Hi Community!
This is what I cycle to work daily. Unfortunately on Friday I was hit by a car that turned left at the intersection from the centre lane – crossing the bike lane. My bike doesn’t look like this anymore. Police and ambulance arrived. I have the driver details – do I just text them and ask if I can send them my bills? I don’t have an insurance company (I ride a bike) so I’m at a loss. I’ve looked at Google and it seems it’s a hot topic for dodgy sponsored links. Many thanks if you can help 💛
by thelonestrokers
10 Comments
You file a claim with the insurance of the person that hit you and you file a police report as well. Or if you don’t want to do any of that, lawyer up and pay them to do the work.
See doctor to make sure there aren’t any injuries you don’t know about like hairline fractures ets. Get the bike repair estimated cost on paper, send health report if you’re injured and bike repair costs to car guy insurance company. If he creates problems with that then lawyer up. I was hit by a car one day and made him write accident report and sign it. I told him that if he refuses then I have his plate and will call the police and file a report which would make him pay police fine and then insurance anyway. So he chose smart and signed paper and that’s how I was given money to repair bike (including labour) which I’ve repaired myself and was able to save few $$, which came handy for fenders and lights for my bike.
I’m going through this same process. My injuries weren’t to crazy but was unable to walk for a month. If a police report was made and they have damage to their car they likely had to report it to their insurance. So their insurance will reach out to you to submit a claim with them. But you won’t be compensated greatly they will try to give you least amount of money possible. So it’s best to talk to an attorney and they will represent you and try to pull out more money. Unless you don’t care about the money and just want to be compensated for your medical bills and broken property then you can do it yourself.
OMG! I hope are ok, but yeah … this is a legit case. What did police say? You call the driver’s their insurance company. Best wishes and hope for your full recovery.
When I was hit by a car I had to file it under my home owner’s insurance. Weird right?
Their insurance will try to bully and/or lowball you, so be prepared to seek legal help.
A few months ago i had my bike run over from a traffic incident. Driver was going to take a right turn into me, i swerved, fell from swerving, they kept going and ran it over. I was going pretty slow, like 5 ish MPH even as i crossed paths because i was slowing down anyway. The interaction was strange because we both have never been in an accident. They claimed they didn’t see, which tells me they didn’t look enough or they were distracted. The good news is I have a much better commuting bike because a family friend had a Giant Cypress DX in their garage for a while in almost mint condition. And now i use the road for that section.
Damage: bent frame, trashed derailer, trashed rear wheel, seized bearings. It was a total loss especially because it’s an old Trek Navigator 50 which was about to have more wear and tear problems regardless.
Did you file a police report? If not you need to.
Find a lawyer in your town who has handled bike crashes. Ask around in the local biking subreddit or at bike ships. You will need a lawyer, at least in the US, if you want to recoup any damages.
Sorry you’re going through this. Hopefully you heal quickly and completely. I would contact a doctor (to make sure you heal) and then a lawyer (to advise your legal rights).
Process is going to vary significantly based on what country you’re in.
In the US, this would most likely be a claim against the drivers auto insurance policy.
My experience: their insurance company had called me twice before I got back to my home. A few phone calls, connected them to my LBS and I had a new bike waiting for me at the shop, fully fitted like my original in 2 weeks.