[Misc] A cycling/driving/insurance conundrum

[Albion in the north]

If I was that cyclist and you asked me to pay I'll tell you to go f*** yourself.

Talk about adding insult to injury!

Noone is apportioning blame but the car driver can just as easily say that he never damaged my car so isnt liable. No need for the aggressive language.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

The whole thing seems like a genuine accident. All things considered I’d take it on the chin; accidents happen.

 

[zefarelly]

What was the bike?

Raleigh Chipper is my guess.

 

[Stat Brother]

Raleigh Chopper is my guess.

 

[drew]

Hi all.
Not wishing to stoke the flames of the cycling/driving debate (too much) just wanting to get some thoughts from the NSC collective about an incident that has happened today.

The AITN family run a small convenience store in a village in the Pennines. We live above the shop and park our car nearby.
This morning I cycled into the nearest town for a doctors appointment. As I returned an ambulance was just pulling in front of the shop. An old guy had been knocked off of his bike. Unfortunately he has ended up scratching and denting the side of our car when he fell. Fortunately (and really the most important part) he has no broken bones and just a couple of small cuts but is suffering from a bit of shock. His bike is a right off. The car that hit him initially drove off but they returned before the ambulance left and I now have all their details. The cyclist has been taken to hospital for a check up but is expected to be ok.
I dont want to sound too mercenary or uncaring but our thoughts have now turned to who is responsible for paying for the damage to our car.
I reckon the reasonable costs for repairs would be in the region of £400 at a local bodyshop. Probably triple that if it went through insurance.
I am loathed to contact our insurance because as soon as they know we have been "involved" in an accident, bang goes our no claims bonus and as we also insure a van for the business they will soon get their money back from us. (im not a fan of car insurance companies. A neccesary evil)
So who pays? Do we just have to take it on the chin? Do we go through our insurance? Do we go through the small claims court to get the cyclist to pay (or just ask him nicely) explaining that he will be able to claim it back from the car driver? Or should I contact the other driver (Another older guy) and ask him to pay?
Any advice gratefully received. I wont be able to answer straight away as I have to go back to work but will be back on NSC this evening.

Depends on who was at fault for the accident! You only said an old man was knocked off his bike by a car. If it was the cyclists fault you would, legally, have a claim against him but if it was the driver's fault then the whole claim is against him and you don't need to pursue anything against the cyclist. As there was an injury, I assume the Police attended so you could contact them to see if any admission was made by the other two.

 

[drew]

Noone is apportioning blame but the car driver can just as easily say that he never damaged my car so isnt liable. No need for the aggressive language.

Someone will be responsible, seems no one is accepting that. Speak to the Police.

 

[drew]

That's true, but I think the cyclist needs to claim against the motorist so that it goes through the chain. That's what I'd assume. However, the chances are that the excess on the insurance means making the claim is pointless.

If it's the other driver's fault then both claim against him. No need to claim against the cyclist for him then to recover against the driver, it doesn't work like that.

 

[Bodian]

You will doubtless be receiving a phone call from an unidentifiable number very shortly - to talk to you about an accident where you were not at fault.....!

 

[drew]

I agree. The damage to your car was a direct result from the cyclist being hit by that car.

But if the other driver was at fault then that was the proximate cause of the damage to the OP's car.

 

[drew]

I'm not sure that's how it works. If you're in a queue of traffic for example, and someone hits you from behind and you therefore shunt into the car in front of you and so on - you have to claim against the person that hit you and the person you shunted into claims against you etc.

That's not what happens. If everyone is queueing properly and one car piles into the back of the queue pushing cars into one another then all claims will be dealt with by the insurer of the car that started it all. It differs if there are multiple incidents, eg in fog, where one car goes into the back of one, then another car goes in to the back of that. That will be hard to establish but based on witness statements. For example, the Police might ask a each driver whether they felt one impact or two and so on.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

But if the other driver was at fault then that was the proximate cause of the damage to the OP's car.

What other driver?

 

[East Staffs Gull]

It’s not your job to decide who was responsible and therefore who to claim against. You could take it on the chin, but the chances are that the cyclist and motorist involved will be obliged to provide details of your car to their insurers, as your vehicle was involved. Your insurer will therefore inevitably be informed of the collision. I believe that the correct procedure would be for you to inform your insurer and to claim for your repair accordingly.

 

[zefarelly]

View attachment 114282

It could have been a Tomahawk.