ajam0153

Moved topic

wphamilton

Well first don't be saying this out loud. You were first, you had the right of way, it was the car's brakes or lack of braking that mattered. If you accept any kind of responsibility or say anything their lawyers might conceivably use in court against you they'll shut down any negotiation for your damages and might even attack you for damage to the vehicle.

Second don't count on any sort of insurance adjustment for your bike. If you went to the emergency room or at least have a statement from the paramedics you have some leverage. If not, go see a doctor about your injuries, get the documentation and then talk.

L.L. Zamenhof

Keep the police report and harass the driver endlessly months later.

dolanp

Did you get their insurance information? If so, file a claim with their company for the property damage and any medical bills required. Did you get a police report and did it assign fault?

DogBoy

stop giving any details online, delete everything in your post after "I'm looking for advice."

fietsbob

#1) not leave the scene till the police finished taking data.

dolanp

Yeah you are probably gonna be fighting an uphill battle at this point.

Any chance you got their plate number? You can sometimes get their driver record and insurance info from the state. They will probably try to deny the claim though.

CB HI

Since the police report is inaccurate, take the bike to the LBS and have them determine the damage. Make sure they include everything you know about and since the frame is damaged, call the bike totaled.

Call the police and ask them for a revised police report based on the LBS determination of damage. Seems odd they did not ask you for a written statement to aid in their report. Point that out if needed to support the fact that the police report was written without complete information.

Also odd that the police report did not include insurance information.

You may be correct about the last names, there is a BF member for which the responding officer was related to the driver and similar odd things went on.

There was also the case of a cop that hit a kid cyclist while drinking and speeding. Daddy sargent cop showed up and attempted to hide evidence and protect sonny by sobering him up.

mulveyr 

The vehicle that stops first has the right of way. You didn't stop, by your own admission.

ItsJustMe

For future reference, I wouldn't let the officer write "no damage" - the officer is not a bicycle expert, and damage can't be assessed outside of a shop. Try to insist that he write "to be determined" or something.

CB HI

Actually, I think most of the laws are written such that the vehicle arriving at the intersection first (for 4 way signed intersections) has the right of way.

Any helpful information from the sideshow?

ronocnikral

i would first read the thread below, which outlines what the OP wished they would have done from the beginning. independent of who ends up paying to repair your bike, you should consider just getting a new one.
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...replace-wheels

second, i wouldn't admit any wrong doing. just b/c a car has the right away, doesn't mean you can go on hitting people with your car. there are 2 general scenarios: 1) either the driver saw you not stop and still hit you or 2) they don't know if you stopped or not and saw you last minute, or never saw you at all. there may be a scenario where the driver came to a complete stop, ensured it was safe to proceed and still hit you, but i doubt it if you truly entered the intersection before they got to the stop sign. either way, for a couple of grand, the insurance company will buy you a new bike. get the guy or gal's insurance information. if they don't want to pony it up, write a letter threatening to sue them. take them to small claims court if you have to. take pictures of the bike, get the police report corrected.

I_like_cereal

As a person in the legal field let me say you are screwed if this goes to trial or demand letter based on your admission above.

For future reference to anyone involved in a crash with another car DO NOT POST DETAILS. If you case goes to court the opposing attorney will ask for all correspondence including email, facebook, myspace and other electronic forum posts. It only takes one person to sorta know you or the situation and your dead in the water and yes this forum could be subpoenaed if the other side wanted to and yes your OP and the fact that it was/was not deleted would be there.

Get to know your local bike attorneys and call them for advice. I hate to see people screw themselves by asking people on a public forum and/or making a spontaneous utterance that can bite them in the arse.

I am sorry your were hit, I am sorry that the cop may or may not have screwed you, however count your stars that you did not end up under the wheel of the car. Four way stops are tricky things for cars and bikes. What do your DMV laws say re 4 way stops?

In Oregon if you are a driver and have insurance you can process a claim under your own Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and/ or Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist policy (UIM). You would need to pay the deductible.

CB HI

Most insurance companies may bluff about going to court, but for such a small claim, it really is not worth their time or effort even with the lawyers they already employ. So OP is probably OK even with what has been said.

If the police or driver do not provide the name of the insurance comapny and policy number, you can still start a claim. Just blind call the insurance companies in your area and provide the drivers name or license number. Once you get the right company, they may be relunctant to admit they insure the driver, but they will still fess up. Nothing pisses off a driver that refuses to provide information than a cyclist starting a claim anyway. It has worked for me twice.

Driver sitting at home eating dinner, insurance company calls and ask "Did you have a collision with a bicyclist"?

ajam0153

should i contact the driver and see if we can reach some sort of resolution?

____asdfghjkl

did their insurance contact you?
did you two exchange information?
I would not admit to who is right or wrong just yet.
and delete thread.

i hope you are ok.

KD5NRH

Everywhere that I've been, a vehicle already in the intersection has the right of way, whether it got there legally or not.

ajam0153

i talke with my insurance agent and he was able to let me know that I'm not at fault based on how i described the situation to the officer. I don't want to file a claim because that will cost more than the repairs. But i might just do that if my mechanic says that the frame is compromised.

CB HI

Contacting the driver and asking for their insurance information is fine. If they want to pay you the full amount without contacting their insurance, that works OK as long as they do not back out. You can still do the cold calls afterwords and you also have up to two years to file a small claims case (in most states).

CB HI

Do not let the driver know you have insurance coverage. I would not even involve may insurance company unless I had huge medical bills. Minimize the number of claims/collisions that show up in your insurance record.

____asdfghjkl

yeah, don't get your insurance involved.
usually insurance companies contact you, the driver doesn't. you talk to their insurance company.
I wouldn't have the driver pay you in full because I never know if they are going to back out or not.
LBS doesn't get involved with insurance companies.
insurance companies are a hassle (sometimes).

when I got into an accident I exchanged all information. the police came and reported everything. I asked for a copy of the report and a card from the officer so that i could contact them if i had any questions. if I didn't hear any information from their insurance company I would just call the driver then I would call the insurance company to see what is up. I went to see a doctor anyway - made copies and sent them to the driver's insurance. also, went to the LBS and got an estimate on the damage and sent a copy to the insurance company. then probably after 6 months of the insurance company hassling you on the phone to see if you're ok they'll send you a check lol.
Keep copies. Lots of them lol.

I hope I am not repeating what everyone said in this thread. I can't scroll down on this phone.

CB HI

You can cut down the time the insurance company takes to pay up. Rent a bike for use until you get payment plus two weeks for repair. That way, each week the insurance company delays, it cost them another weeks worth of bike rental. Make sure the insurance company understands the cost goes up each week.