Compensation options?

I've been mulling over whether to write this post, given the
unfortunate tendency of threads to veer off course here of late. But
I'm in a position where I really need intelligent advice, so I'm going
to give it a go. Please, let's not turn this into yet another
pointless, endless h*lm*t thread.

At 4:30 a.m. on a morning about a month ago I left home to ride to
work. As always I had my blinkies and my headlight on, and as always I
was wearing a helmet and a reflective vest. It's a ride I've made
literally thousands of times in this area at the same time of day
without a significant mishap. Weather was good, traffic light to
nonexistent. I remember one traffic light that I usually hit green
being red. I waited it out and continued on my usual route.
And then I was waking up in the dark, in great pain, with half a
dozen firefighters and paramedics working on me. Next thing I remember
I was being loaded into an ambulance.
My son later returned to the scene and recovered my (undamaged) bike
and trailer from the man whose dog apparently caused the crash. The man
told my son that he took the pooch, unleashed, out to do its morning
business, and it ran into the street in front of me. That's all I know
about what happened to me. I have no personal memory at all of the
crash or anything in the mile of riding before it.
After three weeks in hospital and rehab, I am currently homebound
with multiple broken bones, including a finger, an arm, some ribs, and a
femoral neck, which now has three #8 stainless steel screws in it. This
plus a badly bruised shoulder and the inevitable road rash. I'm
probably not going to be able to get back to work for another month. I
am fortunate that my h*lm*t minimized my head injuries. All I got above
the neck was a minor concussion. (A single drop of subdural bleeding,
they tell me.) My glasses didn't break or even come off. I still have
some minor dizziness if I make an extreme head movement, but that should
pass with time.
My prognosis is for a full, but slow, recovery. I probably won't
ride a bike again until winter is over, though. For the time being, my
two-wheeler is a walker.
I'm going to be okay financially, sort of. I have enough sick pay to
cover all of the time I'm missing, although if I hadn't used it for
this, I could have collected it when I retire. I have reasonably good
medical, and a "flexible spending" account with enough in it to pay most
of what the insurance doesn't cover. But it's still money I earned that
I could have spent on other things if this hadn't arisen. And not
surprisingly, my h*lm*t, gloves, and the clothes I was wearing are a
total loss.
So here's my question: it seems to me that the dog owner is liable
for what happened. There is a leash law. OTOH, I am loath to sue.
Years of delays and postponements just to see some lawyer end up with
80% doesn't strike me as justice. But I'm wondering if I might be able
to file some kind of claim with the guy's homeowner's insurance.
Anybody got an informed opinion on my options?


Thanks,
Bill

__o | Get a bicycle. You will not regret it, if you live.
_`\(,_ |
(_)/ (_) | -- Mark Twain

Bill, suing for what you are owed does not make you a bad person. I think
that is what is at the root of your hesitation. We have more or less been
conditioned to think that a good person never sues someone. You have been
injured and insurance is there to "make you whole" so to speak. Use it for
its intended purpose. Otherwise, only the insurance companies profit. And
where did you get the idea that the lawyer would get 80% anyway? I repeat:
recovering your losses through a lawsuit or insurance claim does not make
you a bad person!

You are, after all, the injured party!

I hope you get well rapidly. No one deserves to get injured by a stupid dog
when the owner is behaving like an idiot. Take care of yourself both
physically and financially.

Pat in TX

"PatTX" wrote: Bill, suing for what you are owed does
not make you a bad person. (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
You may not have to sue. This looks like an open-and-shut case to me. If
you file a claim with the dog owner's insurance, they will probable offer
you a settlement. If you think it's not enough, then consult an attorney
about suing. Be aware that, if you get a settlement, whether by agreeing or
suing, your health insurance provider may very well expect to be repaid for
their expenses. Any amount you get for pain and suffering is yours, but
your medical expenses would likely go to them, since the owner actually
caused them to have a loss. Weeks in the hospital is not a trivial cost.

It seems logical to me that your employer could also have an action against
him for your lost time, if he wants to pursue it.

In article ,
"PatTX" wrote:

Bill, suing for what you are owed does not make you a bad person. I think
that is what is at the root of your hesitation. We have more or less been
conditioned to think that a good person never sues someone. You have been
injured and insurance is there to "make you whole" so to speak. Use it for
its intended purpose. Otherwise, only the insurance companies profit. And
where did you get the idea that the lawyer would get 80% anyway? I repeat:
recovering your losses through a lawsuit or insurance claim does not make
you a bad person!

You are, after all, the injured party!

I hope you get well rapidly. No one deserves to get injured by a stupid dog
when the owner is behaving like an idiot. Take care of yourself both
physically and financially.

Pat in TX

What Pat said.

If it makes you feel any better, yes, this gent's homeowner's insurance
is very likely to cover him for injuries such as you suffered at his
hands (or in this case, at the hands of his negligently controlled
chattel*).

Also, the lawyer will probably only take 20% for the process of sending
a demand letter to the dog owner.

The real injustice is that the dog will likely not have to pay a penny!

*I'm not a lawyer, just a guy with an English degree. There are so few
good opportunities to use "chattel" in a sentence.

--
Ryan Cousineau http://www.wiredcola.com/
"In other newsgroups, they killfile trolls."
"In rec.bicycles.racing, we coach them."

On Oct 7, 3:37*pm, wrote:
* *I've been mulling over whether to write this post, given the
unfortunate tendency of threads to veer off course here of late. *But
I'm in a position where I really need intelligent advice, so I'm going
to give it a go. *Please, let's not turn this into yet another
pointless, endless h*lm*t thread.

* *At 4:30 a.m. on a morning about a month ago I left home to ride to
work. *As always I had my blinkies and my headlight on, and as always I
was wearing a helmet and a reflective vest. *It's a ride I've made
literally thousands of times in this area at the same time of day
without a significant mishap. *Weather was good, traffic light to
nonexistent. *I remember one traffic light that I usually hit green
being red. *I waited it out and continued on my usual route.
* *And then I was waking up in the dark, in great pain, with half a
dozen firefighters and paramedics working on me. *Next thing I remember
I was being loaded into an ambulance.
* *My son later returned to the scene and recovered my (undamaged) bike
and trailer from the man whose dog apparently caused the crash. *The man
told my son that he took the pooch, unleashed, out to do its morning
business, and it ran into the street in front of me. *That's all I know
about what happened to me. *I have no personal memory at all of the
crash or anything in the mile of riding before it.
* *After three weeks in hospital and rehab, I am currently homebound
with multiple broken bones, including a finger, an arm, some ribs, and a
femoral neck, which now has three #8 stainless steel screws in it. *This
plus a badly bruised shoulder and the inevitable road rash. *I'm
probably not going to be able to get back to work for another month. *I
am fortunate that my h*lm*t minimized my head injuries. *All I got above
the neck was a minor concussion. *(A single drop of subdural bleeding,
they tell me.) *My glasses didn't break or even come off. *I still have
some minor dizziness if I make an extreme head movement, but that should
pass with time.
* *My prognosis is for a full, but slow, recovery. *I probably won't
ride a bike again until winter is over, though. *For the time being, my
two-wheeler is a walker.
* *I'm going to be okay financially, sort of. *I have enough sick pay to
cover all of the time I'm missing, although if I hadn't used it for
this, I could have collected it when I retire. *I have reasonably good
medical, and a "flexible spending" account with enough in it to pay most
of what the insurance doesn't cover. *But it's still money I earned that
I could have spent on other things if this hadn't arisen. *And not
surprisingly, my h*lm*t, gloves, and the clothes I was wearing are a
total loss.
* *So here's my question: *it seems to me that the dog owner is liable
for what happened. *There is a leash law. *OTOH, I am loath to sue. *
Years of delays and postponements just to see some lawyer end up with
80% doesn't strike me as justice. *But I'm wondering if I might be able
to file some kind of claim with the guy's homeowner's insurance.
* *Anybody got an informed opinion on my options?

Thanks,
Bill

* *__o * | Get a bicycle. You will not regret it, if you live.
*_`\(,_ *|
(_)/ (_) | * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * -- Mark Twain


Obviously since you are not at fault you should not have to pay for
medical care out of your savings. I don't know if you can make a
claim to the dog owners insurance company, but the dog owner certainly
can (if he has insurance). Have you spoken to him? It may be
handled without the services of an attorney.

wrote:
I've been mulling over whether to write this post, given the
unfortunate tendency of threads to veer off course here of late. But
I'm in a position where I really need intelligent advice, so I'm going
to give it a go. Please, let's not turn this into yet another
pointless, endless h*lm*t thread.

At 4:30 a.m. on a morning about a month ago I left home to ride to
work. As always I had my blinkies and my headlight on, and as always I
was wearing a helmet and a reflective vest. It's a ride I've made
literally thousands of times in this area at the same time of day
without a significant mishap. Weather was good, traffic light to
nonexistent. I remember one traffic light that I usually hit green
being red. I waited it out and continued on my usual route.
And then I was waking up in the dark, in great pain, with half a
dozen firefighters and paramedics working on me. Next thing I remember
I was being loaded into an ambulance.
My son later returned to the scene and recovered my (undamaged) bike

Yay! No damage to the bicycle!

and trailer from the man whose dog apparently caused the crash. The man
told my son that he took the pooch, unleashed, out to do its morning
business, and it ran into the street in front of me.

**** happens. (Sorry, but I can not resist a pun.)

That's all I know
about what happened to me. I have no personal memory at all of the
crash or anything in the mile of riding before it.
After three weeks in hospital and rehab, I am currently homebound
with multiple broken bones, including a finger, an arm, some ribs, and a
femoral neck, which now has three #8 stainless steel screws in it. This
plus a badly bruised shoulder and the inevitable road rash. I'm
probably not going to be able to get back to work for another month. I
am fortunate that my h*lm*t minimized my head injuries. All I got above
the neck was a minor concussion. (A single drop of subdural bleeding,
they tell me.) My glasses didn't break or even come off. I still have
some minor dizziness if I make an extreme head movement, but that should
pass with time.
My prognosis is for a full, but slow, recovery. I probably won't
ride a bike again until winter is over, though. For the time being, my
two-wheeler is a walker.
I'm going to be okay financially, sort of. I have enough sick pay to
cover all of the time I'm missing, although if I hadn't used it for
this, I could have collected it when I retire. I have reasonably good
medical, and a "flexible spending" account with enough in it to pay most
of what the insurance doesn't cover. But it's still money I earned that
I could have spent on other things if this hadn't arisen. And not
surprisingly, my h*lm*t, gloves, and the clothes I was wearing are a
total loss.
So here's my question: it seems to me that the dog owner is liable
for what happened. There is a leash law. OTOH, I am loath to sue.
Years of delays and postponements just to see some lawyer end up with
80% doesn't strike me as justice. But I'm wondering if I might be able
to file some kind of claim with the guy's homeowner's insurance.

The dog owner is morally responsible for compensation. As for legal
options, many attorneys offer a free initial compensation. I suggest
taking advantage of that.

Anybody got an informed opinion on my options?

Recumbent trike with suspension, so you can ride without putting
sustained loads on your injured parts. Also makes a much better dog ram.

--
Tom Sherman - 42.435731,-83.985007
If my posts in general annoy or offend, please kill-file.

"Tom Sherman" wrote: (clip) The dog owner is morally responsible for
compensation. As for legal
options, many attorneys offer a free initial compensation. (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Tom, your needle must be stuck. (Now there's an expression rooted in the
past.) The second occurrence of "compensation" should read "consultation."

Leo Lichtman wrote:
"Tom Sherman" wrote: (clip) The dog owner is morally responsible for
compensation. As for legal
options, many attorneys offer a free initial compensation. (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Tom, your needle must be stuck. (Now there's an expression rooted in the
past.) The second occurrence of "compensation" should read "consultation."


NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Discussing the sonic quality of vinyl records versus more recently
developed recording and playback mediums is worse than any h*lm*t
discussion.

--
Tom Sherman - 42.435731,-83.985007
If my posts in general annoy or offend, please kill-file.

In article ,
Tom Sherman writes:
Leo Lichtman wrote:
"Tom Sherman" wrote: (clip) The dog owner is morally responsible for
compensation. As for legal
options, many attorneys offer a free initial compensation. (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Tom, your needle must be stuck. (Now there's an expression rooted in the
past.) The second occurrence of "compensation" should read "consultation."


NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Discussing the sonic quality of vinyl records versus more recently
developed recording and playback mediums is worse than any h*lm*t
discussion.

Vacuum tube amplifiers sound better too.

And properly built infinite-baffle speaks can blow yer roof off.

Anyways, there's all this dollar store Halloween junk that's
currently being purveyed. Some of it involves skulls etc that
light up.I just might stick some of it on my bike for
illumination purposes at night. Permanently.


cheers, & parametric equalizer,
Tom

--
Nothing is safe from me.
I'm really at:
tkeats curlicue vcn dot bc dot ca

On Oct 7, 4:30*pm, "Leo Lichtman" wrote:
"PatTX" wrote: *Bill, suing for what you are owed does

not make you a bad person. (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
You may not have to sue. *This looks like an open-and-shut case to me. *If
you file a claim with the dog owner's insurance, they will probable offer
you a settlement. *If you think it's not enough, then consult an attorney
about suing.

Perhaps I'm paranoid, but before I signed a legal document with an
insurance
company, I'd make damn sure I understood what I was signing.

That would probably require a lawyer.