Hello,

Calling on the knowledge of the STW collective…

I was knocked off my bike whilst commuting last Friday. The oncoming car turned right cutting across my lane to go into a supermarket carpark and didn’t see me. I went smack bang into the cars leftside and bounced into the road.

Amazingly I escaped with some very minor superficial injuries (a couple of scrapes to knuckles and backs of hands). The bike however did not get away so lightly as it sacrificed itself to protect it’s master (me!). Frame is crumpled, headtube disconnected, front wheel splayed, handlebars bent, etc. Bike shop has already written off.

So options I have pursued to far:

1. Phoned drivers insurance company as she admitted liability – they won’t deal with me directly and I have phoned them LOTS of times.

2. Check cover on home insurance. Alas my wife didn’t tick the “Cycle cover” box so they don’t want to know.

3. Check car insurance. I wasn’t driving my car therefore nothing is applicable, including the legal protection.

4. Check No-Win-No-Fee Bike specialists. Not interested in superfical grazes despite writing off a £1k bike. If I had broken a bone I’d have been fine (I’m considering this as a backup plan)

5. Where next…I could pursue the driver through small claims court, but that seems very time consuming and I have to cover any legal costs myself.

So…anyone been in a similar situation?

DrEvil.

p.s. I should add I also filed a report at the local police station on the day of the accident as it seemed to be a pre-requisite for getting any sort of compensation for property damage.

If the drivers insurance company won’t liaise with you directly then get your solicitor/CAB to forward a letter to their office.

Your home insurance may offer a legal service that could help you claim.

The police can offer advice, assuming you have reported it and got a reference, the “driver” will also have to report it or will get a visit.

You could try the CTC as they have a legal and advice service. You don’t need to be a member IIRC.

Try one of the CTC recomended solicitors? Or go straight to small claims court if they bugger you about. Its cheap and relatively easy to do.

I don’t understand why the insurance company won’t deal with you. who do they expect to deal with?

have you reported it to the police? I would its an injury collision and should be reported

Your claim is for more than your bike as well – something for the grazes and for the damaged kit.

NO ****ing way should they refuse to deal with you personally. NO legal cover on house policy?

Go CAB & small claims!

Thanks – will head down to CAB tomorrow and get their advice. May also get a solicitor to draft a letter on my behalf.

No insurance company will deal with a “person” directly. I verified this with my own insurers.

I did report it to the police, but not expecting anything very fast on that.

I tried the CTC’s solicitor, but their advice was as I only had “property” damage was to check car or home insurances.

Your home insurance may offer a legal service that could help you claim.

Apparently not if you haven’t ticked the “Cycle” check box…

So who will the driver’s insurance company deal with ? Odd. Phone the woman do you have her details ??

I can see a world coming where cyclists have to have insurance, if companies keep having to pay out for £1k bikes.

(not having a go, just observing)

If it’s relatively straightforward in terms of the damage (i.e. no personal injury element) then I’d simply write to the driver laying out the claim. If the driver doesn’t respond, or the ins company doesn’t respond on their behalf in a reasonable time then write again, giving them 14 days to settle, then go small claims (http://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk) if there’s still no response.

The driver should refer your correspondance to his/her insurer who should then respond.

Involve a solicitor if you like, but they’re only going to do the same as the above.

Check No-Win-No-Fee Bike specialists. Not interested in superfical grazes despite writing off a £1k bike.

I’m surprised – who have you tried? I’ve had a claim for not much more than that including injuries through http://www.bikeline.co.uk

I can see a world coming where cyclists have to have insurance, if companies keep having to pay out for £1k bikes.

Why, when it’s the driver’s insurance company covering the cost? If there were a spate of cyclists damaging cars (or more importantly injuring other people) it might be a different matter.

BTW are you completely sure you don’t have legal cover on your household insurance for this? Cycle cover (covering the cost of replacing the bike, and/or your 3rd party costs) is something rather different – I’d check youu policy document as I suspect somebody is misunderstanding what you’re asking for.

CAB will set you on the right track.

A small claim would be the right move after the insurance company refuses to respond to you, however you should forget phoning and start writing. Outline what you are claiming for (with supporting documentation/photos) and give them a reasonable time limit in which to respond. Keep copies of all correspondence and send everything recorded delivery. Keep any reciepts and note how much time you are spending. Tell the insurance company you expect full compensation for damage, your time and any inconvenience. Only you can work out what the compensation should be. They should count themselves lucky you weren’t injured!

CTC would probably be a good point of call for advice.

Hope you get just and proportionate recompense.

Deal with their insurance company directly, but in writing. Don’t bother to speak to them on the phone (it’s unrecorded for one thing).

Also, add the costs for every letter to the claim, and threaten cycle hire costs (£30-40 per week) if the claim goes on past a (reasonable) deadline that you define.

Be reasonable with them, and expect them to be reasonable in return (it can go a long way towards a successful claim)

what large418 said – everything in writing and set deadlines.

but visit to CAB may give you more ammo…

Hi mate, i’m a PI lawyer by trade, i specialise in motorbike claims but it only takes me 10 mins to knock up a letter of claim for you, or if they continue to mess you around, to draft the Small Claims court documents.

My work email is paul.whitlock@cogentlaw.co.uk if i can be of any help.

http://WWW.BIKELINE.CO.UK, a cycling solicitor lots of good reprts and its free the driver pays.

I would agree with aracer & Project, bikeline have sorted me out 3 times now, totally sound Solicitors.

Hmm, my home contents policy had Legal Cover which came in VERY handy when some daft cow pulled out in front of me and took me out. Only yhe front mech survived that incident unscathed. Deffo no specfic cycle cover on that.
EVERYTHING goes in writing though and recorded delivery for the letters.

I got knocked off my bike 7 weeks ago by a police van, went through house legal help dept and I have only just found out that the solicitors (Erwin Mitchel) are going to pursue my claim. They take there time but i was injured and totaled a 3.5k bike.

Again – many thanks for the good advice. I shall try BikeLine and the CAB tomorrow and let you know how I get on.

@Scud – thanks for the kind offer; I’ll see how I get on tomorrow and drop you an email if still stuck.

DrEvil.

Glad you didn’t get hurt, I know it won’t help you now but it’s well worth considering British Cycling membership for the insurance and legal support alone, £40 a year is well worth it just in case.

You could check a similar thread discussing a replacement for a damaged helmet. I can’t paste links yet so search for “knocked off helmet”.
You have an offer from a solicotor above so if there is no jow with your other routes of approach get a solicitor to draw up a letter of claim. That will get things moving. However, Insurers should be prepared to deal with you directly. I had a rear end shunt and within three days the negligent driver’s Insurer was ringing me asking if I wanted to submit an injury claim. I settled without a lawyer being involved. You can go direct providing the Insurer does not take advantage of your “ignorance” of the law and what you are entitled to. Case law was established in Horry v Tate & Lyle that prevented an insurer trying to buy you off for less than you are entitled to, a case that Insurers are midfull off when dealing with a direct claimant.

There’s a useful thread on London Fixed Gear + SingleSpeed forum about what to do if (when…) you’re knocked off.
Link here:
http://www.lfgss.com/thread4213.html

I can’t understand why more cyclists don’t have insurance. I know all the arguments about why they shouldn’t pay “road tax” etc, that’s fine but if you get knocked off even a cheapo bike it’s going to be a whole world of hassle to sort out without insurance.

Join British Cycling or Cyclists Touring Club (CTC), you get discounts at various shops, newsletters, special offers, discount bike insurance and you get top notch legal teams who specialise in cycle claims. All that and your money goes to either cycling advocacy if you join CTC or towards talent development, Olympic medals etc if you join BC.

Glad to hear you’re OK, hope you get it all sorted out.

DrEvil

To be honest you will not get anywhere quick with this type of accident, “patience is a virtue”
Got completely wracked of my road bike by car driver “Sorry mate i did not see you”, police and ambulance called and taken to AE with just plenty of cuts and bruise’s, but nothing broken. Bike was a expensive LOOK and carbon pedals and forks snapped. I got all the information off the police regarding the car driver and thought it would be a simple claim, how wrong was i !!!
I use to ring his insurance company every Tuesday regarding progress, but after months and months i decided i was getting fobbed off with excuse and excuse, now i have contacted a solicitor through CTC, and i could not believe how professional and serious they have taken my case, and only now after some six months i can see some movement and light at the end of the tunnel…..

Crazy Legs –

Join British Cycling or Cyclists Touring Club (CTC), you get……top notch legal teams who specialise in cycle claims..

Do you really? I think they just put you on to a no-win no fee solicitor as people have suggested above. Yes, you should be a member of these orgs (I’d add the LCC to that list if you’re in London) but don’t oversell them.

Only you can work out what the compensation should be.

Not quite true. The damages to belongings is easy to assess objectively. Personal injury follows the principles set out in Kemp & Kemp, which records the amounts payable for injuries.

Mate was knocked off last week and has resulted in stitches to his face. Kemp puts the quantum at anywhere between £70 and £4000 for facial scarring.

These claims take time to resolve you will not be able to solve it over the phone.

The insurance company has no choice but to deal with you They may not want to and may think that you will give up and go away but you can force the issue if you wish .
Do a letter before action see advise above . It should set out a summary of the incident, why it was the drivers fault and the fact that the driver admitted liability . It must state that you have suffered loss specify your injuries and also your quantified losses ie cost of bike and bike hire or alternate transport costs medical fees etc. The letter concludes by saying that you hold the other driver responsible for your losses and want compensation.

You then address that letter to the other driver and ask him to send it on to his insurers and also send a copy to them direct. If they then do not deal with you you issue a small claim against the other driver. At the end of the day it’s the other drivers problem to ensure that his insurers deal with you and they will have to respond.

Solicitors will be reluctant to get involved after the event where the claim is within the small claims limit as they don’t recover their costs from the other party.

Just call a Solicitor thats what I did when it happened to me

This thing about “No insurance company will deal directly” is actually, total and utter bollocks.

Indeed, please advise who the third parties insurers are, as I am certain they will – you can send me an email and I’ll get some specific guidance for you in the AM. It should be in profile.

And yes, I work for an insurer in a claims dept. I suspect you might have been given a brokers number or something. I’ve sorted out loads of cyclists recently – they make the best claimants tbh. Most are just happy with the inflated offers I give for crappy old single speed converted racers to worry about injury…..