Cycle Collision Solicitors - Any recommendations?
Discussion
Morning everyone
Last Thursday I was knocked off my Brompton my large Drainage Lorry. They were over taking me and left no room and I think I was knocked off by the truck's rear mudguard.
The truck failed to stop despite the driver behind sounding his horn and shouting. I have the details of the witness.
The company are denying all knowledge of the incident and I have reported it to the Police. I wrote to them listing the damage (broken cycling shoe, helmet and pedals) and stating what I wanted covered.
I actually chased the truck down. They are based half a mile from my house. The driver and driver's mate both denied it.
I spent 5 hours in minor injures and have a bad gash on my right knee. Still not back cycling and its costing me money on the tube everyday.
I am wondering if anyone has any recommendation of cycle collision specialist solicitors.
Before everyione starts getting on the bandwagon. This was in broad daylight and the truck driver left me no room.
It's not been a good week for me and I've never done this kind of thing before, but I don't see why I should be out of pocket because of someone else making a poor judgement.
Last Thursday I was knocked off my Brompton my large Drainage Lorry. They were over taking me and left no room and I think I was knocked off by the truck's rear mudguard.
The truck failed to stop despite the driver behind sounding his horn and shouting. I have the details of the witness.
The company are denying all knowledge of the incident and I have reported it to the Police. I wrote to them listing the damage (broken cycling shoe, helmet and pedals) and stating what I wanted covered.
I actually chased the truck down. They are based half a mile from my house. The driver and driver's mate both denied it.
I spent 5 hours in minor injures and have a bad gash on my right knee. Still not back cycling and its costing me money on the tube everyday.
I am wondering if anyone has any recommendation of cycle collision specialist solicitors.
Before everyione starts getting on the bandwagon. This was in broad daylight and the truck driver left me no room.
It's not been a good week for me and I've never done this kind of thing before, but I don't see why I should be out of pocket because of someone else making a poor judgement.
Thank god you're alive to tell the tale, it could have been far worse.
No idea as to a solicitor though.
We may take the piss and many cyclists do create problems at times but no one would wish this on anybody.
There is no excuse for knocking you off your bike and failing to stop. At least you have a witness.
Good luck!
No idea as to a solicitor though.
We may take the piss and many cyclists do create problems at times but no one would wish this on anybody.
There is no excuse for knocking you off your bike and failing to stop. At least you have a witness.
Good luck!
Type R Tom said:
If this is in London, have you checked their FORS status? A lot of lorries come with cameras now. Also try the local council, they may have it on CCTV. Where was it?
Can help with a solicitor though.
No, this was in leafy Kings Langley in Hertfordshire. It was only half a mile from my house. I actually cycle in the center of London everyday and I've never been knocked off. However, I think its only a matter of time. Can help with a solicitor though.
Weather I'm successful or not, I'm going back to wearing a GoPro everyday. Got to buy a new helmet first.
Good shout on the FORS status. I will look into that.
In the meantime, could you please PM me the details of your recommended solicitor.
Also, I agree, I was very lucky. Could have gone underneath the truck
bakerstreet said:
Type R Tom said:
If this is in London, have you checked their FORS status? A lot of lorries come with cameras now. Also try the local council, they may have it on CCTV. Where was it?
Can help with a solicitor though.
No, this was in leafy Kings Langley in Hertfordshire. It was only half a mile from my house. I actually cycle in the center of London everyday and I've never been knocked off. However, I think its only a matter of time. Can help with a solicitor though.
Weather I'm successful or not, I'm going back to wearing a GoPro everyday. Got to buy a new helmet first.
Good shout on the FORS status. I will look into that.
In the meantime, could you please PM me the details of your recommended solicitor.
Also, I agree, I was very lucky. Could have gone underneath the truck
TwistingMyMelon said:
Also glad you are ok
Could be worth going to local paper, seeing if they would run a story on it, I'd be pissed off at the drainage company
A Valid point, but that has its own risks. IE any comments that show the company in bad light could give them grounds to also sue, but in theory they would be suing the publisher (I'm not a lawyer, but did a few media law modules at Uni) Could be worth going to local paper, seeing if they would run a story on it, I'd be pissed off at the drainage company
There is also the fact that I walk past the operators favorite breakfast stop every morning at the same time with my dog.
My wife also walks the dog in a similar place and I don't want to reach a stage where we can't walk our dog on the road where we live.
Glad you are relatively okay, trusting other road users will overtake without hitting you is difficult when there are so many incompetent and/or vindictive morons out there.
I used these people when I was knocked off at a roundabout, they were very polite and helpful, and I got my broken bike replaced. Having a witness is critical though, so it's great someone stopped for you.
http://www.bikeline.co.uk/
I used these people when I was knocked off at a roundabout, they were very polite and helpful, and I got my broken bike replaced. Having a witness is critical though, so it's great someone stopped for you.
http://www.bikeline.co.uk/
bruschetta said:
Glad you are relatively okay, trusting other road users will overtake without hitting you is difficult when there are so many incompetent and/or vindictive morons out there.
I used these people when I was knocked off at a roundabout, they were very polite and helpful, and I got my broken bike replaced. Having a witness is critical though, so it's great someone stopped for you.
http://www.bikeline.co.uk/
Thanks for the suggestion. A couple of colleagues have suggested Bikeline and S&G, so will give both a call and take it from there. I used these people when I was knocked off at a roundabout, they were very polite and helpful, and I got my broken bike replaced. Having a witness is critical though, so it's great someone stopped for you.
http://www.bikeline.co.uk/
Witness is e-mailing me a statement today. Hopefully its solid enough for a case. Going to get my Brompton inspected by a bike shop today, so I can get a report in it.
Hoping for a full recover in time for RideLondon.
Sorry to hear that. If they've managed to hit your crank arm and broken the pedal, I wouldn't be surprised if the frame has suffered damage so worth checking alignment.
When I was a kid someone t-boned on a roundabout and the only visible damage was a bent crank arm. However, the frame was several degrees out as well.
Different type of force I know, but frames are expensive so worth checking!
When I was a kid someone t-boned on a roundabout and the only visible damage was a bent crank arm. However, the frame was several degrees out as well.
Different type of force I know, but frames are expensive so worth checking!
williaa68 said:
If you have household contents insurance you may also want to check that as (a) it may cover the bike and (b) if you have legal expenses cover, they should be able to put you in touch with someone who will act.
I agree: a legal expenses insurer (LEI) will probably also offer you 100% compensation, whereas elsewhere you will probably get a 75% guarantee (due to a shortfall between what legal costs are generally necessary and what are recoverable from the opponent). The 75% guarantee is likely to apply to your incurred financial losses too, so it's possible you'd lose some of the money required to repair/replace your bike.The downside of using LEI will be that you don't get to choose who to use (i.e. you are stuck (to an extent) with whoever the LEI company appoint), but this is perhaps less essential bearing in mind the nature of the incident.
In this regard, to use a solicitor the injury aspect will need to exceed a threshold of £1,000 to ensure it is a "fast" rather than "small" track matter. Having legal representation might make it easier in dealing with the HGV's insurers, particularly given the stance the company has taken so far. But with a supportive account from an independent witness, I'd expect the insurer to deal with your claim.
I recommend you take photographs of your injury periodically to show how it is healing and how long the symptoms last. If it is ongoing at say 4 weeks, the above threshold should be met. You should also note down all financial losses you incur, such as the travel expenses/bike quotes and provide receipts/evidence wherever possible. This will be the easiest way to ensure you recover those items.
If you make a quick/full recovery and can easily document all of your financial losses, there is nothing stopping you from dealing direct with the insurer (if you can get their details). They may agree to reimburse your financial outlay and add on a sum for your injuries (known as general damages) knowing that no legal fees or additional costs (e.g. cost of a medical report) are being incurred.
I hope this helps.
Cudd Wudd said:
I agree: a legal expenses insurer (LEI) will probably also offer you 100% compensation, whereas elsewhere you will probably get a 75% guarantee (due to a shortfall between what legal costs are generally necessary and what are recoverable from the opponent). The 75% guarantee is likely to apply to your incurred financial losses too, so it's possible you'd lose some of the money required to repair/replace your bike.
The downside of using LEI will be that you don't get to choose who to use (i.e. you are stuck (to an extent) with whoever the LEI company appoint), but this is perhaps less essential bearing in mind the nature of the incident.
In this regard, to use a solicitor the injury aspect will need to exceed a threshold of £1,000 to ensure it is a "fast" rather than "small" track matter. Having legal representation might make it easier in dealing with the HGV's insurers, particularly given the stance the company has taken so far. But with a supportive account from an independent witness, I'd expect the insurer to deal with your claim.
I recommend you take photographs of your injury periodically to show how it is healing and how long the symptoms last. If it is ongoing at say 4 weeks, the above threshold should be met. You should also note down all financial losses you incur, such as the travel expenses/bike quotes and provide receipts/evidence wherever possible. This will be the easiest way to ensure you recover those items.
If you make a quick/full recovery and can easily document all of your financial losses, there is nothing stopping you from dealing direct with the insurer (if you can get their details). They may agree to reimburse your financial outlay and add on a sum for your injuries (known as general damages) knowing that no legal fees or additional costs (e.g. cost of a medical report) are being incurred.
I hope this helps.
Thank you for this. All incredibly helpful. Bike gets dropped off tomorrow at the shop for an inspection and a report. I've printed out my bank statements showing my commuting costs. Also dug out the original invoice for my shoes. Helmet is just the equivalent one in the current range. The downside of using LEI will be that you don't get to choose who to use (i.e. you are stuck (to an extent) with whoever the LEI company appoint), but this is perhaps less essential bearing in mind the nature of the incident.
In this regard, to use a solicitor the injury aspect will need to exceed a threshold of £1,000 to ensure it is a "fast" rather than "small" track matter. Having legal representation might make it easier in dealing with the HGV's insurers, particularly given the stance the company has taken so far. But with a supportive account from an independent witness, I'd expect the insurer to deal with your claim.
I recommend you take photographs of your injury periodically to show how it is healing and how long the symptoms last. If it is ongoing at say 4 weeks, the above threshold should be met. You should also note down all financial losses you incur, such as the travel expenses/bike quotes and provide receipts/evidence wherever possible. This will be the easiest way to ensure you recover those items.
If you make a quick/full recovery and can easily document all of your financial losses, there is nothing stopping you from dealing direct with the insurer (if you can get their details). They may agree to reimburse your financial outlay and add on a sum for your injuries (known as general damages) knowing that no legal fees or additional costs (e.g. cost of a medical report) are being incurred.
I hope this helps.
Still seething about it, as sleeping is uncomfortable as I take the bandages off to let it breath and hopefully heal faster.
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