Got a call from a mate over the weekend – knocked off his road bike last week and has been off work recovering for nearly a week. Fortunately nothing broken, though lucky it wasn’t much worse.

He was hit from behind by a car one evening while riding home in Oxfordshire. He was doing 20-22mph on a flat open road, with good rear light and reflective clothing. He heard a car approach from behind followed by a squeal of brakes and than a bang as the car hit him. He went to A&E and was treated for bruised ribs, numerous grazes and so on. The Police want to charge the driver (20 yo female) with careless driving, but I understand can only do so if she admits to it as there were no witnesses.

He doesn’t have any personal injury insurance through his car insurance and doesn’t carry any home insurance policy, nor is a member of BCF or CTC. How does one go about seeking some recourse from the person that hit him for a) injuries sustained and b) recovering the costs of replacing one rather expensive bike/ helmet/ clothing etc?

Thanks,

Ian

“Been injured in an incident that wasn’t your fault?”

Sound familiar…?

Hope he has a swift recovery.

lots of info here:

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

speak to the CTC; i believe you can use their solicitors / pre-date your membership or something. I am currently using their solicitors. much more pleasant than i hear no win no fee types are.

but I understand can only do so if she admits to it as there were no witnesses.

that doesn’t sound right – the fact that she hit a cyclist implies carelessness. dangerous driving would require a witness. however i am not a legal expert.

oh and charging the driver & recompense for the bike / compensation for the injury etc are two entirely seperate issues.

you can PM if you want to discuss anything…

my first step would be to collect costs together, phone the girl’s insurers and ask her for money? He will probably get time off work and costs of a replacement bike met straight away, any costs for injuries would probably need a lawyer

Yup, defo contact the CTC even if your mate’s not a member. They will offer some practical advice.

D.

my first step would be to collect costs together, phone the girl’s insurers and ask her for money? He will probably get time off work and costs of a replacement bike met straight away, any costs for injuries would probably need a lawyer

be very careful – any payment offered will be in full and final and with no admission of guilt. he will not be able to claim any further costs.

I am still having physio 4 months after a fairly minor accident. i have spent well over what was originally offered.

Thanks chaps – some really useful leads there. I suggested he contact CTC, which he said he had but they didn’t come across as very helpful – maybe didn’t ask the right questions or speak to the right people?

thomthumb – do you mind if I pass your details onto my mate? Your experience might be very helpful.

Not quite sure on the position with the Police tbh, but agree that careless driving and compensation are two separate things.

http://www.bikeline.co.uk/
heard really good things about them and the boss is a cyclist.

You need to find the right person when you call CTC really. I called after an accident to ask about any possible legal/insurance assistance with not being a member at the time of the accident and joining after, and no one seemed to know much. Had to ring about 3-4 different numbers and eventually got someone who thought they probably wouldn’t be able to do anything as I had joined after the accident. Luckily my house contents insurance has legal cover and they helped.

I’d never have thought of it until the accident but if there is one thing I would recommend all cyclists have, it is insurance!

thomthumb – do you mind if I pass your details onto my mate? Your experience might be very helpful.

no problem at all ian.

He doesn’t have any personal injury insurance through his car insurance and doesn’t carry any home insurance policy, nor is a member of BCF or CTC

friendly local solicitor or claims direct it is then.

ian – tell your mate to start a diary. what hurts etc. (however minor – my ongoing treatment is for one of the ‘minor’ things at the time) and make notes against it. this will prove useful because in 3 weeks+ time if/ when it’s still hurting everything will be a blur and that is not useful to a solicitor/ doctor etc.

I’ve got a claim going through with Bikeline after being knocked off by a car last Novemeber… they seem to know what they are doing, and have been excellent so far.

The Police want to charge the driver (20 yo female) with careless driving, but I understand can only do so if she admits to it as there were no witnesses.

Hopefully there will have been pics taken of road, bike/car relative positions, damage etc. to help with the case. I am very perturbed that the police can only charge her if she admits it. Seems ridiculous as she can’t have much of a defence even if she lies through her teeth.

CTC LCC just refer you to Levenes
(corrected after next post)

There’s no great hurry to make a claim and you should make sure, however you do it, that all your injuries have surfaced as any payout will be full and final.

I’ve just been through something similar after being hit by a bus. In the end I handled it myself as the solicitors fees were going to be some multiple of the costs I was claiming which didn’t strike me was going to do anyone any favours other than the solicitors. Letter went to bus company’s insurance saying “this is what I believe I’m entitled to, settle now or I hand to the solicitors and your costs will be much greater” which they accepted.

Take good photo’s of injuries now and when healed. Photograph all damage to possessions. Keep records of any costs incurred. You’ll need to provide evidence of replacement cost for anything damaged – either bike shop quote or online screen prints are enough.

I’m pretty sure its Russel Jones & Walker that the CTC refer you to. http://www.rjw.co.uk/ctc/

They were very helpful though couldn’t do much as I wasn’t a member at the time of accident.

That link above to lfgss is very good, there’s a lot of useful info on there. CTC/BC won’t be much help – they get this kind of stuff all the time from non-members and TBH it’s not in their interests to help cos you haven’t given them any money.

Follow the advice on that lfgss link, maybe try one of the specialist cycling solicitors who advertise in the back of Cycling Weekly.

And then JOIN CTC OR BRITISH CYCLING!

Hi Ian, I was knocked off last March by a driver who failed to stop (I was side swiped on a roundabout). I managed to get the number plate and reported it to the police from the scene. TBH they weren’t really interested and as there were no witnesses said they couldn’t press charges even though the driver admitted she drives that route at that time every day. From how hard my bar ends hit her car there would have been at least some marks on the body work but they weren’t willing to actually visit her to check this. I just filled an accident form out and heard nothing back.

Bloody annoyed I contacted one of the no win no fee solictors who took my case on. They are currently trying to increase the offers that have been made from her insurers however she has still not admitted liability which was the main reason for me putting the claim in. As far as injuries go I had a jarred back, hip and knee and a stiff neck for a few weeks however the neck problem seems to be getting worse (waking me up in the night in pain unable to move my head 😯 ). Without witnesses I’m loathed to push too far for compensation as if it went to court it would be my word against hers.

If the police fail to take action though I would encourage your friend to take a civil claim against the driver at least to pay for any damage to his bike etc and time off work.

Thanks again to all who have responded. My mate had gone with a firm called cyclaim who are taking up the case. He’s emailed the manufacturer of the frame and they’ve confirmed it will no longer be safe to ride following the impact and advised the cost of the current equivalent model. Injuries appear to be getting better, as I said could have been much worse.