Advice Needed After Being Hit By A Car...

DaveyDave

I was hit by a car in the car park of the shopping centre where I work 3 weeks ago. Low speed collision, driver hit me after pulling off from a stop, nothing serious just on crutches for a week.

An ambulance was called as were the Gardaí, I gave a statement and went to A&E. After a half dozen attempts to contact the member of Gardai at the scene over the past three weeks, I am still left without any driver or insurance details.

I first heard from the guard two days after being in hospital and let him know my situation. He said the driver asked for my details so I said he could forward them on. I didn't hear from him since until yesterday afternoon when I asked for the driver's insurance details because the driver didn't contact me. He said he'd have to ask the driver first, and call me back. I don't really see why I need the driver's permission for insurance details when he hit me?

I haven't heard anything but this back and forward isn't going anywhere. It's been three weeks and I can't even begin to make a claim. I'm down €400 in medical bills, repairs and lost wages with another €346 Road Traffic Accident hospital fee outstanding in my name.

I've never had to do this before so I don't know exactly how it works, but it's taking the piss now because I'm not asking for much. When he called me yesterday he was too casual for my liking and asked "you called for me?" as if to not know what I wanted on when I'm clearly in the middle of wanting to claim.

Does anyone have any advice on what to do? I'm left with €100 for the month thanks to my lost wages and the like and the guard seems to know as much as I do with regards to getting insurance details and all. It's pretty much a joke at this point. I know it's not a very serious matter but at the end of the day I'm left broke and waiting around.

I understand they're busy, but this guy doesn't seem to have a clue what he's even talking about, so I'm looking for advice from fellow cyclists who have had the misfortune of dealing with road accidents.

paulgs

DaveyDave wrote: »

I was hit by a car in the car park of the shopping centre where I work 3 weeks ago. Low speed collision, driver hit me after pulling off from a stop, nothing serious just on crutches for a week.

An ambulance was called as were the Gardaí, I gave a statement and went to A&E. After a half dozen attempts to contact the member of Gardai at the scene over the past three weeks, I am still left without any driver or insurance details.

I first heard from the guard two days after being in hospital and let him know my situation. He said the driver asked for my details so I said he could forward them on. I didn't hear from him since until yesterday afternoon when I asked for the driver's insurance details because the driver didn't contact me. He said he'd have to ask the driver first, and call me back. I don't really see why I need the driver's permission for insurance details when he hit me?

I haven't heard anything but this back and forward isn't going anywhere. It's been three weeks and I can't even begin to make a claim. I'm down €400 in medical bills, repairs and lost wages with another €346 Road Traffic Accident hospital fee outstanding in my name.

I've never had to do this before so I don't know exactly how it works, but it's taking the piss now because I'm not asking for much. When he called me yesterday he was too casual for my liking and asked "you called for me?" as if to not know what I wanted on when I'm clearly in the middle of wanting to claim.

Does anyone have any advice on what to do? I'm left with €100 for the month thanks to my lost wages and the like and the guard seems to know as much as I do with regards to getting insurance details and all. It's pretty much a joke at this point. I know it's not a very serious matter but at the end of the day I'm left broke and waiting around.

I understand they're busy, but this guy doesn't seem to have a clue what he's even talking about, so I'm looking for advice from fellow cyclists who have had the misfortune of dealing with road accidents.

Get a solicitor on it, unfortunately these things are never resolved quickly you could probably apply for some kind of assistance from social welfare if you are experiencing financial hardship.

rollingscone

1. Do you have the name of the Garda that's dealing with it?
- He has to have recorded the details of the person involved, you are entitled to the insurance information of the responsible party - Insurance Policy No, reg of vehicle involved and the name of the driver. Occassionally a Garda will try and fob someone off about data protection but nothing overwrites your right to restitution.
-If the Garda is clearly avoiding dealing with you (you do have to take their shift patterns into account in terms of availability) write to the Superintendent in that station and highlight the issue.

Your priority here is to identify the insurer and get a claim no. also ensure you have a PULSE incident no. from the Gardai, if you went to A&E there is no excuse for not registering the incident on PULSE.

Once you have a claim no. you can contact the insurer and submit a claim complete with vouching documents for your financial loss.

2. Make sure you've clearly accounted for all of the expenses:
- Keep a detailed folder of all of your medical expenses with the dates they were incurred and a little explanatory note, you want your expenses submission to tell a story as this will make eat easier for the person dealing with the claim at the other end to understand exactly what needs to be done.
- Get a letter from your employer re: loss of earnings and take a copy of your payslip for the period (This may require some basic maths on behalf of the claims handler but once they have the dates plus your pay details it'll be straightforward).
- Get a quote for the cost of repairs to your bike - if the bike is a cheapo just get a brief note to the effect that it's beyond economic repair and a price for a similar replacement.

3. Write down everything you know about the incident in case liability is disputed, draw a sketch of the layout of the scene now, then go back to the carpark and make sure you had the layout and dimensions right. Ensure that the rules of the road are clearly in your favour, also check back at the accident location for CCTV or anyone you might know who can act as a witness (preferably someone that's not a friend or relative as they will be assumed to be biased in your favour).

Odds are a solicitor will take your money for writing a few letters and won't pursue much furhter unless they can get a high enough quantum (the amount of money in dispute) to make it worth their while, I wouldn't go down that road yet.

DaveyDave

rollingscone wrote: »

1. Do you have the name of the Garda that's dealing with it?
- He has to have recorded the details of the person involved, you are entitled to the insurance information of the responsible party - Insurance Policy No, reg of vehicle involved and the name of the driver. Occassionally a Garda will try and fob someone off about data protection but nothing overwrites your right to restitution.
-If the Garda is clearly avoiding dealing with you (you do have to take their shift patterns into account in terms of availability) write to the Superintendent in that station and highlight the issue.

Your priority here is to identify the insurer and get a claim no. also ensure you have a PULSE incident no. from the Gardai, if you went to A&E there is no excuse for not registering the incident on PULSE.

Once you have a claim no. you can contact the insurer and submit a claim complete with vouching documents for your financial loss.

2. Make sure you've clearly accounted for all of the expenses:
- Keep a detailed folder of all of your medical expenses with the dates they were incurred and a little explanatory note, you want your expenses submission to tell a story as this will make eat easier for the person dealing with the claim at the other end to understand exactly what needs to be done.
- Get a letter from your employer re: loss of earnings and take a copy of your payslip for the period (This may require some basic maths on behalf of the claims handler but once they have the dates plus your pay details it'll be straightforward).
- Get a quote for the cost of repairs to your bike - if the bike is a cheapo just get a brief note to the effect that it's beyond economic repair and a price for a similar replacement.

3. Write down everything you know about the incident in case liability is disputed, draw a sketch of the layout of the scene now, then go back to the carpark and make sure you had the layout and dimensions right. Ensure that the rules of the road are clearly in your favour, also check back at the accident location for CCTV or anyone you might know who can act as a witness (preferably someone that's not a friend or relative as they will be assumed to be biased in your favour).

Odds are a solicitor will take your money for writing a few letters and won't pursue much furhter unless they can get a high enough quantum (the amount of money in dispute) to make it worth their while, I wouldn't go down that road yet.

I have the name of the Garda dealing with it and have talked to him three or so times over the past 4 weeks. I still haven't heard anything back since he was supposedly calling the driver to get "permission" of getting his insurance details. I called the station again asking about getting insurance details and I was told I'd have to talk to the Garda on the case. All I need is the insurance company name and the driver's registration. I don't need to know what he had for breakfast or what he's doing with his life.

I have everything I can produce. Hopsital bills, a receipt of the €100 A&E charge I paid, €35 bike repair reciept, a letter stating my lost wages/hours and a map illustrating the locations of myself, the driver, the path I took and the surrounding areas i.e barriers etc. The Garda I spoke with on the phone was more than useless. He had no interest in what I was saying and was unwilling to help me in the slightest. It's been 4 weeks and I can't even make a claim. It's ridiculous. I don't even care how long the claim will take at this point, I just want to make one. It's laughable how I can't even do something that simple. I was told to talk to the superintendent of the unit in person if I wanted to so I will, it shouldn't be this difficult to get what is essentially nothing and I shouldn't have to go out of my way to get something I could easily get over the phone.

rollingscone

Normally a letter to the Super shakes the tree. A face to face doesn't leave a paper trail.
I'd say do both.