Rather than waiting until I had gone by a driver decided to turn right from the other side of the road and crash into me. This caused damage to my bike and I also have some bruising to my left side, pain in my hip and knee and quite a lot of bruising to my legs.
While I am very lucky to have walked away from it the damage to my bike will be about £800 at least, if the carbon frame is damaged then quite a bit more.
What do I do next? I have the drivers contact details, insurer name and witness details.
Do I contact a lawyer, do I go direct to the insurance company?
do you have BC or CTC cover in place ?
If your household policy has legal cover they will help. If not call Irwin Mitchell - They're pretty good for this type of claim (used them when I was knocked off) and as its personal injury it'll be no win no fee...
Oh, and report to the police if not already done - you'll need crime reference numbers etc plus regardless of fault if the motorist hasn't reported it they are technically committing an offence. As they were in the car and you were on a bike the onus on them is to report the accident.
Cheers
Danny B
I didn't have BC or CTC insurance cover and wrote directly to the drivers insurance company. Fortunately I wasn't injured so only had to deal with the repair/replacement costs of the bike. It was a simple if pretty drawn out process involving several back and forth exchanges but once I'd proved that the damage was significant and that the bike replacement costs were accurate they paid out in full.
First thing is to report to the police then get yourself checked out for injuries, then get the bike to a trustworthy bike shop in order for them to write up the damage and replacement costs. You may need to get more than one estimate if the insurance company are being particularly obstinate, in my case one estimate plus photographs/video of the damage was enough.
This is helpful....
www.bikeline.co.uk
I have contacted the CTC and have membership so they are dealing with it. They were very helpful
I thought that it wasnt worth it for the injuries suffered but they think I have a good case, also the bike is pretty expensive so they add that on after the injurys.
Will be putting the bike in to get it checked out at the weekend, hoping the frame is ok as I have an event next weekend 🙁
Glad that you are generally okay despite being knocked off. Given your bruises do you think you will be up for the event next weekend? If you are the can you get a demo bike from the shop looking at your bike?
If you can not get a bike or are fit enough for the event due to the off then add the costs of the event to your claim. CTC should be able to help guide you on this as well.
I hadnt thought about that. Its only a Sportive so not the end of the world if I dont enter although i have thought about entering the shorter distance on my single speed, not sure about 60+ miles on that though.
I am not sure I will be able to enter it no matter what bike I have, I think most of the knee/shin stuff will have healed by then but the hip damage is very restrictive at the moment.
Have you reported to the police? Must do this as it's a traffic accident.
Check work/home/car policy for legal cover (it comes in the strangest places these days) failing that if your 100% sure your not at fault (they admitted it get a lawyer.
I phoned the police and was told as an injury was involved and it was a road traffic accident I have to go INTO a police station to report it.
The police were actually there when it happened, they drove by looking over to see me and various others dealing with what happened, then drove on even although one of the people who had got out of their car to help was waving them down. I wont publish my thoughts on the police either on this or other dealings I have had with them in the past, would probably just get removed anyway. Lets just say in the last two years I have gone from a very strong supporter of them to having zero confidence in either them or UK law.
I work for the solicitors that represent CTC clients, more than happy to pass you on to their team.
Edit - just seen you are with CTC, they will help you sort everything
Get some physio for that hip - the sooner the better. It'll be really helpful and it should be added to your claim.
Hope it is sorted soon 🙂