War wounds

flickerx

I'm recommending against self-surgery after my incident with cutting the infected bit off my own numb left/wedding ring finger, which instead made it ten million times worse. Its months later now and its still not right, only the left half of my nail is there, the other side just... gave up and died.

I never seen that Sheldon Brown advice with the fingers and the fixed chains - I did exactly that with the index finger of my left hand, splitting the nail in half. That has healed now.

All other incidents admittedly have been alcohol related. The pink circle on my right shoulder happened in Adelaide, took a chunk out of myself on impact after flying over the handlebars of a ladies cruiser. When I was working for a blue chip multinational in Blanch, I came in one Monday morning with a large crescent-shaped scab next to my left eye to the shock and horror of my respectable work colleagues - somewhere between leaving a cocktail party in the Liberties on my bike and arriving into Temple Bar, something bad had happened, yet to this day I've no idea what. Had to leave early. And then there was getting hit by the bus last year in October, which I mentioned here, also after a long binge of alcohol and possibly/probably a good few yokes as well. That resulted in a smashed right thumb, heavy bruising on my leg and right arm, and now I have a new bone sticking up in the back of my right hand, which the doctor says "may cause you some trouble in later years."

My hands are a mess from cycling and repairing.
But nothing major I think, really! If I'd been in a car, I'd be a goner. Cycling rules!

Junior

Raam wrote: »

yeah, sorry about that. Bad taste.

don't knock it till you try it, I've been extremely close to death twice in the past couple of years.. it's life reaffirming.

SetOverSet

oobydooby wrote: »

I don't think I'm superstitious but I really don't like posting in this thread. Or looking at the pictures:eek:

Well I only posted in this thread a couple of days ago and what d'ya know I took a spill this afternoon in the wet. Damn you Armadillos! :mad: My right shoulder and knee are banged up, I've a nice cut on my calf from the big ring and my right elbow matches blorg's knee! Oh, and my rear mech and right pedal's scratched to f***. Oh yeah, the lovely taxi driver who had to jam on to avoid hitting me, didn't stop to ask was I ok, nope he beeped his horn for me to get out of the way, reversed back a little and drve around
me...charming :eek:

kenmc

Sorry to hear you had an off, hope you're on the mend soon. But your last sentence raises an interesting thought in my head - does anyone know what is the legal situation if he had hit you while you were lying on the ground? I presume it would exactly the same as if had hit you from behind, i.e. he would be liable, as he would be if he rear-ended a stationary car for example. But it would be very easy to end up under the car in that situation :eek:

SetOverSet

kenmc wrote: »

But it would be very easy to end up under the car in that situation

I know. I was aware of the taxi behind me and my first thought as I started to go down was 'oh ****, where's that taxi, I hope he stops in time'. I've no idea of the legal position, had he hit me. Glad I didn't need to find out

seamus

SetOverSet wrote: »

I've no idea of the legal position, had he hit me. Glad I didn't need to find out

Assuming that you were still alive :eek: in court he probably would have been ordered to pay all of your medical bills and other damages because he failed to give you adequate room/clearance. He would have to pay all your damages because it would be difficult to separate injuries from the fall and injuries from a collision.

blorg

SetOverSet wrote: »

Oh yeah, the lovely taxi driver who had to jam on to avoid hitting me, didn't stop to ask was I ok, nope he beeped his horn for me to get out of the way, reversed back a little and drve around
me...charming :eek:

Jesus that is bad. I must say both most recent times I have had spills with bystanders around they stopped and were very concerned to ensure that I was OK.

Traumadoc

jefferson73 wrote: »

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9725557@N07/2781326587/

Two broken wrists and ribs.
Got up close and personal with a 4 x 4.
As your all aware they have blind spots, have some titanium in me to match my bike

Nasty fracture there, intraarticular comminututed.
Fixed with a T plate and K wire

flickerx

http://www.thestar.com/article/499744

this is me. broken collarbone & shoulder. fractured ribs, internal buildup of blood around my lungs. heavily bruised feet, legs, throat, arse cheek, arm. Breathing, eating, walking are sore, getting in and out of bed is excruiating. next week i'm probably getting a plate inserted. cant work for at least 3 months. will be looking for compensation from the driver and should get it, he was completely at fault and was charged last night, but obviously this is not the way i wanted to start off my life here. i always gave out about the lack of bike lanes in dublin but its paradise compared to here.

still, they got my age wrong in the paper, which was nice.

stuf

flickerx wrote: »

http://www.thestar.com/article/499744

this is me. broken collarbone & shoulder. fractured ribs, internal buildup of blood around my lungs. heavily bruised feet, legs, throat, arse cheek, arm. Breathing, eating, walking are sore, getting in and out of bed is excruiating. next week i'm probably getting a plate inserted. cant work for at least 3 months. will be looking for compensation from the driver and should get it, he was completely at fault and was charged last night, but obviously this is not the way i wanted to start off my life here. i always gave out about the lack of bike lanes in dublin but its paradise compared to here.

still, they got my age wrong in the paper, which was nice.

Heavy stuff flickrx - hope the recovery goes well. I always thought Toronto would be one of those places that was well setup for bikes not that I've anything to base this on. The fact that the driver has been charged should streamline the compensation a bit as you're not trying to prove liability on your own.

Puts my little spill on the luas tracks on Monday into perspective

Raam

flickerx wrote: »

http://www.thestar.com/article/499744

this is me. broken collarbone & shoulder. fractured ribs, internal buildup of blood around my lungs. heavily bruised feet, legs, throat, arse cheek, arm. Breathing, eating, walking are sore, getting in and out of bed is excruiating. next week i'm probably getting a plate inserted. cant work for at least 3 months. will be looking for compensation from the driver and should get it, he was completely at fault and was charged last night, but obviously this is not the way i wanted to start off my life here. i always gave out about the lack of bike lanes in dublin but its paradise compared to here.

still, they got my age wrong in the paper, which was nice.

Woh, that sounds nasty, mate. I hope you don't have any bad lasting injuries from this.

kenmc

crikey, sounds like you're lucky to be able to tell us about it. get well soon!

TinyExplosions

:eek: man, sorry to hear that -hope you have a speedy recovery!

Caroline_ie

Oh wow ... that's terrible. I hope he gets his licence taken off. I am glad to hear you're OK and I wish you get better soon.

All the best

fish-head

God almighty, Flickerx! That's a hell of a spill you took. Here's hoping for a full and quick recovery.

niceonetom

get well soon dude.

DirkVoodoo

Speedy recovery flickerx.

bealbocht

took a big gash out of my shin yeas ago.. was cycling home from a hurling match with football boots on .. and one of the petals was just a spike and my foot slipped of it and gashed my shin... then further down the path, some hard lads from the area stopped me at a gap in a fence and one of them punched me in the face, cos it though it would be funny.. he got a good laugh... ,

I never played hurling again.

flickerx

i am meeting a lawyer tomorrow. how much money do people think i should ask for? bearing in mind i cant work for three to four months, and i'll be damaged for life, possibly less mobility/function in my right arm - i'm right handed - with arthritic problems, general pain, plus the fact that my life has been effectively destroyed at the moment - difficulty doing the most basic tasks, dependent on others, shattered after small amounts of activity, cant make love with my girlfriend, etc - and its all completely the drivers fault, no contest...?
any links to stories of previous damages awarded would be welcomed. bear in mind this is north america.

blorg

I don't know about Canada but here there is a standard based on the type and severity of injury, with a range defined for each injury (The Book of Quantam.) Not much help to you but for comparison here are Irish estimates from the Personal Injuries Assment Board.

It is likely that your lawyer will be able to advise you- you shouldn't have to come up with a number yourself.

Besides compensation for the actual injury there are your medical costs and loss of earnings.

I would be a bit concerned depending on the nature of your immigration about your medical bills- generally you will have to pay anything out of pocket and claim back from the other party later. If severe obviously this could leave you temporarily majorly out of pocket. Don't attempt self-surgery again whatever you do!

Also bear in mind that the legal process can take a long time, so while you will get your compensation eventually it may be several years in the worst case.

Get well soon.

flickerx

thanks I. i'll avoid the self surgery this time.
I just found this
http://www.ccla.ottawa.on.ca/Practice_and_Procedure/Civil_Litigation/Damages/FINAL_1999_2005_Compendium_of_Damages.pdf
been reading through other collarbone injuries. but yeah i guess my lawyer will have a good indication of how much. he sounds good and knows what he's talking about with cyclists, he was recommended by a couple of people here.
patrick brown on this list:
http://www.mcleishorlando.com/index.php/People.html

blorg

Looks like you have a good lawyer there with a lot of experience of cycling; good luck with your case and have a speedy recovery.