Re legal aid needed after raod accident (by Paul Conyers)

[Magpie]

Carlos Fandango wrote

> hi, just had a nasty road accident where i collided with a 4x4 on a single-track road and smashed
> my knee up.
>
> don't have any personal accident insurance - Any advise on who i could approach - what process to
> use, who you'd recommend to help a cyclist take legal action. ??
>
> TIA C

I was recently mown down by an elderly motorist not giving way at a junction - not a pleasent
experience and definitely his fault. I like you had no insurance. My Bike/clothing etc was damaged
and I had minor injuries bruises/grazes.

I dealt with his insurance company direct and have just had a verbal offer of virtually full
compensation for the equipment (some wear n tear allowed for) and many hundreds for personal injury
compensation.

My advice is:-

Get his insurance details etc Get injuries seen to by doctor even if you need no treatment - his
insurance will want some kind of doctors report. Take photos of damages/injuries Keep a diary of how
your injuries felt everyday Report accident to police Most important to have or acquire receipts for
damaged items..

Get your bike inspected by a reputable dealer - make sure the frames not bent, it might look ok but
don't risk it. If its beyond repair get them to state this in a letter.

Contact his insurance company direct - in my case all they wanted was a letter explaining what had
happened, receipts, doctors report - no forms to fill in. Also a list of damaged items, when
bought and cost.

Check out the following website http://www.bikeline.co.uk/

Theres plenty of good advice here from a cycling friendly org.

I filled in the online claim form and spoke to one of their solicitors

The advice given was to first try and deal direct and if you're not happy with how things are going
or the level of compensation given then pursue via a solicitor.

This has took about 6 weeks so far - just waiting now for the official offer to arrive in the post.

Hope this is of use and good luck

Paul

ps I'm going to join the CTC - membership includes legal help

[Richard Goodman]

"magpie" <magpie@flyawayspam.com> wrote in message
news:fFrAb.49$0%4.255307@newsfep2-gui.server.ntli.net...
>
> I was recently mown down by an elderly motorist not giving way at a junction - not a pleasent
> experience and definitely his fault. I like you had no insurance. My Bike/clothing etc was damaged
> and I had minor injuries bruises/grazes.
>
> I dealt with his insurance company direct and have just had a verbal offer of virtually full
> compensation for the
equipment
> (some wear n tear allowed for) and many hundreds for personal injury
compensation.
>

It's not so difficult to work out your losses, but the difficulty for a lay person in negotiating
for personal injury compensation is that you won't have any idea how much you can ask for the injury
- generally the question of quantum is a specialist field for which a solicitor is likely to ask a
barrister. Rates are dictated by what courts have previously awarded in similar cases, and it needs
a familiarity with those cases to know. If an insurance company is eager to settle, it will be most
likely because they're think they're getting a bargain. This might just be because by dealing direct
they know they're saving on legal costs, but it might also be because they would normally expect to
settle at a higher figure for the kind of injuries suffered. Where the injuries are trivial - a bit
of bruising and gravel rash - the sort of injury a solicitor won't want to deal with because it's
worth less than £1,000 in damages - then fine, deal with it yourself (in fact there may be no
choice) but if it's more serious than that - broken bones, possible long-term effects - then
personally, I would always advise dealing with the claim through a personal injury specialist. Just
be careful who you use.

Rich