;re in the process of instructing solicitors to deal with the matter, and have itemised all the damage. With a bit of luck, being that it will be a relatively small claim, the insurers will pay out without too much fuss. We’re not trying to milk the situation, just asking for approprite recompense.