Nutsinatin Down :(

[Nutsinatin]

Well I had my first proper accident about five last night, a car coming in the opposite direction turned right across my path and hit me. The accident was only about 25 mph so I've only got a badly sprained ankle(from where I caught in going across the curb and folded it under me) and a concussion (from the collision/bouncing across the road/hitting a wall), as well as the various cuts bruises and abrasions; so no more work for me this week! I hit my horn, braked and swerved so it definitely could have been worse. It was dark but it was a straight road with good visibility.

Unfortunately the car hit the right hand side of the bike, then the bike slid on its left hand side before the front end hit the curb spinning the bike so both the tank and the rear end also hit the curb. From the glimpse I saw on the way to hospital it looks pretty smashed, so I'm thinking write off. It's been recovered and will be assessed by both insurers before I know if I can take it to be repaired.

Unfortunately it gets worse as the driver was arrested for driving without insurance (and careless driving as they removed their driving glasses as they were hurting so couldn't actually see) , however the cars owner (who is insured) was in the passenger seat at the time. According to the traffic officer, my insurance company and my underwriter (who luckily is also their underwriter) the fact that the owner gave permission for the car to be used will make him and his insurance liable (I hope so). I also have a few good witnesses that the Police spoke to at the scene, and the driver admitted the above, as well as the fact that they didn't see me until they hit me, both at the scene and in their statement at the Police station.

My helmet, heated gloves (that I just bought at the NEC), trousers and boots are all finished, as well as my phone and tank bag, however my jacket appears to be relatively unscathed.

The police were really good and arrived within 8 minutes and dealt with everything quickly and professionally. However the ambulance service were appalling. Despite being unconscious they could not provide an ambulance within an hour and fifteen minutes, despite the police chasing them, and although I regained consciousness at scene I started to lose consciousness again as hypothermia set in so the Police contacted the ambulance service again and were told that there were no ambulances available that night so I would have to wait . Obviously the Police did not want to leave me on the roadside until today so made the decision to move me without the spinal board ( as I hadn't felt any pain when conscious) and brought me to hospital themselves, after being seen by a doctor and warming back up and coming back to the real world, it was decided that I wasn't a priority so was discharged from A&E to the waiting room then readmitted though the walk in route, assessed by Triage who gave me some painkillers assessed my ankle and suspected it broken and were concerned I had a head injury. I then got x-rayed where it turned out my ankle is just badly sprained and massively swollen and I was allowed home as long as I am supervised for 48 hours. They also gave me a crutch, however it is too small as they had run out of my size. I'm not supposed to put any weight on it until Saturday, then slowly bring it back to full use, but it may take a few weeks before I can walk normally again. I first entered the hospital and 6:30 PM and left at 1:30am, 6 hours of that spent in the waiting room. The Police advised me to complain about the ambulance service which I will do in due course.

On the plus side it is only my right ankles so as soon as I get my bike/a loan bike/ any other bike I won't need to use it.

My insurance is through Wicked Quotes.com and underwritten by Equity Red Star, both who have been great so far (28 mins on the phone this morning to get everything rolling) so I'll update you with their performance as this progresses

[PyroUK]

Glad to hear you didn't come off too badly! As crap as the whole thing is, you are essentially OK which is the main thing!

GWS mate!

[Littlepeahead]

Sorry to hear this. At least it sounds like you will be able to claim for everything.

If your gear was new see if you can find the receipts or bank statements showing the purchase, this will help ensure you get the full value of them when you claim.

A sprained ankle can be as sore and troublesome as a break - so take it easy and lots of RICE, anti-inflammatories and rubbish Christmas TV is in order.

If you are struggling to get about the Red Cross will lend you crutches or a wheelchair - they just ask for a donation. I found this massively helpful after my achilles op as I was non-weight bearing for 2 weeks and this meant I could get mates to push me about.

And definitely go to the supermarket and use the ride on buggy - just for a laugh. I tried to do as much of my shop in reverse gear as possible, in December, just to annoy other shoppers.

Glad you are ok. Good luck getting everything sorted out.

Being unable to send an ambulance to a motorcycle accident is ridiculous. I'd be very interested in what you find out about that. Head and spinal injuries are well beyond the medical expertise of police officers and they should have been left to deal with that on their own.

I'd be interested in what you learn about the reasons they couldn't provide an ambulance.

[Jayneflakes]

That is awful, glad that you were not really hurt, which given the state of your local NHS was probably for the best. Good luck getting it all sorted and with any luck you will be back on the road very soon.


As for the NHS letting you down, there have been several campaigns of late to try and tell the Government that we want it sorting out, not privatising. My local MP here in the Weston told me that as a rule the populace are very happy with NHS service provision and there is nothing wrong with it! A lying old twunt one thinks!

[Littlepeahead]

The last 2 accidents near my workplace, one of which was a really serious motorcycle accident, they've had the air ambulance land on our outfield within 10 minutes of getting the call at their Clerkenwell HQ. The copter always gets a warm welcome here, they are about the only people who can just invade the hallowed turf without the Head Groundsman having a hissy fit. It's always reassuring to know they exist but of course we have to help fund them from donations.

I think as you will have a bit of time on your hands a call to the local paper and TV station and an email to your MP to tell them both of your experience would not go amiss. An unconscious casualty should always get priority.

[jambo]

Bugger,
Glad you are relatively OK, a bust ankle can be a real git.

Yes, the insurance for the car should be able to pay out here, there were some stories recently that if you didn't cancel insurance on a car/bike when you sold it and it was involved in an accident your insurance could end up paying out as they had to claim off any insurance covering the vehicle to cover a 3rd party. Compared to that as the driver was in the passenger seat this seems straightforward & fair.

The Ambulance response seems very poor given your circumstances, it's worth complaining, as it helps evidence when the service is under-staffed.

Heal quick, get the paperwork moving, claim for everything, and fingers crossed it gets resolved quickly.

Jambo

[chris8886]

sorry to hear this, I hope it doesn't ruin your Christmas etc! good luck with getting it all sorted.

Ouch!
Glad you are in one piece, and it should be relatively straighforward in any case.
Correct on the car owners policy will be the one that will probably pay out on this. Make sure you factor any time off, injury or equipment loss into the chain as well.
Get well soon, and enjoy the extra time off over christmas.

[andrewsmith]

Ouch!
Get well soon