Crash!

[exilefromkent]

Last Thursday I took a detour on my commute and when decending speed (55kmh) into a New Mills (derbyshire) a van driver had parked on the inside of a bend (with double solid white lines in the centre of the road. He opened the door as I passed and sent me sprawling.

I've since needed plastic surgery to my hand because I had what's called partial degloving, and some scrapes (knees, elbows, hip for example. I've got pictures of the van, driver, his employer and licence too.

I've got pictures of the van,driver,location,driving licence and his employer too. I then got on the british cycling website and filled a form regarding legal advice.

I've also got pictures of my injuries.

What else should I do or not do? Any advice is welcome.

Thanks in advance.

[Duckfoot1606]

You have reported it to the police, haven’t you?

A

[rafletcher]

Ouch! Degloving is definitely type 2 fun. Look after yourself. If you’ve advised BC legal you’ve probably done enough for the immediate future. But don’t neglect kit and equipment damage.

[Jurek]

I'd probably avoid discussing specific details on here, lest it ends up in court.

[exilefromkent]

I did report to the police to ensure its all above board. They were excellent and called me back the next day. I didn't feel the need to prosecute. The fella was very decent, apologetic and helpful afterwards. I'm more concerned with claiming for damages on his insurance.

It all adds up and I'm beginning to see why why wife complains about my many cycling purchases. The NHS has also excellent, I was seen rather soon in that evening and all seen up within 18 hours. I hope I recover all the mobility in my hand though l, that's what concerns me now.

[JellyLegs]

I have no advice that hasn’t already been covered, but get well soon and best wishes for a full recovery as partial degloving is very nasty.

[Jaded]

Ouch, sorry to hear that, sounds horrible.

My advice would be not to complete or agree a claim until you are absolutely sure you have accounted for all long term effects of the crash. That is both physical - movement, pain, etc. and mental - shock, any post trauma effects etc.

It may be possible to do an interim claim for things - like the equipment, but if you settle, then find (for example) you cannot work as a result of it, you'll be seriously affected with restricted comeback.

[Kim]

Hands are precious and if there are going to be long-term consequences, Future You will want the insurance claim to reflect that, even if Current You would like the whole business to be over and done with...

ETA: Crosspost with Jaded.

Best wishes for the recovery.

[Lightning Phil]

Dooring is an offence and I’m sure the police will pursue that anyway. Plus parking in a dangerous location. Good luck with recovery.

[fd3]

^ this and ^^ this.  I'm sure there are lots of decent people who do stupid things that result in someone else being injured; whether or not they are decent doesn't change the fact that it's their responsibility.
When I was last hit by a car I also waned it all done with and behind me, but that left me a couple £100s out of pocket and I only had soft tissue damage.  If the driver is really decent then they won't quibble covering your costs, that's what they pay insurance for.

[ElyDave]

Ouch, sorry to hear that, sounds horrible.

My advice would be not to complete or agree a claim until you are absolutely sure you have accounted for all long term effects of the crash. That is both physical - movement, pain, etc. and mental - shock, any post trauma effects etc.

It may be possible to do an interim claim for things - like the equipment, but if you settle, then find (for example) you cannot work as a result of it, you'll be seriously affected with restricted comeback.

very much this, get yourself a no win no fee lawyer and listen to them.  The sole job of their insurer from now on is to minimise the claim.  I'm just about there after 4 years following a SMIDSY

[neilrj]

Double something, whites, yellows or both?

Double white lines can mean either side is a broken line, or both are indeed solid lines, and whilst 'double white lines' makes parking illegal sadly deliveries are still allowed (it was a van after all) so daft, unsafe and all that, but not illegal if delivering.

55kph in Derbyshire, I thought we used mph here in good old blighty, wasn't a 30mph motor vehicle limit was it, 34mph is legal on a bike obviously...

Bike damage is just 2nd hand value (clothing and accessories too) and settled fairly quickly, injury claims are minimum of a year (often several) and will run into £thousands.

BC (Leigh Day) handled virtually identical claims quicker, and 2x value than CTC (Slater Gordon) to my knowledge recently.

[Pickled Onion]

Dooring is an offence and I’m sure the police will pursue that anyway. Plus parking in a dangerous location. Good luck with recovery.

They might do, but they probably won't.

My advice would be to insist that they prosecute. And don't let the police fob you off - it's not their decision, they send it to the CPS who make the decision whether to prosecute.

It will be very valuable to you when, two years down the line the insurance company is saying "it never happened" and "it was your fault anyway". And they will, if my experience is anything to go by.

And +1 to "make sure you get a solicitor".

[T42]

Your account of your injuries made me cringe.  Dooring here is equivalent to dangerous driving - manoeuvring a vehicle without due care etc. Bloke would be bounced.

Best wishes for your recovery.

[mrcharly-YHT]

Much sympathy.

I'm pleased to hear that the driver was apologetic. However, you have had a major injury, that almost certainly will leave some permanent issues.  Apart from costs of repairs to bike etc, you really must push for monetary compensation. Not for any mercenary reason, but simply because you might well have future expenses (paying for private medical treatment such as physio for example).  In the immediate aftermath of a crash, filled with the relief of "I'm alive", it is easy to think "don't want the fuss, just want my bike repaired."

Might be worth making preliminary approaches to a firm like gordon slater.

[Southy]

Sorry to hear about this OP.

Having been knocked off by a car jumping a red light (image how triggered I get when that trope gets rolled out about cyclists) and the guy denied he did it, I would concur with the advice about ensuring the police pursue this, they would be acting in the public interest and once it goes to court it is the state vs the driver, rather than you as an individual.

Initially, the insurance company just took his word for it and denied he was involved. This did change after court.

With mine, I had a couple of solid witnesses and he went to magistrates court and they charged him with driving without due care and failing to stop. Even with the slam dunk of a court deciding he was there and with witnesses, it still took about 14 months for the case to settle as I had to have a medical assessment and medical records sent to insurers (literally every interaction I had with the NHS from birth, I got a copy of it). Thankfully I just had some cuts and minor rib damage which hasn't reoccurred yet. But the reason for the delay was partly to assess any after effects. In your case, as suggested, it may be worth going to the solicitors and seeing if you can get an interim claim if you need a bike/clothes immediately but otherwise, don't settle for anything until you can be sure you have identified any issues. The purpose of any claim should be either to cover costs to get your body as if you had never been in an accident or to compensate you for the loss of this. There are some indications of costs here:

https://www.accidentclaimsadvice.org.uk/calculating-a-personal-injury-claim/

In terms of timelines, my incident was January 2017, the magistrates was November 2017 and I got compensation paid in January 2019, pretty much two years to the day after the incident.

Good luck and hope you have a speedy recover and if possible, get out on the bike as soon as is practical. I found this helped for me psychologically and rarely think about my incident now. Other then when I am riding the bike that the compensation bought.

[chrisbainbridge]

I would echo everything said above. You MUST get a solicitor. A degloving can be a function changing injury and you may not know for another year or longer. What happens if you get arthritis in 5 years?

[hellymedic]

Hope you make a smooth and uncomplicated recovery!
List EVERY expense or inconvenience this crash has caused:
Clothing damage
Bike damage (get bike assessed professionally.)
Every injury and its progress
Dental issues
Rescheduled appointments
Time off work
Travel expenses
etc, etc, etc

It will add up to more than you (or the driver) imagine!

Make sure you get fully recompensed...

[exilefromkent]

Thank you everyone for your replies, it turns out that British cycling membership through a club isn't sufficient for their legal protection so I went to  locally respected shop and asked the staff, they'd all previously has similar situations and recommended a nearby lawyer they'd used. I then visited them and have started the paperwork. I hadn't thought of shoes for instance as part of the claim, since they've got carbon soles they'll also be written off I think.

I'll start to make a list before I forget what I wore, and the computer too. Which is now somewhere on that road, in my confusion I didn't pick it up or even check for it on the bike.

Someone suggested prosecuting the driver, I agree with you, and will now instruct the police to take action. If it prevents another accident in the future it'll be the right thing to do.

Someone also asked about the road lines, the lines down the centre of the road are double solid white lines on the location and the preceding hundred yards or now and it stay that way for another 50 yards afterwards. He definitely shouldn't have parked there.

I do trust the local cycle shop staff and they used these lawyers but how on earth does a person know that one company will do a better job that another?

[Jaded]

how on earth does a person know that one company will do a better job than another?

Well, that's a great unknown. I still wonder if I would have received more with a different set of solicitors. Certainly they passed on an offer from the defendant's insurers*, without comment. I said I wanted double and got it. I was one of the last to get compensated, as far as I know, and I used one of the main legal companies.

I think key things are that you get on with and trust the company, and that they are experienced in personal injury claims, preferably with some cycling/road experience.

*not a bike crash, liability admitted, all companies involved with the same insurers.

[iandusud]

So sorry to hear of what happened to you. Please bear in mind that it doesn't matter how decent the man was, it is not him who will be paying up - it is his insurance company, and they will do all they can to minimise what they have to cough up. Let your lawyer do his job. Hope you get well soon but remember that you may well have long term damage. I have very restricted movement in my right wrist from an incident 40 years ago when I was knocked off.

[Jurek]

^This.

[chrisbainbridge]

Solicitors vary widely, within the same firm even. Over the course of litigation your solicitor may move, be promoted or leave.
A small firm generally seems to have more stable staff in my experience as an expert working for large numbers of firms.

[exilefromkent]

Another update, It occured to me that since no-win no-fee solicitors take a cut I should check my house insurance and despite never remembering clicking the box I have it!

What luck,  can now pursue the claim through this and not have to pay someone to pursue it on my behalf. I realise it'll effect my premium but I think that'll be cheaper ultimately anyway since another solicitor may take a substantial cut (up to 25% apparently)

[Cudzoziemiec]

Sympathy and best wishes.