[funkyfish]

Husband was run off the road by a car in a narrow village road yest. He had an open fracture to his ulna and radius and had surgery yesterday to sort it. The driver did not stop although they would have seen he had fallen off.

He was on his way to his new job to sign his contract. So no sick pay and he will be off for quite a while. I read online yesterday about a place that sorts compensation for hit and run victims even cyclists.
We have a crime ref number. Does anyone know how we go about sorting it out?  I know we may not get anything as nik didn't get to see the car etc.

Am so cross at the driver.  Its a village with a major cycle path a d the roads are very  narrow so as  a driver you know to go slow.

Poor nik was in so much pain 3 hours of surgery then 3 hours in recovery as they couldn't control his pain. and when they did he stopped breathing! Well resps dropped right off and he kept feinting.he may be in for several days.

Has anyone got any experience in this sort of thing? Is it worth it or am I just angry and after vengeance? ? :-(

[Kitchen Cottage]

You need a solicitor who will make a claim under the untraced driver agreement from the Motor Insurers' Bureau.

You will have needed to have reported the matter to the police promptly.

They are fairly tortuous to deal with generally.  As far as your solicitor is concerned there is a different scale of fees claimable from the MIB than from Court, which is logical as they investigate the complaint.

[Rosemary]

No idea what you should do but huge  to both of you and I hope Nik is feeling better today.

I hate it when Dan goes cycling on the road. I feel sick until he's home safe.

[Louise Gaunt]

First, I hope Nic makes a speedy recovery. A horrible event for both of you. I don't know about the way claims ad pursued, but from a medical perspective (I am a retired consultant radiologist), keep asking the orthopaedic surgeons, physios etc about risk of long term reduction in mobility etc, it may prove useful in how much compensation you will be able to claim. The world is full of inconsiderate drivers, especially in small villages.

[happygolucky]

I would say its firstly a police matter, a hit and run so report it, take photos of the road and of course of any injury etc.
When steve got knocked over, we used our house insurance, and then last time, we used a specialist cycle insurer to make a claim, although maybe the driver was not insured or even had a stolen car, that's why they drove off possibly?
With us  humans you can usually see the injury but with cycles the bikes tend to fall apart later due to stress cracks. Steve's bike fell apart quite a while after one of the times he was knocked off, although,  his injuries although they have never been that bad. I too hate him cycling but that's how he gets to work etc...I just try not to think about it. Steves last injury was caused by him getting pushed into the tram line in Edinburgh but got nothing re compensation, even though his bike was badly damaged, all his clothing and hat needed replacing and he was very shook up and badly bruised....we did go to A&E but the council refused to take responsibility, even though the same night a girl got knocked over in a similar incident and made the papers!
Hope its a good and quick recovery and you at least get some compensation
His injury sounds complicated, he will  need time to recover due to possible infection, let alone the damage its caused.

[henchard]

Unless the Police find the driver you probably (sadly) have no chance. Taken from a solicitors website.

In these cases most solicitors will look at the prospects and advise accordingly while all costs following a successful case will be reclaimed from other parties or their insurers and from a pre-agreed percentage of any compensation awarded.As a result, it is possible to get an idea of what might happen in a case from a very early stage, as it is likely solicitors will not take it on if they feel the chances of success are limited.

Basically they will want their fee and if there is not a good chance of getting it they won't take the case anyway. As others have said keep good records, take photos of where the incident took place then take GOOD legal advice if you feel that you have a reasonable chance of success; if the solicitor is drumming up business via some spotty youth with a clipboard in a shopping centre I'd suggest that they may not necessarily going to be giving the best advice.

[lachlanandmarcus]

Police and motor insurance bureau are the only relevant routes in this case. Only if the driver is subsequently traced as a result of the police investigation will a. Solicitor become relevant, at the moment there's no one for them to sue!


Report to the police straight away and get a crime number
Get copies of photos of injuries and x rays
Submit a claim via the MIB

http://www.mib.org.uk/Home/en/default.htm


And .....look after yourselves and very best wishes for a swift and complete recovery from a horrible incident 

[happygolucky]

Sadly, as the case of my husband in Edinburgh, the company we used said their was no chance to get compensation and that was the council....a repercussion was that the company he worked for said he should not use his cycle to visit clients...in Edinburgh the best form of travel is walking, cycling or the bus......luckily the first accident the driver of the car did admit responsibility......I wonder if anyone witnessed what  happened?

[shygirl]

it was on tv this morning (rip off britain) that insurance companies have an organisation that pays out to victims of uninsured drivers. maybe they would help?
terrible to hear about it 

[funkyfish]

Thanks for the replies! He did get a crime ref number at the time luckily. I need to pick the bike up from the lovely person who took it in. It was serviced yest am, but will take it back for another check over. Will be gutted if its damaged as we saved up for a semi decent one for Bikejoring so spent £400 on it


Not sure if anyone saw the car though. Will have an ask around.

[happygolucky]

Well at least he is OK, its not great but could have been much worse I suppose.......I get very cross when I see people drive so fast on country roads, never understand as there are often walkers or cyclists and horse riders around as well as farm vehicles......good luck

[Bionic]

Sorry to hear this and I hope Nic makes a speedy recovery. When I had my car accident, although we knew show as at fault (not me) he was not insured. I went through a solicitor who worked with the MIB to get me compensation. They also paid the solicitors fee.


As others have said try them and see what hey say

[lachlanandmarcus]

it was on tv this morning (rip off britain) that insurance companies have an organisation that pays out to victims of uninsured drivers. maybe they would help?
terrible to hear about it 

They will, that is the motor insurance bureau that I've put the link for above 

[Lesley Silvester]

Poor Nic.    I hope he heals well and quickly and is able to start his new job.    to you too as you must have had a shock.


A friend recently had a car go into the back of his and the driver apologised and gave his name and insurance company. Both later turned out to be false and the police are after him. My friend is claiming insurance through MIB and has already had money for his car. Just waiting to see how he is as he has whiplash. The MIB is there for cases like NIc's so do use them.

[Min]

Horrible thing to happen, really sorry to hear about it. I hope he recovers well.

There are specialist bike lawyers who may be able to advise. Here is some stuff about hit and run:

http://www.bikelegal.com/accident-types/hit-and-run-cycling-accidents.html