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Hit and run: cyclist
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13-06-2020 1:51pm#1Hey! Drowning in a sea of red tape and looking for some advice. Please help out if you can. I'd greatly appreciate it. I'll try to be as clear as possible.
I was the victim of a hit and run in March. I was a cyclist at the time. I can only describe it as horrific and 'attempted murder' is a far more fitting term than 'hit and run'.
I was t-boned by a car driving approx 30kmph after it failed to stop at a stop sign. I was cycling in broad daylight on a primary road and it was coming from a secondary road. I was thrown off the bike and had a split second to look up (from my position on the road) before the car was on top of me and I was being dragged down the road underneath the car. This went on for approx. 15-20 metres (according to Gardaí). I was wearing a helmet, without which it's likely I would've been killed. I don't know how but after what felt like forever, I found myself sitting on the road with my clothes torn off me, covered in blood and left for dead by the scum that hit me.
Witnesses rushed over to help me and an ambulance arrived on the scene, followed by a Gardaí. There were at least ten witnesses around me at one point. I was rushed to the hospital and treated in ED for major trauma. Injuries include second degree burns (from dragging) on all upper leg, both buttocks and left wrist, broken nose, debilitating whiplash, extensive severe bruising (still present after 3 months), a fractured rib, lacerations and cuts on all limbs and face, and of course the dreaded PTSD. Somehow nothing else was broken. I feel both incredibly lucky and incredibly unlucky. It's very confusing!
Not surprisingly, there will be no prosecution as Gardaí can't identify suspects despite finding the car abandoned immediately afterwards, having cctv footage and fingerprint samples. It was being shared around between a group of scumbags and wasn't registered to any of them. They are all known to Gardaí. In fact, the investigating Garda referred to the primary suspect and several others in the group as 'regulars' at the station.
Anyway, here's where the quagmire begins! After months of dealing with one of the most incompetent civil servants I've ever met, the investigating Garda, I rang the Garda Victim Service Office. I was dismayed by the lack of any contact from their office as it was my understanding that they were a dedicated service for victims of crimes. After many minutes of hearing 'I don't know' from the other end, I was finally told there was no record of me in their system. I proceeded to ring the sergeant at the station and she also had no idea, passing me on to yet another person in the Victim Service who didn't have the foggiest. They said it was an anomaly in the law and that a road traffic victim was considered a witness to the crime??? This can't be right, can it? If I am not in their system, I'm technically not a victim of a crime.
I went through this process because I had just spoken to a solicitor about a compensation claim I'm making with MIBI. They asked about witnesses and I told them what I know: the Garda hasn't taken statements from witnesses. He told me, when I finally went to give my statement (2 months after h&r), that witness statements could prejudice my claim if they didn't match mine exactly. He seemed confident that witness statements would muddle the facts. When I used the word 'witness', he said: "we're not referring to them as 'witnesses' yet". What the hell is going on? Can anyone please explain?
Lastly, I finally talked to a couple of PI solicitors who were recommended to me. I've done my research so I'm not going in completely blind. All operated on a 'no win, no fee' basis. Out of three, one said he would 'only take 10% of the amount awarded'. I know this isn't how things work in Ireland and that solicitors are not allowed to use a percentage system to calculate their fees in this way. The other solicitor said they'd have to charge me an hourly rate (at €350 p/h) and I'm still waiting for a breakdown from the third one.
I know this is an essay and I'm sorry if some of it seems unnecessary. I wanted to give as clear a picture as possible.
Thanks in advance for anything useful.
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Hey! Drowning in a sea of red tape and looking for some advice. Please help out if you can. I'd greatly appreciate it. I'll try to be as clear as possible.
I was the victim of a hit and run in March. I was a cyclist at the time. I can only describe it as horrific and 'attempted murder' is a far more fitting term than 'hit and run'.
I was t-boned by a car driving approx 30kmph after it failed to stop at a stop sign. I was cycling in broad daylight on a primary road and it was coming from a secondary road. I was thrown off the bike and had a split second to look up (from my position on the road) before the car was on top of me and I was being dragged down the road underneath the car. This went on for approx. 15-20 metres (according to Gardaí). I was wearing a helmet, without which it's likely I would've been killed. I don't know how but after what felt like forever, I found myself sitting on the road with my clothes torn off me, covered in blood and left for dead by the scum that hit me.
Witnesses rushed over to help me and an ambulance arrived on the scene, followed by a Gardaí. There were at least ten witnesses around me at one point. I was rushed to the hospital and treated in ED for major trauma. Injuries include second degree burns (from dragging) on all upper leg, both buttocks and left wrist, broken nose, debilitating whiplash, extensive severe bruising (still present after 3 months), a fractured rib, lacerations and cuts on all limbs and face, and of course the dreaded PTSD. Somehow nothing else was broken. I feel both incredibly lucky and incredibly unlucky. It's very confusing!
Not surprisingly, there will be no prosecution as Gardaí can't identify suspects despite finding the car abandoned immediately afterwards, having cctv footage and fingerprint samples. It was being shared around between a group of scumbags and wasn't registered to any of them. They are all known to Gardaí. In fact, the investigating Garda referred to the primary suspect and several others in the group as 'regulars' at the station.
Anyway, here's where the quagmire begins! After months of dealing with one of the most incompetent civil servants I've ever met, the investigating Garda, I rang the Garda Victim Service Office. I was dismayed by the lack of any contact from their office as it was my understanding that they were a dedicated service for victims of crimes. After many minutes of hearing 'I don't know' from the other end, I was finally told there was no record of me in their system. I proceeded to ring the sergeant at the station and she also had no idea, passing me on to yet another person in the Victim Service who didn't have the foggiest. They said it was an anomaly in the law and that a road traffic victim was considered a witness to the crime??? This can't be right, can it? If I am not in their system, I'm technically not a victim of a crime.
I went through this process because I had just spoken to a solicitor about a compensation claim I'm making with MIBI. They asked about witnesses and I told them what I know: the Garda hasn't taken statements from witnesses. He told me, when I finally went to give my statement (2 months after h&r), that witness statements could prejudice my claim if they didn't match mine exactly. He seemed confident that witness statements would muddle the facts. When I used the word 'witness', he said: "we're not referring to them as 'witnesses' yet". What the hell is going on? Can anyone please explain?
Lastly, I finally talked to a couple of PI solicitors who were recommended to me. I've done my research so I'm not going in completely blind. All operated on a 'no win, no fee' basis. Out of three, one said he would 'only take 10% of the amount awarded'. I know this isn't how things work in Ireland and that solicitors are not allowed to use a percentage system to calculate their fees in this way. The other solicitor said they'd have to charge me an hourly rate (at €350 p/h) and I'm still waiting for a breakdown from the third one.
I know this is an essay and I'm sorry if some of it seems unnecessary. I wanted to give as clear a picture as possible.
Thanks in advance for anything useful.
did you have any luck with this?0 -
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