need bike accident lawyer advice

[TVTP...@aol.com]

One week out from hitting a car head-on----turning off Beech to do Ross Hill and a woman who was exiting Military thought it was still an exit ramp where it was really two way, so she was totally in the wrong lane.

 

I am very lucky to get away with a destroyed fork, wheel, maybe the frame, some parts, clothes, helmet, 11 facial stitches, soreness that hopefully will go away, and a lovely 5 hrs in the ER ...

 

But I have no idea how to approach this. Although I am not a particularly litigious person, I also do not want to be taken advantage of by her insurance company, and protect myself in case this neck or shoulder pain becomes chronic.

 

Any advice in general and more specifically some lawyer names.

 

Thanks,

Mark

tvtp...@aol.com

[Cliff]

I already replied directly to the author, BUT:

Many of us that ride and race are fairly hardcore. We don't whine, we
can tolerate a lot of pain, we are used to subjecting ourselves to
discomfort. If a car ever hits you or causes you to crash, you must
become a different kind of person.

I am personally still in a legal battle against one of the big
insurance companies from an accident march 2007. The whole settle for
medical bills and pain is a giant amoral messed up game. I spent all
my spare cash on treating an injury and then was offered less by the
insurance company... completely unjust. Then I got an attorney, best
idea ever.

Go watch "Training Day" again, sadly it really is what you can prove
(not what you know).

Be safe.

> _tvtpa...@aol.com_ (mailto:tvtpa...@aol.com)

[Jeff Travis]

Mark --

Michael P. Smith, of Salsbury, Clements, Bekman, Marder, & Adkins LLC
(Baltimore) did an outstanding job for me a few years ago:

http://www.scbmalaw.com/lawyers/index.cfm?ID=30

You may say that I referred you.

Best of luck,

Jeff Travis
Route 1 Velo

On Nov 16, 3:28 pm, TVTPA...@aol.com wrote:

> _tvtpa...@aol.com_ (mailto:tvtpa...@aol.com)

[Harry Fang]

A colleague of mine at work (who cycles as well), referred a fellow cyclist/lawyer Bruce Deming.  

http://www.brucedeming.com/

Even though I am not litigious either, I feel that you may be entitled to some compensation for your accident.

Regards, 

Harry Fang

---

From: Jeff Travis <JeffT...@greenbelt.com>
To: MABRA-USCF <mabra...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Tue, November 17, 2009 4:11:55 PM
Subject: [MABRA-USCF] Re: need bike accident lawyer advice

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[fabsroman]

Mark,

I'm an attorney that deals with plaintiff's auto accident personal
injury cases. I worked for the Law Office of James S. Nickelsporn (n/k/
a Nickelsporn & Lundin) for three years and all we did was auto
accident cases at the time. Our goal was to sign up one new case a day
and handle at least 360 cases a year. When I left that firm, I went to
a firm that represented the opposite side of it, the insurance
company, and was involved in almost every aspect on the insurance
defense side from small subrogation claims to a $10 million claim
against a car dealership. I worked there for 3 years before deciding
to go it on my own. Granted, while working at that firm I also did
litigation work on construction issues (e.g., phase III of the
buildout on FedEx Field (f/k/a Jack Kent Cooke Stadium)), legal
malpractice issues, and accounting malpractice issues. Since starting
my own practice almost 8 years ago, I have branched out into the small
business consulting and tax preparation field since I am a CPA also,
but I still take personal injury cases.

I'm licensed to practice law in MD and DC. I'm assuming that this
accident occurred in DC.

The first thing you want to make sure you do not do is to give the
opposing insurance company a recorded statement. There is no
contractual obligation to do so and a lot of plaintiffs shoot
themselves in the foot by giving a recorded statement without
thoroughly preparing for it. In fact, if you can have somebody else
contact the insurance company on your behalf to get the claim started,
you will be better off. Of course, the insurance company will not want
to settle the claim with you without getting your side of the
incident, but you do not have to let them record it. Next, do not sign
any paper work that the insurance company sends you and do not cash
any "property settlement" check that the insurance company sends you
without thoroughly looking it over. Sometimes, those checks have "in
settlement of all claims" written on them and if you cash such a check
thinking it is only for property damage, you are SOL on the personal
injury side. Most insurance companies will want to settle the property
damage side of it first, and then address the personal injury side
afterward. DO NOT settle the personal injury side of it before you
feel 100% health wise or the doctors have advised you that you have a
permanent injury that will never resolve. Granted, it doesn't sound
like you will have a permanency, but I'm just trying to cover every
aspect of this thing in a post on a chatboard. Ultimately, make sure
you treat and that you can show continuous treatment for your
injuries. Make sure you tell the doctors how this happened and make
sure you tell them about EVERYTHING that is bothering you. If it isn't
in the medical records, it wasn't an issue as far as the insurance
companies are concerned. Make sure you take pictures of the broken
bike and the scene of the accident. I usually do this stuff for my
clients. Hard to take pictures of property damage after the bike has
been thrown away, and sometimes roads can undergo construction between
the date of the accident and the trial date, so it makes it a little
harder to explain to the judge/jury exactly how the accident occurred.
Take pictures of the stitches and facial swelling. This should have
been done as soon as you got out of the ER, but later is better than
never.

Well, that is the chatboard version of how to handle the beginning of
a personal injury claim. It is a little tough to put everything into a
paragraph or two (e.g., do you have health insurance, did you miss
work, did you check your auto accident policy to see if it has MedPay
or PIP that might cover some of the medical bills and lost time from
work).

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Very truly yours,

Fabrizio Roman
(301)528-6609

On Nov 16, 3:28 pm, TVTPA...@aol.com wrote:

> _tvtpa...@aol.com_ (mailto:tvtpa...@aol.com)

[qualia]

Mark,

My lawyer is John Mesirow, right in Dupont. He's been absolutely
terrific through my case so far and I recommend him very highly. John
specializes in cycling cases and, though not a racer, an avid cyclist
himself. (The guy's commuting rig is lit up like a Christmas tree.)

http://www.dc-attorney.com/lawyer-attorney-1143149.html

It's smart posting here. Wish I'd done that. I dragged myself, in
neck brace and on lots of pain killers, from lawyer's office to
lawyer's office, until I found John.

Troy Cross

[Brett]

Mark,

I highly recommend personal injury (PI) attorney Nick Balland in
Arlington, VA. Here's his website: http://www.nicholasaballandlaw.com/ I
was hit by a car in March of this year, and the claim was just settled the
end of last week. Nick went to work for me 24 hours after I contacted him
via e-mail (which I sent as soon as I got out of the Emergency room), he did
a great job and I'm very happy with the settlement.

A PI attorney shouldn't charge you anything, they typically take 33%
off the top of the settled amount. This sounds like a lot, and it is, but
don't fool yourself into thinking you can do it yourself and keep that 33%
in your own pocket. You're far better off (financially speaking) pocketing
66% of the gross by letting a professional do the work on your behalf.

Regarding your phrase, "I'm not a particularly litigious person,"
that's all well and good; but I'm sure the person who drove into you -- and
nearly killed you -- is hoping you'll roll over and play nice too.
Personally, I'm not willing to play nice with someone who nearly kills me --
it sends the wrong message.

Cheers -- and go for the jugular!
Brett

-----Original Message-----
From: Jeff Travis [mailto:JeffT...@greenbelt.com]
Sent: Tuesday, November 17, 2009 4:12 PM
To: MABRA-USCF
Subject: [MABRA-USCF] Re: need bike accident lawyer advice

[qualia]

Mark,

I want to second the advice you're getting here about setting aside
your own aversion to litigation.

I myself wish we had a tort system like New Zealand's where you'd just
get some set, modest payment from a government risk pool and avoid the
prospect of a long delay and then a messy trial. (This is *vastly*
more efficient that our system.) But whatever you think about
litigation in America generally, you need to be on a "litigious"
footing yourself, or you'll the short end.

My case is not yet settled because we're waiting to see how, and
whether, my body heals. My insurance did not cover all of my medical
expenses and I'm carrying around some debt in the meantime. The
driver of the car was an attorney. She looked horrified at the scene,
but didn't say a word to me then or since, didn't report it to her own
insurance company, wouldn't even talk to her own insurance company
when they contacted her, until she found out that I was represented by
counsel and had written statements from witnesses. She still denies
fault despite a police report and eye witnesses to the contrary,
etc... I'm "not a litigious person" either, but after this
experience, yes I want (need) a decent settlement, or judgment. Had
it been less adversarial from the start, I'd never have gone
aggressive, but as time passes, bills mount, and my injury persists,
yes, I'm hoping the legal system comes through for me.

It's also a good thing, generally, if aggressive drivers are a
*little* bit scared of hitting cyclists, for both the criminal and
civil repercussions.

troy

[Cliff]

My attorney (John Mesirow) is the same as Troy's; so that is two
cyclists that are suggesting you call him!

He really is a good guy.

[Bob Doyle]

Forwarded from my wife the attorney.

Bob Doyle

-----Original Message-----
From: Linda Freimark [mailto:Lin...@cox.net]
Sent: Thursday, November 19, 2009 9:46 PM
To: rfd...@cox.net
Subject: FW: [MABRA-USCF] Re: need bike accident lawyer advice


Mark:

You've received excellent advice from Fabrizio. I've handled cases like
yours in VA, and would add a couple more pieces of advice. If there was a
police report, get a copy, and if the driver was cited by the police, get
that information (contact the police for both of these items). Also, figure
out if there were any witnesses and who they are. Sometimes you can figure
this out with the help of the police report. Even with a police report and
a citation against the driver, I've had cases where the police can't be
bothered with getting the names of the witnesses. I've posted the biker's
picture around the scene of the accident, in a poster (the picture draws
attention) and asked witnesses to contact me and they have. With the help of
the witnesses who did not actually see the impact occur, we've been able to
turn cases around to the biker's favor (inspite of the police reports
denying witnesses), because our witnesses positioned the vehicles
differently from the police's version. The police version (from an officer
who was not there) could be your most difficult problem to overcome, so you
have to know what it says, and early enough to get fresh statements from the
witnesses.

Good luck and heal quickly.
Linda Freimark

-----Original Message-----
From: Bob Doyle [mailto:rfd...@cox.net]
Sent: Thursday, November 19, 2009 7:43 PM
To: lin...@cox.net
Subject: FW: [MABRA-USCF] Re: need bike accident lawyer advice