RTA with pedestrian

[j.atk]

Help. A claim is being made against me by the mother of a boy, who ran out into the road in front of me. I had no chance to brake and ended up crashing into him and breaking his leg.
Anyone else had this happen to them.
Whats the next step.
Cheers

[rualexander]

If you are a CTC member you will have third party insurance, so best to contact the CTC insurance/legal department probably.
If you are not at fault which sounds like the case you might be able to counter-claim against the parents for their child causing your accident.

[Tonyf33]

One assumes that the police attended the scene. Have the family spoken to you or have they just sent a letter from their solictors/claim company?
I would suggest speaking with the claim company involved pointing out the facts as per the police statement. Given the circumstances you describe it would seem that it was the wholly the childs fault. If they decide to still go ahead get legal help & counter claim against the family for all losses incurred by yourself including any legal assistance you require.
They sound a right sort.
Good luck

[quiksilver]

'Have you had an accident that you could blame on someone else?, then call 0800 -WE'LL SUE THIER ASSES OFF'

[thirdcrank]

You need professional advice from a solicitor. You may have access to that through something like CTC membership or membership of a trades union. If not, many solicitors give a free initial interview 15 or 20 mins, to tell you what is involved. Make sure they deal with road traffic stuff.

Any advice from anybody on here, apart from suggesting you get professional advice, is likely to cost you £££ in the long run. If you have to pay a solicitor yourself it may not be cheap, but it will still get you the best deal in the long run. If you have a decent and win, the other party would have to pay your costs. If you have no case and have to settle, a decent solicitor will get you the best deal.

[EdinburghFixed]

Get professional advice ASAP - either through the CTC or contact the company direct if you're not a member.

Recall that recent case, where a girl who had been drinking in the park was hit on the road by a cyclist, who actually ended up going down for Dangerous Cycling (and presumably a big civil claim afterwards) due to her friends' testimony. You're not quite at the same risk but you definitely need to get yourself sorted.

[rogerzilla]

In that particular case the girl was unfortunately killed, so a criminal prosecution was almost inevitable. I thought the cyclist (or his lawyer) put up a fairly weak defence,

[Ivor Tingting]

Sorry to read that you were in collision with a ped and a child. If the collision was such that the injured party broke their leg did you suffer any injury or damage to your bike? If so you should lodge a counter claim. You will as stated need specialist legal advice. If you do not use the CTC legal scheme run by Russell Jones Walker then make sure you use a solicitor that is a specialist in personal injury claims and has also dealt with cycling claims. You will also need to have had third party indemnity insurance covering you at the time of the collision otherwise you will more than likely be liable to meet the damages and costs of the other side yourself should you lose or be advised to settle the action being brought against you. Should you not have third party insurance and be unable to pay from liquid assets such as cash then the other side could and will likely enforce their damages against the value of other assets you have such as your house if you own and sufficient equity. You need specialist advice. This cannot be stressed enough. You should take out insurance to cover you in the event of having to pay the other side's legal costs. But a decent solicitor will advise on all these issues and ones no doubt that haven't already been mentioned.

[Milfred Cubicle]

Try checking your home contents policy, or a motoring policy if you have one. Many of the former cover the insured for third party claims (you could just have easily been running for a bus when it happened-hardly the kind of activity one would presume to need insurance for). As for motor cover, sometimes the legal assistance offered with policies is operated by a separate organisation. As such, they may be able to help. Sorry to hear you've been caught up in this horrible wrangle.

[j.atk]

Thanks to everybody. Think I will be getting a specialist solicitor. I just can't see how this can be my fault. There was even a pedestrian crossing 5m away.
Cheers
Jon

[Ivor Tingting]

Try checking ...... or a motoring policy ......As for motor cover, sometimes the legal assistance offered with policies is operated by a separate organisation. As such, they may be able to help..

Woah!!!! Do not do this on any account as if you heard MoneyBox R4 last week you'll know of the numerous people who have done just this, have not made any claim at all, but later found their insurance premiums had shot up. The insurer interviewed by Moneybox even admitted that their Legal Assistance advice was not even given by a legally trained person or solicitor but by an insurance customer service advisor. So beware, your enquiry could cost you money. Best to use the CTC or LCC or 30 mins free advice from a solicitor who specialises in cycling matters. There are enough ads in the cycling mags.

DId you get any witnesses? You mention another pedestrian crossing nearby.

j.atk - If it's any help In feb '08 I was in collision with a kid walking in a group after school 4 abreast straddling the pavement and the cycle lane adjacent on the road in which I was cycling walking toward me. I dress in hi viz and used my bell and was not going fast as it was in centre of town. There was alot of traffic on my right to avoid as well. As I tried to ride around them the outermost kid barged me off my bike. I hit the road hard causing a huge bruise on my right side and knee and hurting my elbow and hand. A police car unfortunately came around the corner a minute later. I had tried to restrain the kid about 16-17yrs from running off and a witness who came to my aid subsequently walked off. But the police said if I wanted them to pursue the kid for assault then they would have to charge me with assault as well for trying to restrain the child (adolescent) from running away. The kid obviously thought he could getaway with what he had done if he made up a cock and bull story that I assaulted him. Anyway I thought the situation was clearly in my favour that I was no way at fault that I was the victim but was horrifed and scared when things quickly reversed when the police made out that I was the cause of the collision riding into the kid who had been in the cycle lane on the road and then refused to move and barging me off as I road around him and then that I had assaulted him as opposed to trying to restrain him. In spite of my painful injuries it was a very distressing time.