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Duke Breitenbach
Physical/Mental Recovery
The following sections deal with your physical and emotional recovery and your evaluation of the process. I emphasize the need to document the entire crash process.
These notes will be invaluable if you cannot come to a reasonable settlement with the insurance companies.
Physical/Mental recovery
Depending on the severity of the crash, the physical recovery can take from weeks to years.
For crashes involving a motor vehicle, the period is likely to an extended period of time for treatment, procedures and therapy. Furthermore, the recovery may not be 100% for all of your injuries.
Your documentation plays a key role when it comes to an eventual settlement. Do not leave it up to memory, it gets very hazy after a long period of time. Write the details down as they are happening.
If your injuries are serious and you need extensive medical care, it is important that you keep a record of these events.
If you are out of work for a period of time, this needs to be documented.
The insurance companies involved will evaluate records of your medical teams from prior to the crash and those that are a result of the crash. Make sure they are accurate and reflect an objective evaluation of your conditions.
For the physical events that I participate in on a regular basis—swim, bike, run—I established pre-crash levels of time, distance and frequency BEFORE values.
For the first year, I recorded AFTER values on a monthly basis. AFTER levels were recorded at 3- and then 6-month intervals as the time period extended.
These regularly recorded values provided an objective documentation of the physical recovery process.
Pain is an inherent part of a crash. Hopefully, the recovery process will include the elimination of all physical pain resulting from the crash. I made up a table of all the areas injured as a result of my crash. I assigned a pain or discomfort levels for each area BEFORE the crash.
I evaluated and documented these levels at the same intervals noted above for the physical limitations. I used a scale of 0 to 10 to indicate the severity of the pain.
- Several things should be noted.
I did have some pre-existing conditions
- One area required surgical intervention
- All areas did not return to BEFORE levels
- Most of the medical and therapy treatments are not shown in this table
As stated earlier, these self-evaluations must be as objective as possible. Do not over state the effects of an injury, but do not avoid dealing with an issue that may be a permanent injury or loss of capability.
The Legal community will request your medical records from before the crash from your medical providers to determine pre-existing conditions.
Mental recovery is an issue that you and your medical team must address. A simple example is, are you willing to continue your enjoyment of bicycling?
I did not have a problem with this, but I do get a bit tense when I hear a large diesel truck behind me. As in physical and pain recovery, document any issues you have and whether they were resolved.
Lesson 18 – In summary, fairly and thoroughly document the physical, pain, and mental recovery processes.
Consider the need for long-term care and/or medication that may be required to treat your crash injuries. There could be a significant cost for this long-term treatment. Make sure you fully evaluate the long-term implications of the crash injuries. For my crash, that includes a significant amount of discomfort on a daily basis in my right shoulder and both ankles.
Lesson 19 – Do not rush into a quick settlement. Make sure all of the long-term effects of your crash have been addressed.
Victim support
For this article, I consider the bicyclist as the victim, since in my case an inattentive truck driver caused the crash.
However, there are instances where the crash is a result of careless or inattentive bicyclists and he/she is the cause of the crash. Most of the issues here are applicable in either case.
If you have not been involved in auto or bicycle crashes the solution process can be daunting. Once you are in the recovery process, the medical treatment is fairly well defined, but the legal, insurance and emotional issue solutions are not nearly as well understood.
It was at this point that I got in touch with FBA. Several phone conversations with then executive director Carol Wilson were very helpful in putting my experience into perspective. She provided me with additional information on possible contacts within the state that could provide assistance in resolving my outstanding issues.
For me this included suggestions for legal representation in Lake County and avenues to research what I thought were inappropriate actions by the Florida Highway Patrol.
FBA is in the process of developing a more structured Crash Assistance program. If you are involved in a bicycle crash, do not hesitate to call FBA for information.
Lesson 20 – Use FBA resources to help with your crash recovery process.
I would certainly encourage you to talk with other bicyclists that have experienced bicycle crashes. They have been through the process and can provide valuable information.
This goes beyond just comparing injuries. They may well have positive recommendations for medical care providers and legal assistance. This is another valid reason to contact and support your local bicycle clubs and bicycle shops.
Lesson 21 – Obtain information and advice from the bicycling community.
An example from my incident was the issue of Florida's No Fault insurance. My insurance agent was unaware that it applied to bicyclists, but the owner of our local bicycle shop in Bradenton was well acquainted with this provision of Florida law.
The Florida No Fault insurance issue will be discussed in the next article. It took patience and determination during the four-year process, but I am hopeful some of these lessons will be helpful for others.
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