son hit by a cyclist. Can i claim for him?

MEGAN115_2

Hi thank you for taking the time to reply. The cyclist was in full kit and had a racing cycle that he had not long since purchased. My son was looking both ways when he crossed the road but the cycle over took a bus and my son didn't see him until it was too late. The cyclist didn't see my son either and never applied the brakes which then my sons leg took full force of the impact. I believe that maybe there was fault on both sides but struggle to come to terms with the cyclist being able to claim an my son not. The cyclist was going at some speed but no one can prove his exact speed. We had a bus full of children who saw the incident but what they saw cannot be seen as evidence. The cyclist did however knock on my door the day after the accident with a bill for over £3,000 and asked how and when i would pay for his cycle. I refused and asked the police to tell him to stop calling. And so over a year on i am wondering what to do. I do have house insurance and thats who will pay him out but how do i claim and who from????

Lorian

MEGAN115 wrote: »

My son was looking both ways when he crossed the road but the cycle over took a bus and my son didn't see him until it was too late.

Does this mean your son was crossing in front of the bus? If so I doubt the cyclist could have done anything to be honest, and we should be thankful it wasn't a car overtaking.

You need to talk to your house insurance company at the time of the accident, pass his claim on to them for them to deal with. I'm suprised he hasn't taken legal action already.

MEGAN115_2

My son wasn't crossing right in front of the bus he was a fair way down from the bus stop and just didn't see the cyclist. The cyclist was out of view as he would have been near the kurb as he was cycling down the road and only came to view as he attempted to overtake the bus. He actually hit my son on the wrong side of the road. But i do agree that my son should have taken more care as so should the cyclist while overtaking! The police found neither at fault an said it was just an accident and i never thought it would come to this.

MyUserNamesTaken

Megan, the folks here, no matter how kind and generous they are, cannot help you with this one. You need to see a solicitor ASAP.See if you have legal cover on your house insurance, or the such like. You need to talk to your insurance company whatever happens, as a claim is being made against your policy. See a personal injury solicitor (one who works on a no win, no fee basis, or the such like)..they won't charge you to see you. They'll be able to advise you whether they think you have a case against the cyclist. If they say you have, then counter-sue. Until you've spoken to your insurance company and sought help from a solicitor, there's not much anyone else here can say.


One question: when the cyclist hit your son, was the cyclist on the wrong side of the road? See, if that's the case, I would say that the cyclist was in the wrong. Sounds like the cyclist was reckless in his attempt to overtake the bus. Thus, hitting your son was a consequence of the cyclist's recklessness. Think of it like this: had a car done the same thing, the car driver would be seen to be at fault. The cyclist must have been going some to cause that amount of damage to your son. The fact that the cyclist didn't see you son is no defence. When driving or riding on the road, you are supposed to be prepared for the unexpected, such as something or someone stepping out from behind a bus.

Good luck.

MyUserNamesTaken

Lorian wrote: »

Does this mean your son was crossing in front of the bus? If so I doubt the cyclist could have done anything to be honest, and we should be thankful it wasn't a car overtaking.

You need to talk to your house insurance company at the time of the accident, pass his claim on to them for them to deal with. I'm suprised he hasn't taken legal action already.

Sorry, but I disagree. A car in the same situation would attempt to take evasive action...swerve to avoid hitting the child. Even cyclists would normally swerve to avoid a collision under normal circumstances. The cyclist in this case has smacked straight into the boy, which seems to indicate that the cyclist was not paying attention to the road...probably focusing on peddling as fast as possible to get past the bus. You are taught, when learning to drive, to expect people to step out in front and behind buses and the such like, and to be cautious when overtaking such vehicles. It's even in the theory test for spotting the hazards!

OP, you say your son never saw the cyclist. Was it dark? If so, did the cyclist have lights on, etc?

anewman

Was it dark, was the cyclist using lights? I am thinking here from a new bike perspective. The law says he *must* be using lights at night. Reflectors are not enough to satisfy the law.

The cyclist has a responsibility to know what he's riding his cycle into, you can't go around a blind corner at 30mph, smash into something and complain it was in your way. Particularly irresponsible considering he was riding a bike supposedly worth so much, and didn't have any kind of insurance. A bike thief wouldn't make this guy's day obviously.

If the police have said no blame, I would let him take it to court, and get the full force of the protection from harassment act on him if he keeps pestering you.

aah

MyUserNamesTaken wrote: »

Sorry, but I disagree. A car in the same situation would attempt to take evasive action...swerve to avoid hitting the child. Even cyclists would normally swerve to avoid a collision under normal circumstances. The cyclist in this case has smacked straight into the boy, which seems to indicate that the cyclist was not paying attention to the road...probably focusing on peddling as fast as possible to get past the bus. You are taught, when learning to drive, to expect people to step out in front and behind buses and the such like, and to be cautious when overtaking such vehicles. It's even in the theory test for spotting the hazards!

uote]

About time this cyclist was expected to take some responsibility for his actions.

I got hit by a car - on a pedestrian crossing - when I was sixteen (in the 1970's...). My folks claimed off his insurance for the dental work I needed. But it has caused me dental problems all of my life - and guess who has to fork out for it now...

shop-to-drop

Just to add my two penneth! I am assuming that the bus was a school bus and that there were a lot of children around. This cyclist as a road user really should have been paying more attention and watching out for children or other pedestrians as is always the case if it was a built up area but particularly at 'school run' time of the day. As a driver I am always extremely cautious when there are child pedestrians around. If I were you I would definitely seek advice doesn't sound like the best place and time to be out on your racing bike.

Hope your son is recovering well.

PasturesNew

My sister was hit in about 1965/6 stepping out of our parents' car onto the pavement. It was a neighbour's child on a bike.

It broke my sister's leg and put her back into a pram/pushchair, which annoyed my parents as they had only just persuaded her to walk. She was incapacitated for months.

Nobody claimed in the 60s.

I think the neighbour came round with a small plastic doll or a box of chocolates. That was it.

I'd say there are far too many variables in the scenario here for anybody to advise. We'd need photos of the spot, distances, speeds, visibility, weather, statements from the other side.... go see a solicitor/speak to your insurance company.

PasturesNew

I'd also say people here seem to have jumped to some conclusions perhaps.

Maybe the cyclist with the pricey bike was simply going to/from work.
Maybe he was proceeding at a normal speed, enjoying a nice local trip out for a paper.
Maybe the road was narrow and the bus was pulling in to stop at the bus stop and there was no option but to be on the other side of the road no matter what was going on.
Maybe he was only overtaking at 15mph.
Maybe if he had been speeding/peddling madly the boy would have been more substantially hurt/killed; the cyclist himself would have been thrown off and not able himself to call at the OP's door the next day with a bill.
Maybe the roads were dry, the light good, no lights required.

etc etc