Knocked down by reversing car

Chemical Byrne

I was going past a row of cars parked perpendicular to the cycle path in passafe west last evening. A woman in a Passat reversed out without seeing me and I struck the car a glancing blow along the back of the boot and ended up on the ground using my right arm to break the fall. I was going probably 15-20kph and was wearing my hi vis and helmet luckily.

I photographed her reg but it seemed all ok at the time so I picked myself up and carried on. She was very apologetic and was shaken up. There is no obvious damage to the bike.

I landed on my arm and now this morning the inside of my elbow and down the inside of my forearm is killing me with stiffness. I can't straighten my arm without it causing pain.

I'm thinking of getting a doctor to assess it. Should I report it to the gaurds?
I'm in a bit of pain and its affecting me so think I will look into speaking to a solicitor.
I've never done anything like this before so I'm a bit clueless. What should I be doing here?

yellow hen

I've been that woman so I'll try be objective here. Report it to the guards and go see your doctor. There's no need to looking at a legal route just yet. The soreness could be just bruising etc.

Alanstrainor

yellow hen wrote: »

I've been that woman so I'll try be objective here. Report it to the guards and go see your doctor. There's no need to looking at a legal route just yet. The soreness could be just bruising etc.

+1 your immediate concern should be making sure you're okay, and calling the gardai is a good call in case you do proceed further with this.

Bloggsie

Sorry to hear you had a bump, hope you are okay, from reading other threads of this kind, the general rule of thumb is that you always report an incident with the Guards, regardles of the damage to you or the bike.
best of luck.

Mycroft H

Go to your GP, make sure you're all okay. Go to the Gardai. No need to go down the legal route yet, but have all the necessaries sorted first.

Flood

Both parties in the wrong. Cycling too fast and car reversing blind. They need to change the way cars park there and that is to reverse into parking slots.

smacl

As others have said, get the elbow checked out first. I did something similar a few years ago, kept going after the accident, and only found out some hours later I was walking around with a broken elbow and needed surgery. Don't assume it will sort itself out as it may not.

Mycroft H

Flood wrote: »

Both parties in the wrong. Cycling too fast and car reversing blind. They need to change the way cars park there and that is to reverse into parking slots.

15-20km/h is fast?

Get out of here.....

Alanstrainor

Flood wrote: »

Both parties in the wrong. Cycling too fast and car reversing blind. They need to change the way cars park there and that is to reverse into parking slots.

Yes, am man with a flag should walk in front of the cyclist to prevent such incidents...

Flood

Mycroft H wrote: »

15-20km/h is fast?

Get out of here.....

Yes in this specific case, I never said its fast as a general rule.

Darkglasses

Flood wrote: »

Both parties in the wrong. Cycling too fast and car reversing blind. They need to change the way cars park there and that is to reverse into parking slots.

Apportioning blame to events nobody here was present at is not the point of this thread, let's keep it to advice regarding dealing with GP/Gardai/Solicitors.

Cookie_Dough

Chemical Byrne wrote: »

I was going past a row of cars parked perpendicular to the cycle path in passafe west last evening. A woman in a Passat reversed out without seeing me and I struck the car a glancing blow along the back of the boot and ended up on the ground using my right arm to break the fall. I was going probably 15-20kph and was wearing my hi vis and helmet luckily.

I photographed her reg but it seemed all ok at the time so I picked myself up and carried on. She was very apologetic and was shaken up. There is no obvious damage to the bike.

I landed on my arm and now this morning the inside of my elbow and down the inside of my forearm is killing me with stiffness. I can't straighten my arm without it causing pain.

I'm thinking of getting a doctor to assess it. Should I report it to the gaurds?
I'm in a bit of pain and its affecting me so think I will look into speaking to a solicitor.
I've never done anything like this before so I'm a bit clueless. What should I be doing here?

I would get checked out by a doctor and contact the Gardaí to notify them and to get the lady's insurance details (unsure from your post if she gave them or her own contact number)

She would have been obliged to advise her insurance company of the incident anyway but you should also notify them in the event that you may need to make any claim for medical expenses or doctors bills.

I would wait to see your prognosis before consulting solicitors though.

Hopefully your injury is nothing serious, best of luck.

Fian

I broke my elbow by stretching out my arm to break a fall, when I went over the bonnet of a car that pulled out in front of me. Will permanently not be able to straighten it now, impact crushed the top of the bone in the joint.

Hopefully not the case with you, but well worth heading to doctor or maybe casualty.

Adrenaline is funny, i was tempted to just continue cycling home and I only agreed to go to get an x-ray to placate my wife who was insisting on it. Glad she did in retrospect. I am sure i would have figured it out when the adrenaline wore off I guess.

Chemical Byrne

Suppose I were to lodge a claim against this lady's insurance, would I be entitled to claim for my legal costs in addition to whatever else was in the claim?

RainyDay

Chemical Byrne wrote: »

Suppose I were to lodge a claim against this lady's insurance, would I be entitled to claim for my legal costs in addition to whatever else was in the claim?

Generally no, unless there was good reason to involve a legal advisor. Check out http://www.injuriesboard.ie/eng/ for details of how to make your own claim for injuries. If you involve a solicitor, you will probably end up paying his fees out of your claim.

salamanca22

Chemical Byrne wrote: »

Suppose I were to lodge a claim against this lady's insurance, would I be entitled to claim for my legal costs in addition to whatever else was in the claim?

No,

Since the PIAB have come about you can not claim for any legal costs prior to the PIAB assesment, after that, you may be awarded costs in court if you decide to go that route. This is because you can do all the steps without the aid of a solicitor now. In my opinion though it is ludicrous as most people will still need proper legal advice.

You can claim for all other damages.

Traumadoc

salamanca22 wrote: »

No,

Since the PIAB have come about you can not claim for any legal costs prior to the PIAB assesment, after that, you may be awarded costs in court if you decide to go that route. This is because you can do all the steps without the aid of a solicitor now. In my opinion though it is ludicrous as most people will still need proper legal advice.

You can claim for all other damages.

You can go down the PIAB route but there is a lot of upfront costs, e.g. a medical report will cost you about 3-400 euro.
I would advise gettion a solicitor to advise you.

If you cannot move your elbow , you need an X-ray.

terrydel

Chemical Byrne wrote: »

I was going past a row of cars parked perpendicular to the cycle path in passafe west last evening. A woman in a Passat reversed out without seeing me and I struck the car a glancing blow along the back of the boot and ended up on the ground using my right arm to break the fall. I was going probably 15-20kph and was wearing my hi vis and helmet luckily.

I photographed her reg but it seemed all ok at the time so I picked myself up and carried on. She was very apologetic and was shaken up. There is no obvious damage to the bike.

I landed on my arm and now this morning the inside of my elbow and down the inside of my forearm is killing me with stiffness. I can't straighten my arm without it causing pain.

I'm thinking of getting a doctor to assess it. Should I report it to the gaurds?
I'm in a bit of pain and its affecting me so think I will look into speaking to a solicitor.
I've never done anything like this before so I'm a bit clueless. What should I be doing here?

Non displacement fracture of the elbow possibly. Had it myself, didn't think it was broke til the next day, pain kicked in then, same as yourself. Get it seen to and sorted, that's the important thing.

ted1

Chemical Byrne wrote: »

Suppose I were to lodge a claim against this lady's insurance, would I be entitled to claim for my legal costs in addition to whatever else was in the claim?

You have established no reason to claim yet. Claim is a compensatory item, what needs to be compensated.


Have a read of this
http://www.injuriesboard.ie/eng/How-to-make-a-claim/Estimate-your-claim/

hawkwind23

this is one of these replies that wont go down well but hey ho

I thought all you cyclists were "real" men/women?
first wee scrape and your off crying to "sue" someone , sounds like a simple accident , you werent hurt too bad and your wan in the car is probably still in shock over it.
Can you not just move on like? When i was wee i hit loads of cars , i was about 10 , i didnt go crying to my parents saying to sue someone for money.
You ride a bicycle on a big scary bad road , accidents will happen , be thankful you werent hurt and be more alert in that situation next time.

Inquitus

hawkwind23 wrote: »

this is one of these replies that wont go down well but hey ho

Ofc it won't go down well as its asinine!

yellow hen

Chemical Byrne wrote: »

Suppose I were to lodge a claim against this lady's insurance, would I be entitled to claim for my legal costs in addition to whatever else was in the claim?

You sound like you've already decided that you want to seek legal advice yet you still haven't established the extent (if any) of your injuries. I don't wish to assume things about you but I think it's disappointing that your default thoughts vear towards compensation. Accidents happen and claiming unnecessarily is stressful to all parties as well as one of the reasons why premiums jump each year.

hawkwind23

Inquitus wrote: »

Ofc it won't go down well as its asinine!

Well my argument is that its "asinine" to go blindly into a motorist at a snails pace then go looking for some cash because you got a wee scrape on your elbow.

Its a public forum and post and as such I am entitled to have an opinion

Darkglasses

hawkwind23 wrote: »

Well my argument is that its "asinine" to go blindly into a motorist at a snails pace then go looking for some cash because you got a wee scrape on your elbow.

Its a public forum and post and as such I am entitled to have an opinion

No further comments on an event that you did not witness. In every situation in which these things are pursued by guards/solicitors, we are instructed to delete them as they may prejudice investigation.

Any further posts like this will be deleted.

hawkwind23

Darkglasses wrote: »

No further comments on an event that you did not witness. In every situation in which these things are pursued by guards/solicitors, we are instructed to delete them as they may prejudice investigation.

Any further posts like this will be deleted.

Fair enough , stepping out of thread.

Must be frustrating for all involved to start an investigation and legal advice and all the hullabaloo that entails
Sad reflection on modern Ireland IMO

Iwannahurl

Chemical Byrne wrote: »

I was going past a row of cars parked perpendicular to the cycle path in passafe west last evening.

I was going probably 15-20kph and was wearing my hi vis and helmet luckily.

Is it just me, or is it an utterly daft idea to route a cycle path past a place where cars may be reversing onto it? If that's the actual setup, then I would be writing a serious letter of complaint to the local authority, because it sounds like an accident waiting to happen. Unless I'm misunderstanding the situation.

EDIT: was it here, by any chance?

If you don't mind my asking, OP, why do you feel it was "lucky" that you were wearing hi-vis, since it clearly didn't protect you from being struck by the reversing car?

Tigger

If the op was after a claim they'd have called the cops and got insurance details
They are just worried about their medical costs
I didn't claim for injuries from a motorbike accident when there was no doubt of the cause and I walk with a limp 20 years later coz I thought that making sure I didn't die and glueing my leg back together in a and e is only a basic medical check
I should have got checked out properly mri etc
My advice ;


Get a full medical work up
Call the guards and tell them what happened / give statement
Claim for what is hopefully only the cost of your medical and medicine
But if there is an injury that you may have issues with you will need legal advice

tampopo

You may have to insist on giving a statement to the Guards. Similar thing happened to me and they were hardly interested. The woman who ran me over promised the sun moon and stars. Gullible me believed her and lost out.

Although I think I am as well off, given her connections. But still...

Chemical Byrne

I've been to the doctor and I'm told that it is a soft tissue injury. I was given a prescription for Difene. It is pretty much freeing out now the last few days although still a bit stiff especially in the mornings or after lying on the couch.
I think I'll keep picking up the difene prescription anyway even though I probably won't use it.

Perhaps I should ask the doctor to write a medical assessment report?
I've already met the gaurd for passage and she took a statement so it's on record and I gave the reg.

I don't know the insurance details though.

I'd be very slow to contact insurance company without at least having the advice of a solicitor first.

RainyDay

Chemical Byrne wrote: »

Perhaps I should ask the doctor to write a medical assessment report?

Be prepared for a large fee for the doc, of a few hundred euros. They may even tell you that the will only deal with a request from a solicitor.

Chemical Byrne

RainyDay wrote: »

Be prepared for a large fee for the doc, of a few hundred euros. They may even tell you that the will only deal with a request from a solicitor.

Well thats a give, I'd expect any sort of report from a professional to be have a fee into the hundreds.

What I don't get though is why they would only do a report at the request of a solicitor. Why is this? I thought they would be happy to oblige a client's request for a report since they will be getting their fee for it.

bryangiggsy

Chemical Byrne wrote: »

I've been to the doctor and I'm told that it is a soft tissue injury. I was given a prescription for Difene. It is pretty much freeing out now the last few days although still a bit stiff especially in the mornings or after lying on the couch.
I think I'll keep picking up the difene prescription anyway even though I probably won't use it.

Perhaps I should ask the doctor to write a medical assessment report?
I've already met the gaurd for passage and she took a statement so it's on record and I gave the reg.

I don't know the insurance details though.

I'd be very slow to contact insurance company without at least having the advice of a solicitor first.

You are the reason why insurance policiies go up. Pathetic. Soft tissue injury...HTFU!!!!!

fillup

bryangiggsy wrote: »

Soft tissue injury...HTFU!!!!!

Nice comment

The Bishop Basher

You fell off your push bike and have a soft tissue injury that will heal in time.

Why do you need a medical report ?

Chemical Byrne

Because it might well heal but it also could *potentially* have lasting effects or be more succeptible to injury or aggravation or in the future.

I strained a back muscle over a year ago. It healed up fine but then I still get the odd twinge when I'm on a long drive or slouching. So there is a lasting effect to soft tissue injury.

I beleive I'd need the report if I were to take a case. Having it done in a timely fashion is a good idea imo.

salamanca22

Soft tissue injury is a serious matter depending on where it is.

I was in a car crash nearly 5 years ago now and had soft tissue injuries in my back and shoulders and I still have pains in my back almost every day from it.

Yes I sued and yes I would rather it never happened then have the money that dried up long before the pain even started to get better.

So yes, op. You should sue.

Chemical Byrne

The prescription is dear enough though. I do know I would at least be reimbursed for the cost of medication.

Should I go back to the docs and ask for a higher dose?

I think I will ask for a referral to a physio first.

bryangiggsy

Chemical Byrne wrote: »

Because it might well heal but it also could *potentially* have lasting effects or be more succeptible to injury or aggravation or in the future.

I strained a back muscle over a year ago. It healed up fine but then I still get the odd twinge when I'm on a long drive or slouching. So there is a lasting effect to soft tissue injury.

I beleive I'd need the report if I were to take a case. Having it done in a timely fashion is a good idea imo.

Oh ffs....i really do feel sorry for this girl. Dont forget to print this thread up and bring into court proceedings with you.

The Bishop Basher

Chemical Byrne wrote: »

I beleive I'd need the report if I were to take a case. Having it done in a timely fashion is a good idea imo.

You seem pretty fixated on this "case".

I don't know. I guess I was raised differently. Extracting money from others via a legal route would be a last resort and I'd want to be in a bad way. ie. Out of work, significant medical bills etc.

I have a number of scars, aches and pains. Some my doing, some others. Every morning I wake up and I'm just thankful for another day alive and well

All of my money is honestly earned and the things I've bought were bought with honest hard earned cash.

I suppose it's all about how you approach life and how you were reared.

Guess I got lucky.

bryangiggsy

salamanca22 wrote: »

Soft tissue injury is a serious matter depending on where it is.

I was in a car crash nearly 5 years ago now and had soft tissue injuries in my back and shoulders and I still have pains in my back almost every day from it.

Yes I sued and yes I would rather it never happened then have the money that dried up long before the pain even started to get better.

So yes, op. You should sue.

Big difference between injuries in a car crash as opposed to some bruises on an elbow from being tipped by a reversing car.

salamanca22

bryangiggsy wrote: »

Big difference between injuries in a car crash as opposed to some bruises on an elbow from being tipped by a reversing car.

Not really, you can have serious soft tissue injuries from falling in place. You really should stay out of something you have no idea about. Or are you a doctor?

bryangiggsy

salamanca22 wrote: »

Not really, you can have serious soft tissue injuries from falling in place. You really should stay out of something you have no idea about. Or are you a doctor?

no i am a cyclist who has crashed many times ...bruised,broken..batttered..got up dusted myself off...kept going.
Not in this life to heap absolute unneccesary misery on others especially for a sore fin elbow!

bryangiggsy

Karma (Sanskrit: कर्म; IPA: [ˈkərmə] ( listen); Pali: kamma) means action, work or deed;[1] it also refers to the principle of causality where intent and actions of an individual influence the future of that individual.[2] Good intent and good deed contribute to good karma and future happiness, while bad intent and bad deed contribute to bad karma and future suffering

Chemical Byrne

bryangiggsy wrote: »

no i am a cyclist who has crashed many times ...bruised,broken..batttered..got up dusted myself off...kept going.
Not in this life to heap absolute unneccesary misery on others especially for a sore fin elbow!

But yet you are willing to accept unnecessary misery upon yourself when it is the result of another's negligence? Fair play to you.

I don't know what you expect to gain out of being a martyr. A lot of seemingly small injuried leave a hidden impact that might potentially come back on you down the road in your 50s or 60s.

bryangiggsy

Chemical Byrne wrote: »

But yet you are willing to accept unnecessary misery upon yourself when it is the result of another's negligence? Fair play to you.

I don't know what you expect to gain out of being a martyr. A lot of seemingly small injuried leave a hidden impact that might potentially come back on you down the road in your 50s or 60s.

Buddy your definition of unnecessary misery and mine are on different planets. I hope a judge see s that to and finds against you. I've nothing further to add.

Iwannahurl

Just out of interest OP, why do you feel you were "lucky" to be wearing hi-vis when you were hit by that motorist reversing onto a cycle lane in a car park?

Chemical Byrne

I'd be wary of contacting the insurance directly. I would not know what value of claim to lodge against them or how that whole horse trading works.

I feel an experienced solicitor is best placed to deal with insurers as they are doing this sort of thing day in day out and know the best strategies and techniques.

RainyDay

Chemical Byrne wrote: »

I'd be wary of contacting the insurance directly. I would not know what value of claim to lodge against them or how that whole horse trading works.

That's why the Personal Injuries Board publish a 'book of quantum' with details of the normal cost of different types of injuries. Check it out..

Chemical Byrne

I am aware of the BoQ but from hearing of people talking about it from experience I am told that the general way it work is that an insurer will make an initial offer based on the BoQ but you are not supposed accept it.Then you (through your solicitor) are meant to basically haggle for another offer that strikes an optimum balance between the loss of potential in accepting the initial offer and the additional costs of going to court. Apparently, this is just a sort of unofficial procedure and the way the system works in practice.

RainyDay

Chemical Byrne wrote: »

I am aware of the BoQ but from hearing of people talking about it from experience I am told that the general way it work is that an insurer will make an initial offer based on the BoQ but you are not supposed accept it.Then you (through your solicitor) are meant to basically haggle for another offer that strikes an optimum balance between the loss of potential in accepting the initial offer and the additional costs of going to court. Apparently, this is just a sort of unofficial procedure and the way the system works in practice.

Was it a solicitor who told you this?

Why would insurers play this game, when they know they can go to Court and pay the agreed BoQ, leaving the claimant to pay the legal fees out of their settlement?

realdanbreen

It's often the case that after a bump like this the immediate reaction all round is 'are you OK', 'Yeah I'm fine'. Then when the two parties get home and have a bit of time to think things over everything changes.