motorbike accident advice ;) ....... Updated

im-lost

so, I had my first major, I say major, it was quite minor really, accident earlier this week.

usual story, just bumbling along, when out of nowhere a wild granny in her car pulls out of a junction without warning.

probably wrote off the bike, me, relatively undamaged in the grand scheme of things, apart from the way I landed, foot under the bike, me backwards over the top, and yup, snap crackle and pop....

spent the last 4 days in hospital in absolute agony, doped up on copious amounts of morphine.

end result isn't really that bad considering the amount of pain, multiple fractures to both the right lower tibia and fibia, a lot of swelling and bruising etc temporary full leg cast for the next week until everything settles and then its in for final xrays and either another cast if everything gets aligned properly, or surgery to pin my legs, either way its going to end up with a full leg cast,because of the position of the breaks for at least 3 months, its going to be a non load bearing cast, as it is now, so its going to be hopping along for the next 3 months....

plus to top it off, ive literally just started a new job, done a week and this happens, employers are ok with paying ssp for the length of the temporary contract if needed, but it leaves me around £350 down each week.

so im pretty much up !!!! creek without a paddle.

the police got a full admission that it was all her fault at the scene so its pretty much an open and shut case,if there is such a thing.

now my problem, im only third party fire and theft, so cant palm it off to my insurers to deal with it, so, its either a diy jobbie, which I really dont feel up to right now, considering, or a claims company, so anyone got any recommendations?

Without coming across as being a money grabbing !!!!!, because im not really, but hey, there's a cow there that needs milking, and ill be damned if im not gonna milk the !!!!!!, because, well, my life has literally been turned upside down in a matter of days, I finally thought things were coming together after a while of lets say turbulence and this goes and happens, and chucks a massive spanner in the works, although it could be seen as a blessing in a painful disguise, I can take stock of everything, figure out where im actually going, and possibly bank a couple of quid to kickstart things at the other end.

so anyone got any recommendations on how to move forward with this? because its the first 'major' thing ive been involved with

Rolandtheroadie

Go over to the MCN site and ask there.

BertTheRaccoon

If you have legal cover with your insurance, or with home insurance etc then use that to get a solicitor appointed.

You need a solicitor here as the insurer of the old girl just won't deal with you fairly. Yes they will be your best mate with offers of rehab and a few quid to go away now, but a multiple fracture like this could easily be worth over £10k and more if there are any problems likely long term. Plus the lost earnings.

If you don't have any legal cover, I would select a solicitor who knows what they are doing with biker claims. search out companies like White Dalton who specialise in biker claims.

You will probably have to give up a cut of your damages on the no-win no-fee arrangement, but I'd wager a specialist firm who want a cut of your damages will still end up with you being better off than a factory firm set of muppets that your legal expense insurers want to put you onto.

Keep receipts for everything you spend money on due to the crash. Keep a log of how much time any family members spend helping you with cooking, cleaning, dressing you etc etc.

It's not what you know, but what you can prove!

vaio

and, for something like this which is going to take a relatively long time to resolve, you should be able to get interim payments as long as liability is not in dispute

arcon5

Be careful when selecting a claims management companies, not all of them care about your interests, just their own - little work for a massive fee.
See if any local solicitors deal with such cases

lowcliff

I had an accident on my bike 6 years ago, I used these
www.whitedalton.co.uk/, ‎
I found them easy to deal with and got excellent results.
Also they all own and ride motorcycles
‎

Crazy_Jamie

arcon5 wrote: »

Be careful when selecting a claims management companies, not all of them care about your interests, just their own - little work for a massive fee.
See if any local solicitors deal with such cases

I wouldn't select a claims management company at all. Go direct to a solicitor; in a case of this nature the claims management company would only pass the case on to a solicitor anyway. You might as well choose your own rather than have them do it for you. The choice of solicitor is down to you. Be aware that 'no win no fee' arrangements have changed recently and solicitors can now take a proportion of your damages at the end of the case. This is up to 25%, but must be agreed with you prior to you officially instructing them. There are plenty of firms out there who are actually not taking any proportion of the damages at all for the sake of being competitive, though you may have to hunt for them depending on where you are based.

Either way, you need a solicitor to represent you in this case, and you should be instructing them on a 'no win no fee' basis. Given the severity of your injuries it would be foolish in the extreme to try to deal with this yourself.

Stooby2

As stated if you have legal services on your policy, go through that. If not go for a specialist motorcycle claims firm such as http://www.ridersupport.com (for example) , but have a look in the back of a motorcycle magazine for others. As she's admitted fault it should be straightforward. Just do it asap.

Strider590

im-lost wrote: »

the police got a full admission that it was all her fault at the scene so its pretty much an open and shut case

Whatever she may have admitted, you need to be aware that the first thing her insurance company will do is try to blame you.

Crazy_Jamie

Just on the point about instructing a specialist motorcycle firm, this really isn't strictly necessary in a case where liability has been admitted. The specialism advertised by these firms is most relevant in scenarios where a motorcyclist is involved in an accident and liability is in dispute. In the circumstances the claim is going to be focused on recovering an appropriate amount of compensation for your injuries and other losses, and in other procedural matters such as securing necessary interim payments. There is nothing in that process that would necessarily give a specialist motorcycle firm an edge over anybody else. By all means go with one of those firms if you wish to, just don't think that you'll be in some way missing out if you go with a different firm for whatever reason.

Crazy_Jamie

Strider590 wrote: »

Whatever she may have admitted, you need to be aware that the first thing her insurance company will do is try to blame you.

Not necessarily. Whilst it is hardly unknown for someone to accept liability at the scene only for the insurance company to take a different stance, this is by no means the case after every accident. If this driver has pulled out in front of a motorcyclist, there aren't too many places that the insurer can go as regards disputing liability. Of course it's always possible, but I wouldn't go as far as suggesting that the third party's insurance company is definitely going to blame the OP.