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

Not exactly kosher but..
Ask to sit in their car to recover if an ambulance has been called- then once the paramedics arrive say your back/neck really hurts. As a auto precaution they can't duck you out the car so cut the roof off instead. Immediate own back.

Sorry if this has been mentioned before but yesteday I was in an accident that was solely my fault. In short, I was carrying a bag that kept rubbing on my front wheel then as I tried to lift the bag to carry it in just one hand it caught my handlebars and pulled my handlebars to the side into oncoming traffic resulting in me hitting the side of a car taking off its wing mirror.
Now, Im ready to pay the cost of damage but Im just wondering if there is anyway of claiming on my bike insurance? Iv read that it could result in me just paying his excess for damage?

Any advice is much appreciated.

What you want is third-party insurance, FONE. This is offered by the UK's major cycling organisations (LCC, CTC, etc.) as part of membership and I would highly recommend it (Disclaimer--as an LCC and CTC member, I'm obviously biased). By 'bike insurance', do you mean theft insurance? Whatever insurance you have, read the terms carefully and see whether this sort of thing is covered. Good luck.

Yeah I mean my bike is insured from theft, thanks for your advice Oliver

I'd like a bit of advice for an incident that happened 2 thursdays ago

I was cycling down west norwood high street , when i hit a car that had pulled out quickly from a side road, going over the bonnet and landing on my face - the woman was apologetic and told me that the person turning left onto the side road blocking her view had told her it was safe to come out. luckily alot of people actually seemed to care so when i was taken into the ambulance i was handed the details of a witness for me and somebody had already contacted the police.

I was advised to persue a claim for my injuries but I have no idea how to go about it and cannot afford myself a solicitor - so i went ahead and called National Accident Helpline

I was meant to have a meeting today at my house at 8, but the person I was meant to meet didn't arrive. after me calling at 10 o'clock the person told me she had no details of the appointment or my case and , after another hour, she called back and we organised to meet tomorrow. 2 minutes later she calls me, not having a clue that she'd called me, saying I had an appointment at 12 today, clearly having no idea she had spoken to me just a few minutes ago.

Now this sort of imcompetency worries me (first impressions are pretty terrible at the moment) if this person is handling my case, so any recommendations of what I should do? I would have thought the case is pretty clear cut. I can't afford to do anything but no win no fee, are there small (competent) firms that do this or can somebody reccomend a firm they've used before?

Just been hit up the back side by a private cab, not once did he say sorry, I let him drop his fair off and come back and then he calls me an arse.

Whats the best way forward with this, just noticed a small cut on my leg but seem to be OK. Would like the bike checked over to make sure its not damaged. I stopped at a red light which he recons was green! Would really appreciate any advice.

Should I report to carriage office?

Looking at the first part which is very helpfull it would seem I need to pay out for a report and new parts which are likely to only come to a few hundred. The police then recomended a no win no fee person but for a few hundred I wouldnt have thought they would be interest.

I'd like a bit of advice for an incident that happened 2 thursdays ago

I was cycling down west norwood high street , when i hit a car that had pulled out quickly from a side road, going over the bonnet and landing on my face - the woman was apologetic and told me that the person turning left onto the side road blocking her view had told her it was safe to come out. luckily alot of people actually seemed to care so when i was taken into the ambulance i was handed the details of a witness for me and somebody had already contacted the police.

I was advised to persue a claim for my injuries but I have no idea how to go about it and cannot afford myself a solicitor - so i went ahead and called National Accident Helpline

I was meant to have a meeting today at my house at 8, but the person I was meant to meet didn't arrive. after me calling at 10 o'clock the person told me she had no details of the appointment or my case and , after another hour, she called back and we organised to meet tomorrow. 2 minutes later she calls me, not having a clue that she'd called me, saying I had an appointment at 12 today, clearly having no idea she had spoken to me just a few minutes ago.

Now this sort of imcompetency worries me (first impressions are pretty terrible at the moment) if this person is handling my case, so any recommendations of what I should do? I would have thought the case is pretty clear cut. I can't afford to do anything but no win no fee, are there small (competent) firms that do this or can somebody reccomend a firm they've used before?
Just Google for a London solicitors and find someone who deals with litigation. If you have a witness and it wasn't your fault, most solicitors will want to take your case as they get to charge the person you're suing for their fees (i.e. they are given an easy meal).

Now for my problem... 2 weeks ago I was cycling along a road (going pretty fast, maybe 25mph) and a car pulled out from a side road and I hit straight into her bonnet. She basically admitted liability by saying that she wanted to pay for my bike (the steel frame was totalled) by cheque instead of going through insurance. I said that was not acceptable as I had hurt my knee and if it didn't heal properly I would want compensation. I have just found out yesterday that I have cartilage damage, so it's not gonna heal properly :'( Two questions - I have no witnesses or CCTV other than me, her and her passenger. Although a pub full of people laughed as the accident happened, none came over to help and I didn't feel like approaching them to ask for their details (chav pub). Is there likely to be any problem with claiming against her? She is totally at fault and also admitted liability, however I understand insurance companies might try to wrangle their way out of this by the fact there are no independent witnesses. Also, what timeframes are associated with this sort of claim? My solicitor said "I can't see how they could deny liability" and it "could take several months" but I am not particularly satisfied with his vagueness - would be great to have a second opinion.

Cheers

@chriss-aa - the LCC recommended solicitors are Levenes. i've used them and am happy with them. Explain it all and support you through waht is a long process.

@ta2 - my accident took place over two years ago and is finally nearing completion. The solicitor said it would take 18months plus - it all depends. Your side can wor through things very quickly - your statement, medical examinations, witness statements etc but other factors outside of your (and their) control can delay things. I can understand why the solicitor is vague - doesn't want to make a promise they can't keep. Be prepared for a long wait (potentially) which in itself is stressful, expect the driver to lie and to call you a liar, expect there to be some negotiation on liability (it's a tactic and a way to get it settled even though you know you are 100% in the right) and be prepared to wait.

anyone want to offer their thoughts on what more i can do with the info i thought to gather at the scene of a recent accident involving a minicab? i have what i have but i'd be greatful for any advice or insights. if the below sounds a little formal its because i've pulled much of it directly from a statement i drafted:

riding along Victoria Street London SW1 I was struck from the right by a left turning car and knocked off my bike. I was cycling in the inside left lane on a four lane road.
A vehicle drew level with me from behind and, without indicating, turned sharply left across my path. This knocked me from the bike, It is important to emphasise that the vehicle drew level with me from behind me, I did not undertake it from the inside left lane. On impact I flew clear and the bicycle went under the front left wheel of the motor vehicle. I landed on the tarmac and sustained light injuries. the bike sustained serious damage.

The driver asked me if i was ok, opologised and said "that was my fault". I thanks him for admitting liability and told him i needed to call the police as i was injured and that is the law as i understand it. ha told me he would wait until the police arrived. he remained cooperative and afaik, admitted liability to the police when questioned, giving them his insurance details without prompting.
i've contacted the insurers, the driver is covered under their taxi department. the policy number he gave does not check out - ot does not match any format they recognise. this may be an error on his part or on the past of the cop who wrote it down.

i have:
pics of the scene and car reg
driver's name and home address
names and numbers of both cops (who seemed symathetic and were helpfull at the scene)

i dont have:
witnesses
havent checked cctv

I've faxed details to the driver's insurers as instructed (and as the cops suggested) but have already met eith the whole department-passing run-around as well as staff apparently feigning ignorance of procedure. I'm pretty persistant and can negotiate my way around bureaucracies fairlt well so i'm not about to be put off.

any suggestions though? I'd like to see the equipment and clothing damaged in the accident paid for.

get onto the old bill asap, explain it appears he has given false details

get the full details from them and go back to the insurance company

contact one of the solicitors we like on the solicitors we like thread, oli is my one of choice

Matt

Go to hospital now!

james - many thanks for the help and advice, both here and off-line. appreciated.

Get your injuries checked out, even if they are minor. If it turns out in a couple of months time that you actually broke your finger or something and didn't go to hospital to get it checked out originally you will probably be entitled to nothing.

My friend got gently knocked off his bike from behind once and got a few scratches and grazes; the insurance company paid him £50 just so they could tick of a box to say they settled injury damages.

^ cheers ta2, that seems to be the consensus. going to my gp to get checked out just in case.

Anyone else experienced this BS?

** TRAFFIC COLLISION: {SNIP} 2010, {SNIP} Road, {SNIP}**

  With reference to your letter recently received concerning the above.
  Please be advised that there is a charge of £29.40 to supply limited particulars
  (including witness details and outcome of investigation), or a charge of £82.60 for a
  copy of the police abstract.
  The charge is for administration purposes, and is irrespective of the number of pages
  supplied, or content.
  i am therefore unable to provide the requested information until such time as the
  necessary fee has been paid (cheques payable to Dorset Police Authority).

Yours faithfully,

  Civil Disclosure Support Officer

Waited eagerly for a very long time about getting a response from the police, and now I have to wait even longer until they can 'process' my money and send the actual documents. Who knows, maybe their next response will be "You did not enclose funds for postage and packaging, there is a charge of £9.40 for this".

After my accident a few weeks ago I tried going down the 'no win, no fee' route & I seem to be getting passed around from company to company. Is this normal?

After my accident a few weeks ago I tried going down the 'no win, no fee' route & I seem to be getting passed around from company to company. Is this normal?
Forget this and go speak to a real solicitor. If you have no chance of winning, they will tell you and then they will also tell you their price. If you have a good chance of winning the solicitor will not charge you anything as they'll be able to claim it back from the other person's insurance. In my case, my solicitor has not even quoted me his costs because he is so sure that I will win.

Report him to the SRA - this is not good practice.
I'm pretty sure that we are under a no win-no fee type arrangement. As with any service, he wouldn't be entitled to any payment since he didn't quote his price.

Thought you might like to hear some nice news
Finally went to court yesterday over an incident that happened in April 09
The guy who hit me got 6 points on his licence and a court fine of £445.
Not much in the grand scheme of things but it feels good to know not everyone gets away with driving like a prat.

Good stuff, Amy.

Not for me to tell the story (it may be here elsewhere) but 6pt also had some success after being hit in the face with a white van. It does happen...

So one of my best friends was hit by a van tonight on King's Road tonight. I got him into cycling so I feel some responsibility. Fortunately he's basically fine and it was definitely the drivers fault (a genuine accident), but his bike sounds like it is fubared and his helmet definitely is - he was hit head on and his head hit the windscreen.

He was attended to at the scene by paramedics, who wrote up his injuries. Is this good enough? Or does he need to go to hospital? They gave him a copy of the write up which basically said minor injuries.

He has the business card of one witness and another witness gave his details to a fireman from the fire station on King's Road (they heard/saw it happen, so he was immediately attended by 7 firemen).

5 policemen (!) also attended so it's properly written up as a traffic offence and he also has a copy of this.

Obviously I have explained the importance of getting the second witnesses details ASAP. He's going to take photos of the damage (the bike was taken home in the ambulance) and go to a bike shop tomorrow to get an estimate of costs.

Is there anywhere that is recommended/not particularly recommended for getting a vintage 531 road frame valued? The bike is badly damaged, he thinks the frame itself is ok but I want him to be absolutely sure. It doesn't help that it's meant to have been made by some rare frame maker but was resprayed as a Caygill and I don't want it undervalued... It had some nice bits on.

Any tips?

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I kindly ask people not to post "war stories" on this thread.

They make this thread hard to read for people like you. Most of your questions are answered on this thread, but now the answers may be hard to find.