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Advice please after being hit by car
I was just riding roads linking up some trails and got cleaned up by a car at a roundabout. Luckily I am OK but bike is a different story. It's 2 weeks old and the rear wheel is buckled big time, the carbon framed is scratched to buggery, the RD is scratched and bent, handlesbars are all scuffed up and I am pissed off. Driver was sheidling eyes from the sun and just ran staright into me while looking in another direction.
Any lawyers/solicitors/experienced riders out there who can advise teh best course of action and how much I should be seeking eg repairs or full replacement???
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I hope you're in better nick than the bike!
It's all about the evidence.
Did police get called to the incident at the time? Do you have other witnesses? If not, you're pretty much toast I'm afraid unless you have helmet camera footage.
Your next best chance is if you left a mark on the car. If you haven't already, you must go and make a police report immediately.
I know that's probably not what you want to hear, but having been hit twice by cars, one of which hospitalised me, the only way I got paid out was because the driver's insurer had a police report that said their driver broke the road rules when they nailed me and were issued TINs, which gave the insurer no wiggle room. Insurers are not your friend, their job is to avoid paying you whenever possible.
Always call the cops if you get hit.
Assuming the answer is no, for next time bear this in mind:
* Remove yourself from any danger. This takes first priority.
* If you've taken a hit to the body from the car, your bike, or the pavement, you are justified in calling an ambulance to get triaged on site as you will almost always be in a state of shock after the collision and your judgement will be impaired. Having a second set of eyes look you over on site is prudent unless you are *100% certain* you have suffered no injuries.
* Given your vehicle* is "undrivable" because of the damage, you are justified in calling the police to the scene immediately.
* Get the driver's details.
I called an ambulance first and then the police each time, because in the first I had clearly busted up my hand, and in the second I'd taken a hit to the chest off the end of the handlebar and despite the absence of other injuries the ambo office confirmed I'd made the right call in calling them out becasue of the cardiac risk, even though I ultimately tested OK on their ECG.
Getting the ambo out then elevated the priority the police put on getting out to the scene quickly to speak to witnesses and manage traffic impacts. This improved my chances of getting the driver TIN'd.
Hope this helps. Sorry about hte novel
* as defined by rules 14 and 15 of the NSW Road Rules 2008
I got hit on my roadie in the same circumstances 3 months ago, bike was a write off and I was taken by ambulance for observations after landing on my head and lots of cuts and abrasions.
If you have all of their details then as long as they are insured and willing to make a claim for you, if not it gets complicated. What saved me was the Event Number I was able to get from the Police as they were called, if you report the accident you should get on to.
Initially the driver in my accident refused to release their name to me via the Police so due to privacy laws the Police could not share the other drivers details! Lots of visits to the Police station and some creative questioning of young Police Officers eventually gave me enough details to find the driver in the white pages after a couple of calls. The next stop for me was the community legal centre who was able to give me some guideance and letter template for a Letter of Demand etc. I then sent that to them stating they had a set period of time to replace my damaged goods through direct payment or insurance claim by a set date or I would pursue legal action. This got their attention but no action. A second letter hand delivered by a "legal representative" (mate) escalating the claims and demands got them to claim through there insurance company. The insurance company is another issue but they seem to respond to persistence and well documented quote/reports from the lbs and lots of photos. I called them every week for 8 weeks until a couple of days they finally agreed to pay and today I picked up my new roadie.
The local bike shop was a good source of information on what to do, who to call or lawyers who have represented other cyclist as they have quoted or done insurance jobs before in most cases. Another reason to shop locally.
Best of luck and good to hear your OK.
I lodged a police report prior to posting this thread and I also have 2 witnesses that both stated she wasn't even looking where she was going and just cleaned me up. I have the drivers full details so no dramas there. I'll make them a house call tomorrow and kick things off
Cambo, my best man is a litigation lawyer, this type of thing is right up his street.
Don't make contact with the person who hit you, It could work against you.
Message me your details and I'll call you tomorrow to get the legal proceedings underway.
Pete
@quickstep, surely that's 3 demerit points right there: faikure to exchange insurance details after a collision?
+1 for not contacting the perpetrator in person. Send by mail. The laws work in your favour there, just keep a photocopy.
(Would be nice if BNSW offered a first legal consult free service like BV and BSA.
)
The police were very helpful and polite at not doing much at all. After two weeks of not getting anywhere I asked them to charge them for not exchanging details and leaving the scene of an accident. Both witnesses reported to Police at the time of the accident. The driver did return after the ambulance arrived but before the Police and parked 100m up the road, and never got out of the car. I tried to get some action on this and the cops made it all out to be a big hassle and tried to convince me it was all an accident and I was OK now so should just let them deal with it. I wanted the claim process to remain as smooth as possible so didnt want to make the driver too angry but held this facts against them in the letters of demand and said that I would push for those if this was not resolved quickly.
Yeah I would not make direct contact as I heard of a case where the driver turned around and tried to get an AVO against the cyclist who was hit because he called them a few times and eventually went round the their house and that created a downward spiral in the claim process.
Call their insurance company and to inform them of the likelihood of claim so it goes on their file, also start the process with their insurance of a personal injury claim even if you have stratches or a bruise as this also goes on their file, I did that but never followed on it as I was also covered by work cover as I was on the way to work. This at least notifies them that their insurance company knows and they might as well pay the excess and get it sorted.
Best of luck
To call the Ambo's especially if your riding to or from work as it is covered under Workers Comp.
I was involved in an accident in October last year, car pulled in front of me, I came off and at the time due to adrenalin I didnt call the Ambo's and thought I was alright. Got my fiancee to come down and pick me up and take me to Hospital. Big mistake as I went into shock in the car and then had to wait for an hour to be seen as the triage nurse wasn't convinced I was injured sufficiently until I passed out on the waiting room floor. Turned out I had fractured 4 bones in my lower back and cracked my L4 vertebrae.
If I had called the Ambo, I would of been taken to RNS immediately and put on priorty due to back injuries, as it was I had to wait at Hornsby Hosiptal and ended up spending 3 days in a ward unfortunately. Hornsby didnt have the expertise to deal with my injury which was problematic.
I think you will find the O'Farrell government has now abolished workers comp claims for injuries occurring to and from work
http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/ns...
He definitely has. My girlfriend is a team leader in a workers comp team and as of end of last financial year we in NSW are no longer covered going to and from work which sucks.