Cycling accident and compensation.

[Beaker]

Sorry for being one of those first posters.

Two months ago I was involved in an accident. I was on a road travelling down a reasonable hill. I'd estimate I was going close to 30mph. A courier van driver popped his nose out at a junction and stopped. I thought we made eye contact and I was 100% sure he was looking directly at me. Very last second he pulled out to turn right across my path.

I slammed the brakes on and turned/skidded left. I went head and shoulder into the side of the van before landing in a heap on the road. I was knocked out for a briefly as the van driver and another driver were already above me before I realised what was going on.

I had bruising all down my right side. Nearly everything was sore including my head, eye, shoulder, chest, elbow, hand and ankle. I went to A&E later in the day as I was still sore and not feeling well. There was nothing broken. Even though I was knocked out they didn't seem concerned as I was aware of my surroundings and knew what day of the week it was.

The driver and insurance company admitted liability without question. The insurance handler already had the pictures of the van and was very surprised I managed to walk away. They paid market value for my bike that was beyond economical repair. They also paid for six sessions with a physiotherapist. The insurance company said they would address the injury compensation after eight weeks. We are at that point now.

I'm feeling much better now. After two months I'd say I'm 95% recovered. I'd say my elbow isn't quite 100% yet. For the first three weeks I had limited mobility due to my sore ankle. My neck, elbow shoulder were all stiff and sore and have taken between 4-8 weeks to get where we are now.

I do want to move on and hope they offer me a reasonable sum of compensation. It's really hard to judge what is acceptable. Is there any rough guides out there? I know the obvious answer is to speak to a solicitor. As above I'd like to just come to a reasonable agreement and move on without a long-winded fight.

One of the big issues for me is a lack of lost earnings. I had just finished with my previous employer the day before the accident. I had planned to take a few months off before getting back into work. Getting out on the bike to improve my fitness was part of the plan. Day one and this happened! It ruined my plans. I've not been able to carry out my plans and equally I'd have been unfit to work. It's been a waste of my time at my expense.

Anyone any idea how that would be looked at? I won't be compensated for being idle if there wasn't actual lost earnings?

What about the compensation for the injuries?

Thanks for reading my rant. All advice and assistance gratefully accepted.

[Jdsk]

Welcome.

1 Keep a record of everything.

2 If you have lost potential earnings there's no bar on them being included in the damages.

3 Do you have access to legal aid through a union or association, or any insurance policy, or anything else?

4 What's your estimate of the compensation that you are now seeking?

Jonathan

[mattsccm]

Migfht not be possible or a good diea to claim for injuries until they are sorted out. You don't want to claim and settle then find that its ongoing.

[Dingdong]

If you have a good no win, no fee lawyer who is on a percentage of the final settlement as payment you can expect a decent amount. Happened to me about 8 years ago and I got 10k for my bike and injuries/loss of earnings, and another 6k for physio/dental work.

Although the money was useful, to me it was just desserts for a driver well over the limit who could have easily killed me. I won't easily forget waking up in hospital after having walked away from the scene only to collapse and pass out on the pavement smashing several teeth in the process. As far as I remember the insurance had a caveat for ongoing treatment, which was needed as one of the teeth I had replaced got badly infected and had to be redone.


Don't settle for anything until your lawyer has investigated every possible avenue of compensation. And even then, always refuse the first offer from the insurers which is likely to be a low ball in the hope you will roll over.

[Beaker]

Thanks everyone.

What am expecting in terms of compensation? I don't know what is fair and find it hard to put a value on it. I was looking for examples of what other people got. Getting knocked off our bikes sadly isn't a rare thing.

I don't want to go down the solicitor route and for this to drag on for a long time. I hope the insurance company comes back with a reasonable offer and the matter can be closed.

The loss of earnings is the one that I'm concerned with. I chose to take time away from work at my expense after redundancy. I couldn't do the things I wanted as I was too sore. I've a horrible feeling that they'll say I'm unemployed so I'm entitled to zero lost earnings.

I hope they offer what would be the equivalent of two months salary plus what is fair for having pain and being idle for weeks.

[Jdsk]

There are websites that purport to give you the going rates for various injuries.

From what you have told us I strongly recommend getting a medical report and some legal advice.

Jonathan

[thirdcrank]

The only advice is to consult a solicitor specialising in personal injury claims. By consult I mean check with them to see if you have a case, before instructing them. I think most offer this service but it's up to you to make the most of it. Have all the facts at your fingertips, including any details of insurance policies which may pay for legal representation.

The law was changed some ten years ago under the aegis of the then Chancellor - George Osborne - with the avowed intention to fight the so-called compensation culture and cut the cost of motor insurance. One feature was that the claimant's lawyer's "success fee" previously paid by the defendant (more often by their insurance company) was made payable by the claimant. More about that here:-

https://www.quittance.co.uk/personal-in ... ccess-fees

Incidentally, that link brought up this, which may answer some of your questions

https://www.quittance.co.uk/personal-in ... calculator

One of the things which I don't think is in there is the change of approach to "soft tissue" injuries aimed at allegedly spurious whiplash claims but affecting many other types of injury. I think this is why the insurer has paid for the physio etc.

AIUI, the insurer has already stumped up for the quantifiable things: replacement bike and loss of earnings, which in this case = nil. The physio goes some way to relieve the pain and suffering element. All that's really left is any resulting disability, for which there are calculations set by precedent. If you expect to make a full recovery, there isn't a telephone number compo sum waiting for the right lawyer to claim for you.

Somewhere in the Cycling Lawyer blog there's an explanation of how the revised rules disadvantage cyclists with a bona fide claim but I cannot find it.

https://thecyclingsilk.blogspot.com/
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This crossed with the last few posts. (I was making a difference between "loss of earnings" and "loss of potential earnings")

[Steve X]

I don't want to go down the solicitor route and for this to drag on for a long time. I hope the insurance company comes back with a reasonable offer and the matter can be closed.

You need a Solicitor, the insurance company will try and pay you as little as possible. As far as they are concerned £0 is the goal.
I would have thought the CTC would have a proper advice service for this type of thing, definitely for members, but as a campaigning body for all members.
Also, who insurers you as a cyclist, can they not advise?

[philvantwo]

If you've got a letter from his insurance company admitting liability then go and see a solicitor. 3 times I've been hit, the last one was a hit and run in 2015, 5 weeks off work but I got paid!
I had to go through the Motor Insurance Bureau, who as soon as I gave them a crime number from the police booked me appointments with consultants and then finally an MRI scan. All this took a couple of years and I got £12,000.
Don't listen to all the so called experts on here who just post links on here and have no experience whatsoever. Don't go down the no win no fee route either.
Oh and if you have another incident stay down on the road and get an ambulance called out for you.
Best of luck!

From someone who knows.

[thirdcrank]

20150127143246.JPGIf you've got a letter from his insurance company admitting liability then go and see a solicitor. 3 times I've been hit, the last one was a hit and run in 2015, 5 weeks off work but I got paid!
I had to go through the Motor Insurance Bureau, who as soon as I gave them a crime number from the police booked me appointments with consultants and then finally an MRI scan. All this took a couple of years and I got £12,000.
Don't listen to all the so called experts on here who just post links on here and have no experience whatsoever. Don't go down the no win no fee route either.
Oh and if you have another incident stay down on the road and get an ambulance called out for you.
Best of luck!

From someone who knows.

Out of interest, would you recommend the solicitor who acted for you in your dealings with the MIB?

[Vorpal]

Thanks everyone.

What am expecting in terms of compensation? I don't know what is fair and find it hard to put a value on it. I was looking for examples of what other people got. Getting knocked off our bikes sadly isn't a rare thing.

I don't want to go down the solicitor route and for this to drag on for a long time. I hope the insurance company comes back with a reasonable offer and the matter can be closed.

The loss of earnings is the one that I'm concerned with. I chose to take time away from work at my expense after redundancy. I couldn't do the things I wanted as I was too sore. I've a horrible feeling that they'll say I'm unemployed so I'm entitled to zero lost earnings.

I hope they offer what would be the equivalent of two months salary plus what is fair for having pain and being idle for weeks.

A friend who was in a serious crash was told a couple of things that I think are sensible to keep in mind
1) insurance companies almost make a very low first offer in the hopes that you will take it & go away
2) a couple of of months after a crash you do not yet know what, if any long term implications there might be

Although the folks I know who've been in crashes received legal aid through membership in Cycling UK or British Cycling, I do think that it is advisable to consult a solicitor who is familiar with cycling cases. If you have membership in any cycling organisations, you probably have access to advice through them.

It is entirely reasonable to ask for compensation for the time that you were unable to work. You had planned on using this time for your own benefit, and were unable to do so. If you had been employed, your employer would have been entitled to compensation (not you). In addition, it is probably worth pointing out that you had been made redundant and were unable to seek employment. Whether or not you intended to (or start your own business for that matter) has nothing to do with the insurance company.

[thirdcrank]

Personal experience has been mentioned and mine is not recent. I did once have a motor accident claim when my car was shunted and written off. I used a claims handling system before they really got going. Long after everything else had been settled eg new car, I had a call from "my" (Liverpool) solicitor who had only just been passed the file after all the admin people had worked on it. She said she felt the offer was too low but would only be increased if I was prepared to go to court - an obstacle for many people. Once I had told her that going to court held no concerns for me - loads of experience as a then serving police officer - she rang the other side and came back with a much bigger offer, explaining that if I wanted more it would mean going to court and risking losing the lot. Based on her advice that the revised offer was reasonable I accepted it and the whole exercise had taken under half an hour.

On another, more recent occasion I was on the receiving end of a fraudulent crash-for-cash claim. The other driver allowed their car to run backwards at traffic lights into mine when one of my sons was using it. No damage to my car but a personal injury claim from the other driver with receipts for extensive car repairs all completed within minutes on the Sunday afternoon. After all sorts of discussions with call centres in India, I eventually ended up with a bloke in Liverpool (by coincidence) who took the line that the insurer would simply refuse the claim and wait for proceedings which, surprise, surprise, never happened.

I don't think it's in an insurer's interests to try to rip off a genuine claimant as it will cost more if that claimant then instructs a solicitor. I do think they will offer on the low side of "reasonable" and that most of the spadework is dealt with by clerical people reading off a screen and ticking boxes, while the call is recorded in case there's an argument about what's been said. So if there's a question about loss of earnings and you say "No, but ...." then the "No" box is ticked and the claim is likely to be settled on that basis unless it's disputed. I've no idea what the going rate is for missed opportunities while recovering from injury but as it's not quantifiable with receipts etc., it's going to be a matter for negotiation.

This negotiation is where instructing a solicitor is invaluable. Even their junior staff should know the ropes and they can negotiate on a "without prejudice" basis. And, they know from their tables what's reasonable.

[Tiggertoo]

It is a great shame that the 'No win, no fee' system was introduced into Britain some 30 years ago by the then attorney general who wanted the same system as exists in the US. It has been a downward slope every since with low lifes and bottom feeding attorneys eager to get rich at others expense. It is also why there are not many playgrounds with swings on them any more.

[philvantwo]

I didn't have a solicitor, the MIB advised once I'd got a crime number from the police it would be fairly straightforward, I just had to give them permission to view my medical records and allow them to access the witness statement. Then there were 2 appointments with consultants, a medical and then a MRI scan, all of which were at weekends.
It did say on the letter saying that they were going to offer me £12,000 if I wished to appeal against that figure for more money then I would have to pay the sum of £800 for the cost of the hearing.

[Dingdong]

There are a few cyclist run no win no fee advocates in the UK. The one I used was excellent. I only had to see them three times. In the end I got 26k, my lawyer said that if I had held out for another 4 months in could have got 45. I wasn't that bothered in the end, because by then all my teeth had been fixed and I was feeling immeasurably better

The driver got let off with a slap on the wrist. But in guess if she ever tried to get insurance again it would be a five figure job