crash update-cautionary tale

[eddief]

Last week I mentioned being hit by a left turner while riding near Cal here in Berkeley. It was obviously the driver's fault, but I did not do most of the correct stuff in order to establish fault.

Right after you fly over your bars and sommersault over the hood onto your ***, your brain is more concerned about things other than an insurance claim. At least mine was.

I did not call the police to come and make an on-site report. I did not take the names and contact info for at least 3 people who came up and offered help and who probably saw exactly what happened. And I almost did not heed the advice of others who said get to an emergency room, whether an emergency or not.

I assumed the driver knew he was in the wrong and would tell that to his insurance company. You know what they say about ***-uming.

Fortunately his insurance company did admit fault and all will be taken care of I hope. But had he not told the truth it would have been my word against his and I did not have a leg to stand on.

Keep your wits about you out there. It's a jungle.

[Peter P.]

Thanks for the update as I was wondering what the outcome was; glad that it worked out for you!

[gasman]

Glad that it worked out for you. It's hard to think straight after something like that.
Good thing there are honest people in this world.

[djg21]

I was hit in August 1 in similar fashion: I passed north to south on trhe main drag, passing an intersecting road on the right. After I passed through the intersection, I was hit from behind by a car that had trurned right behind me. The driver was 72 yrs old, and on some sort of prescription pharmaceuticals. He was cited for "failure" to yield, and taken to the hospital for toxicology screening.

I spent three weeks in the hospitale with a number of fractured facial bones that required reconstruction impaired vision, a number of brkoen spine and ribs, and a dislocated shoulder that will require some surgery.

First -- My helmet -- it is melted on top from being dragged alomg the pavement. If I hadn't been wearing it, I would be dead.

Second, the ******* who hit me appears to be way underinsured, having no-fault coverage of only $50,000 which will not come close to covering medical billsand liability of $100,000. A point to consider is your own insurance: when purchasing auto insurance you can pay an added premium to beef up your "supplemental uninsured/underinsured motorist" of "SUM" coverage. It is worth the extra yearly money just in case! If not for this coverage, I would be SOL with medical bills.

[bw77]

Your own auto insurance applies if you are riding a bike and you are hit by a car?

[eddief]

would have covered my medical up to a certain amount, but not my bike. It would cover a hit car, but my policy does not include bikes.

about that emergency room visit...

my lower back and neck definitely ached more the day after the accident and going to the emergency room does establish that medical was or might be needed in the future.

[eddief]

The guy who hit me's insurance company is accepting liability for the accident. First step was to deal with property damage. Besides the tacoed front wheel, there was no visible damage to the frame.

The insurance company said they'd replace the frameset, but wanted the crashed one off the road. Giant has a crash replacement program that provides a new frame at something like half price. Apparently there is no way to test a monocoque frame for damage. So Giant provided a new frameset at a discount and wanted the entire bottome bracket cut out of the bike and sent to them. The insurance company wanted the serial number emblem off the bike to ensure the bike was not going back on the road.

They also paid for tear down and rebuild of new frame.

Got the built up bike back today and now onto the medical, pain and suffering part of the ordeal. An existing cervical bone spur/nerve issue was exacerbated by the accident and time will tell what will happen next.

If you are in an accident, please make sure to "cover your arse."

[gasman]

Good to hear everything came out fine.