Ok so in May I was doored by the passenger of an Uber driver while they were parked illegally on a zig zag by London bridge station (warning I continue to see taxis do this so approach with extra caution). Thankfully I had a witness and they took photos which has helped me immensely.
I want to first summarize my experience;
I filed a police report; reported the driver to Uber; filed an insurance claim, reported the driver to the local traffic authority and TFL too.
Results: the police; refused to prosecute the driver since he didn’t open the door- even though he was illegally parked and I was hurt as a result. I appealed. No dice. Absolute bollocks; Uber contacted me back after reporting and I didn’t follow up in case I needed to sue them as well; The driver accepted liability in the insurance claim and I am in the process of filing a claim for expenses and I guess imminently settling; TFL told me they would investigate but couldn’t give me an outcome. The local authority said the same.
My results; My shoulder was hurt quite bad which is affecting my neck among other injuries, my bike was totaled, I am attending therapy since I haven’t been able to cycle since.
I wanted to ask a few questions- I have been pretty meticulous in my claim about travel expenses, damages, etc. Is there anything I should be aware of going into this claim to be mindful of moving forward? For example my brother explained that in a similar accident in the US, once the accident was settled he was unable to seek further damages when injuries got worse over time. Any experience with this? Any thing else to know about like this?
And the second part- my poor bike. I received this limited edition Eddie Merckx bike as a graduation gift from my mother many years ago. Many people are divided by it (hence the title); some love it cause of how it looks (like I did at the time); some think it was despicable to come from Eddie Merckx given its absolutely dysfunctional design that 21 year old me could not identify. Suffice to say it is very sentimental for me. The front fork was dented in a way that although it is made with Columbus steel it is no longer road safe. What should I do with this bike now? I reckon after the settlement I may go for a brompton or something but I still need to decide what to do about the bike. As it stands my best idea has been to make a John Chamberlain style sculpture. Any thoughts?
by tbhvandame