What should I do?

Reader Questions
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I’m sitting in the waiting room at urgent care. My bike is at the shop with significant damage. Could’ve been a lot worse.

About 12:20 this afternoon I had a car make a right turn immediately in front of me. I had right of way through the intersection on a green light. I locked up the brakes to avoid contact with the car, which I’m pretty sure I did, but I went over the handle bars and onto the road. Driver kept right on going.

Several witnesses stopped to check on me, for which I am very grateful. One said her dash cam would have the whole incident. I have a plate number and description of the vehicle and driver. I called the police to report the incident, told them what happened and that I had witnesses and likely evidence. He literally said, “I’m not sure what you want me to do about this.”

I’m likely going to be out significant funds to repair my bike, which is my work commuting vehicle. I’m likely going to miss time at work—we’ll see what the X-rays say. I know there are many in the cycling community here who have had similar experiences and I’m just looking for some advice from those who’ve been here before. Thanks for any insight you can pass along.

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That dash cam video is significant evidence. Make sure you get a copy as quickly as possible. With it, you can pursue a civil case against that driver. If he/she has insurance, then you should be able to get compensation from the insurance company. If not, you may be out of luck – unless the driver has significant assets.

If your $ claim is significant, you could hire a lawyer. Several cyclist’s lawyers are listed on BikePortland. But that may not be necessary or worthwhile if the driver has insurance.

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Thank you for your helpful response. I did receive the dash cam video and it clearly shows what happened. I’m sure this will be a learning experience. Will share more as it develops and hopefully it will help someone along the way.

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