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Duke Breitenbach
Introduction: Crash Recovery can take physical, mental
and financial toll on riders
Most road cyclists eventually experience a crash and the resulting physical, mental and financial recovery process.
Hopefully they will be minor incidents that result in no more than a bit of road rash and minor discomfort. For some, however, a crash involves a more serious encounter with a motorized vehicle.
Not only is the injury likely to be more serious, but also it significantly compounds the recovery process.
I was in a crash involving a tow truck in Lake County in January 1999. I was fortunate that my physical injuries were healed within a year.
Negotiating Florida’s legal system, however, has been a four-year process.
Even so, it’s a procedure that must be pursued by every victim of a bike crash involving a motorized vehicle. As I think back on the entire incident, I see many areas that may be of interest to other Florida cyclists. So over the next few issues of the Messenger I will lay them out for your inspection.
“Recovery” in this series will include
- Crash site issues
- Law enforcement issues
- Emergency medical care
- Legal advice
- Follow up medical care
- Documentation
- Physical/Mental recovery
- “Victim” support
- Florida's NO FAULT insurance
- Obtaining an attorney
- Civil proceedings
- Settlement
From my experience there appears to be an obvious bias against bicyclists in Florida from law enforcement and the legal system. A prime example of this is the case of Ray Howland, a fellow cyclist, who was killed in Lake County in October 1998.
Ray was off his bicycle and standing next to the road—legally, a pedestrian—when he was struck and instantly killed by a motorist. A detailed account of this incident, “Accident at Mount Dora,” was published in the May 1999 issue of Bicycling magazine.
The final outcome was that Ray was dead, and the motorist received a couple of points that he could work off by attending a class. The family decided to not pursue civil charges.
It is my opinion that the lack of a subsequent civil suit was not in the best interest of cyclists.
Since it clearly was a case of wrongful death, the motorist’s insurance company would readily have reached a financial settlement.
Although a financial settlement can never compensate for a life, it makes a clear statement to law enforcement, the legal system and the insurance industry.
For example, with the family’s consent a representative could have been appointed to handle the legal procedures with the proceeds used to promote bicycle awareness, education and safety in Florida.
Obviously the first step is to avoid an incident. Abiding by the Florida Statutes (which consider bicycles as vehicles), taking the League of American Bicyclists classes and using good judgment can help keep you from experiencing a crash.
Like a pedestrian, a cyclist is “unprotected.” They do not have a “steel box” that surrounds them and provides a margin of safety.
There is no equivalent of a fender bender in bicycle crashes; the cyclist is going to sustain some degree of injury—especially when the crash involves a motorized vehicle.
If you are an average cyclist, you don’t ride around thinking about the various aspects of recovery until you are the victim or an observer of an incident.
But being aware of recovery issues and doing some planning can help if you are involved in a bicycle crash. So follow along for the next several issues of the Messenger wherein I will attempt to share some of the wisdom I’ve gained during my four-year adventure through the medical and legal recovery process.
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