New member taken out by cage driver

Not a good idea to even mention what sort of protective gear great, good, bad or not at all to any of the insurers. This is ammunition that could be used against you. Their main object is to make the woman that hit you seem less culpable and to make it seem that it was partially your fault. These insurers are crunching number and do not really give a rat ass about anything but the payout.

IMO you should delete your above post and not mention what you were wearing to anyone.

So help me Idi Amin Dada.

 

Been on the receiving end of an insurance company trying to screw me. My advice, lawyer up. If you give her insurance an opportunity for anything they'll take it.

 

Damned. Small world. I worked in SLurrey from 2003 until recent retirement. Rode to and from year round. Thus the high mileage on my bike.
Did you brother hate Chillifuggenwack as much as I do?

 

I understand your point, but I don't see how it could be used as ammunition. Unless the law states that 'you" have to wear whatever gear, its irrelevant. That's like saying you were driving your truck wearing sneakers and not steel toed boots and your toes were crushed during an accident.

Could the insurance company grasp at it? Sure. But the flip side of the argument is that she was wearing full gear, and look at the injuries she sustained. What would have happened if she didn't have any gear at all?

 

I tweaked my post, but they have full access to all the info about my gear - they will be replacing it. I protected myself to the best of my ability, and incurred less bodily damage because of it >.^

 

In this sort of situation its always worth being cautious about what you say. However as you state you were wearing full biking gear I can't see that this poses any real risk to the success of your claim.

(Its a whole lot different from a past thread where a post implied the rider could not remember how the accident happened - which was not clever to put in print, and thanks to the Mods quickly removed from the site!)

(PS Even if your helmet still looks OK you must get them to replace it. In the UK bikers are encouraged to donate old helmets to the fire and rescue services for use in practice exercises to help train staff in safe ways to remove a helmet. )

 

In most cases I believe that local laws require you to wear a helmet and that is about it. But your insurance policy is a civil matter. If your policy requires you to wear more, then although you cannot get a ticket for non compliance, you may be in breach of your contract with the insurance company and therefor, they may just try to wiggle out of paying, stating you did not fulfill your agreed to action by wearing more gear. But I cannot say I have ever run across that. I am just saying, if it is there, this is an option open to them.

The slant I would put on this was that not only was the minimum "required" safety gear being used, but the rider of the bike went over and above to protect him/herself at an expense to he or she. I don't think it will matter one way or the other as far as the pay-out goes, that the gear was cheap or expensive. It is easily accepted that "some" cheap gear is better than "no" expensive gear.

BTW. Joe Rocket is as good as any out there in the same price range. It is certainly not custom made high end stuff the professionals wear, but a generally good product as far as armour goes. Chomper recently hit a deer, went off road and down a very deep rock covered embankment wearing JR pants and First Gear jacket and though he was bruised up badly, he actually rode his bike some couple hundred miles on the highway back to our hotel in Spokane.

 

I never thought of that. Guess where mine is going in a year or two? Thanks!

 

Under the property settlement they replaced my boots, helmet, jacket, backpack, my tire pressure monitor, centerstand, tank protectors and paid me for my bike. I informed them what was ruined and they paid for it. No discussion at all. The only question I was ever asked was I wearing a helmet. They cut my pants off of me and I didn't tell them so I was not paid. I can see where the lack of safety gear might be used against you. I don't see how ATGATT could be held against you. Flip flops and a T shirt might.

On a lighter side my gloves also came through unscathed. Even with a fractured thumb.


And I loved my Shoei RF1100.

 

If ya'll want to volunteer information to someone who is trying to pay you as little as possible then knock yourselves out. Insurers are not in the business of touchie-feelie. They crunch numbers with dollar signs proceeding them.

 

I'll volunteer info. A trauma surgeon (Retired Army from Walter Reed Head of trauma there also) said my right side rib cage is ruined. The Orthopedic Doc said I would never regain full motion or be out of pain until I had my shoulder replaced. What else do they want to know. The Highway Patrol said it was her fault. Progressive said it was 100% her fault. I will live with some pain the rest of my life. Now put a dollar sign in front of that.

Having said that I don't remember the accident from impact on. But you should neither hide info nor lie. Maybe not volunteer info, but answer questions honestly. The answers won't make them any less greedy.

 

wow very moving stories guys and makes me even more cautious on the bike. I think I'm going to up my insurance from just liability now, this shit is serious.

 

Maybe not? Holy shit dude, what planet are you from? If you don't remember what happened all you have is what happened later. Maybe cut back on the Oxy some.. I think you are having the "feelgood" effect.

 

Some very good advice here. Overwhelming opinion is to GET A LAWYER involved.

In most case this there will be a contingency fee. You don't have to pay anything out of pocket and the attorney will take a percentage of the settlement plus his costs. You have serious physical injury, medical bills that may or may not be covered by insurance, property damage, lost wages and possibly follow on surgery to remove the hardware put in your leg. There may also be lingering effects of the accident that you will have to live with for the rest of your life. For example, reduced range of motion, limp, arthritis, etc.

The biggest benefit with retaining an attorney is you can stop worrying about the insurance company and let a professional take care of things. You will be surprised at how much work is involved if you try to go this alone.

In most likelihood you will not be suing the lady who hit you or going to court. Your attorney and the insurance company both know where this claim should settle out at and they will negotiate a settlement. Let's hope she has reasonable liability coverage. I've been through this twice now. Once on my own and once for my son. The lesson I learned out these incidence is you can't have too much uninsured and under insured driver insurance on your policy. Around here there is a significant chance if you have an accident the driver will be uninsured or have the minimum insurance required to register a car.

My experience is in MA your state laws may be differnet

 

Welcome to the forum Marilyn, good to hear that you will recover.

I'm in Australia but I'd have to agree with the majority, you will almost certainly have to get some help with the legal side of things. Her insurance company won't care about you, they'll be looking to pay out as little as possible. The police have said the other driver is at fault, so don't give in to any threats from her insurance company.

Hope it all works out to your satisfaction.

 

I can speak from expirience and strongly suggest that you find a good lawyer that will ensure that you are compensated not only for what has happened but for what will happen. You have injury trauma that may have future complications and limitations that once you settle will not be covered or compensated for. The old lady who hit you is out of the picture at this point, so don't guilt trip yourself over her. This is about a very wealthy insurance company being called on to do what she has paid them for, settle and make good on any damages she may have caused. Do not be fooled by their very practiced and deliberate attempts to low ball you into settling for way less than you deserve and need. You likely will find that once physical therapy ends you will not have the same range and strength of mobility you had prior and this will likely only get worse as you get older. This is money that might educate you, let you start a buisness or better your living situation. I'm sure that like most you would gladly trade any potential money offered to just not have had this accident happened at all, but unfortunately that cannot be done, so the next best thing is to have it be a opportunity to better your life in other ways.

 

Listen very carefully! My brother is a bigtime downtown Chicago personal injury lawyer. He used to handle the personal injury cases for Yellow and Checker Taxi cabs. He is now in private practice. DO NOT, DO NOT, DO NOT DO ANYTHING WITHOUT HIRING A GOOD PERSONAL INJURY LAWYER.

A good lawyer will not bring a crap case in front of a judge! The good lawyers see the same judges all the time. They have their own reputation to protect. They do not want to be known as "Whiplash Willy"! The judges know who the good lawyers are and who the bad lawyers are.

Get a good lawyer! The insurance company will go into what is called "Stop Loss" mode. They know their case is a loser and will do things you can't even imagine to cut their losses and screw you. You will not be able to concieve the potential for future possibilities and problems. These lawyers have seen it all before and know what to do and how to handle it. YOU DON'T! To the insurance companies it is ALWAYS about the money!

For peace of mind PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE hire a good attorney!

 

Another thought. Even though the other person seems nice, she knows she's at fault. When she comes to her senses she will be provided with a very good lawyer by the insurance company! You better have one to match!

 

Lawyer up or you will be screwed. You're not boning the lady. This is why she has Insurance. If you go this without a Lawyer ....YOU WILL GET SCREWED.

 

Sorry I haven't been back for a while. We have a lawyer =) We got to "pick" since our case is cut and dry... there is no question about fault, it's just the price tag at this point. I have no intention of screwing anyone over -even the insurance company - I am just hoping to get back what I've lost.

In happier news, I am just now starting to put a little weight on my leg... I really am super-tired of being a cripple, and can't wait to be able to do things on my own (and be able to get by day-to-day without pain meds and not wake up in the morning in hideous amounts of pain because I slept through and didn't take my next dose in time). Each day is a step in that direction, so I am trying to stay optimistic.

Now I'm looking for a new bike... any good VFRs out there for sale? =) I can't ride yet, but my husband and I shared (I was the commuter and he is the weekend warrior), and he's itching to get back on now that the weather is amazing!