broken elbow injury claim - valuation - is it fair?

baza52

why do cyclists and motorbike riders need so much space when a car passes them but are happy to pass a car with virtually no space at all.
If a car hit a stationary vehicle they would likely be at fault. How is it different for a bike?

lisyloo

I leave a car doors width on a bike. It’s forseeable.

CC19181

Thanks for the feedback.

I am tempted to push the solicitor and say we should claim for more. FutureGirl mentions that an injury without surgery under JC guidelines is £3300, but i had 2 surgeries?!

Swingaloo - this accident is enough make me stop cycling commuting, i have 3 young children and the risk reward factor and the now subconscious fear, its just not worth it. it could so easily have been much much worse. But that's £10/pd that i can guarantee i won't save anymore.

For those maybe fishing for a bicycle vs car debate. The driver admitted full responsibility......this was also confirmed by the police too....Having cycled to work in London 15k each way for over 15 years, id say im experienced as a cyclist. Also as a regular car driver i like to always be considerate for car drivers too, but this was extremely bad timing. The door opened at the exact moment i was passing and I had no time to avoid it and cycling position was unavoidable based on car positions, traffic islands and road space. Thanks for adding value to the thread........;-)

baza52

as a driver (an experienced one) in you're own words, you should allow for any circumstance. Do you not think you have any liability at all? Is there nothing you could of done differently yourself to avoid the accident?
Why were you passing the the car so near when cyclists need at least a meter or so to pass safely when a car drives past them?

hugheskevi

In case it helps, in 2012 I was cycling and involved in an accident where a car pulled out from a side road, hitting the side of me. The car was moving at a very slow speed, but I broke my arm at the elbow when I hit the road. There were witnesses and liability was clear-cut as the driver had failed to observe on-coming traffic and give way, causing a collision.

It was a simple injury, taking around 6 weeks to heal perfectly and did not require a cast. I went to A+E the evening it happened, and then a follow-up visit 2 weeks later and that was all. I was even able to cycle a further 6 miles home after the accident (which in hindsight wasn't too sensible). Damage to my bike was minimal, as were additional costs (primarily taking the Tube for 4 weeks rather than cycling). Perhaps about £200 - £300 of costs in total.

I didn't use any representation, dealt with their insurer directly and let them make an offer without me suggesting any amount. The first offer from their insurer, which I accepted, was a £4,000 full and final settlement.

CC19181

Thanks Hugheskevi, i fear that since 2012 settlements have reduced somewhat due to so many claims now being made. Likewise i had witnesses and driver accepted full responsibility. However as a point of reference i think your payout vs what mine is being assessed at, plus the surgeries and pins required it only makes me feel more confident i should be receiving more.

Baza - do you have anything constructive to add to the actual point of this thread? the fact the driver, police and myself all consider i did nothing wrong and cycled diligently surely should be enough to appease your concerns. Trust me, with 3 young children, 2 surgeries and pins in my arm, if i could have avoided this accident i would have.

baza52

3 children, 2 surgeries and pins are not a defence nor a get out clause.
Just because liability was admitted at the scene it makes no difference what is or was claimed later.
Have a good read of these forums and you will see that its very common for people to change their story after the event.

Aretnap

CC19181 wrote: »

This compensation amount seems low considering the driver admitted fault...

This doesn't actually make a difference. If the driver was not at fault, there would be no compensation at all. If he was at fault then the compensation doesn't vary depending on whether he admitted fault quickly or not, or whether he was a little bit careless or completely reckless. The payment is designed to compensate you for your injuries (which are the same either way) - not to punish the driver.

The exception to this would be if you were considered to have contributed to the accident due to your won carelessness - in which case the court would calculate a figure based on your own injuries, then reduce it by a proportion to reflect whether the accident was 20% your fault, 50% your fault, 80% your fault or whatever. However if your solicitors think that this is likely and they're talking about a net figure they should be explaining this to you. Listen to them on this one - ignore random people on the internet.

and the fact that i am now no longer psychological in fit a state to ever cycle to work again into London. The future costs i will now have to incur to go to work have not been considered...

...Swingaloo - this accident is enough make me stop cycling commuting, i have 3 young children and the risk reward factor and the now subconscious fear, its just not worth it. it could so easily have been much much worse. But that's £10/pd that i can guarantee i won't save anymore.

The thing is though, the risk/reward factor hasn't changed as a result of the accident. Your perception of the risk may have changed of course, but the accident hasn't caused a risk that was previously acceptable to become unacceptable. If you have a diagnosable psychiatric injury such as PTSD then that's certainly something that should be considered as part of the injury claim, and if you think that you might then you should speak to your solicitor (and more importantly, your doctor) about it. However if the accident simply made you have a long hard think about the risks of cycling in a big city and you decided that it was not worth it then I don't believe that's something you could claim for.

CC19181

Thanks Aretnap, i didn't mean to imply that my reward should be higher because of the drivers negligence, i agree any compensation should be based upon my injuries incurred and the costs and consequences surrounding that.
And yes, i can understand that to valorise the risk/reward factor is hard to quantify and an unlikely claim factor but i thought it could be considered.

baza - what are your ambitions on this thread? you are now questioning my "story" ? i think you need to look at your own time management to see if there is something more constructive you could be doing with it. happy trolling.

Nebulous2

I was hit by a car which came through a give way as I was going down a hill. I hit him and rolled over his bonnet. I was very fortunate, sore shoulder, knee and possibly two fingers with chipped bones. I got a bigger settlement than you’ve been offered and had a lower value bike.

More importantly, as far as I’m concerned, I was given CBT to help me back on the bike. I had a solicitor with a lot of experience in cycling cases, appointed by British Cycling as I’m a member, which probably helped. Happened in early 2014 and the settlement took a year.