I was waiting to cross the road and stood on the road between two parked cars, one was just to my right, one was about 5 metres to my left.
Car on left started to creep forwards then suddenly shot forwards at about 10MPH crushing me between it and the other parked car.
Full ambulance, spinal board etc etc. Turns out I'm just badly bruised. A testament to the relative softness of modern bumpers I guess.
Police said driver's foot slipped and got caught between pedals so it's an accident. No further action.
I'm not into sueing anything that moves, but I plan to claim for visits to an osteopath in hope that it'll give me best chance of good recovery. May also end up with some money for the trauma of it I guess.
I wondered if anyone had any thoughts or experience?
Pffffttt..... i thought there were no accidents where vehicles were involved anymore, coppers don't go out to RTA's nowadays, they are RTI's... accident implies no one is to blame, incident means someone is, if it had been a kid, or a fit lass ith big knockers i bet the driver would be falling down the stairs at the nick right now :)
Check if the missus has recently increased your life insurance?
I certainly wouldn't call it an accident, the driver wasn't in proper control of the vehicle and your injuries were the result, it was a negligent act.
I have no wish to encourage the ambulance chasing claims outfits but I think you are being too generous in not considering claiming for both your injury and distress, this is no fake whiplash incident.
The driver shouldn't be able to escape the consequences of their actions so lightly and an extra 2k for you on the insurance claim should focus their attention on foot placement and slippy shoe scenarios in future.
In your place I'd be contacting a local solicitor with experience in injury claims and a no win no fee policy to fund my next holiday.
My first priority is to see an osteopath and claim for that, will have to see what happens as regards any other compensation or whatever once I've started the ball rolling.
An osteopath is not the best course of action. They are right up there with homeopaths. If you want to get better you need to visit a physiotherapist. Having suffered a spinal injury in a motor accident I tried an osteopath - a complete waste of time. A decent physiotherapist[1] was able to provide a series of exercises that restored full mobility.
[1] Decent in this case meant a physiotherapist who treated soldiers with spinal injuries returning from Afghanistan.
Indeed, one of the least well known physiotherapists in the UK used by both= UK & USA Olympic teams and military alike, had 2 comments re other physios= .
#1 - "If I hear you sigh with impatience, you can work down the massage par= lour".
#2 - "80% of physios should work in a massage parlour because they are not = responsible for the patient's improvement and merely massage & collect a ch= eck".
She was utterly ferocious, shy of publicity but exceptional.
I would add a #3 - If the physio talks incessantly about property portfolio= s and has a pile of brochures selling you junk on commission, find someone = else. Likewise if they want a long series of private therapy after the NHS = ends and achieve little (see note #1 & #2).
There are specific exercises for certain injuries and they WORK ***IF*** yo= u do the exercises. The key problem for physios is so many patients just ta= ke the exercise program sheet and "hold it against their leg" expecting it = to work. You HAVE to do the exercises, as advised, even if it causes disco= mfort initially (and give them feedback if more than that). Otherwise you a= re wasting your own time, not improving - and wasting their time which can = make good physios bad.
Most frustrating occupation: at least people usually take the pills the doc= tors prescribes and would think it a bit bizarre not to, yet people do just= that with physios. Osteopaths are more esoteric and finding a good one of = those who is not a failed PhD in AstroPhysics for Blogs-Bollocks-&-Co unive= rsity is hard.
Physios linked to PFI hospitals tend to be carefully selected (eg, Canadian= run hospital AND recruitment side), with the result that staff elsewhere t= end to be the people they rejected. So can be a useful starting point.
cars, one was just to my right, one was about 5 metres to my left.
t 10MPH crushing me between it and the other parked car.
This perhaps explains why "Crossing the Road for Dummies" guides always say= _not_ to cross between parked cars. This being the case, an insurance co m= ight claim it was your fault for not obeying the rules. Personally, I _pref= er_ to cross between parked cars, as it always feels that they give some pr= otection from traffic sailing close to the kerb, but I don't do it if it lo= oks like one of them is about to drive off.
It's interesting that someone was prosecuted for a slip of the foot. When a= friend of mine was knocked off his pushbike and flung over the bonnet of a= car emerging from a drive in front of him, all he got from plod was the ol= d "That's a civil matter, cur."
Well it depends how you define a parked car. The driver was sat in it. Ther= e were double yellow lines. Don't know if engine was running.=20
I've always preferred to cross between parked cars as you get some protecti= on from the moving traffic being behind a solid metal obstacle (a car). I k= ept as far as possible from the car that eventually hit me - if I'd been in= the middle of the gap it would presumably have knocked me over, then run o= ver me.
from the moving traffic being behind a solid metal obstacle (a car). I kept as far as possible from the car that eventually hit me - if I'd been in the middle of the gap it would presumably have knocked me over, then run over me.
Its a poor idea.
You are in a crush zone and crush injuries kill people.
You can't see as well as on a clear road.
The drivers can't see you. A good driver will see you looking like you want to cross and will make allowances for what you might do if they can see you.
You have nowhere to go if you notice something bad happening.
I know someone who had a similar thing happen in a supermarket carpark. Years later she is having to use a wheelchair. Make sure that you consider any long term implications from any underlying damage.
The OP has a right not to be driven into, although in those circumstances I expect that in future he will take a step back onto the pavement and look elsewhere.
I strongly suggest that the OP gets legal advice immediately. I can't recommend a solicitor, but someone on uk.legal.moderated will.
I've contacted a solicitor who is a member of the Association of Personal I= njury Lawyers. He advises that there is no rush, we should wait and see how= I am in about three weeks. At that point we can decide whether it's worth = them handling it or whether it would be more appropriate for me to simply a= pproach the driver's insurance company myself and see what they offer me.
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