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Crash Recovery can take
physical, mental
and financial toll on riders
by Duke Breitenbach
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
o Crash site issues
o Law enforcement issues
o Emergency medical care
o Legal advice
o Follow up medical care
o Documentation
o Physical/Mental recovery
o “Victim” support
o Florida's NO FAULT insurance
o Obtaining an attorney
o Civil proceedings
o 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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