Wh0M3
Junior Member
I have been looking around the forum for other threads about people who have been in accidents on their bikes. Well it happened to me not long ago.
I was riding to work one morning when a guy in a truck pulled out in front of me. I watched him as he was exiting a parking lot, he stopped then pulled right out in front of me. I had anticipated it as best I could, but I feel it's that fine line between trying to hurry up and get by them before they do something stupid, or slow down and maybe make them think they have the room to pull out. I try to maintain my speed, maybe just drop down five mph or so but keep moving. It was also 5 in the AM and there is no way he could have missed me. He pulled out and I jammed on the breaks to try to do an emergency stop. It's funny all the things that go on in just the blink of an eye. I made the split decision to try to go behind rather than in front, but when I applied my breaks I was taught to keep upright, (turning and breaking is bad) So I was fully upright, both tires keep on the ground, but I still bounced off his rear quarter panel behind his rear tire. I somehow managed to keep upright, sped up to stabilize then pulled over to the side of the road, put down the kick stand and waited there to assess what just happened.
My left leg was hurting and I reached down to feel my knee and it didn't feel right. So I stayed there in the seat as I proceeded to call 911, the Armory where I was heading to drill (National Guard) and my girlfriend to let her know what happened. The EMT's were amazed that I was still on two wheels, and helped me into a stretcher. A cop came by and filed a repont, the guy in the truck did stick around and said he saw me but miss judged how far away I was.
Lucky for me it happened on a drill weekend, meaning I gave my company a bunch of paper work called an LOD. So my medical bills are being covered, and I'm getting money for the work I've missed.
Now the thing I keep thinking about is am I due anything more. I don't really want to take anyone to the cleaners, not looking for that big settlement. Just a little extra, whatever is due. I've been three weeks out of work now, and everything is tight. Money is suppose to be coming in but I don't know when.
I have read other posts here of other people who have had similar experiences and what the after math has been. The only thing that really happened was my knee was torn up, big gash and my knee cap was scraped up. My bike wasn't hit or dropped, so there is nothing wrong with it. The most confusing part for me is I live in Michigan, one of the "No Fault" states. Which seems to be summed up as, if your driving in Mi, and your in an accident no matter who is at fault you are responsible for your own damage. If someone pulls out in front of you and you hit them, your insurance is suppose to cover your own damage, medical bills, and anything else. I have tried to make sense of it. Now the funny thing is that in Michigan a motorcycle isn't considered a motor vehicle so the No Fault thing doesn't really apply. According to "Motorcycles and the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association" (MCCA) "If a motorcycleist is invovled in an accident with an insured motor vehicle, the insurance company of the motor vehicle will pay unlimited medical benefits for the injuries of the motorcyclist, regardless of who was at fault in the accident."
Now to those of you who know insurance and accident claims better than me, what are your opinions on what I should do next. My medical bills are covered by the Michigan National Guard. My guys at my company say I should call Sam, or one of those guys on TV that ask if you've been in a serious accident or something like that. What I've taken from most of the posts here is your due something, and if a lawyer is involved they just take their cut and laugh their way to the bank cashing in part of your claim. (Sorry to any lawyers who may have been offended at that)
So, what do you think?
I was riding to work one morning when a guy in a truck pulled out in front of me. I watched him as he was exiting a parking lot, he stopped then pulled right out in front of me. I had anticipated it as best I could, but I feel it's that fine line between trying to hurry up and get by them before they do something stupid, or slow down and maybe make them think they have the room to pull out. I try to maintain my speed, maybe just drop down five mph or so but keep moving. It was also 5 in the AM and there is no way he could have missed me. He pulled out and I jammed on the breaks to try to do an emergency stop. It's funny all the things that go on in just the blink of an eye. I made the split decision to try to go behind rather than in front, but when I applied my breaks I was taught to keep upright, (turning and breaking is bad) So I was fully upright, both tires keep on the ground, but I still bounced off his rear quarter panel behind his rear tire. I somehow managed to keep upright, sped up to stabilize then pulled over to the side of the road, put down the kick stand and waited there to assess what just happened.
My left leg was hurting and I reached down to feel my knee and it didn't feel right. So I stayed there in the seat as I proceeded to call 911, the Armory where I was heading to drill (National Guard) and my girlfriend to let her know what happened. The EMT's were amazed that I was still on two wheels, and helped me into a stretcher. A cop came by and filed a repont, the guy in the truck did stick around and said he saw me but miss judged how far away I was.
Lucky for me it happened on a drill weekend, meaning I gave my company a bunch of paper work called an LOD. So my medical bills are being covered, and I'm getting money for the work I've missed.
Now the thing I keep thinking about is am I due anything more. I don't really want to take anyone to the cleaners, not looking for that big settlement. Just a little extra, whatever is due. I've been three weeks out of work now, and everything is tight. Money is suppose to be coming in but I don't know when.
I have read other posts here of other people who have had similar experiences and what the after math has been. The only thing that really happened was my knee was torn up, big gash and my knee cap was scraped up. My bike wasn't hit or dropped, so there is nothing wrong with it. The most confusing part for me is I live in Michigan, one of the "No Fault" states. Which seems to be summed up as, if your driving in Mi, and your in an accident no matter who is at fault you are responsible for your own damage. If someone pulls out in front of you and you hit them, your insurance is suppose to cover your own damage, medical bills, and anything else. I have tried to make sense of it. Now the funny thing is that in Michigan a motorcycle isn't considered a motor vehicle so the No Fault thing doesn't really apply. According to "Motorcycles and the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association" (MCCA) "If a motorcycleist is invovled in an accident with an insured motor vehicle, the insurance company of the motor vehicle will pay unlimited medical benefits for the injuries of the motorcyclist, regardless of who was at fault in the accident."
Now to those of you who know insurance and accident claims better than me, what are your opinions on what I should do next. My medical bills are covered by the Michigan National Guard. My guys at my company say I should call Sam, or one of those guys on TV that ask if you've been in a serious accident or something like that. What I've taken from most of the posts here is your due something, and if a lawyer is involved they just take their cut and laugh their way to the bank cashing in part of your claim. (Sorry to any lawyers who may have been offended at that)
So, what do you think?
