What to do in the case of an accident (discussion)

Hi all.

I was at the receiving end of a hit and run yesteday apparently, where I was clipped by a landrover as it overtook me, after which the carried on driving.

I’m struggling to recall much for an hour before and a good few hours after due to the concussion and most of last week is blurry. Pretty battered and bruised, especially on my hip from where I assume they hit me or a I landed, but ct scan was clear and my elbow isn’t broken.

Police were on scene and took witness statements, and currently have my bike although don’t know what state it’s in. If it’s completely buggered, is my only option to go through the motor insurers bureau to try get some compensation and how difficult is the process without external legal advice?

Cheers in advance for any advice

That sounds dreadful, I wish you a speedy recovery. Take it easy, especially with the concussion.

Are you a member of any cycling organisation - BC, what was the CTC, or the LCC - that offers free legal support for cases like this?

Cheers Andy, will do my best. Silver lining is I don’t remember too much about it guess.

No, I used to be part of BC but pretty sure I let it lapse when I realised it was unlikely I was going to race and moved cities and club. I have my bike covered in my home insurance but I think it only covers if it’s pinched whilst locked up.

Probably worth checking if your house insurance has some kind of legal advice support.

To be honest, it’s probably worth engaging a solicitor anyway as they’ll probably get their fees from the motor insurers bureau anyway. It’ll mean less paperwork for you and they’ll know how to get the best outcome for you.

Assuming the police can identify the perpetrator, then you’ll be pursuing their insurers for a claim anyway. I’d definitely lawyer up then if it were me.

Thanks for the advice. I’m still trying to piece together what happened, where I was and to find where my bike has been taken.

I’ve been told there were witnesses and they know roughly what type of car it is but I’m not sure if they know the registration. The landrover didn’t stop, so unless they find them I think I’ll be dealing with MIB.

Is there a forum recommended cycling solicitor?

I don't think we have a single forum recommended solicitor any more, but the firms that hold the contracts with the big cycling organisations all get good reviews, e.g. Leigh Day with the CTC. You absolutely should instruct one.

Here's hoping that the police are good and find the driver, especially as with your injuries you're entitled to compensation. Good luck and heal up well!

Thanks Oliver.

Having spoken to the police just now, at least I know where it happened and have the crime number. Hopefully they might be able to find the driver as the witnesses might have a partial or whole registration.

I’ll wait to hear from the officer who found me and hopefully they can fill in some more of the blanks, before I speak to a solicitor.

Really appreciate the helpful responses, I’ve been knocked off through no fault of my own before but it’s tricky to deal with it when you have no idea what actually happened.

https://c-ams.co.uk/

These guys will take a lot of the leg work out of going through a solicitor and will instruct one on your behalf, as well as arrange for a temporary replacement bike etc

It all sounds terrible, e.g. not even being able to remember where it happened. You could also get in touch with RoadPeace, who offer victim support--just talking to someone can help.

https://www.roadpeace.org/get-support/

Sorry to hear of your accident and I hope they find the driver so they can be held to account!

I've used CAMS in my first accident when someone opened car door on me. They were okay, but are middleman between claimant and the solicitors so didn't add much. They do offer to pay for the repair or replacement of bike damaged in the accident immediately, with the cost added to the claim and recovered later on. I elected to take the value of the repair rather than have the work done through CAMs as this worked out as a better deal, but I hear they are quick to repair or replace bike if they take the claim on.

I spoke with several online solicitors for my second accident claim and chose these guys after numerous conversations on phone with various companies. They were the only outfit where a qualified person took my call to answer my questions, whereas all the others have sales people take enquiries and do any 'onboarding'.

Doug Conaty
D.Conaty@gcoffey.co.uk
Litigation Manager
Graham Coffey and Co Solicitors
Manchester One, Suite 8B, 53 Portland Street, Manchester, M1 3LD
Tel: 0161 200 2970 | Fax: 0161 200 2466
Web: http://www.gcoffey.co.uk

I am always very hesitant to recommend anything to anyone, but would definitely recommend Doug and G. Coffey based on my experience with them, and their performance when compared to other bike claim solicitor.

They have done a great job so far in getting payment for bike, equipment, as well as on account payment for injuries while the thing plays out.

Wishing you a speedy recovery.

Thanks all, for the wishes and the advice. I heard from the police that nobody got the reg. They might put an appeal out for dashcam footage but I doubt that’ll go anywhere, so it looks like MIB will be my only option.

Luckily the police were on scene and I have a crime number. Does anybody know if there’s a time limit for when a claim has to be made or do I have a bit of time to rest up and assess damage before speaking to a solicitor?

Is there any shops with cctv or houses with ring doorbells or similar that could have caught anything? Might be an option to go down and see if anyone has anything they could share with you?

This is Bristol way, and out of the city so unlikely but there might be a local business which has something. Can give them a ring.

Cheers for the recommendation - they’ve agreed to take me on, when Leigh day said they wouldn’t.

One question though - their fee is 35% + vat of whatever they are able to secure from the MIB. Is that standard?

Hi J,

I'm glad they were helpful. I cant comment on MIB claim percentage of 35% as this is different from personal injury which takes 25%.

I just looked online for MIB claim and seems you could submit the claim yourself and not have to pay any of it to solicitors.

If I've read the guidance attached correctly then you only need to provide:

Submit claim form to MIB
Police report
Witness details
Assessment of damage (you can get this from LBS)
Copies of doctor/hospital reports of injuries

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.mib.org.uk/media/216242/guide-to-making-an-mib-claim-issue-6-10-15.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjBodWtvZ__AhVRiVwKHUCyDvMQFnoECA8QAQ&usg=AOvVaw3QQmS6DPgMUA0gkUhK71eB

I just found a no win no fee solicitor that want 25% including VAT for MIB claim so 35% may be high

Yeah did seem quite a bit but i haven’t got a scooby, just wondering if I should call around and see if anybody else would take me on - never had to do this before so don’t know what the deal is.

I think claiming for the damaged bike parts and clothing wouldn’t be too hard. Just not sure what/if I’d ask for compensation for all the soft tissue damage and the knock to the head.

Cheers again for the help and recommendations with all this.

Probably worth a few phone calls to see if you can get a better offer.

Your point about claiming injuries is where solicitor will be of most value as they will likely arrange a specialist assessment to produce a report which they use to claim against for injuries ie neck, soft tissue etc.

Could be worth reading up on doing it yourself to see if others have managed to get a good result?

Physical injuries are where the big (relatively) money is at. Payouts for clothing, bike repair/replacement, loss of earnings (depending on what you do) are small fry in comparison.
It be injury reports from doctors and physio are what confirms the severity of any injury.
I got sent off for an mri and physio sessions after my last incident to confirm my injuries, and that was arranged through my solicitors.

So - I was rear ended on Saturday. Thankfully I seem to be unharmed but the car (driving above speed limit through a zebra crossing that I'd stopped at) smashed up the rear end of my Mason Definition - so wheel, rear mech + frame at a minimum are gone.

Driver admits fault and we have a witness (off duty policeman who is willing to give a witness statement). However - solicitors won't take a no win no fee case if no personal injury element, and I seem to be fine, thankfully. So how do I claim my loss - I guess I have to get in touch with their insurance direct?

Do you have membership of British Cycling, the LCC or what was the CTC?

Good point - I have LCC, I guess does their liability insurance also extend to claiming against a driver's insurance?

I’d contact them, they usually have an arrangement with a legal firm to assist members with claims like this.

They do;

http://www.lcc.org.uk/legal-advice/

Good shout - I've left a message and hopefully they can help

Fingers crossed they can sort it for you. It sounds scary as hell, glad you’re okay.