Accident claims, does anyone else feel like this?

Commuting, Day rides, Audax, Incidents, etc.
irc
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Re: Accident claims, does anyone else feel like this?

Post by irc »

RogerThat wrote:Update: we heard from our own lawyer last night that the woman has dropped her claim to damages to her car and offered to replace the bike which was written off, though no damages. It transpires she's got a few points on her licence and is likely not keen to have any more. We haven't involved the police at this stage, and the advice from the lawyer is to accept the replacement value and be done with it.


That's a superb lawyer! Consulted on Friday morning and gets you the payout offer one day later on Saturday when most lawyers are having the weekend off! Any lawyers I've dealt with has sent letters around to make offers etc. It's taken weeks or months. The slackers!
RogerThat
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Re: Accident claims, does anyone else feel like this?

Post by RogerThat »

Well, it's actually been ongoing since early January. He had a lawyer previously but he was awful, I put him onto our family lawyer instead who has wide experience of RTA claims as its a busy town for traffic. And So four months and it seems the threat of a counter sue has paid off. Just as well, my nephew was up to hi-doh with worry as he's not the best with money! Had it went to court we'd probably still be here in a year's time. It's quite a small town we live in and our lawyer knows the woman who was sueing socially. She's a well known character on the back of a tow truck ;) It's not the first or fifth time she's been involved in an RTA.
iviehoff
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Re: Accident claims, does anyone else feel like this?

Post by iviehoff »

Steve922 wrote:Agreed. If you run into the back of a car, its your fault. 100%

Not so. The classic induced accident insurance fraud is based upon the fraudster forcing the mark to hit him in the rear, it is easily achieved. See http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/le ... fraud.html

On a bicycle, I have twice unavoidably gone into the back of a car when it overtook me, then pulled in hard in front of me while stopping suddenly - one of them was on a steep downhill: miss that one if you can.
iviehoff
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Re: Accident claims, does anyone else feel like this?

Post by iviehoff »

duplicate post.
Last edited by iviehoff on 13 Apr 2015, 1:51pm, edited 1 time in total.
MartinC
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Re: Accident claims, does anyone else feel like this?

Post by MartinC »

RogerThat, sounds like one of those cases where the overriding factor is both parties desire/reluctance to get involved in litigation rather than the legalities of the issue. It would be interesting to know whether the car was actually insured at the time of the accident or whether there are other aspects that don't bear any scrutiny.. The driver also has to weigh up the chance of their insurer deciding to roll over, avoid the hassle of defending the claim and recouping their loss through removal of NCB or rating future premiums. Sounds like your nephew luckily picked the right person to hit and the advice to accept the offer is good. :D
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Re: Accident claims, does anyone else feel like this?

Post by MartinC »

iviehoff wrote:..................The classic induced accident insurance fraud is based upon the fraudster forcing the mark to hit him in the rear, it is easily achieved. See http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/le ... fraud.html


Interestingly the advice the AA give about avoiding this is starts with "Look well ahead trying to anticipate possible hazards at all times" and "Allow plenty of space to the car in front at all times but particularly at junctions and pedestrian crossings"
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Re: Accident claims, does anyone else feel like this?

Post by Vorpal »

iviehoff wrote:
Steve922 wrote:Agreed. If you run into the back of a car, its your fault. 100%

Not so. The classic induced accident insurance fraud is based upon the fraudster forcing the mark to hit him in the rear, it is easily achieved. See http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/le ... fraud.html

On a bicycle, I have twice unavoidably gone into the back of a car when it overtook me, then pulled in hard in front of me while stopping suddenly - one of them was on a steep downhill: miss that one if you can.

I came scarily close to hitting a car in that sort of circumstance. The driver overtook me, then slammed on the brakes (s/he was turning right at a junction just past the over take). I was going pretty fast (I'm sure the driver misjudged my speed). I braked as much as could, then went onto the shoulder. Even though the surface was poor, and my legs were slapped by grass, nettles, thistles and things, I maintained control of the bike, and overtook on the inside, and came out of it with only a few scratches and some nettle stings. There was a very real possibility of me ending up in the ditch because I was going too fast to control the bike on the rough surface of the shoulder, but I managed okay, and the worst harm was done to my nerves :shock:
“In some ways, it is easier to be a dissident, for then one is without responsibility.”
― Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom
RogerThat
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Re: Accident claims, does anyone else feel like this?

Post by RogerThat »

I think it's becoming more and more common for bad drivers to settle out of court, as the threat to their NCB or their livelihood is so great, especially with councils and local agencies coming down so hard on their 'professional drivers'.

I had a chap came out at a junction straight towards me forcing me into the ditch on the other side of the road and a low speed unseat from the bike. The result was my pride and a brand new front wheel buckled beyond repair. He got out and I just shook my head and pointed to the wheel. He got his wallet out and offered me £30 on the spot. I pointed out to him that bikes, like cars were a lot more expensive than they were in 1970! So we went to the nearest cash point and he somewhat sheepishly agreed on £100, which stopped me reporting to the police, and likely him losing his job with the council. A win-win!
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kylecycler
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Re: Accident claims, does anyone else feel like this?

Post by kylecycler »

RogerThat - next time I fall off I'll get you to do the negotiating! :lol:
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Re: Accident claims, does anyone else feel like this?

Post by RogerThat »

Oh, I'm a rank amateur!! There's a guy we ride with on Wednesday evenings who, every time a driver tips him off the bike or had a very near miss, he'll just roll over anyway and play dead at the side of the road till the ambulance/police arrives and then miraculously regain consciousness and demand to be taken to A+E. Its not an activity I could condone, but it doesn't half scare the living daylights out of the offending motorists! I suppose it's his own personal version of 'presumed liability'. He's had at least four bikes out of it the last five years, and a fair bit of out of court compensation.

I guess it's a sort of cycling vigilantism. Though I would frame the behavior in the fact he was the subject of a very bad hit and run ten years ago, from which he's never really recovered physically, or emotionally. I was with him at the time and it was a truly horrifying thing to witness: like someone just came up behind us and shot him with a gun.

Luckily I was able to scratch nearly all the number plate into the road with a stone before the car got out of sight. The result of this attempted murder: £1200 fine, six months ban. Absolutely disgusting sentence for a potential murderer. And apparently the driver (a local radio DJ) was just milligrams under the limit. If I was in charge of sentencing I'd have banned him from driving for life.
Last edited by RogerThat on 13 Apr 2015, 10:26pm, edited 1 time in total.
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kylecycler
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Re: Accident claims, does anyone else feel like this?

Post by kylecycler »

RogerThat wrote:Oh, I'm a rank amateur!! There's a guy we ride with on Wednesday evenings who, every time a driver tips him off the bike or had a very near miss, he'll just roll over anyway and play dead at the side of the road till the ambulance/police arrives and then miraculously regain consciousness and demand to be taken to A+E. Its not an activity I could condone, but it doesn't half scare the living daylights out of the offending motorists! I suppose it's his own personal version of 'presumed liability'. He's had at least four bikes out of it the last five years, and a fair bit of out of court compensation.

I guess it's a sort of cycling vigilantism. Though I would frame the behavior in the fact he was the subject of a very bad hit and run ten years ago, from which he's never really recovered physically, or emotionally. I was with him at the time and it was a truly horrifying thing to witness: like someone just came up behind us and shot him with a gun.

Luckily I was able to scratch nearly all the number plate into the road with a stone before the car got out of sight. The result of this attempted murder: £1200 fine, six months ban. Absolutely disgusting sentence for a potential murderer. And apparently the driver (a local radio DJ) was just milligrams under the limit.

Wow... I suppose the way he sees is, life owes him - I can understand that. Don't suppose we can imagine what it's like, although you were there so you don't have to imagine. Brilliant thinking to scratch the car's registration number on the road with a stone - I'll remember that, although I hope I never need to.

On a lighter note, about 'playing dead then miraculously regaining consciousness': Before I got into cycling I was into motor sport, and there was a funny story told by Professor Sid Watkins, the F1 doctor, who rode in the Safety Car and was first responder whenever there was a crash. Nigel Mansell was an awful ham at times - he would ham it up for the gallery, although he suffered a fair few serious injuries - and when there was a pile-up on the first lap at one of the Grands Prix, Sid Watkins arrived on the scene to find 'Our Nige' slumped in the cockpit of his Ferrari with his head down and his eyes closed, apparently unconscious. Watkins jumped out of the Safety Car and went to sprint (he was no spring chicken at the time) across the track to the Ferrari, only to hear a loud 'CRACK!' - he'd snapped a hamstring! He hobbled the rest of the way to Mansell's cockpit and shouted, "Nigel - are you alright?!" To which Mansell raised his head, opened his eyes and replied, "Yeah, I'm fine." Sid Watkins said if Mansell hadn't been wearing a helmet he'd have thumped him... :)
irc
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Re: Accident claims, does anyone else feel like this?

Post by irc »

RogerThat wrote:Oh, I'm a rank amateur!! There's a guy we ride with on Wednesday evenings who, every time a driver tips him off the bike or had a very near miss, he'll just roll over anyway and play dead at the side of the road till the ambulance/police arrives and then miraculously regain consciousness and demand to be taken to A+E. Its not an activity I could condone, but it doesn't half scare the living daylights out of the offending motorists! I suppose it's his own personal version of 'presumed liability'. He's had at least four bikes out of it the last five years, and a fair bit of out of court compensation..


Presumed liability? I'd call it fraud if he rolls over when he wasn't hit and plays dead. No better than any other criminal.
Flinders
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Re: Accident claims, does anyone else feel like this?

Post by Flinders »

Actually, if you do take a really tough fall, it's best not to try to get up immediately (unless traffic dictates otherwise) as those of us who ride horses know. If you have a crack in any of the bones in your spine/neck, in particular, it may not hurt much or at all at first, but moving can displace the bone and damage the spinal cord.

One of my mates had a bad fall, but got up. Not long after, she started to get a stiff neck. She had a cracked bone in her neck, and the ambulance staff gave her a right telling-off for getting up, as she could have done herself some really serious damage; fortunately they got a collar on her in time and she recovered completely. The paramedics said words to the effect 'we know you lot like to get up and get back on, but never do it after a fall like that without being checked over first'. Another friend, a dressage judge, had to yell at a GP who just happened to be present but had no paramedic training to stop them forcing a fallen rider get up after a particularly bad fall, the idiot could have damaged the rider for life. If in doubt, always get checked out at A&E.
RogerThat
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Re: Accident claims, does anyone else feel like this?

Post by RogerThat »

Yes, I had a colleague who was silly enough to walk away from what he thought a minor injury to the head after being struck by a car from the side throwing him 20ft up the road from his bike. Never went to A+E and next day started epileptic seizures. He had a mini stroke before he was able to be treated properly for a fractured skull.

If I came off and it was serious enough I was temporary immobile on the ground I would certainly wait for an ambulance and be taken to hospital for the relevant tests and an X ray. To call someone a 'criminal' is very disengenuos, to say the least.
irc
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Re: Accident claims, does anyone else feel like this?

Post by irc »

RogerThat wrote:y. To call someone a 'criminal' is very disengenuos, to say the least.


Someone who falls off without having been hit? Then claims damages If the cap fits.
had a very near miss, he'll just roll over anyway
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