Originally Posted by jiminim

Surgery went very well according to the Dr. He said there was a lot of damage but he was able to get everything back into place. Gave me a shot of local in my arm so everything is pretty numb. The general anesthesia did not make me sick, in fact I just finished up lunch at home! My plans for the rest of today are going to be taking my Lortabs, playing on the internet, and watching the Tivo. Thanks for all of the replies!

Originally Posted by Niles H.

Assuming that other people are on the same page, or have the same sort of awareness of what is happening, or the same sort of processing in the brain, is itself a hazard.

Originally Posted by Santaria

Glad to hear things went well, under the conditions.

Get AFLAC man, I'm telling you. My AFLAC says that if I get into that situation they'll hand my wife a check for $1k at the ER just to get the ball rolling on deductibles, extra costs, repairs to my bike, etc.

Originally Posted by Bill Abbey

Jiminim; Sorry about the accident but a lot of airheads have drivers licenses. We all have had "blonde" days.

I would NOT even think about the insurance crap until 2 or three days after ALL of the drugs are out of your system. That's right, even the special aspirin that they give you to take home. The insurance guys are going to want this settled soon, and off of their desks as cheaply as possible. They have bonusus and job evaluations based on this stuff. This is important to keep in mind.

Stategy: Keep good notes (dates, times and who said what) and take the helpful approach. After a couple of weeks where the guy tries to low ball you, THEN you contact the VP of claims in writing -return receipt requested -and make the point that his insurance company's well deserved reputation for quality is in jeapordy and you're sure that he doesn't want that to occur... that the guy working with you is really nice -but somewhere in between things are getting fouled up and since this is his company, he should know about it... I will guarentee that the claims adjuster will realize that it is not really HIS money, but it might be if he doesn't get this settled amicably. I have used this method several times and it has worked from Chysler to Great American Insurance. You are not looking to make a killing here, you just do not want to get killed.

From personal experience (lots): Besides the surgery, the rehab is the most important part of this and it will take more fortitude and energy than you would believe. At some point months later, you may begin to believe that you are lazy or tired for no good reason. Wrong. You are solid, it just takes lots of the body's energy to get the job done. (Nerves and tendons are really slow and a lot of them got stretch and torn and you will not know about them because they don't register)

Rehab costs both money AND time, and getting you back to minimum (65%) is not the same as getting you back to OK. This is not a pitch for you to demand lots of money, I am just telling you to not take it too lightly. BTW you may be inundated by attorney solicitations, use the family friend.

Originally Posted by squeakywheel

I wonder how we can learn to "tuck and roll" when falling off a bike instead of reaching out to the ground with the hand. In a panic situation, I don't see how I'll manage to resist the instinct to break the fall with my hand.