What to do after a bike crash workshop summary notes – Part 1

[KLizotte]

After the accident

• If the physical therapist says you have to self-pay for therapy due to the injury being caused by a bike accident, just find another physical therapist. It’s not worth fighting them on this issue; they are saying “self-pay” because they are afraid they won’t be paid by the insurance company.
• Make sure you go to all of the recommended doctor and physical therapy appointments; it is better for your long-term health and makes a stronger case that you were seriously hurt.
• If you are seriously injured you really need to get an attorney asap. The longer you wait the more dubious your claim and the longer it will take to collect any money.
• Try to remember that everyone makes mistakes and not let the case consume your life. Don’t let revenge cloud your judgment.
• It is almost always better to settle a case than go to court despite how you emotional you feel about the issue.

Who pays the bills after the accident?

• Hopefully your personal health insurance company.
  • Get an attorney asap if you don’t have personal health insurance; the attorney can convince medical providers to not bill you until you have received your settlement.
• You will not receive a settlement from the driver’s insurance company until you are fully healed; therefore, you may have a long wait depending on the severity of your injuries.
• The compensation you receive is based on the retail prices from the hospital; not the amount billed to your personal insurance company. Unfortunately your lawyer will get a chunk out of the compensation package.
• You are entitled to recover lost wages, medical bills, physical therapy, bike replacement.
• This is called subrogation. If you get a settlement award you must reimburse your own insurance company for any expenses that they paid on your behalf. This is outlined in a little known clause in your insurance contract that stipulates what happens if you get hurt by a third party.
• How much you have to reimburse your insurance company will usually be negotiated; you need a lawyer for this.
  • This is why recovering as much as possible from the party that injured you is so important!
• Your personal health insurance company will not seek reimbursement from the driver’s insurance company; they will instead seek it from you once you have received a settlement.

[KLizotte]

Protecting yourself before the accident

• If you own a car, check the policy for Uninsured Motor Insurance (UIM) coverage. In order to keep premiums low for competitive reasons, insurers will only recommend that you get the state mandated minimum UIM.
  • Take out more UIM!! Get up to a $1 million or more coverage; it is very cheap.
  • This is very important if you get hit by an uninsured motorist while being a pedestrian, cyclist or driver. The typical $100,000 coverage is insufficient for most serious injuries.
    • You can then claim compensation against the UIM fund you have paid into.
• Auto and renter’s insurance will usually cover you in cyclist-on-cyclist accidents via general liability coverage. Check the fine print.
• If you don’t have auto insurance you may be covered somewhat by renter’s insurance; check your policy. It is usually best to simply get an umbrella liability policy in this case. It’s not worth risking the financial fall out if you get hit or hit someone else.
• There are now cyclist specific policies available but he does not recommend them. Bruce said they are a waste of money especially if you have auto insurance and have increased your UIM coverage. Most of the cyclist specific policies have very low maximums on medical coverage and really only focus on replacing your damaged bike.

Miscellaneous information

• The following states abide by pure contributory negligence rules (PCNR): AL, DC, MD, NC and VA.
• PCNR says that a damaged party cannot recover any damages if it is even 1 percent at fault.
  • This is a serious issue for pedestrians and cyclists. For instance, he said you could be found negligent if you get hit in a crosswalk because you weren’t wearing your prescription glasses, especially if there weren’t any witnesses who can testify you were legally walking/cycling with the light.
• If you need to find a lawyer, ask the prospective lawyer how many bike cases he has done. How much does he know about cycling laws.
• Bruce only takes cases that involve cyclists but he will not (usually) take cases that try to sue the city, state or National Park Service because they have contributory negligence arguments on their side. So if you hit a pothole or slippery boardwalk and get hurt, you are out of luck.
• He takes a contingency fee, typically 1/3 of the eventual award.
• Bruce recommends using the following trauma centers: Georgetown University Hospital and George Washington Hospital
• Note: cab drivers in DC are not required much insurance (nothing was said about those in VA or MD).
• Dooring cases are way up since the advent of Uber and Lyft because their drivers aren’t requiring people to get out curbside or are parking where they shouldn’t be.
• If you swerve to hit a car and hit something else, you do have a case against the driver though it may be hard to prove without hard evidence.
• Cops rarely cite drivers that cause right hook accidents (the “the cyclist came out of nowhere” phenomenon).
• Most cyclist-on-cyclist injuries occur on multi-use trails and are often cause the worst injuries.
• The most common accidents are caused by left hooks followed by right hooks.

Closing remarks

• Unfortunately police, judges, witnesses, drivers, insurance companies, etc. all have a bias against cyclists. They think all cyclists are scofflaws and ride dangerously. This colors their view of events and the people involved.
  • This ends up hurting cyclists in civil and criminal cases despite the facts. The bias may very well mean that you don’t collect as much compensation as you should. Put another way, illegal behavior means that cyclists are harmed in settlements and in court. It sucks, but that’s life.
    • Therefore, obey the law. Bruce recommends stopping at every stop sign, putting your foot down, and obeying all the lights. If a pedestrian sees you Idaho stop a red light then two minutes later sees you get side swiped by a car, the witness is probably going to tell the cop that you were at fault despite all the evidence to the contrary. Don’t feed the bias!
    • Lastly, use common sense. Legal doesn’t always equal smart when it comes to safety. It is best not to get injured in the first place.

[PotomacCyclist]

There is a new bill to modify DC’s negligence law, but it is still under consideration. It was introduced a month ago. No idea on the bill’s prospects.

http://dcist.com/2015/09/cheh_introduces_comprehensive_bicyc.php

http://www.thewashcycle.com/2015/09/whats-in-the-bicycle-and-pedestrian-safety-act-of-2015.html

EDIT – Actually an earlier bill is attempting to address the negligence standard.

http://www.thewashcycle.com/2015/01/motor-vehicle-collision-recovery-act-of-2015.html

[PotomacCyclist]

http://www.thewashcycle.com/2015/01/motor-vehicle-collision-recovery-act-of-2015.html

[KLizotte]

Darn, I just realized I forgot to ask Bruce about what happens if you get hit by a driverless car!

[Terpfan]

@KLizotte 126195 wrote:

Darn, I just realized I forgot to ask Bruce about what happens if you get hit by a driverless car!

Or if a road rage driver decides to tackle you…spoken from one-time experience.

Did he say anything about recording rides aside from video is good? It’s part of why I record all of my rides these days. I figure a motorist may claim something stupid like I was in his/her lane and that the video can corroborate what I’m saying.

[KLizotte]

@Terpfan 126236 wrote:

Or if a road rage driver decides to tackle you…spoken from one-time experience.

Did he say anything about recording rides aside from video is good? It’s part of why I record all of my rides these days. I figure a motorist may claim something stupid like I was in his/her lane and that the video can corroborate what I’m saying.

Yes, he said video coverage can really turn a case in your favor since these cases usually come down to he said, she said and there is a bias in favor of the drivers.

[kwarkentien]

I can attest to Bruce’s ability as a bike lawyer: he handled my case when I was hit by a car a year ago May. Luckily, I was hit in Arlington and the cops cited the driver on the spot with a criminal violation. (He was found guilty btw.) Also, Virginia has an anti-subrogation statute so Blue Cross was not able to recover any of the expenses out of my settlement. I was hesitant to involve a lawyer but am so happy I did. You really want to leave all that mishigas to a professional and just focus on getting better.

[Author]

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