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Duke Breitenbach
Getting the Right Legal Advice
Legal advice and follow-up medical care may come in a different order depending on the severity of the crash. I was fortunate that I did not need immediate follow-up medical care.
At the time of the accident I had no knowledge of Florida NO FAULT laws regarding medical care.
Other Florida cyclists told me that a cyclist’s automobile insurance would cover medical expenses up to the limits of the policy. Beyond those limits major medical insurance would kick in. My automobile insurance agent was not aware of this provision!
It took some persuasion to get him to call corporate and confirm that they were responsible for my medical bills up to the policy limits.
Lesson 12 – At the Emergency Room or hospital provide them with your automobile insurance information.
Should you be involved in a crash with a motorized vehicle, contact your automobile insurance company.
Lesson 13 – Make sure your automobile insurance agent and company are aware of your coverage while you are on your bicycle. Notify them if you have a crash involving another vehicle.
I mistakenly contacted the insurance company of the truck driver. I got a very cool reception from them with a comment to the effect they would not pay medical bills and since I had done no damage to the truck, it was their opinion that there had not been a crash.
At this point I felt the need to obtain legal advice.
Legal advice
I did not have an attorney that I use in Florida, so I asked other cyclists and reviewed several cycling newsletters.
I found another cyclist who was an attorney and represented cycling crash victims.
There is a standard representation contract that you will need to sign. The attorney works on a contingency basis, they get a percentage of the final award. Their percentage is based on how far the case goes in the legal system.
With the papers signed, the attorney took over contacting the insurance companies and provided other recommendations.
The first requirement was to document, document, and document all of your injury related issues.
This includes pictures of injuries and equipment as well as a detailed written record of your condition, recovery progress and medical treatment.
If the crash site is not in your local area, you may need to find a primary or second attorney who practices in the county where the crash occurred.
You can get a referral from your primary attorney or you can do some research on your own.
I was fortunate to find an attorney who practices in Lake County and who had worked with FBA on the Ray Howland case [While standing on the shoulder of a road in Mount Dora during the 1999 bike festival, Ray Howland was struck and killed by a motorist. — ed.].
He handles personal injury cases, is a cyclist, and fully understood that my primary objective was to recover my physical abilities as a first priority and material recovery was a second priority. If the insurance company does not come to a reasonable and timely settlement, you will have a lot of interaction with your attorney.
Lesson 14 – Make sure the attorney you select is familiar with and has experience in bicycling legal issues, is, preferably, a bicyclist, and can work with your priorities
Follow-up medical care
The next step was to find follow-up medical care. Again, at the time I did not have a local physician, so the attorney recommended someone who handled injury cases in my area.
Without going into a lot of detail, it was a DO who handled injury cases and rendered victim-favorable reports.
My assessment was that the report might be favorable, but the care would be less than what I thought would be adequate.
I opted to switch to an orthopedic physician. From this point forward I received quality medical care. The medical care required diagnosis and treatment by the orthopedic physician and therapy and rehabilitation over time.
Beware of the insurance industry.
All of my care and rehabilitation was at the direction of the orthopedic physician, but my insurance company did not pay all of the bills. There was a disagreement between the physician’s office and rehabilitation providers with the insurance company regarding billing dates.
There is a 30-day regulation regarding billing for the care provided. I am convinced that the providers billed well within the 30 days, but the insurance company returned the documents for additional information and then claimed the second submittal exceed the 30-day limit. The end result was that I had to pay the portion of the disputed medical bills.
Lesson 15 – Get quality medical care
Lesson 16 – Discuss the billing procedure with your medical care providers.
This may now be resolved, but having the bills sent with a return receipt required assures confirmation of the billing date.
If all of this sounds complicated, it is. My experience shows that the insurance industry is not your friend when you are filing a claim.
Documentation
Documentation included taking pictures of injuries and the equipment and retaining all of the damaged equipment and clothing. I even returned to the crash site and took pictures of the road where the crash took place. Document on a daily basis your treatment, recovery and impact on all of your life’s activities.
As an example, I have a heart condition for which regular exercise is a very desirable, but I was unable to do most of those activities for an extended period of time.
I kept detailed records of dates that I could resume my activities. For the swim, bike, run activities this included distances and times.
An important part of the process was to grade the pain levels at each injured area on a weekly, monthly, and eventually quarterly basis. Since the crash resolution took over FOUR YEARS, there was a very complete and comprehensive diary that was available for the discovery, deposition and negotiation processes.
This documentation serves as a reference for your use during the proceedings, so you do not have to rely on your memory, which can get blurry over four years. There will be more on these legal processes later.
Lesson 17 – Document in detail all of your injuries, treatments, recovery or non-recovery, level of pain and limitations on a regular basis.
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