I got the bike back today - front wheel is twisted, and the handlebars got knocked 90 degrees. Brake calipers are bent, fender mount is broken. I can't tell if the fork is damaged yet - it's a steel Project 2 Kona fork, so it's pretty beefy.

I'm sure that any frame warranty will be voided in the event of a crash, so I'll likely be moving components over to a new frame at a minimum.


I've asked a couple of lawyer friends about what I should do, and both recommended talking to a PI lawyer once I get the accident report. Having had spinal surgery / fusion 4 years ago, I don't want something turning up 2-3 years from now that's related to this accident. The bike is the least part of this situation. Since the driver was from Pennsylvania, one laywer recommended filing in that state, since laws are much for favorable for plaintiffs than in Virginia.

So, I will be talking with an attorney to see what my options are.

I would not ride the bike for a couple of weeks. At least until you are sure -after meeting with the docs- that you don't have any soft tissue damage, etc.

I can just imagine you having to testify in court that you were able to immediately return to riding your bike. Something like, "How bad can you be hurt if you are riding again the next day?"

Food for thought.

It's fortunate that you weren't hurt worse. I've had some near misses where a driver did exactly the same thing, both as a pedestrian and as a cyclist, using crosswalks myself. I'm extremely suspicious of crosswalks... taking them slowly or walking (which gets frustrating when you have a MUP that crosses a lot of streets).

The worst are 4-lane streets with no light... where you have one or two cars that stop for the crosswalk like they are supposed to... and one or two that inevitably don't. I always feel stupid when the one person who stops sits there and anxiously waves for me to cross, while I'm looking at three other cars approaching at 40mph that haven't even figured out what's going on. With some streets I usually prefer to wait until there is no traffic rather than cross when cars have stopped for me.

I used to live in Washington, DC. You would think a city with so many pedestrians would be full of drivers who know that you are supposed to stop for a crosswalk. Few do. Crosswalk accidents, and even fatalities, are not a rare occurrence at all in the DC Metro area. A little over a year ago I moved to the Pacific Northwest and discovered that drivers here are much more aware of crosswalks. I've found this to be the case when I've visited Portland, Seattle, Vancouver, and smaller towns and cities as well. Here in Bellingham drivers seem to keep a lookout for pedestrians and bicyclists. Of course accidents still happen, and there are still occasional aggressive drivers who don't want to wonder why traffic has stopped... they just want to get around it without paying attention.

Sean

I hear you on that - I'm getting an appt with the doc who did my spinal surgery 4 years ago. Fortunately, I've already paid my deductible this year, so I've got good coverage. As far as that goes, I want to concentrate not on the current injury, but how it might affect QOL down the road. So, I'm going to be sticking to walking and swimming for the moment for exercise (after my ribs stop hurting, of course).

Back to the waving/lane item - I can't count the number of times people have waved me through when I see someone going barrel-ass down the road in the lane next to them, or coming the other way really fast. I make sure that the way is clear, or that ALL lanes have stopped before going forward. Now I have to start looking in the nooks and crannies to make sure that someone hasn't started driving on the sidewalk, too.....

Hope you fell better soon and wish a full recovery!

Definiteley, DO NOT talk to their insurance company. AT ALL!!!!!! Immediately document the date/time of the call, try to get the callers name. THen, simply say, "Mr XYZ is my attorney handling the matter, refer all questions to him. Do not call me directly again. This was your first and only warning. Have a nice day"

Absolutely. I'm glad you're OK!

Failing to stop when you see another car stopped in the next lane is one thing, purposefully swerve around it is another.

However good natured you might be, I'd encourage you to keep hammering at the guy - you really don't know how well (or unwell) you are.

Others may know more though.

Hey, you made the news, also looks like he was charged. Was on NBC 4's main page. Hope you get better!

Edited post for content.

I'm tempted to go out there this weekend with piece of chalk and do some sidewalk art: a broken bike with a slightly crumpled cyclists.
Sure beats having to install a ghost bike.

If you do, I'd like it to look like this:



Thank you....Thank you very much.

I'm not a frequent rider there but I'm certainly familiar with the intersection, and it scares the crap out of me.

I'm normally one of those people that say "get what you are entitled to and no more" but this was a conscious decision on the part of the driver to to go around traffic, one of the most dangerous things you can do in any scenario in my opinion.

Scares the crap out of me in parts of Maryland to ride or drive, where they have these passing lane things on the right at intersections. People fly through.

Get better dude, and make sure the bike is checked out very thoroughly. Tell the mechanic to lean toward safety, not sentiment.

May I suggest that you delete this post, or at least the guy's name? If I were a guy who might be getting sued and a simple google search turned up my name (or my alias!), my lawyers and I might be delighted to read all the comments suggesting phony back injuries and "nailing him for all he's worth."
Just a suggestion.

A discussion at foo leads to believe Bklyn here is correct (and hey Bklyn maybe you can do the same!)

I've edited my post - bbruce0, can you delete the link in your post? Thx.

Glad there is no serious injury. Sad about the bike damage though.

BTW Welcome to the "I've been Run-Overed Club" you are now a fully fledged member!

What was it that Grouch Marx said? "I'd never join any club that would have me as a member...."

I'd prefer to stay a novice member and not move up in standing, at least.

Heal well, and soon.

not again....

just heard on the news - struck bicyclist on 23rd St.

Yeah, sliding across the hood of a car then falling off the other side does happen in slow motion. The whole time thinking "This isn't going to feel good when I land."

There's another element to getting whacked....the first day, you're running on adrenaline....the 2nd day, you're sore, but still OK...but on the third day (today), I REALLY hurt. My ribs have been very sore all day, and getting up and down has caused me to yelp a bit. Talked to the doctor's office, and they said that unless it's a stabbing pain or gets markedly/suddenly worse, I should wait out the weekend if I can before coming in. (I've already got Motrin and Valium, so my pain can be managed).

But I'm REALLY sore.

I'm sorry to hear about your accident.

I suggest getting a lawyer.

I was hit by truck last year. I wanted to do the right thing and just get my bike replaced. I tried working with the company that the guy who hit me worked for but they were complete a((holes. I called, faxed, for 3 weeks with these nitwits. All I wanted was to have my bike replaced. When they found out how much my carbon frame bike would cost to replace I think the were shocked. I guess they thought I was riding a Huffy.

I hired a lawyer that is a cyclist. He has handled several bike cases. I ended up getting more than I had originally asked for and it cost the a**holes twice as much as it would have if they would have settled in the beginning.

Keep a record of every event, encounter, phone call, messages you left, calls that were not returned, report, fax, email, etc. Dates, times. A month from now it will be difficult to remember what happened when.

Get a lawyer and let him/her take care of it. I wasted a lot of time at work and home.

I've talked with 2 attorneys - one taht I really didn't feel comfortable with (they kept focusing on the money angle, and not my real concern, which is current/long-term injury and my bike). The second was very thorough, and personally responded with an e-mail follow-up of all the things he suggested.No solicitation, no pressure, just some good advice. One thing he mentioned was keeping a nightly journal of what's going on physically - do I sleep OK (no, I don't - I wake up 3-4 times a night, and it's hell to turn over in bed), when do I get cleared to get back on the bike or resume other activities, etc. So, I've put together a folder with originals and copies of everything from the ER, and will have the accident report, photos, bike shop report, etc. As part of the journal, I'm also going to keep track of what it's costing me to drive in and park at work. Between parking, tolls and gas cost, it's about $30 every day that I can't ride the bike.

Again, I don't know if I'm going to file a suit or not, but I am going to keep extremely good records of everything that's going on as a result of this. My wife is even pushing me to just buy a new bike now (we can afford it) because she doesn't trust the frame now. If we get comped for the cost of the old bike, great, but my safety is the more important thing.

Exactly. Even if you don't file a lawsuit and end up settling w/ the insurance company out of court, remember that you're entitled to compensation for all of your pain and suffering as well. Don't be too proud to ask for (demand) compensation for the lost sleep, pain, anxiety, etc.--you're only experiencing these things because of the other guy's actions. Sounds like you're getting good advice from local attorneys. Safe riding and fast recovery.

Your bike is totaled and you should get the full replacement value for the bike from the guy's insurance. Don't play any games like "the right pedal is still OK so subtract $X".