Cyclist Knocked Over by Van Door

Commuting, Day rides, Audax, Incidents, etc.
Vorpal
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Re: Cyclist Knocked Over by Van Door

Post by Vorpal »

I would be cautious about taking only sick leave for the days off. There are two reasons for this...

If your employer pays sick leave, they deserve recompense for your days off. I have known a company that submitted a claim when an employee was involved in a crash that wasn't his fault. Ask your employer and/or solicitor.

Secondly, what kind of sick leave do you have at work? Is it limited? Is pay reduced after a certain number of days off? At what point does it become another type of leave? What if your injury has complications? Or you become ill later in the year? Will your sick leave days have been used up?

Lastly, don't let them push you to accept a payoff. Tell them that you need to assess the full extent of your injuries. Discuss recovery time with your GP. Suggest to the insurance company that you may need physio therapy.

If your injuries are serious enough that you could not work, there may be more to it than you realise now. A big disadvantage of a quick payout is that it will be impossible for you to know of any longer term aspects of the injury. Maybe there aren't any. I hope not, but even a simple injury can have lingering effects for months afterward.
“In some ways, it is easier to be a dissident, for then one is without responsibility.”
― Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom
eileithyia
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Re: Cyclist Knocked Over by Van Door

Post by eileithyia »

I concur with what has been said above, if there is a sniff of a claim then your employer (and quite rightly so) will want to be included to repay any monies they have paid to you while you were off, through no fault of your own. My 2 recent claims have included employers compensation and the solicitor contacted the finance dept to ascertain the figure involved. This was over and above the injury / expenses claim paid personally to myself. If you do not claim it at the time and your employer becomes aware that you made a claim they may try to claim it back from yourself... thus diminishing the amount you receive. ( Hope that makes sense). For what it is worth I am fortunate that I get full for pay for 6 months of sick leave, and recently have had almost 6 months and 4 months off work respectively due to no fault accidents. ..... a fair expense to my employer.

It is a point worth remembering for anyone who has an odd couple of days off work due to an accident but then decides they 'only want compensation for the bike to be fixed'.... it is not always so simple. It might not be high on your contract small print but somewhere in there might be the requirement that employers expenses are reclaimed in no fault accidents.....
I stand and rejoice everytime I see a woman ride by on a wheel the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood. HG Wells
MattS
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Joined: 15 Jul 2014, 10:38am

Re: Cyclist Knocked Over by Van Door

Post by MattS »

Thanks for those points. They are both valid. Currently I am still dealing with the claim. My arm was incredibly sore for days after and I couldn't move it for a long time without discomfort. There also seems to be some longer term issues but I am having a medical examination soon to assess the severity. Nothing life changing but it causes pain where I had none previously - which was raised by the above comment with regards to long term injuries.

My employer is very good at allowing sick leave. I cant see that being an issue - although I take your point, and its an interesting point to raise to others in a similar position.


I will update in the future with my experience of C-AMS accident management who are meant to deal specifically to cyclists. So far, OK, but not enough contact. I've been called once in three weeks with little to no discussion about what I can expect to happen in the future.
Vorpal
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Re: Cyclist Knocked Over by Van Door

Post by Vorpal »

It's not a quick process, though sometimes the solicitors can help with that. If you are still being treated, not much can happen, anyway, except the wheels of bureaucracy grinding away. However, the solicitor probably won't take the time to call if there are no new or significant developments. If you are worried about not receiving enough information, call them and ask.
“In some ways, it is easier to be a dissident, for then one is without responsibility.”
― Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom
Flinders
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Joined: 10 Mar 2009, 6:47pm

Re: Cyclist Knocked Over by Van Door

Post by Flinders »

If your employer is good about allowing sick leave, that's good- but it would be nice for your employer to get compensation for their financial losses, just as you should for your injuries and losses, as it wasn't their fault either.
I didn't know myself that employers could have a claim against the person responsible for an accident, but now I do know, if I had a good employer I'd want them to be compensated as well as me, if that were possible. It's a rough time for a lot of employers at the moment, and rougher for the best ones who support their staff, as that makes their costs higher.
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