Cycling and bike accident claims

Yeah, so it's quite a common misconception, I guess, that any person who's riding a motorcycle on the road, um, when they're involved in an incident, they're just automatically deemed at fault because they're a clown, they’re a hoon. It's like the furthest thing from the truth.

About three years ago now, coming home from TAFE, only two minutes around the corner from home, and next thing you know I've just heard a car engine and then, yeah, bang.

By the time I come to, I looked down at my ankles and my knee and I wasn't in a good state. Three weeks in hospital, six months to sort of get to walk again, wheelchair and all the jazz, so.

The effect it had on my family was quite severe. My mother more so. Mother son relationship, I guess.

The outlook on life after the accident was, it was pretty bleak, yeah. It was, you think to yourself that I've got this profession that I've chosen and I enjoy and it's taken from you from one simple act.

Early on in the piece, the insurer for the other party, basically pointed the finger at me and said you're 80 per cent at fault.

Sometimes insurance companies try to say that an accident wasn't the fault of the person that they insure and they do that to save money. And our job is to persuade the insurance company that the accident happened in the way that our clients said that it did happen.

Yeah, at the time I had a friend who knew Michelle and suggested that, ‘look these Maurice Blackburn guys, they're good at what they do go and have a chat to them’.

As a lawyer, it wasn't just my job to help him get damages, but it was to help him right along the way. It was my job to organize his rehab, to make sure that everybody who was dealing with him, understood what he needed and to help him on that path to see a good future for himself.

Throughout the proceedings, Maurice Blackburn, um, they did everything in their power, which was amazing, and the results showed in the settlement. I had that peace of mind from Maurice Blackburn that they were looking after me and doing what was best for me.

Family and pets, you can't you can't put a price on that, you really can't - particularly my Staffy. When I had the first accident, he became very protective of me. Well, I had two car accidents, both times rear-ended. The first one was just on my way home from work and sitting at a set of traffic lights. I ended up with yeah pretty severe spinal injuries out of that. That took a couple of years of um surgery and rehab.

Then another accident, and that pretty much put me straight back to square one. I loved my job, really did love my job, and the accident just changed all of that.

When it came to getting legal advice and support, I found Maurice Blackburn. I've known they've always had a really good reputation. Rang up and managed to get to talk to this lovely lady Canda, and straight away, from that very first time that I met her, she really made me feel really comfortable.

Working on cases like Susie's is really rewarding. It's her case at the end of the day, so she needs to be able to talk to who represents her and, in our case, we were able to have that really great dialogue and that's what gets you through the other end.

You feel very vulnerable, so you really need you know for your lawyer to help make that recovery go a lot smoother. Maurice Blackburn and Canda were, were really supportive all the way through - and still are to now - so that's really comforting.

Well, it's been six years since my accident and it doesn't feel like it's been that long. I finally feel like the person I was the day I got run over. It was just a normal day. I woke up and I told my flatmates that I was gonna cook them breakfast. I went to the supermarket and I bought salmon and I bought bagels and then I was walking home and I got run over by a tow truck. I was in hospital and I woke up out of my coma and I asked my mum why she was in Melbourne. And my mum said ‘oh, you've been in an accident’. And I said ‘oh, okay, great, can you help me get out of bed because I’ve got to go to work’.

After the accident I had a brain injury, among other things. I also had lost, you know, my sense of taste and smell. I was given strict instructions that I wasn't allowed to use a telephone. I wasn't allowed to watch television. I wasn't allowed to use a computer and I wasn't allowed to fly because any stimulation, you know, could damage the blood clots in my brain. No one tells you what you're entitled to, if you're entitled to anything. I had no clue and it was just by accident that I found out about the insurance.

It was really important for us to be able to support Alex because someone in her situation, with memory and concentration problems, struggles with things like paperwork filling out forms dealing with the insurer.

So once I’d moved back to Melbourne still dealing with the insurer was incredibly difficult, but when I contacted Maurice Blackburn, and I had them on my side, the insurance company started taking me seriously.

The complicating factor in Alex's case was the fact that she had no memory of the incident, so she couldn't really tell her side of the story. We had to fight really hard to put together the pieces, do the investigations and show that, no, she was not at fault for her accident and that, therefore, she should be entitled to some compensation.

You can never put a price on what it is that you have lost, but the compensation has definitely made my future look hopeful.

I was on my way to, uh, work. It was very, very dark and gone over a bit of a crest on the road, and I couldn't see until it was too late. Yeah, I was involved in a car accident. I was not at fault at any point, it just happened.

I was a truck driver for about 10 years and, most of the time I was delivering to supermarkets grocery chains. It was a very varied and enjoyable job. The injuries I sustained in the accident were very severe to the lower part of my back.

There was a wage guarantee entitlement that they ceased it prematurely because one of the doctors had said that I had capacity to work. I thought ‘oh I better get some legal representation in regards to something down the track if this goes pear-shaped’, so I uh I came with the Maurice Blackburn name, and thought I’ll give them a ring and see what they can do for me.

It can be frustrating at times dealing with an insurer who fails to recognise the full extent of someone's claim he couldn't work. He couldn't go back to being a truck driver, and for that reason, it was important for us to push on in his claim. Look, David's an absolute superstar. He is a very stoic man, so it was actually at times very difficult to try and obtain information from him about the extent of his injuries because he will say ‘oh I’m doing okay’ or ‘oh I’m in a little bit of pain’, when he actually has a very significant injury.

They say eventually I’ll be wheelchair bound, so that's always a sad perspective in life to have. I would recommend Maurice Blackburn because they're supportive towards your injuries and they're happy to stand beside you while you're going along.

It's very satisfying knowing that David has been able to obtain some form of financial security for his future.