Accident adive needed - summer cut short

[Kaptain Ketchup]

I crashed my dads 1980 GL1100 Interstate in town this afternoon around 5:10. I had set out enjoy the warm weather and made for the gas station for my first stop. The road I was on is a 4-lane road right through downtown Woodstock. I was in the left lane (knowing my left turn in to the gas station was coming up before the next set of street lights.), I was following a row of 3 cars with the lead cars brake lights blinking off and on as the driver tapped the pedal. The occupants of the first car seemed to be looking for a landmark (searching for addresses, or a know entrance driveway? I don?t know). This went on for about half a block and the two cars in front of me passed the car using the right lane since the first car was going well below the normal rate of traffic. The first car (returning his attention to the road) hit the gas as he noticed traffic picking up around him. Now, I decided to remain behind this car as my left turn was approaching before I could get around him. The car again slowed in front of me (driver must have seen his landmark or realized he drove past it). At this point we were about 100 feet from the intersection (full lights and left turning lanes for the main route, and the odd advanced green for vehicles turning left). The car slowed to a crawl about 100 feet from the intersection (no cars between him and the light) and I signaled my intent to turn left and began to move into the left turning lane that had started on the pavement. I gave the bike a bit of gas to be able to pull up to the light and wait to turn left. As I passed the car on the left (he was in the lane that would have gone straight through the light) the driver decided to pull a U-turn in a Leon?s parking lot (he had passed his landmark). The driver made the u-turn right into me. The front fender/side view mirror made contact with the bike near the passenger peg area and pushed the bike around out from under me. It was strange as I swear there was no reaction time and the driver just kept gassing his car trying to cut his u-turn before the light changed and traffic blocked the way. I?m sure he didn?t see me at all until he was on top of me. The bike and car slid to a stop and I jumped up and picked the bike up (how I don?t know) and pushed it into the Leon?s Lot where two nice ladies (who were right behind me in the line of traffic behind this guy) called the police. The police arrived and things were settled. My next question is what legal approach do I take against this guy? The bike has extensive right side contact damage and the left side slid on the ground for about 15 feet (the line in on the road and the cop measured it!). I?m a bit banged up and will probably use crutches tomorrow as my knee is aching and my back and wrists were tweaked a bit. I got the police report and three eyewitnesses. This guy hit me. What should I do?

Thanks,

Mark

[fastpakr]

Call your insurance agent - this is their job to handle.

[Poot]

yeah.....its too bad for the other guy that the insurance company is gonna ass#&!% him, but its his fault for being a retard and not checking his blind spot.


lucky your still alive man! take care of yourself, and get well so you can ride again!

[beby99]

Get yourself to a doctor so that your injuries are documented.
This will be a must have for any settlements down the road.
If you have never been through this before, your in for a fight
Also, get yourself a good lawyer.
I personaly would not have gotten up and waited for an ambulance.

[bradleymaynar]

I'm taking that you were given all of his insurance info. If they've not contacted you yet, you need to contact them. Go to a doctor and have everything checked that was injured as a result of this. Keep all the documentation you get regarding the accident. Also, have your father contact his insurance, as well. They can also go after this guy if his insurance falls short. Call and speak to a lawyer, but because it sounds as though your injuries are relatively minor, they're probably not going to rush to your aid. The biggest thing you need to do is be patient. I dealt with an accident less than a year ago and it took a little over six months to take care of the medical end of it. The property portion was handled with in a couple of weeks.

Glad you're okay. Hopefully this won't sour you on riding.

Brad tt

[Anonymous]

I hope you can still enjoy your summer. :? If your fathers insurance has "Direct Compensation" and the police assess fault to the other guy YOUR insurance company will cover damages directly. This goes even if you only have liability.

If you want to go to court with this grab the yellow pages and find a few lawyers that specialize in personal injury. I've found that some lawyers like to give advice over the phone for free if they think you need their services.

Steve

[Anonymous]

Glad to hear you're not too banged up! It must have been quite the experience;I bet you would have loved to 'tune' the guy real good!
Listen to the advice given earlier-go to your doctor;first,to make SURE you're okay,second,to document any injuries you may have.
It wouldn't hurt to talk to a lawyer,either.

[earlfor]

I'll interpret the topic "accident adive needed" as advice needed. :-) It appears I take a different view of the situation. How to handle the insurance, medical and legal claims after the fact seems to me, to be pretty cut and dry.
I would concentrate on how not to do it again.

Anytime there is a car within "shooting range" I like to be reasonably sure of predicting where he will go and what is the worst thing he can do. If possible, I always try to position myself so they cant get me even if there is big money to be won for tagging me. :-) The car in question was moving oddly, obviously looking for a place or turn. He had been doing so for a notable amount of time. It was obvious the driver did not know where he would be going or when. I would have stayed clear of him because of that alone. At the intersection, the driver paused, even though he had no traffic in front of him. The driver was not in the turn lane, but was slowing down beside it and lagging. It should have been obvious he did not know if he was going through the intersection or turning. Another alarm to back off and wait. If I had decided to creep past him (on his left) in my turn lane, I would have stayed as far away from his as my lane would allow. If there was an island at the intersection, I would stop well short of the island end, so if he did U turn, he probably would not want to run over the Island and curb and I would likely be positioned inside his turn radius. It was also obvious the driver was looking for a landmark and predictable that he would make whatever move he was going to at the last second without checking traffic to his left (his down traffic stream side)
If I am alongside a car, I want to stay at least ahead of the drivers position or clear of his rear bumper.

Earl

[Anonymous]

Is there anything to update us on? Inquiring minds want to know how things are going.

Cheers, Steve

[Planecrazy]

Good post, Earl!!

I'm sorry to also sound critical at this particular time, but in my opinion (and quite a few others here agree) there are VERY few true accidents on any given road. If you reevaluate almost any so-called accident you almost always find that human error was to blame at some level. That's why I always refer to these unfortunate incidents as "crashes."

Good luck with sorting it all out and healing!

Steve 8)

[earlfor]

The best skill a motorcyclist can develop is the ability to put 2 and 2 together and predict the bullet coming. Riding skill doesnt count if you dont know what hit you.

Earl

Good post, Earl!!

I'm sorry to also sound critical at this particular time, but in my opinion (and quite a few others here agree) there are VERY few true accidents on any given road. If you reevaluate almost any so-called accident you almost always find that human error was to blame at some level. That's why I always refer to these unfortunate incidents as "crashes."

Good luck with sorting it all out and healing!

Steve 8)

[Kaptain Ketchup]

**UPDATE**

I've moved to Ottawa for the summer and had to leave my dad to deal with fixing his own bike. We managed to score a lot of replacement parts off ebay for the Goldwing. The bike was not written off and we (with the help of my family lawyer) are going after the other drivers insurance compnay. We are sure to keep bills and receipts for EVERYTHING. I got a new helmet and riding gear as mine was scrathed or banged up. Turns out I DID hit my head and my helmet was cracked. I only found this out the other day when I set my helmet on the washing machine and it did have the usual ring to it, it was more of a dead thud. Found a crack that followed a decal edge up from my back to the top of the helmet. All repairs will be paid for and I'll post again when I talk to my dad to see whats up. Thanks to all for the advice and concern.

Mark

P.S. anyone got an extra bike in Ottawa? I brough all my new gear but the turbo 1100 was put on the back burned and I did not get it done before I moved up here.....

[Anonymous]

There's a great bike scene in Ottawa. www.ott-motorcycles.ca If you want a bike go to that website, the corner of Bank and Alta Vista on any evening, and the show'n'shine at Place d'Orleans which is on Tuesdays.

Steve