What's new

Taxi accident

Eric, did you get my PM with the contact info?

I guess for the rest of you who may need a lawyer, You can't hurt from this knowledge... Kengo Miyamoto's been my lawyer for my ongoing mess of a bicycle accident, and he's been fantastic so far. His English is great, so you'd be fine without a translater, unless you need to take the stand offically.

http://www.m-y-law.jp/eng/people/k_miyamoto.html
 
Not worth opening a new threat, but I got left hooked by a taxi on Tuesday. Tried to swerve around right, but too harsh braking on his side - smashed into the tail-light with my hand and lever. Why do these things break so easily? Still magically didn't go down on the tarmac - blame it on the bikepolo. Nasty cut on my index finger though, 2 hour operation with stitches. Went to police afterwards and the driver agreed to 100% cover all costs. Stitches will come out next week and if all goes well, I'll be back on the bike in a week.

Couple of worries though:
1. I might be left with
a: scarring
b: less neural feedback
C: less skin tissue for gripping things firmly
How would one make a claim about these not clearly measurable issues?

2. Anybody can recommend a shop for damage assessment based on positive experience? My left ultegra 9spd lever is shot, but maybe some more damage to handlebar, stem, fork, frame...

Thanks for any advice and be careful out there!
 
Gunnar - you're lucky that's all you walked away with!

On ur bike -

1) Make sure they check fork alingment and headtube - especially on the steel bikes, they can get 'set' a bit out of wack in these. So far I haven't seen ANY shop in Japan outside, perhaps Kalavinka, that actually has a field alignment bench. So , maybe I'd take your bike to Kalavinka so he can throw it on the table and check it properly.

2) If you hit really hard - you may have tweaked your headset, too - again - need to throw it on a table - and remove the cups and check 3D alignment.

3) If you replace one lever - just replace both. Might as well upgrade to the 10sp as well. The 9sp is very old.

Good luck with your finger rehab! FYI I have so many scars, athritis and injury to my hands from years of working in the woods (chainsaws, axes and that sort of thing), plus wrestling and martialarts (bending, breaking, tweaking) - but somehow, they seem to still work pretty good. I'd rather have a slightly numb finger, btw, than a smunched knee!
 
Sorry to hear about the crash Gunjira. My local LBS was very helpful with drawing up a list of bike damage from my crash and signing off on it. In addition to Tim's suggestions, don't forget things don't have to be totaled to be included. My computer screen was scratched, for example, making it hard to read the numbers, so I claimed that. Also, any parts that manufacturers recommend replacing after an accident--helmet most obviously--should be included. I also claimed a fork replacement; despite there being no visible damage, it and the front wheel took the majority of the hit.

Anyway, as I said, my LBS helped with the list, and any of the parts I did replace I bought through him.
 
A JP friend told me to be careful cuz taxi's have a habit of gettin in an accident and then just leaving (or not stoppin I guess).

One of the cars that came terribly close on my Emperor's Palace trip was a taxi (either a pro or idiot driver, I don't know which, or maybe both).
 
Here is what I have learned with my accident.

Make sure to get everything written down and organized neatly. I'm still working out the settlement with my crash and I can already tell the insurance company is going to try and skew my words to make this seem less severe. If you Japanese isn't perfect have a Japanese friend there to help you. Don't let the taxi company get away with anything. I talked with a lawyer and he told me, like phil said, include everything. any scratches, if something feels different, or if it has the potential of being damaged but you can't see it. When asking for a settlement on your pain and suffering, start high. Most insurance companies have an allowance of around ¥1,000,000 before they will decide to go to court about your claim. Of course don't expect to receive that much but just don't be afraid to start high. Also, let them make the first offer on money, and don't rush them. If you keep asking them for money it makes your position weaker. It was their fault and let them know it. Their first offer will be low so when you reply, hit them will everything you got. Show them repair estimates, pictures, damages you received and any receipts for the taxi ride you took back from the hospital, medication, lost work wages, etc. If you need to get rehabilitation on you hand, you can claim for mental stress (apparently seeing the doctor every week is stressful). Lawyers, insurance companies and judges all have a little book that gives an average of what you can claim. When I went to the lawyer, his book said I should receive about 300,000 just for a month of seeing the doctor. Finally, insurance companies are terrified of going to court so if they are being hardliners say that you will get your lawyer involved if necessary. That should soften them up a bit.
 
Someone posted early that Y's road will do a crash claim form and write a letter explaining the costs.....search backwards and you'll find it.
 
Agree with Eric. Personally, I'd just ask them for 1m yen and be done with it as an 'internal issue'. Otherwise - you will have to deal with this for several months. If you really think it's worth more, then go for it. But as soon as it hits arbitration, the percentage of responsiblity will come into play and both sides will have to negotiate a consensus based on that. I hope you got a picture of your smashed , gory bloody finger at the accident. Then you can include that into your letter to request an apology <money> to them.
 
Ah, sorry to hear you got hit, Gunnar.

You will of course be claiming for a completely knackered Di2 groupset, right?
 
Gunnar, sorry to hear about the accident and wishing you the best of a recovery!
 
Thanks from my heart for the good wishes everybody.
Doesn't hurt anymore, so I'm confident that things are healing up alright under the bandage.

Tim, Phil, James - thanks for the good advice.
Walked by Nalsima today, but was told they will only will do damage assessment on bikes they sold themselves (since I will never buy a bike from them, that won't happen).
I was never able to build any relationship to Y's, so will most likely follow Tim's lead with Kalavinka or go to my LBS, Sekiya, who is doing damage assessment also.

As for taking the taxi driver to the cleaner, I won't. I could have taken his license on the day, but I did not. He is a bad as in clumsy driver (he drove me and my bike home after the operation and I could see that the accident wasn't just coincidence), but he did not intentionally try to hurt me and honestly showed deep concern and willingness to make up for my damages 100%. This, along with karma (and hopefully not naiveness) means I have no reason to take him to court, as long as he keeps his end of the bargain. I will let you know how it works out.
 
You are a more forgiving person that I, Gunnar!

I hope everything works out for you, and I hope your hand is OK.
 
Ditto, for LBS help...

Glad you're on the mend, Gunnar.
Vehicles that brake (or turn!) suddenly are some of the worst dangers we face.
At least the driver seems somewhat repentant.
In respect to covering any damage to the bike though, after my last accident, my LBS basically handled everything with the insurance company. I told him that the insurance company wanted to inspect the bike, and he (Mr. Kimura, of My-Road) said, "Tell them to come to the shop to look at it!"
The only damage I could see personally was the front brake lever, where it hit the side mirror, and a slight crack in the forks. Kimura-san was able to explain it to them in such a way that their evaluations took in the full value of the bike; Usually, a bike's value will depreciate over time, but by having constant up-grades essentially slows down that depreciation rate.
There's no way I could have explained it like that to those scary insurance thugs, but Kimura-san did a splendid job.
In reality, it's in his best interest to make sure the insurance company pays as much as possible - After all, he knows where most of it will get spent on a new bike.
This is one of the true values of a good LBS.
 
As for taking the taxi driver to the cleaner, I won't. I could have taken his license on the day, but I did not. He is a bad as in clumsy driver (he drove me and my bike home after the operation and I could see that the accident wasn't just coincidence), but he did not intentionally try to hurt me and honestly showed deep concern and willingness to make up for my damages 100%. This, along with karma (and hopefully not naiveness) means I have no reason to take him to court, as long as he keeps his end of the bargain. I will let you know how it works out.

Glad to hear you're on the mend and really like you karma concept. KUDOS:clap::clap::clap:
 
Glad you're on the mend, Gunnar.
Vehicles that brake (or turn!) suddenly are some of the worst dangers we face.
At least the driver seems somewhat repentant.
In respect to covering any damage to the bike though, after my last accident, my LBS basically handled everything with the insurance company. I told him that the insurance company wanted to inspect the bike, and he (Mr. Kimura, of My-Road) said, "Tell them to come to the shop to look at it!"
The only damage I could see personally was the front brake lever, where it hit the side mirror, and a slight crack in the forks. Kimura-san was able to explain it to them in such a way that their evaluations took in the full value of the bike; Usually, a bike's value will depreciate over time, but by having constant up-grades essentially slows down that depreciation rate.
There's no way I could have explained it like that to those scary insurance thugs, but Kimura-san did a splendid job.
In reality, it's in his best interest to make sure the insurance company pays as much as possible - After all, he knows where most of it will get spent on a new bike.
This is one of the true values of a good LBS.

Spot on.
 
Back
Top Bottom