doxie

On my way home from work May 12, I was heading north on a residential street in Chicago when a driver ran a stop sign on a cross street and hit me. He was heading west. He hit the end of my bike, causing my front end to turn and my right brake gear to puncture my leg. A girl saw the whole thing and called anambulance bc I was bleeding all over and I ended up spending about 24 hours at the hospital. My leg has pretty much healed - there's going to be a scar but I can walk now. It feels like there is a pipe under my skin, but that's just scar tissue. And a few bruises and scrapes, but those are OK.

Unfortunately, I was heading the wrong-way on a one-way. I suppose just being so close to home and it a residential and short street I had never thought about those dangerous situations.

I have contacted a referred lawyer - but he pawned me off on his lawyer friend, whom I haven't heard from. He said that bc I have health insurance, and the guy who hit me has crappy auto insurance, my settlement would not be big so it wasn't worth his time. I have another lawyer recommendation, so maybe I will hear from him.

Right now I am just soooo lost. I really don't care about the settlement too much bc I know I was going the wrong way so I guess I'm partly at fault, even though the guy completely blew the sign. I really just want my bike fixed or a new bike. And some money for hospital stuff. But I just have no idea what to do. I have a court date next week, am I supposed to have a lawyer for that? I called my renters' insurance adn they said my bike is covered (I have to pay a deductible) so do I just get a new bike that way and send the bill his way, or do I wait for a settlement? When my hospital bills come do I pay those or send those to his insurance? I'm so confused. Any guidance you guys could give as to the order of things would be great. Thx a million.

10 Wheels

Why do you have a court date?

black_box 

did the other driver get a ticket as well? if not, it sounds like you're the only one thats officially listed as "at fault." Do you have contact info from the bystander?

doxie

I'm pretty sure the other guy got a ticket - but I'm not sure for what. The police officer seriously came and gave me all of my court information while I was lying in Trauma at the hospital being worked on by all of the doctors (that is a story in itself, as I am allergic to both opiates and NSAIDS - so effectively, all painkillers). Anyway, the police officer was really apologetic, etc., and I'm not really too clear bc I was focused on other things, but I'm pretty sure the other guy got a ticket at the least for failure to obey stop sign and possibly failure to yield? I do have all of the contact info for the bystander.

Mr. Scrooby

The first thing you do is delete this thread and anything else you've mentioned about the incident on the Internet. The second thing you do is talk to a lawyer.

At least, that's always been the advice given by Lawyer Jim. Things you say on the Internet WILL be used against you if this becomes adversarial with the guy or his insurance company.

doxie

Wow! Actually I did call the Lawyer Jim about this (referred by a bike messenger). He's the lawyer who wouldn't take my case bc he said I had health insurance and the guy who hit me has poor car insurance.

MJH2

Ha. I went to law school with Lawyer Jim. Same graduating class. Same section, even.

Do you want the number of a really good, completely honest Personal Injury lawyer who will call you back? Let me know. I'd give you the same number of the guy I used when somebody in my family needed help.

jc33

i'm sorry you had to go thru that. It seems like i keep hearing about these kinds of incidents occurring more and more around here. Good luck with your case.

SSIndyRider

Have you talked to the driver's insurance company at all?

jtarver

It was your fault. Yes, it was your fault. You'll be lucky if the driver doesn't sue you for damages to his car. But, by all means, sue somebody, anybody, how about the bike company or the City of Chicago or the bystander who called the ambulance for you or the dog that was pissing in the backyard 8 houses down or...or...or...or...or...or maybe you could use your own money to buy a new bike and not ride into oncoming traffic.

jc33

or..or..or..maybe you could show a little compassion for someone who just got hit by a car and is freaked out.

mikerhymeswith

wrong way on a one-way - you; run stop sign - other person; probably not worth your time; might end up costing you more than you're in for now

i got knocked down by a driver; not hurt badly; driver admitted fault; after calming down i did the karmic calculus: PITA to follow up + sum up stupid stuff i'd done in my past = forget about it

fwiw: i ride the wrong way on a 1-way when i take my son to school; i ride on the sidewalk when i do that; i yield to peds by stopping or straddle walking past them; this is a special case for me; in general i would not ride wrong way on 1-way

i understand your frustration; glad you are mending; please keep riding; you are a better rider now

doxie

Here's an update: I went to court and all charges were dropped against me. My health insurance right now is talking with his car insurance to negotiate who is paying for my hospital bills (As of right now, they are at $16k). The guy who hit me agreed to pay out of his pocket anything the insurance wouldn't cover. And that is all that I want - I wasn't interested in taking this guy to the cleaners. I appreciate everyone who PM'd me or has given me advice - it has been really helpful! When I posted this, I was so confused and scared. I had now idea what was going on or how to proceed. I'm a systematic person so I feel better now knowing the order of how things in these situations go about. I suppose I should just make clear that I'm not interested in suing this guy for what he's worth - really I just wanted my bike taken care of and my hospital bills paid - whether by insurance or if they won't cover it, then the guy.

And christ, jtarver, the guy blew a stop sign, and I found out later that he was drunk. He hit me. Don't be such an ass to someone who is coming to a forum of fellow riders for help and guidance.

spry

Wow,you are letting this guy off the hook after he hit you while driving intoxicated?
Am I missing something here?DWI convictions are public record,is this the first time for this guy?