TheManShow

I would assume that where you live you have attornies that specialize in representing motorcyclists, and bicyclist in such matters. As your bike was NEW, and Dura Ace equipted I will assume the insurance investiagator or adjuster will offer youa new bike from K--mart of your choice.

You need a lawyer.

Alias530

Pics?

Speedy healing.

bassjones

Seriously, I wish people would stop offering legal advise on the Internet, especially when they don't know what they're talking about. This is a VERY straight forward claim. Unless the insurance company tries to deny liability, you do not need or want an attorney. On a $10,000 claim they'll take $3300 out of your pocket. That's not worth it and this is only going to be a $10,000 claim (not counting the bike).

The he only good advice was to not post about it on the web, particularly Facebook..., and especially no "I'm feeling fine" stuff.

cale

Not sure what carbon and dura ace have to do with anything but if you're okay, I'm glad.

fstshrk

NJ is (ahhh) so "awesome"

motorthings

But the thing is, a lot of folks offering advice are doing it from a position of experience with a very similar situation, and a great deal of it is accurate.

Listen to the folks who have been through this (the folks with actual experience and expertise are pretty easy to determine)

If you want someone else to deal with the hassle of getting your bike replaced and your health checked out and addressed
------- Stop posting about this (remove your posts from this thread) --------

(In my experience) Having a lawyer take care of this:
1. makes the payment happen much faster,
2. settlement will give you a larger payout (enough to cover any legal fees and still come out ahead)
3. settlement will happen with much much much less work on your part
4. will help guide you through the other facets of the process that the insurance companies might neglect or not make clear

I had a great experience with a lawyer specializing in car/bike crashes, and am very happy with the result (fair, but certainly not excessive).

gregf83 

Just as long as you're clear that this is your n=1 experience and unless you've had dozens of accidents and processed half of them yourself and used a lawyer for the other half you really have no basis for making the claims above.

motorthings

The fact is that I do have a basis for my statements, just not apparently one that you find acceptable.

i thought that your suggested caveats were adequately clear in what i said, but yes, if i needed to qualify every detail of every fact in my post, i would also add the exact number of accidents i have been involved in (car, motorcycle, bicycle, pedestrian), and included the method, timeline, and success of resolution in a fully annotated bibliography along with graphs and pictures with circles and arrows on each one with notes on the back explaining what each one was (to be used in court). But, clearly i was deluded into thinking that level of detail was unnecessary.

EastCoastDHer

Glad you're ok.
Getting hit would ruin me right now. I've got enough time in court and away from work already(Going into my 3rd year of suing my son's mother for parental alienation).

roadwarrior

After reading all the wonderful advice....

Bike-wise, if it is new you should till have your bill of sale. If not, get it from the shop. If not there, credit card. BUt you will need some actual proof of value.

Second, injuries...this is a straight up liability case. Any medical things will go right into the driver's liability.

People say "lawyer up" then complain about lawyers. I'd hold off until you hear from the driver's insurance company.

But do have proof on the bike which they should totally replace.

BTW...to the rest of the peloton...this is why you don't ever throw receipts away. I had a house fire a few years ago which destroyed my bikes. I was able to rapidly provide the information to the insurance company who happily complied and I ordered what I needed, and they sent me the money before I had the bikes.

rms13

says the guy who's offering professional insurance claim advice on the internet

gregf83 

How do you know for a particular case that a lawyer results in a faster, larger settlement? Interested to hears your 'facts'.

DaveWC

... wish people would stop offering legal advise on the Internet (that is different from my advice)...

rms13

Good advice but not always that simple. My friend built his bike from frame and parts sourced from various places at good deals. His lawyer had a local shop appraise the damaged bike for full retail on all the parts which is what he got back and was much more then he actually had into the bike. He also got much more for pain and suffering an the insurance company was trying to settle for and he got all that after lawyer's fee because he had a good lawyer who made sure he got all that plus legal fees. In this case, my friend was hit buy a woman in an suv who ran a stop sign and it was inches/seconds away from being a much worse outcome. Maybe OP will get a fair settlement dealing directly with the insurance company himself but from my experience, insurance adjusters main job function is to give people the smallest settlement possible

motorthings

but actually you are not.

gregf83 

So there were none? Facts I mean, to form the basis for your opinion.

bassjones

Perhaps you missed the "especially when they don't know what they're talking about" part...

bassjones

Insurance adjusters are required by law to negotiate "in good faith". That means if their insured is at fault, they have to negotiate a settlement based on that. Assuming the facts are as presented, an adjuster who attempts to assign fault to the OP risks losing his/her insurance license. He/she may try to assign some small percentage of fault to the OP for "excessive speed for the conditions", but it wouldn't be much (possibly 10% or so). Depending on the state, that's either a complete non-factor or it may cause a 10% reduction in the total settlement, but even that is unlikely and relatively easy to fight based on the police report.
At least wait until an offer is made before contacting an attorney.

ian0789

One thing I can add in on this is I made sure when I got my bike back I saved my ride on my GPS that was still running after I got taken away. So I went back to the ride and at the point I got hit I could see my speed. I was under the speed limit and I have the shots to prove it just in case.

bassjones

That will help A LOT

f4rrest

@bassjones ideally, yes. In real life, the adjuster has a range in which they are authorized to settle before going to arbitration. Of course they will lowball their own insured unless they think you're serious about arbitration, i.e. have an attorney threatening to do so. At least in my state.

I know this from discussions with an accident adjuster for a large ins company who is in the family.

Accordion

I was hit by a car 5 years ago. Bike totaled, injuries minimal, insurance paid everything. For me the incident itself was rather innocuous - or so I thought.

I became scared of riding my bike on roads. I had a brand new bike and I was constantly looking over my left shoulder and couldn't stand being in bike lanes.

I quit riding about two months later. And I was a 300-mile a week guy at my peak.

I went from 192 to 245 pounds. I was a mess. I decided in November to not this let me affect my life anymore. I got a trainer, watched what I ate, started running every day and got down to 180 pounds in June.

Then it happened. I got my bike out. I completely cleaned it, oiled it, adjust everything on it and went for a ride. I haven't been off it since. I'm doing 30-50 miles a day again and I'm no longer scared. I'm a more cautious rider but I'm ok.

And I weigh 173 pounds and am faster and stronger than I ever was.

For me, it wasn't about the injuries, insurance, lawsuits, money or time. It was about losing my desire to bike and that was the worst thing that could ever happen.

Just my story. Yours will be different.

roadwarrior

Despite what the 1-800-findem-fleeceem-and how guys show on tv.

Too many lawyers need to create work for themselves.

bt

contact my lawyers office if you need help....

bendum, over and howe

ColaJacket

fify

gh