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Hit by a car, the driver is responsible. What to do?

I'm sorry if there is a default post for this ...

I got hit by a car this morning. Nothing serious; bruises cuts and a headache/stiff neck. A+E discharged me.

I was in the cycle lane, car was turning into a drive. Driver didn't check their mirror and pulled straight into me whilst i was cycling alongside it.

Police were driving by and stopped. Driver admitted they didn't look and were in the wrong.

Also, super kind eye-witness came up and gave me and the police his number and accounted for the fact the driver pulled into me / was in the wrong.

Took pictures of where the car hit me.

I'm waiting to get the drivers' insurance details from the police.

The driver has been in contact with me to try and arrange it outside of the insurance company and I don't know what to do / how to respond.

With regards to the bike: bent wheels, bent forks, bent front+bank derailleurs, bent handlebars

If anyone has any advice on how to proceed, I would really appreciate it.

This is in the UK.

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

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35 comments

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Ants | 8 years ago
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I requested and received the interim payout for damage to bike and clothing etc within a couple of months (less depreciation for clothing) but am still in the process of the injury claim (since August). It is worth asking for this amount as if they are accepting responsibility there is no reason for them to withhold payment. If you wait for the payment for injuries and damage as one payment you could be without a bike for a long while. Your solicitor should advise but worth asking for the bike repair or replacement cost now.

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Leodis | 8 years ago
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Take it easy.

I settled outside of insurance because I was uninjured.

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Bikebikebike | 8 years ago
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Strength, comrade.

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ronnyjowe | 8 years ago
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Quiet morning in work so I thought I would come back to this to inform anyone who comes to the forum with a similar problem in the future.

Still have no bike.

Did have whiplash and a problem with my knee which I have been through physio for. Finally allowed back into the gym after deep tissue massage on neck and knee along with daily exercises.

Have no idea when the settlement will come through, hopefully in time for the summer so I can get out on a bloody bike again.

To summarise the above thread for anyone who comes looking:

Wait to see if any symptoms appear before you make any rash decisions (whiplash came within 48 hours, my knee didn't come to light until i started running...as i had no bike or money for a bike) I was injured more than I was aware of at the time it happened.

Getting compensation is a seriously long and frustrating process...haven't yet found out if it's worth it or not...I'll post a final update once i find out...

CANNOT WAIT TO GET BACK ON A BIKE.  102

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dotdash replied to ronnyjowe | 8 years ago
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ronnyjowe wrote:

To summarise the above thread for anyone who comes looking:

Wait to see if any symptoms appear before you make any rash decisions (whiplash came within 48 hours, my knee didn't come to light until i started running...as i had no bike or money for a bike) I was injured more than I was aware of at the time it happened.

Getting compensation is a seriously long and frustrating process...haven't yet found out if it's worth it or not...I'll post a final update once i find out...

CANNOT WAIT TO GET BACK ON A BIKE.  102

Could you look into getting a rental bike and billing them for it? After all if this was a car you would be after a hire car whilst yours is off the road.

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Alfie78 | 9 years ago
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It's a bad idea to solve the issue outside. Just don't arrange it outside of the insurance company. Agree with jacknorell, I've also heard about SlaterGordon.

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Leodis | 9 years ago
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I got knocked off last year, took said new bike to LBS who quoted £592 for new wheelset, pedals and fitting, sent said quote with added extras like bus passes needed and taxi's to and from LBS to driver who then coughed up £652 within 3 days.

I wasnt injured so I had nothing to claim against except expenses and damage.

I would recommend getting a medical record, I called the ambulance and police at the scene and I got a call from the driver a few hours after asking if I would go down the private route, seemed a lot quicker and I got my bike back within a week or so (plus I recovered the old wheelset and flogged them)

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LarryDavidJr replied to Leodis | 8 years ago
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Leodis wrote:

(plus I recovered the old wheelset and flogged them)

Errr ... they were replaced after an accident and then you flogged the accident damaged wheels to someone else? I'm hoping I've misunderstood this.

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Redvee | 9 years ago
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As others have stated don't settle quickly just based on bike damage alone. You have been injured and the full extent of the injuries can take a while to be seen.

Keep a note and all receipts for anything relating to getting you and your bike back to how things were before the accident. This can include costs for written quotes for damage repairs, travel expenses if your bike was used for commuting on, any other journeys you had to pay for that you used the bike previously for. A solicitor specialising in cycle accidents will advise you much better than what we tell you here.
My payout from an accident consisted of 75% for injuries and 25% for damage and took a year to settle through insurance and the other driver tried all sorts to put the blame on myself.

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DrJDog | 9 years ago
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Before anyone goes down the road of claiming PI for whiplash, they should be aware that insurance companies will subsequently attempt to exclude any back related claims from any insurance you may hold - income protection or the like.

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Ants | 9 years ago
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I missed this discussion earlier as I was in the same predicament as you and with advice from here and elsewhere came to the same conclusion. My bike wasn't too badly damaged but 4 weeks on and I am still in pain so accepting a payout for just damage to the bike from the driver would have been the wrong thing to do. Solicitors are now on the case and the driver's insurer has accepted liability thanks to witness statements and my own camera footage I guess.
Hope your recovery goes well and you are back on the road soon.

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ronnyjowe | 9 years ago
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Thanks to everyone again for the advice on this.

I ended up taking time off work which my current contract does not allow for, so contacting a solicitor was the right thing to do.

Also just got my insurance quote through and fixing the cost to fix the bike has resulted in slightly more than I paid for it originally - which is way beyond what she would have offered.

Just hope its not going to take months and months for me to be able to get a new one sorted. But then again I'm up north and winter is coming...

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Argos74 | 9 years ago
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Don't respond, unless it's with a very large bill backed up by evidence. They're likely to be trying it on - "But it's only a toy bike and you've only got a few grazes". Play hardball if you want to go down this route, and I wouldn't advise it.

My thinking would be to contact a reputable solicitor - the ones above are reasonable and competent from what I've seen of their work. May also be worth approaching the insurer directly with evidence - quote from bike shop for repairs, details and photos of injuries. They're sometimes willing to settle quickly and not ungenerously to avoid the costs incurred by solicitors. Some of the larger insurers have specialised PI capture teams specifically for this purpose.

http://www.askmid.com/

To find out the car driver's insurer, if she hasn't advised them already.

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notfastenough | 9 years ago
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Would the MIB step in to cover the costs if she isn't insured?

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SideBurn replied to notfastenough | 9 years ago
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notfastenough wrote:

Would the MIB step in to cover the costs if she isn't insured?

Hopefully the MIB do not need to get involved, but if this is necessary make sure any dealings or offers by them or any insurance company for that matter are done in writing. I learnt this one the hard way... after trying to sort the problem out without their insurance company. Their non-existent insurance company... F.ing lorry drivers, not only driving without looking where they are going but also without insurance  14

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ronnyjowe | 9 years ago
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Yeah, I don't want to perpetuate the claim culture- I also want to get my bike sorted asap. But I haven't even heard from the police with regards to the driver's insurance company yet...

I'm guessing if she doesn't have insurance it's bad for her legality wise, and bad for me with regards to getting my bike fixed / a replacement.

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jacknorell replied to ronnyjowe | 9 years ago
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ronnyjowe wrote:

Yeah, I don't want to perpetuate the claim culture- I also want to get my bike sorted asap. But I haven't even heard from the police with regards to the driver's insurance company yet...

I'm guessing if she doesn't have insurance it's bad for her legality wise, and bad for me with regards to getting my bike fixed / a replacement.

I know that quite often you need to make a formal request to the police for the details, and your solicitor may need to pay a fee.

If she's not coughing up the details, that's a sign that she's not going to do this outside of litigation anyway, so just go ahead with a suit.

Yes, may take a while, but you can probably sort out some other bike in the meantime (as much as that sucks).

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tonemonkey | 9 years ago
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I used a company called KLS law. Recommended by Pearsons (my LBS) who were excellent and organised everything from doctors examinations to Physiotherapy. Also told me I was lucky the driver was with direct line as they don't take ages to pay.

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arfa | 9 years ago
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I got taken out and the driver coughed up privately without any quibbles/hassle. I speak as a former lawyer here but do not expect a rapid resolution if you go down the legal claim route - you employ a lawyer to state your claim, the defendant is perfectly entitled to challenge every assertion you make, including what was said to the policeman. This takes time, sometimes a very long time.
OK, give it a few days and then see if you are carrying long term injuries. If not, you are being badly advised to take the legal route if your motivation is to get back on the bike asap, especially when you have someone willing to settle up straight away.
Bear in mind you have three years to decide whether to take legal action under the Statute of limitations so don't jump to conclusions.

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arfa | 9 years ago
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I got taken out and the driver coughed up privately without any quibbles/hassle. I speak as a former lawyer here but do not expect a rapid resolution if you go down the legal claim route - you employ a lawyer to state your claim, the defendant is perfectly entitled to challenge every assertion you make, including what was said to the policeman. This takes time, sometimes a very long time.
OK, give it a few days and then see if you are carrying long term injuries. If not, you are being badly advised to take the legal route if your motivation is to get back on the bike asap, especially when you have someone willing to settle up straight away.
Bear in mind you have three years to decide whether to take legal action under the Statute of limitations so don't jump to conclusions.

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ronnyjowe replied to arfa | 9 years ago
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Hi Arfa,

Are you saying that if i settle outside of insurance, i could potentially still make an injury claim in the future?

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arfa replied to ronnyjowe | 9 years ago
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ronnyjowe wrote:

Hi Arfa,

Are you saying that if i settle outside of insurance, i could potentially still make an injury claim in the future?

If the defendant hands over the dosh and tells you it is in full and final settlement then you're done. If it is not in writing then you could make the argument otherwise.
My bottom line advice to you is this, if you are not seriously hurt, do the honourable thing and settle properly. Otherwise brace yourself for a potentially long period of litigation.
Good luck one way or the other

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Flying Scot replied to arfa | 9 years ago
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arfa wrote:

I got taken out and the driver coughed up privately without any quibbles/hassle. I speak as a former lawyer here but do not expect a rapid resolution if you go down the legal claim route - you employ a lawyer to state your claim, the defendant is perfectly entitled to challenge every assertion you make, including what was said to the policeman. This takes time, sometimes a very long time.
OK, give it a few days and then see if you are carrying long term injuries. If not, you are being badly advised to take the legal route if your motivation is to get back on the bike asap, especially when you have someone willing to settle up straight away.
Bear in mind you have three years to decide whether to take legal action under the Statute of limitations so don't jump to conclusions.

This is how I would play it, again, if you're sure you've no lasting injuries, better all round.

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tom_w | 9 years ago
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It's worth bearing in mind that a lot of bike manufacturers say you should replace frame and forks after a crash (this may be more applicable to carbon frames/forks), so you should probably check with the manufacturer as to whether they deem the bike as still safe to use and also whether they will still honour the warranty. If you did have a frame issue at a later date failing to disclose the prior crash would be fraud I guess, so it's not a situation you want to end up in just because you are being kind.

I got doored by a car once and the bike seemed fine, but then developed a fork issue a few months later. Could be coincidence of course, but I kicked myself for telling the driver not to worry about it as there was no obvious damage.

Edit: I know it's a really frustrating thing, because you don't want to be fuelling the claims culture

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oozaveared | 9 years ago
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I agree with the others. Injuries can have long term consequences. Settling outside of insurance is a good idea if it's just bent metal. The driver would have to pay an excess anyway and might lose their no claims discount so it makes sense for them and if they straightforward about paying up for the damage then why involve an insurance company that might actually pay you less and after a lot of paperwork and aggro and cost the driver more.

but injuries are different. There are plenty of cycling claims management companies that advertise about the place. Why not talk to the CTC they have a service for members but can still help you.

http://www.slatergordon.co.uk/unions-federations-and-charities/ctc/ctc-a...

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DaveE128 | 9 years ago
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May be worth seeing the doc if you still aren't feeling ok. That way you will have documented evidence of the after effects. They might even be able to sort you out a bit.

Agree with others you should get quotes from more than one shop for fixing the bike up completely.

Hope you're feeling 100% and back on the bike soon.

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ronnyjowe | 9 years ago
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Thanks for the support and advice.

I'm still not feeling okay and so it's probably right not to settle with the driver.

If anyone can recommend a solicitor, that would be fantastic.

EDIT: Oh and the admission of guilt was uttered to the police officer. Who I think has filed a 'driving without due care and attention' case.

EDIT 2: I'm currently looking at
http://www.slatergordon.co.uk/personal-injury/cycling/

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jacknorell replied to ronnyjowe | 9 years ago
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ronnyjowe wrote:

EDIT 2: I'm currently looking at
http://www.slatergordon.co.uk/personal-injury/cycling/

Good, they're the ones working with one or more major cycling organisations (I think British Cycling) and I've heard good things.

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tonemonkey | 9 years ago
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Don't settle outside of insurance. I had a similar one last year that despite being relatively minor seeming at first ended up with me off the bike for six months, getting a new and much better bike along with a settlement for injuries. It took a few days for the full extent of the injuries to become clear.

Consult a solicitor, preferably one who specialises in cycle injuries (I can recommend who I used) to see if you have a claim before you decide to do anything.

If you have any evidence of his admitting responsibility, hold on to it.

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userfriendly | 9 years ago
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Why would you even be tempted to settle it outside of insurance? Clearly you're a kind human being, but - also clearly - this driver is not, or he wouldn't have been using his vehicle in such a careless manner. If this means that his insurance costs go up then that's the way it should be.

I'll happily grant that this may make me appear belligerent, but in all seriousness, isn't bad driving treated more than leniently enough already?

Glad you're okay physically though, and lucky that the police were nearby.

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