Knocked off bike by a Royal Mail driver
Discussion
Evening all, hoping someone may have experience with a similar type of situation...
One evening back in Feb a Royal Mail delivery driver turned left straight into me whilst I was on my return commute. As you you'd imagine, I ended up on the tarmac and was scooped up by some kind passers by and the driver himself. He was shocked, didn't see me etc etc, same with me, shaken up and couldn't walk very easily due to the impact. He kindly reversed his van off the front wheel of my bike and then stayed with me along with 3 others to make sure I was OK and that I could get home (bike can't be ridden as the front wheel is bent) The driver tried to insist he paid for a cab to which I said no he then suggested his manager come and get me in another RM van, which he did and he then drove me and the bike home.
The driver called me a few times and texted me to see if I was OK and he suggested I speak with his manager about what had happened so they could work out how they can go about sorting my bike out. This dragged a week or so and I didn't hear back from them so I called RM directly and spoke with their fleet managers; they were a little surprised that the accident wasn't reported and said they would look into it and they also gave me a number of a solicitor that deals with any accidents. I never heard back from them so called the solicitors who duly took down all the details...then nothing. OK, so I called them for an update and they say that the accident didn't happen...which has subsequently pushed me down the no win no fee route. Roll on to today and I get a letter from the solicitors I appointed saying that the are denying responsibility and are challenging fault.
I guess my question is, am I going to get stitched up here? It's too late for CCTV and it's my word against his. I'm perplexed that they didn't just offer to fix my bike at the time as some new wheels would have only cost them a few hundred quid and now it's costing solicitors time and money. I do have one eye witness that can back me up but not much else other than my damaged bike and evidence that I've been to the physio and an osteopath. I'm wondering if my solicitor can demand the black box recorder evidence from the van that hit me? As his manger was telling me all about it whilst he was driving me home...
Looking forward to hearing any similar tales or first hand experience of how these things end up.
TLDR: got knocked off my bike by a postman, it hurt and they are now saying it wasn't their fault.
One evening back in Feb a Royal Mail delivery driver turned left straight into me whilst I was on my return commute. As you you'd imagine, I ended up on the tarmac and was scooped up by some kind passers by and the driver himself. He was shocked, didn't see me etc etc, same with me, shaken up and couldn't walk very easily due to the impact. He kindly reversed his van off the front wheel of my bike and then stayed with me along with 3 others to make sure I was OK and that I could get home (bike can't be ridden as the front wheel is bent) The driver tried to insist he paid for a cab to which I said no he then suggested his manager come and get me in another RM van, which he did and he then drove me and the bike home.
The driver called me a few times and texted me to see if I was OK and he suggested I speak with his manager about what had happened so they could work out how they can go about sorting my bike out. This dragged a week or so and I didn't hear back from them so I called RM directly and spoke with their fleet managers; they were a little surprised that the accident wasn't reported and said they would look into it and they also gave me a number of a solicitor that deals with any accidents. I never heard back from them so called the solicitors who duly took down all the details...then nothing. OK, so I called them for an update and they say that the accident didn't happen...which has subsequently pushed me down the no win no fee route. Roll on to today and I get a letter from the solicitors I appointed saying that the are denying responsibility and are challenging fault.
I guess my question is, am I going to get stitched up here? It's too late for CCTV and it's my word against his. I'm perplexed that they didn't just offer to fix my bike at the time as some new wheels would have only cost them a few hundred quid and now it's costing solicitors time and money. I do have one eye witness that can back me up but not much else other than my damaged bike and evidence that I've been to the physio and an osteopath. I'm wondering if my solicitor can demand the black box recorder evidence from the van that hit me? As his manger was telling me all about it whilst he was driving me home...
Looking forward to hearing any similar tales or first hand experience of how these things end up.
TLDR: got knocked off my bike by a postman, it hurt and they are now saying it wasn't their fault.
Edited by RanchoGrande on Wednesday 4th May 20:50
Not much help now but any collisions that involve an injury should be reported to the police and based on the circumstances you’ve given they would normally attend the scene.
I guess now all you can really do is follow the advice of your solicitors. Do you still have the messages from the driver as at least this shows that the collision happened and might contain some admission of fault?
I would expect that what RM are trying to do is make you give up as not worth the hassle, if you continue pursuing it they will probably make you some sort of offer whilst not admitting fault
I guess now all you can really do is follow the advice of your solicitors. Do you still have the messages from the driver as at least this shows that the collision happened and might contain some admission of fault?
I would expect that what RM are trying to do is make you give up as not worth the hassle, if you continue pursuing it they will probably make you some sort of offer whilst not admitting fault
https://pbs.twimg.com/ext_tw_video_thumb/106906895...
Edited by Stella Tortoise on Thursday 5th May 12:18
It's time to get a solicitor involved. Firstly check your home insurance to see if you have any legal expenses cover. Secondly if you are a member of British Cycling or Cycling UK you get access to their no-win no-fee cover with no deductions. If you aren't, then I believe the same solicitors (Leigh Day and Slater and Gordon) can act, but the fees will come from a settlement. There's also accident management services (eg. CAMS) but you are one step away from the solicitor and AFAIK their main selling point is they pay for a new bike up-front, which many people don't need, and the fees can be steep.
If you have an eyewitness then it should be ok. I assume he reported it to the depot manager who tried to cover it up?
If you have an eyewitness then it should be ok. I assume he reported it to the depot manager who tried to cover it up?
RanchoGrande said:
TLDR: got knocked off my bike by a postman, it hurt and they are now saying it wasn't their fault.
Standard stuff thenEdited by RanchoGrande on Wednesday 4th May 20:50
Been waiting nearly 2 years now since I got run over by a delivery van. Get witness statements from the people that I assume saw the accident?
Just leave it with the no win no fee solicitors. No one cares. He wont be prosecuted
Bathroom_Security said:
Standard stuff then
Been waiting nearly 2 years now since I got run over by a delivery van. Get witness statements from the people that I assume saw the accident?
Just leave it with the no win no fee solicitors. No one cares. He wont be prosecuted
I have left it with some no win no fee solicitors, it's them that have written to me to say that they are disputing the incident. I don't want the driver to be prosecuted, I just wanted my bike fixing!Been waiting nearly 2 years now since I got run over by a delivery van. Get witness statements from the people that I assume saw the accident?
Just leave it with the no win no fee solicitors. No one cares. He wont be prosecuted
egor110 said:
This is very unusual in that the manager drove you home so knew full well about the accident .
Normal procedure is driver has a accident , rac are called to check the vans safe to use and the drivers taken off driving whilst the accident is investigated .
Yes, I thought it was strange but was just glad of a lift home! I presumed they were just being nice and helpful. Normal procedure is driver has a accident , rac are called to check the vans safe to use and the drivers taken off driving whilst the accident is investigated .
Whats in a name said:
Not much help now but any collisions that involve an injury should be reported to the police and based on the circumstances you’ve given they would normally attend the scene.
I guess now all you can really do is follow the advice of your solicitors. Do you still have the messages from the driver as at least this shows that the collision happened and might contain some admission of fault?
I would expect that what RM are trying to do is make you give up as not worth the hassle, if you continue pursuing it they will probably make you some sort of offer whilst not admitting fault
I do still have the text message but there is no admission of guilt. My feeling is that they are now trying to cover it up as they didn't follow procedures and report the collision.I guess now all you can really do is follow the advice of your solicitors. Do you still have the messages from the driver as at least this shows that the collision happened and might contain some admission of fault?
I would expect that what RM are trying to do is make you give up as not worth the hassle, if you continue pursuing it they will probably make you some sort of offer whilst not admitting fault
RanchoGrande said:
egor110 said:
Don't know about you but i'm amazed the manager seems to of completely ignored the accident .
Yeah, not sure why they wouldn't just follow company guidelines and report/deal with it properly. I was wondering if perhaps the driver was worried about losing his job.There is no love lost between posties v managers and i in 31 years of service i have no idea why the manager didn't follow the process as he knew what had happened .
loskie said:
as with any accident insurance details should have been exchanged at the scene and reported to the police. You should still report to the police even though well after the event.
It's not your problem if the postie is charged or not. It's likely to be not.
You realise your not going to get insurance details from the postie.It's not your problem if the postie is charged or not. It's likely to be not.
Royal mail are self insured so other than the drivers name and the van reg number that's pretty much all your getting road side.
CorradoTDI said:
I'd want them taking to the cleaners if I was treated like that - I'd try and make a record of all the calls etc, screenshot the numbers and times / dates on your phone, also any messages etc.
I've sent the solicitors everything I have, text messages and emails to demonstrate that multiple people from Royal Mail were in contact with me after the accident. There is no admission of guilt but it shows they are involved. egor110 said:
You realise your not going to get insurance details from the postie.
Royal mail are self insured so other than the drivers name and the van reg number that's pretty much all your getting road side.
Indeed and that's all the information I took. In hindsight I should have called the police but was in a state of shock and wasn't thinking straight. Royal mail are self insured so other than the drivers name and the van reg number that's pretty much all your getting road side.
Very strange. An RM van pulled out into the side of my Mini classic a few years back. The driver gave me a pre-printed card that he filled his name and the VRM of his van into. This had details of who to call at RM. Called them and they said send us a quote from a recognised bodyshop and we'll cover it. Got a quote, they approved it pretty quickly and paid for the work.
It was really straightforward and they seemed to have a whole department set-up just to deal with their-fault claims
It was really straightforward and they seemed to have a whole department set-up just to deal with their-fault claims
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