Motorcycle Accident With Personal Injury?

[FunkyWalker]

Greetings,

I was riding on my way home from work when a van pulled out in front of me. I struck it in the rear drivers side quarter pane. l was thrown from my bike, broke my left foot, tore two ligaments in my right foot, lots of road rash, bruises and some short term memory loss. I spent a few days in the hospital and have been in a wheelchair for the last 6 weeks and will be for about another month then physical therapy for some time.

The police decided that the driver of the van was at fault for the accident. The 5.1meter long van was trying make an illegal right turn across three lans of traffic from a small soi when he pulled out in front of me. All I truly remember is seeing this van pulling out in front of me blocking all lanes / escape routs, applying my brakes and thinking to myself " Sh*t... no way out of this one" and braced for the impact. I don't remember actually hitting the van, but the next thing I know I was sitting dazed in the middle of the road surrounded by Thais. I look back and see my bike, my right boot and the van a few meters back. Let me say that I am really impressed by how many Thai people were there to help me. My wife called this "Thai mung". Back home in New York city I doubt anyone would have come to my aid, comforting me and carry me to the side of the road the way these Thai guys did. One Taxi bike driver even had me lay on his coat and lap so I would not be directly on the ground while the others collected my iPhone, work bag, motorcycle key and paper work from the "yard sale" I was having in the middle of Suhkumvit .. amazing Thailand!!!

Ok, so here is where I need help. The accident took place on November 11th (9-11.. lol). The police finally decided that the other driver was at fault on December 14th. For some reason they had to wait and see what the full extent of my injuries would be before assigning fault. At that time the other insurance company asked for all my medical bills and what I would be asking for in pain and suffering. So I made a list of my loss wages, expenses for home care, pain and suffering...and so on. In the US insurance companies lawyers use past cases to determinate what value of different types of injures are worth and the value of pain and suffering. I don't know how it is done here. My wife talked to a Thai lawyer who said he would asks over a million Baht... but I don't want to get tied up in the legal system.

Has anyone had a similar experience or advice to share? Should I get a lawyer involved? My "tiger" Thai wife is tougher then any lawyer I knew state side . How long should it take the other drivers insurance company to pay me back for my medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering? Can I ask them to repay me for some of my medical bills now and decide the rest later? Who is really paying for my pain and suffering the insurance company or the driver of the van? Finally my bike was a 2010 CBR 150fi with 2,145km on the clock. It is repairable but the other insurance company said they decide where it will be fixed. We asked for it to go to Honda but they just laughed. Do I have the right to choose where it will be fixed?

I am sorry for the long winded post and I hope I picked the right forum. Thank you for reading it and any advice will be appreciated.

P.S. I do have a Thai motorcycle license and work permit. I am a sous chef who normally spent 12-14 hours a day on my feet. My bike had the standard insurance from the dealer. I was wearing a helmet, heavy nylon/cotton jacket, boots, gloves and long pants. I am slowly going crazy being stuck in a wheel chair but I am looking forward to riding again when I am able.

[seedy]

Hope you recover completely and quickly.

I will follow this thread with interest - be interesting to hear other peoples experiences.

Got squeezed between a pickup and a Vios today on my dyna. No damage but folded up my highway peg - and just about filled my pants !!!

[hehehoho]

Afraid I can't answer any of your Q's, but good luck with it all. Many times here the van (and it's insurance) would have been gone, or the police report would assign it as 50/50. I was in an accident a while ago and was impressed with the police, hospital (no injuries but full check-ups) and insurance.

[wantan]

Sorry, i can only tell you my thoughts to this story too. I had a little accident three month ago and it turned out that the thai police did a fair job. The other party wanted to give my motorbike for a cheap repair to some shop they know. But police told them that it has to be done by a professional shop. So i would say your CBR150 has to be repaired by Honda. You should insist for a professional repair!

I would have taken a lawyer if i were you. But be careful not to get ripped of by the lawyer. If your wife can translate than you can take any thai lawyer, even if he is not good in english speaking. Sometimes the cheap lawyers can be very good because they have more time for doing the job. Some english speaking farang specialized lawyer may only want your money without doing a good job. Or maybe try to pay the lawyer fee on success. E.g. 20% of the money he can get for your pain. Just a thought, don't know if some lawyer will do this and how a contract could look like.

Good luck and a soon recovery.

[hehehoho]

I agree about the bike.

2011 Honda bike.

It has to be repaired by a Honda dealer.

They want to take it to some 'mechanic' who will bend as much pieces as they can back into place as opposed to replacing them.

Edited December 27, 2011 by hehehoho

[KRS1]

Get a lawyer, insurance companies in Thailand are notorious for trying to save money. They try and source secondhand parts to fix things. You can ask for the funds to get the bike fixed after an estimate is done. There aren't going to be many secondhand parts available nor will there be any grade B copy parts either.So they can't really weasel their way out of it, unless they have a source for crashed parts they're either going to go to Lumluk ka or behind MBK to source. From your recollection of the crash, you'll probably be needing:

1) forks & fork oil (the inner tube can usually be replaced, but doubt it for this new model, if so then you'll need a seal kit too)

2) front wheel,

3) brake rotor,

4) headlight assembly,

5) front fairing assembly,

6) possibly the radiator,

7) front brake master cylinder...

8) front fairing support arm

9) bike down sensor (maybe)

10) top portion of side fairings

11) and labor

You'll probably get more from lost wages than you would for pain and suffering. Bike will take around a month too fix, parts aren't readily available for this model and have to be ordered from Honda.

[tomartoh]

Get your wife to have a private conversation with the Police officer in charge of your case to advise you on the best way to proceed. they work much better when paid a bonus

[katabeachbum]

Get your wife to have a private conversation with the Police officer in charge of your case to advise you on the best way to proceed. they work much better when paid a bonus

good advice in addition make a claim to your bikes insurance asap, its probably limited to 50k baht hospitalbills find out the limit of vans 3rd party, hopefully 1 million baht medical etc and full cover for your bike if above does not provide solutions in days, hire a lawyer not friendly with the vans insurancecompany, and file a court case asap wish you swift recovery, get back in the saddle soon, and keep the rubberside down

yeez I hate this new format, made a small edit and the whole post was changed, hope its readable anyway

[moe666]

Get a lawyer and let him do the work, your a fool if you donot.

[nikster]

First of all, great that you're still alive, and going to make a full recovery.

Second I was thinking "lawyer" after reading the first sentence. Get a good one and let your wife handle it. I'd maybe give the insurance company a chance to pay what you think they rightfully owe you (and insist the bike be fixed by Honda, come on?!) but I am not sure that's even possible. Get a recommendation for a good Thai lawyer and let your tiger wife handle it, and it should be OK?! Obviously agree on fees first... knowing a good lawyer is always good so take your time to look for one...

[snowflake]

I assume that you will have to meet at the police station to discuss what to do next... (When I hit the guy on the bicycle that is where we ended up) a person can act as your proxy if needed. I would seriously take some that looks like they have some money- and can speak English&Thai fluently (thai person would be the best option).

I would also donate a bottle of Red Label to the police for helping you...

Then I had to talk to the other party on how to settle this, if you can't solve this between yourself or they want their insurance agency to talk, then they will show up...

They can be a bit slow to pay out, but they will pay what they agree upon.

Be realistic when you ask for an amount, depending on your salary I would say 100.000B cash and for them to fix the bike and medicals... (Bike fixed at HONDA)... They will ofcourse argue about the cash as the most the Insurance company can pay out is 30.000 (well, that is what they told me)- but this will give them a number for them to take to their party and debate, be flexible, remember that the van driver might have lost his job (not your fault but what will he pay with?)...

Be happy for being alive with "MINOR" injuries... It could have been worse...

Get well soon and ride carefully in 2012...

[VocalNeal]

Make sure you get the OK before fixing the bike, std. elsewhere is three quotes. A friend of mine was told by his insurance company that he could not take his Mercedes to the Mercedes dealer to get it fixed and before that his Volvo to the Volvo dealer. As has been said they will use any excuse not to pay.

[FunkyWalker]

Thanks for all the advice and words of encouragement. We called the insurance company and they told us they are still "waiting for the paperwork from their field agent" so I contacted the driver of the van (private citizen/van, not a commuter van) told him that the longer his insurance company takes to reimbures my medical expense/lost wages causing me to stress about paying bills each month the more I feel like I need get a lawyer involved. My medical bills are around 100,000 Baht and growing and my salary is 50,000 a month with a doctor note keeping me home until the end of February 4 months total. He contacted his insurance company and then told me that it will take about a week to get a answer. I will update asap

[aviadbkk]

Did u got a personal injury lawyer? How did it all turn out?