First accident
 

Hey everybody!

Just wanted to ask for some advice... I got hit by a car! today I was going straight through a green light and a guy turned right into me. I was going about 25 kph and he was probably going about the same speed. I'm pretty bruised and battered but I'll live.

My bike is most likely done though. I only saw it briefly before getting into the ambulance. It looked like the fork and front wheel where pretty messed up, I don't know about the frame though. My question is does anybody know what my bike is even worth? It is my winter beater, (people give me grief for using a Bianchi for a winter bike, but my only other bike is my Cervelo Soloist and I'm not riding that in the snow!) I haven't been able to find out anything about the bike, it was a hand me down and I don't even know when it was bought.

Does anybody know what my bike is worth? Is it worth trying to salvage it or should I just take what the insurance company gives me? Any help here would be nice, thanks!

The insurance will probably just negotiate with you. I think that's typical for claims under 500 or so?

Go to your local bike shop and get an estimate for the cost of replacing the bike with a comparable new one. The insurance company will likely argue that they only owe you the depreciated amount or fair market value of your used bike. However, the replacement cost of a similar bike will give you a starting point for your negotiations.

The insurance company will likely want a written estimate for a replacement bike similar to yours. Then they'll negotiate from there.
(Since my bike was custom built, they replaced it with a new one.)

In the case of my collision, they settled the 'property damage' portion rather quickly -- and I think they want you to be happy instead of angry, to a point. The 'medical' portion can take a lot longer to sort out -- in CA, there is a two year window to settle or file a lawsuit.

The important thing is you are not too badly injured, but make sure you haven't overlooked anything.

I'm six months into recovery from a serious "meeting" with a pickup truck and it's amazing how new aches and pains arise that you didn't notice at first.

Have a shop assess your bike.

If you need to make a claim for anything more than property damage (the bike, ripped clothes, etc.), get a lawyer. Injury claims involve more money and are more complex than most folks understand. The insurance adjusters are pros - you are not. If you're OK with a few hundred dollars to replace an old bike (and there's nothing wrong with that, if that's what your damages are), go for it. A ride in an ambulance by itself costs at least a few and maybe several hundred dollars, and even a short stint in the ER can cost a few thousand. Sign a release with the insurance company and you're done, even if your medical bills turn out to be much higher.

for someone in a accident you sure are chipper about your health and more worried about your bike. If I were you I would full recover then think about what to do about the bike, If I were you I would ask the insurance company to pay me for a new bike of the same cost of the old bike.

Thanks for the help everybody. FR4NCH1SE I'm pretty sure I don't have any major injuries, I have been x-rayed and there are no breaks. Tomorrow is a new day though and I'm anticipating a tough morning!

We have public insurance where I live and the driver has accepted full fault so I know I'm entitled to any supplemental care that I need. The only unknown in my mind is what is going to happen to the bike, I'm picking it up tomorrow so I guess I'll find out the full extent of the damage then.

Well, my wife and I had a pretty serious tandem accident about 12 or 13 years ago, and I'm just finding out now how severely it has affected my right shoulder. I can only suggest that you be sure to cover every aspect of your accident claim to be certain that you won't be screwed in some way in then end. It's quite clear to me now that some injuries from such an event may not be truly known for many years.

Yet another reason why i'm thankful any visit to the ER or doctor costs $0 here. What an ass backwards country the U.S is in terms of healthcare.

Yes. Agreed. I was in the probationary period before receiving health insurance through my job. Got appendicitis. Had appendectomy. Had complications. Received $100,000 hospital bills. Fortunately, I was poor enough to be a charity case. I now have insurance.

And that couple hundred of dollars for an ambulance? Try a few thousand in some areas; my younger brother od'd on caffeine (yes, caffeine) once and was in severe tachycardia...

Yes, exactly. That's why people from all over the world (including Canuckstan) come to the U.S. for elective surgeries.

Hate to bust your bubble, but there is no such thing as a free lunch. It may cost you $0 from a billing aspect but believe me you pay for it through taxes. People have got to stop thinking that the government will take care of them and that somehow things come free.

I am happy to share the cost of healthcare through my taxes, but I dont have to share the high cost of the insurance company's legal departments.

+1

Not exactly true. Check out the medical vacation options being offered in the USA. American patients are going on 3/4 month visits to SE Asia, to get complex surgeries done for less than USD 20,000, as compared to more than USD 100,000 out here in the US. Having grown up in a public health care country myself, and having worked for 2 years in an US hospital, IMHO, the quality of care is the same, if not better, in countries outside the USA.

One thing though, the US definitely is heads above other countries in research and the use of advanced techniques and technologies when it comes to health care.

To the OP, reiterating what everyone has been telling, get yourselves thoroughly checked up.