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Cyclist dragged 20 metres along road by partially sighted motorist still battling with insurers

The driver only stopped when other motorists forced him to pull over...

A cyclist who was driven over by a partially sighted motorist has described her year-long struggle to get the driver’s insurer, Aviva, to pay out.

Joanna Davies was dragged along the road for 20 metres by the elderly driver, who was found to have such poor eyesight that his car was impounded by the police on the spot.

Despite him admitting liability at the time, being successfully prosecuted for driving without due care and attention and later banned, Joanna says Aviva’s appointed lawyers have so far refused to accept that she needs a new bike or to even replace the clothes the paramedics had to cut off her at the scene.

Had Joanna been in her car instead of her new Dutch bike, she thinks her claim would have been paid months ago, The Guardian reports.

She says her solicitor told her this week that Aviva has offered just over £5,000, less than half of the £11,000 she has claimed.

If it goes to court she faces another year of waiting.

Aviva has denied it is stalling or refusing to pay her claim, and has pledged to conclude the matter.

> Insurer advises motorists to leave cyclists 1 metre of space – when driving behind them

Joanna said: “I was cycling home on my new electric bike of three weeks when a driver ran me over from behind. 

“My bike and I were pulled under his car. A witness later described how he had carried on driving because he thought he had hit a traffic cone.”

Joanna blacked out for a few seconds with the initial impact.

“When I came to, I was being dragged along with my head inches from the rear wheel arch before I was able to free myself and roll away,” she says.

“The driver carried on another 30m with my bike under his car and only stopped when other motorists forced him to pull over. Had I not been wearing a helmet the worst could have happened, and it was the most unbelievably terrifying event.”

After the crash she hired the law firm Bott and Co to pursue a claim against Aviva to cover the cost of her bike, cyclewear and income while she was unable to work. 

The businesswoman, who runs the Gilded Teapot, a tea shop in Lymington, says she followed all the advice and kept a recovery diary, tracked everything she had to spend on taxis and trains while she was on crutches and took photos of her injuries. Her accountant calculated her loss of earnings.

“The driver’s insurance seem to think I’m fraudulent but I’ve sent absolutely everything which proves I’m not. I just don’t understand why this is happening.”

Aviva says: “We were very sorry to hear of the accident and the injuries Ms Davies sustained in her road traffic accident.

"We have reviewed the details of the claim and confirmed liability but are still awaiting basic information. We’re going to be in touch with Ms Davies’ solicitors to try to conclude this matter as quickly as possible.”

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26 comments

Avatar
grOg | 3 years ago
1 like

Drivers that are found to be medically unfit to hold a drivers licence should have their medical records checked; if their doctor is found to have been aware of the impediment to driving and failed in their duty to report to authorities, the doctor should be prosecuted.

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TriTaxMan | 3 years ago
3 likes

This doesn't surprise me at all.  It is typical insurance company BS, they delay as long as possible before making any payment.

During my claim against a driver who had pulled out of a junction in front of me, the insurance company (or more accurately their solicitors) dragged out the claim for 12 months before they paid.

Surprisingly it was precisely 7 days before we were due to go to court regarding the claim that they came back with an offer, having previously tried to pin a signficant portion of the blame on me, which my solicitors were able to refute and it ended up being 100% the fault of the driver.

The only people that make money out of these lengthy claim processes are the lawyers.  I mean if a cyclist uses a no win no fee lawyer and they win their case the lawyer will typically be awarded costs which in many cases will easily be £2-£5k for 10 hours worth of work.  And yet insurers will happily argue black is white to try and shave a few hundred quid off a cyclists claim for compensation, but pay far more than that to the cyclists lawyers.

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Jetmans Dad replied to TriTaxMan | 3 years ago
1 like

TriTaxMan wrote:

 And yet insurers will happily argue black is white to try and shave a few hundred quid off a cyclists claim for compensation, but pay far more than that to the cyclists lawyers.

In this screwed up system of ours, it wouldn't surprise me if they can reinsure the legal costs, making it worth their while to fight it on the basis that they are not losing anything by doing so. 

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PRSboy | 3 years ago
3 likes

A friend is having quite a battle with Aviva over a claim. Plainly a slippery lot and I would never do business with them.

And what the actual fuck is a partially sighted driver doing at the wheel anyway?  Are they facing criminal charges?

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devPanda replied to PRSboy | 3 years ago
0 likes

"Despite him admitting liability at the time, being successfully prosecuted for driving without due care and attention and later banned"

From the article, it seems he has already been charged etc.

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grOg replied to devPanda | 3 years ago
1 like

I never read an article.. I just get outraged at the headline and go straight to comments and ask questions that reading the article may have answered.

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Billy1mate replied to PRSboy | 3 years ago
0 likes

It does say the driver was disqualified.

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AlsoSomniloquism | 3 years ago
6 likes

Doesn't bode well for the pet shop owner then. 

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S13SFC | 3 years ago
8 likes

I got taken out on a downhill last May by a coffin dodger who simply didn't see me.

After 12 months of back and forwards, it's gone from them accepting 0% liability to 80%, which my brief says to take.

It's been a slog but they eventually caved in and now all the medicals etc are done it's now just waiting for the final settlement.

It was a case of compiling as much data as possible, which I did, and putting it in front of them in a way that illustrates perfectly that if it goes to court that they'll lose.

I was relentless and TBF, so has been my brief, who is also a roadie.

 

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eburtthebike replied to S13SFC | 3 years ago
8 likes

S13SFC wrote:

I got taken out on a downhill last May by a coffin dodger who simply didn't see me.

After 12 months of back and forwards, it's gone from them accepting 0% liability to 80%, which my brief says to take.

It's been a slog but they eventually caved in and now all the medicals etc are done it's now just waiting for the final settlement.

It was a case of compiling as much data as possible, which I did, and putting it in front of them in a way that illustrates perfectly that if it goes to court that they'll lose.

I was relentless and TBF, so has been my brief, who is also a roadie.

Glad it's finally worked out for you.  The best thing to do is join CUK or another cycling club, as they have excellent, informed, experienced legal people on tap, who will quickly and efficiently sort out the delaying tactics of insurance companies.  The companies have learned that they might as well cough up when faced with them.

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Awavey replied to eburtthebike | 3 years ago
3 likes

yes my experience of insurance companies is they react to legal teams who they know will take them to the cleaners, and will stall, prevaricate, hope you get bored and go away to those they dont, and that even includes legal teams the big name insurers use too as alot of them use cheaper firms who just do the basics

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chineseJohn replied to eburtthebike | 3 years ago
7 likes

With my increased road riding (mainly utility) I think I need to sign up with CUK. If some idoit driver hits me, i don't want the stress of trying to battle the insurers

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eburtthebike replied to chineseJohn | 3 years ago
7 likes

chineseJohn wrote:

With my increased road riding (mainly utility) I think I need to sign up with CUK. If some idoit driver hits me, i don't want the stress of trying to battle the insurers

I've been knocked off three times, and CUK sorted things out every time, getting me substantially more in compensation that I would have got myself, and it's free to members.  Worth the membership on its own.

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iandusud replied to eburtthebike | 3 years ago
9 likes

eburtthebike wrote:

The best thing to do is join CUK or another cycling club, as they have excellent, informed, experienced legal people on tap, who will quickly and efficiently sort out the delaying tactics of insurance companies.  The companies have learned that they might as well cough up when faced with them.

+1 Not only does CUK membership give you access to legal support, CUK is also an organisation that campaigns and lobbys for the rights of cyclists in the UK and as such we all benefit from their advocacy. The more members they have the greater the financial resources they have to do this work. 

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Rik Mayals unde... replied to eburtthebike | 3 years ago
2 likes

I agree, I have been a member of Cycling UK for over 20 years, for that purpose.

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ChrisB200SX replied to eburtthebike | 3 years ago
2 likes

In my experience, with irrefutable GPS evidence and an in-depth report from the TRL proving the veracity of the data and that it matches the victim's story and absolutely disproves the driver's story... The insurers will still fight it tooth and nail to the very last in an attempt to avoid or reduce the claim, then offer at the 11th hour pn the eve of the court date to pay a proportion of the costs, lost earnings, compensation for loss of internal organs and broken bones, etc.
I think it took over 3 years in the end.

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grOg replied to ChrisB200SX | 3 years ago
1 like

This is typical of dealing with any organisation now; they all fight against claims, regardless of evidence; I've been fighting my government employer for over two years about accepting liability for a workplace injury; my local council engineer made an error in approving a stormwater plan, which resulted in a rectification bill of $10,000 - despite the engineer admitting his mistake, council legal is refusing to accept liability and compensate.

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eburtthebike | 3 years ago
9 likes

Well we all know what to do don't we; a consumer protest and never insure with Aviva, and if we already do, write to them explaining that we won't be renewing because of their appalling treatment of an injured cyclist.

It's time the law allowed for fines on insurance companies which deliberately delay payouts to injured parties.

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Hirsute replied to eburtthebike | 3 years ago
3 likes

Why do you think anyone else would be any different ?

Mungecrundle

"Had 2 minor claims against motorists. Axa were deliberately obstructive and seemed to rely on ignoring communication in the hope you would go away. Aviva paid out within a few days of submitting my claim."

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Mungecrundle replied to Hirsute | 3 years ago
2 likes

Can only think that my claims were so clear with video etc and the amounts paid out relatively trivial that it just wasn't worth the cost and effort on their part to drag it out.

Not to comment on the OP as such, but where claims are suspected of being inflated, as an insurance premium paying customer and probably shareholder via pension fund, I'm more than happy that such claims are properly investigated and challenged.

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Rapha Nadal replied to Hirsute | 3 years ago
1 like

Yeah, i was also paid to the tune of £7,500 by Aviva within a week of having my bike destroyed by their insured a number of years ago.  They also played ball during every step of the personal injury claim i made aswell but that took a year as is often the case.  

I don't think people actually realise how much work goes on in the background to validate claims and especially where there a combination of property damage & personal injury.

Motor insurance pays on an indemnity basis, not new for old, when it comes to third party damage so the offer which Aviva made could well be the value of the bike & clothing now.

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wycombewheeler replied to Rapha Nadal | 3 years ago
1 like

Rapha Nadal wrote:

Yeah, i was also paid to the tune of £7,500 by Aviva within a week of having my bike destroyed by their insured a number of years ago.  They also played ball during every step of the personal injury claim i made aswell but that took a year as is often the case.  

I don't think people actually realise how much work goes on in the background to validate claims and especially where there a combination of property damage & personal injury.

Motor insurance pays on an indemnity basis, not new for old, when it comes to third party damage so the offer which Aviva made could well be the value of the bike & clothing now.

The insurer should be paying to restore the claimant to the pre accident condition. With used cars it is generally not difficult to find the car of the same model and age to replace the current car, and in fact drivers are generally happy to take the current fair value of the car to upgrade to a newer model. Replacing a bike like for like is less easy. And most cyclists are not in the habbit of upgrading their bike every 3 years to a newer model, as the car manufacturers have managed to trick drivers into doing.

 

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ktache replied to wycombewheeler | 3 years ago
0 likes

The second hand market for bicycles is no way as developed as with motor vehicles, one of the reasons my bicycle theft and crash replacement insurance is so expensive is that it is new for old.

 

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Captain Badger | 3 years ago
8 likes

Thought they'd hit a cone, but continued to drive?
Jesus

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Xenophon2 | 3 years ago
14 likes

Stalling, waiting, denying the claim and when the latter's absolutely impossible, making a lowball offer and hoping the other party will choose that over another protracted court battle.  Then, when the offer is declined they'll whip out the calculator if it looks like it's going to court, calculate the cost of litigating the matter and they'll settle, certainly for damages worth only 11k GBP.

Despicable but unfortunately standard operating procedure.  

 

 

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Captain Badger replied to Xenophon2 | 3 years ago
5 likes
Xenophon2 wrote:

Stalling, waiting, denying the claim and when the latter's absolutely impossible, making a lowball offer and hoping the other party will choose that over another protracted court battle.  Then, when the offer is declined they'll whip out the calculator if it looks like it's going to court, calculate the cost of litigating the matter and they'll settle, certainly for damages worth only 11k GBP.

Despicable but unfortunately standard operating procedure.  

 

 

Not only as you've described, but when called out they blame the victim, saying they're still waiting information.
I hope the agent (s) making these decisions are able to head home with a warm sense of job satisfaction.

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