Would like to say thanks...

[pluggedinpete]

Bike is back, all fixed (Thanks to Pheonix) just waiting for the bruises to fade and I'll be all okay....

Saw a kid riding around with no gloves on tonight, Moron!

[Splash]

Good to hear

[BB]

Good to hear Pete. That is that you are back on the road, not the moron with no gloves!

BB

[Ducatista]

If you use a solicitor who is both qualified and experienced in the type of work you need dealt with you have the best of both worlds.

I don't really want to drag on the discussion but I don't think the disadvantages of using solicitors have been adequately covered.

Solicitors will of course advise what the claimant is entitled to claim which would inlude clothing, time off work for injury, compensation for personal injury etc.
Many firms will encourage a larger claim because that is how they get paid. These firms are referred to as "ambulance chasers" because personal injury allows them to charge fees. Similarly there are companies who charge high fees for hire vehicles. In some cases they actually will only take on cases when someone takes a hire vechicle as that is where they make their money. I have no issue with people being paid, but it doesn't always make things better.

Pete has some choices. At one end of the scale he could ask for £300 for the bike and forget about the bruises and at the other end it could be PI, hire car, time off etc.

I have no moral issue with claiming for what is due but I see two disadvantages to making a larger claim.

One is that compensation for injuries is not as easily quantifiable as a repair bill. These claims tend to drag on through the negotiating process. In many cases this is a good thing for the claimant as the effect of their injuries may not be initially clear, but psycologically people want it over and done and it's emotionally stressful (which is part of the negotiating strategy). I don't make an moral judgments but some people may be much happier just to get the bike fxed and forget about a few bruises (if that's all it is). I don't think anyone was suggesting using ambulance chasers but the fact is that whilst Nicky is right about solicitors chosing their terms, they rarely take on cases for free and need to make a living.

The second risk is that giving this lady a bill for a few £ks rather than a few hundred may have a very significant impact on her willingness or ability to pay and that could make the claim drag on for many months or even years. For example if she's sent a small bike repair bill she may just pay it, but it's unlikely with a much larger bill, most likely she would then herself get legal advice and then there would be a lengthy negotiation over the less clear cut parts e.g. the amount of compensation for injury.

I appreciate that many solicitors are good at their job and care about people but like any industry they don't generally gp out of their way to point out the disadvantages to using their service. For example if you went to a car dealer, even a good one they wouldn't discuss with you the pros and cons of using a bicycle or getting the bus :-)

I am not anti-solicitor at all, but I think it's important to be aware of the downsides as well the upsides.

[pluggedinpete]

I hate the compo culture and all that "where theres a blame theres a claim" stuff, and i'm not injured much beyond some sore joints and a couple of bruises so theres NO chance of me chasing the 300 quid, and i'm sure bennetts and aviva wouldnt chase the woman for it anyhow.

[QB1]

I hate the compo culture and all that "where theres a blame theres a claim" stuff, and i'm not injured much beyond some sore joints and a couple of bruises so theres NO chance of me chasing the 300 quid, and i'm sure bennetts and aviva wouldnt chase the woman for it anyhow.

Hi Pete

It's your choice at the end of the day personally I think its only far that the dog owner should pay for the damage caused to your bike, your clothing and you.

I'm glad their are solicitors which you can use to get what's fairly owed and that's not those that are taking the mickey and making exagerated claims just getting what's fairly owed to you.

For what its worth I'm no fan of "where theres a blame theres a claim" either.

If your are happy that's fine though.

Hope you're back on the road asap.

[Col]

Well if you aren't bothered about the £300 that's your decision but...

Like Ducatista said you could write simply write to her saying that the damage to your bike was £300 and enclose copy of bill for her to see and that the accident is a matter of record with the plod and that you are asking that she pays for the damage caused by her dog.

..it won't cost anything to do that Pete

or you lose out £300

p.s. if you got plenna cash to chuck about bung some my way will ya Ducatista,Nicky and me will have a drink mucho appreciato