Getting paid "emotional reparation" from an accident

[Boob Johnson]

As some of you may have read last month I was the victim of a senseless accident where an 18 yr old girl pulled out in front of me when I was almost on top of it leaving half a nano second to react.

Long story short for those that never read the thread I ended up in hospital going under the knife to have 9 pins and a plate screwed to my hip for life.


Anyway today I got a letter from the courts in the post saying she appeared in court & got nailed for careless driving causing injury which cost her $750 + $130 court costs & a further $1000 to be paid to me for "emotional damage".


Ive never been to hospital before and had nothing to do with any of this prior so wasn't sure if I was going to get a red penny so when I opened the letter initially it was like a small pools win lol. Then I took another look at the xray pics on my cell phone and thought aboutl having all that steal with me for life and wont have full use as I did prior + the possibility of complications in the future ie: arthritis.


My question is: Has anyone here had a similar situation? What did you get paid?


I kinda feel like $1000 for the damage done is kinda cheap.


Am I being a bit too Jewish?

[RT527]

Nah mate thats a pathetic amount its kinda like putting a price on someone, and it wont teach her a thing about responsability. but seriously think about talking to someone regarding how your feeling.

doesnt have to be a proffessional, maybe someone on here has been through what you have and could assist you.

Hope things like arthritis etc dont occur , but consider that if it does make sure the doctors know about it as you will more than likely get acc to assist you with it, in regards to being caused by an accident.

Good luck with everthing and i hope you heal up well enough not to be restricted in anything you do.

[insane1]

if it comes to it you can always get one of those maxi scoots an650exec .

[Grahameeboy]

In the UK you would be looking at around GBP25,OOO.......I have been here 9 years so not uptodate but reckon that is about right.

[geoffm]

Welcome, to the downside of ACC - basically tough luck and be thankful you get anything at all. She got off pretty lightly for putting someone ins hospital in a serious way. Should have been fined a LOT more. Still, at least she wasn't speeding, otherwise she would have been a menace to society and could have hurt someone and lost her license...
G

[smoky]

$1000 to be paid to me for "emotional damage".
I kinda feel like $1000 for the damage done is kinda cheap.

I often wonder; we know full well what the risk is with riding a bike on the road, so then why do we expect anything when it all goes wrong?

But in all honesty – $1000 is nothing, pathetic, I would feel very insulted, send it back and tell them to shove up their…..(where the sun don’t shine).
May of well not even of bothered, wont deter any one or help with restitution, so what the hell is it for.

In contrast, while being a silly bugger – I was playing around with the set up on my dirt bike years ago, made an adjustment, quick blast 100m down the track and back, – wearing shorts tee shirt and jandels. Long story short I stubbed my big toe.

Working in the mines I wore gumboots everyday, normal teenage guy not taking enough care for his wounds, it got infected, then gangrene, then a quick operation to take the bone out of the end of my big toe. A bit sore for a while but no lasting problems.
All my own stupid fault, but I got $1700 in the post from ACC – didn’t apply for it, it was for disabilities. Remember it was 24 years ago, so that equates to about $20,000 in today’s money, based on what I could buy then for $1700.

[Mekk]

I often wonder; we know full well what the risk is with riding a bike on the road, so then why do we expect anything when it all goes wrong?

I agree entirely with that. Part of the risk of riding is this.

I don't understand why you want more money for emotional damage when you didn't think you were going to get anything as it were (small pools win). I would be more concerned about having the girl learn her lesson which I don't think you can put a price on really. I'm sure she felt guilty enough as it is.



But in all honesty – $1000 is nothing, pathetic, I would feel very insulted, send it back and tell them to shove up their…..(where the sun don’t shine).
May of well not even of bothered, wont deter any one or help with restitution, so what the hell is it for.

I don't know if sending it back would do anything for the ACC. Companies don't feel sympathy (unless Helen steps in), only individuals do. I'd take whatever I got from it.

But that's just my 2 point interest rate raise.

[Boob Johnson]

I often wonder; we know full well what the risk is with riding a bike on the road, so then why do we expect anything when it all goes wrong?Um? Just to clarify im guessing you didn't read my original "binned it" thread? I was on the open road (100Km/h zone) doing well under the posted limit, the experts estimated between 70 & 80Km/h to be my speed. The 18yr old (who was licenced for 6 months) pulled out of a side road at the very last moment leaving me half a nano second to react, obviously I had no time, T boned her, smashed my left leg into the socket in my pelvis shattering it into many fractures & pieces, bent the handle bars vertical then flew 20 feet coming to rest on the road.


Im fully aware of the risks but im obviously not to blame in this accident in any shape or form....did I mention I even had my front head light on? (accident was at 5:10pm so it was still very light).


I just think $1000 is a joke. I wonder if I can appeal it?

[Boob Johnson]

Oh forgot to mention the $1000 was from her not from ACC!

ACC have already screwed me over with a pathetic amount per week compared to what I was earning.


I didn't go to court to see the proceedings & I didn't request any money for emotional harm. I didn't request a red cent, it was all the courts doing, I had no idea how the system worked. The judge obviously had some form of report on my injuries as she was done for careless use of a motor vehicle causing injury so the judge took it upon himself to see that she pay me a small token for my suffering, & suffer I bloody did!!! Im still suffering & will do for some time to come. I may even not get a job im going for because of this injury which is my dream job & bloody hard to get with a small window of opportunity that doesn't come round often.

[Mekk]

I feel for ya mate, you got royally fucked with the accident, there's no denying that.

I'm just questioning because you initially didn't think you were gonna get a "red penny". I'm confused because it seems to only be an issue when you realised that you were going to get something...but that's not enough? I thought you were comparing it to getting nothing, in which case I'd have thought it would be plenty!

[rideNroot]

Sounds about right. With the ACC system in NZ, I'm surprised you got anything. Maybe if you asked for some compensation you would have received more? I dunno, consider yourself lucky for getting anything.

[MVnut]

Sorry mate, I think you were lucky to be awarded anything direct from her.

[FROSTY]

AHH but now you can deal with her in the civil courts. At least you can get the money for damages to your bike.

[Boob Johnson]

AHH but now you can deal with her in the civil courts. At least you can get the money for damages to your bike.I can? Yeah I got paid out from her insurance but are you suggesting I can attempt some sort of civil action?



I feel for ya mate, you got royally fucked with the accident, there's no denying that.

I'm just questioning because you initially didn't think you were gonna get a "red penny". I'm confused because it seems to only be an issue when you realised that you were going to get something...but that's not enough? I thought you were comparing it to getting nothing, in which case I'd have thought it would be plenty!The reason I wasn't sure what I would get is because I had no idea how the system worked. Not much point jumping up and down about getting nothing when no one gets anything in this situation. My point is that the courts recognise that pain and suffering needs to have a dollar value put to it, particularly from the person who caused it, all im saying is considering the damage done & the fact ill have this to deal with for LIFE! A $1000 seems a little on the light side. Don't get me wrong, im grateful to get something it just doesn't quite add up I reckon.

[rideNroot]

You should also consider the treatment you received. Ever thought about how much it cost? Considering the lengthy surgery, flying doctors up, etc etc, you'll find it runs into the hundred of thousands of dollars, which was payed by ACC.

[T.I.E]

i know this guy who is actually doing very well fromm ACC, god bless him.
and he is enjoying life as i know it.

but wow cool ya get 1000 bucks nice. so can i ask what was it like flying for 20ft?
and do ya set off metal detectors now?

[Pumba]

Quick question,

Did you file a victim impact statement to be read at her court hearing? In my past experiences (from both sides of the court room fence) this is the main way that any judge makes his or her desicion on how much compensation will be paid as part of the defendents sentance.

My old man got off his acident light (he was in the wrong) due to the victim impact statement being very positive and wasent even charged court costs as part of his sentance.

On the other hand ive had experiences where the victim impact statement hi very harsh and the pay out increases as the judge sees fit.

As for ACC they are Assholes with a capital A, however I never want to see the system changed to much or go to somthing simular to the USA or Australia where the only winners are the Lawyers and Insurance Companies.

[Boob Johnson]

i know this guy who is actually doing very well fromm ACC, god bless him.
and he is enjoying life as i know it.

but wow cool ya get 1000 bucks nice. so can i ask what was it like flying for 20ft?
and do ya set off metal detectors now?lol I have no idea what it's like to fly 20 feet as I was out to it. My body shut down 99% of my senses due to massive amounts of pain.


Im happy for your mate enjoying being on ACC, how bout you get him to send me the windfall portion to me to make up for the crap ass amount im getting.

I normal do plenty of overtime, its a normal part of my pay check but in the month leading up to the accident there was no overtime to be had & I had close to a full week off due to a nasty flu, so ACC took that shithaus month's pay, sliced 20% off it then taxed that 80% by a further 19.5% and im left spending the $1000 for pain in suffering to cover my living costs while I hang about the haus feeling sorry for myself.

It aint all that bad really, I refuse to be bitter and will always look for the positives, im just a lil pissed at being told my fucked up hip (for life) is worth $1000 so am having a lil cry about it, I will forget about it by tomorrow and get back to my happy self :innocent:


ps: yes I will set off metal detectors at airports lol. They say I can get a wallet sized card to carry so I don't have to strip each time and get the rubber glove lol..........thank the LORD for that :laugh:

[Boob Johnson]

Quick question,

Did you file a victim impact statement to be read at her court hearing? In my past experiences (from both sides of the court room fence) this is the main way that any judge makes his or her desicion on how much compensation will be paid as part of the defendents sentance.

My old man got off his acident light (he was in the wrong) due to the victim impact statement being very positive and wasent even charged court costs as part of his sentance.

On the other hand ive had experiences where the victim impact statement hi very harsh and the pay out increases as the judge sees fit.

As for ACC they are Assholes with a capital A, however I never want to see the system changed to much or go to somthing simular to the USA or Australia where the only winners are the Lawyers and Insurance Companies.Woops sorry Pumba na I didn't do any of that, as mentioned im a newbie at all this stuff. No one indicated I should do anything like that at all.

To be honest I would rather a lump sum pay out of $25,000 like was mentioned a few posts up than $300 from ACC per week while im unable to return to work & a token $1000 from the girl. Wouldn't you?

[Pumba]

Woops sorry Pumba na I didn't do any of that, as mentioned im a newbie at all this stuff. No one indicated I should do anything like that at all.

To be honest I would rather a lump sum pay out of $25,000 like was mentioned a few posts up than $300 from ACC per week while im unable to return to work & a token $1000 from the girl. Wouldn't you?

Dont qoute me but im pretty sure it genneraly goes like this, anybody that is a victim in any crime (traffic accident to murder) has a right to submit one as evidence at the hearing, but its hard if nobady tells you, you can. Any way the time to do that is well gone so it doesnt really matter.

Yea I would much rather a decent lump sum payment, and in your particular situation this may have been better FOR YOU.

But think how open for abuse such a system would be, we have enough issues in this country with people ripping off the existing welfare system that most of us as tax payers work hard to have in place, dont get me wrong I think we need such a system for the resons stated in my post above about lawyers and insurance companys. Another way to look at it is think of the huge number of peolple in socity that seem to be inability to manage money at the best of times, they would think all there xmas's had come at once on reciving a lump some paymnet, I grantee that they would be comming cap in hand to the Govt before the time came to go back to work. By weekly payment the Govt has more control, some call it socil engineering, normally I would to, in this case I call it good money management.

As for that token $1000 from the girl, yea its not alot, and nothing compared to the injurys she caused. But I cant see how getting more money out of her would make me, personally, feel any better. Its not going to teach her any more of a lesson (breaking her legs and taking to her with a baseball bat putting her in hospital now that another story).

The way I see it either you get all your money from the govt towards your reabilitation and to support your income over that time,

or

ACC is dumped, we all start taking out insurance just incase we injure someone in or day to day lives, when we do, we are sued for the costs asocciated with the victims loss of income and reabilitation costs etc, etc, etc.

I know which I personaly feel is the better system. Either way im sure you will get screwed.

[rwh]

im just a lil pissed at being told my fucked up hip (for life) is worth $1000

The $1000 isn't for the hip, is it? The hip is covered (or otherwise) by ACC, and the law says you can't get anything out of the girl for that. The $1000 is for your distress - which interestingly seems to be more as a result of the payout situation than the actual accident ...

Don't get me wrong - I feel sorry for what happened to you. The girl is probably suffering a fair amount too; it wasn't deliberate, and she's got to live with the knowledge of what her brief lapse in attention has caused you.

Richard

[Pancakes]

Write to the judge and ask that she has conditioned on her licence that she needs to have a sticker she can see while driving with a picture of your mangled bits from surgery on it!

Not trying to make light of your injuries, their long standing repercussions or the shit-house payment (that if you budget right you can spend at 50c a week for the rest of your days to consol yourself). Just thought of the positive implications this wakeup call would have everytime she got behind the wheel. Might save lives or money in the long run a?

Rep coming your way for having enough metal to set a detector off! I have a mate who has pins and plates galore and he still can't!

[Pancakes]

Don't get me wrong - I feel sorry for what happened to you. The girl is probably suffering a fair amount too; it wasn't deliberate, and she's got to live with the knowledge of what her brief lapse in attention has caused you.

Richard

1. I would say the combination of things you need to do at the same time to make a car drive indicates it WAS deliberate. Maybe not running poor Booby J down but she made a choice and acted on it.............

Which brings me to point 2.

2. While the lack of big $$ payouts leaves out system less vulnerable to corruption and gives everyone great access to treatment I can't help but wonder if the fear of being broke and/or losing most of your possesions to pay someone some amount closer to real compensation for the impact you've had on their life and more like punishment would cut down on these sometimes fatal "lapses" of attention.

Driving is not the place for ill-attention to the task at hand, if people had the consequence to themselves in their head (cos lets be honest, Boob Johnson will be living with this while little miss 18 is snorkelling in Fiji with her friends and the rest of it) they may just take the due care needed to operate a ton of steel.

Also, while I'm ranting, I don't buy into the "we all know how dangerous it is on a bike" crap. We are all well aware and are better off for it BUT schoolkids have no armour or helmets and less awareness but can still be plowed into buy a car with a shit/dopey driver. Doesn't make it the kids fault for going out of the house without safety gear. Do we want to be (generalization ahead!:dodge:) Americans who drive round in SUV's cos WHEN they get hit they'll be safer or like alot of Europeans who buy vehicles that are designed to PREVENT accidents?

the end for now..... you've all got off lightly this time!

[_Shrek_]

Im happy for your mate enjoying being on ACC, how bout you get him to send me the windfall portion to me to make up for the crap ass amount im getting.

I normal do plenty of overtime, its a normal part of my pay check but in the month leading up to the accident there was no overtime to be had & I had close to a full week off due to a nasty flu, so ACC took that shithaus month's pay, sliced 20% off it then taxed that 80% by a further 19.5% and im left spending the $1000 for pain in suffering to cover my living costs while I hang about the haus feeling sorry for myself.

It aint all that bad really, I refuse to be bitter and will always look for the positives, im just a lil pissed at being told my fucked up hip (for life) is worth $1000 so am having a lil cry about it, I will forget about it by tomorrow and get back to my happy self :innocent:


ps: yes I will set off metal detectors at airports lol. They say I can get a wallet sized card to carry so I don't have to strip each time and get the rubber glove lol..........thank the LORD for that :laugh:[/QUOTE]

BJ where do you get the card from as i had a weeee fall and now have bolts, plates and screws in ankle and leg

go back to ACC and ask them why they didn't go back over the last 12 months because you normaly work ot etc... and that you had just had a weeks sick leave you should also get a lump sum for a permanent injury and "if you don't ask you get"
get well

[Grub]

In the UK you would be looking at around GBP25,OOO.......I have been here 9 years so not uptodate but reckon that is about right.

Actually ... ACC is supposed to replace ALL payments of that kind.

Boob, once upon a time you would sue the other party for damages and hurt and disability but the ACC Act expressly prohibits that - so I think you did damned well. Somebody must have told a tear-jerker about you in court.

Lucky sod

[Pancakes]

Oh yeah! you should be able to ask for a longer period of income to be looked at if you feel the time they took didn't reflect your actual income. I believe the norm is to average the last 6 weeks but you can ask for the average of a year to be taken as many jobs have up and down seasons.

[candor]

You should also consider the treatment you received. Ever thought about how much it cost? Considering the lengthy surgery, flying doctors up, etc etc, you'll find it runs into the hundred of thousands of dollars, which was payed by ACC.

Yeah - which he has paid for and will continue to no doubt.

Appealing it will get you nowhere. Our family were out of pocket over a hundred grand from the impaired driver who killed my Mum. Dad had to sell house fast being down to one income and too cheap, brother lost his high paid job due to mental breakdown from stress killer put on us and could not get the dole or any income for round a year as he quit to avoid being sacked, so he lost his house too. And theres more like burial, travel to court hearings, lawyers etc...

But the Judge ordered us no reparation - not one brass razoo - as the killer incorrectly stated on oath that he was broke. Hadn't stopped him spending thousands on his defence tho.

NZers get the worst deal out of all developed countries for crime reparation.
Private death or injury insurance is prolly necessary here tho I don't have it at the moment. I think tourists need to be told this (how primitive our victim rights) as look how :gob: smacked the koreans who lost arms were at the insulting raw deal they got from ACC.

[colsan1]

i must say this thread has made very interesting reading for me. I'm planning on moving to nz to live and had no idea your legal system was any different to ours here in the uk.
Last year i was "bumped" while in my car by a slow moving police van. Very minimal neck injuries that didnt last more than a wekk or so and got £1600 ($4000+).
this was all sorted out by my insurance co who aranged car repairs and also did the injury compensation stuff for me after only needing a short statement from me. Its that simple.
The money came in handy and was a lot more than i thought i'd get.
The down side of this,As has been mentioned already in the thread is the USA style sue,sue,sue culture that is now rife here in the uk. If you go to a shopping centre there will be a team from some personal injury firm badgering evry person who walks in with the opening line "had an acident in the last 3 years mate? we can get you some money".
People are suing nieghbours because their hedges are too high, suing councils because they tripped up while drunk on their way home from the pub.
Its now reached the point where we (and we all do it) claim for anything we can because the culture now is "why should i be the only one not to get some money for it".
I'm gonna have to look into this acc system as i dont know anything about it but its got to be better than the system here where everyone is screwing everyone else.

[Boob Johnson]

The $1000 isn't for the hip, is it? The hip is covered (or otherwise) by ACC, and the law says you can't get anything out of the girl for that. The $1000 is for your distress - which interestingly seems to be more as a result of the payout situation than the actual accident ...

Don't get me wrong - I feel sorry for what happened to you. The girl is probably suffering a fair amount too; it wasn't deliberate, and she's got to live with the knowledge of what her brief lapse in attention has caused you.

RichardMy hip covered by ACC??? Are you for real Richard? Did you read ANY of this thread?

ACC are paying a pathetic % of my wages.


As for the $1000 payout. Im gunna be quite frank for a moment so for those that don't wish to read a few harsh words.............DUCK! :dodge:


Richard your a fucking asshat, I don't mind saying it, not a bit. Ive been to hell n back mate. Ice spent weeks in hospital n fucking agony & continue to be to this day and for many more to come. Ive got 9 FUCKING steal pins and a titanium plate screwed to my hip.................for LIFE Richard!!! Please don't attempt to trivialise that. I might be flippant about my situation but that's just my way of trying to stay positive about it all. I refuse to be beaten by ANYTHING, but im farked if ill listen to the horse shit that's flowing from your keyboard right now. Sorry if that came across as a little harsh but I really don't think you thought before you typed the above.

I will have issues with this in time to come, possibly to the day I die. If I had the choice between loosing (so far) 6 weeks of being under paid my normal pay check ($300 from ACC) + a grand, im sure you could work it out.

I would much rather be working earning $800 clear a week like I was with my body intact & have the young girl be a little bit more patient at intersections.


Which brings me to my next soap box moment: I will be putting in my 2 cents to Harry Duynhoven about the licence age. Its a bloody joke. It's harder to buy a packet of salt n vinager chips in the country than get a car licence.



1. I would say the combination of things you need to do at the same time to make a car drive indicates it WAS deliberate. Maybe not running poor Booby J down but she made a choice and acted on it.............

Which brings me to point 2.

2. While the lack of big $$ payouts leaves out system less vulnerable to corruption and gives everyone great access to treatment I can't help but wonder if the fear of being broke and/or losing most of your possesions to pay someone some amount closer to real compensation for the impact you've had on their life and more like punishment would cut down on these sometimes fatal "lapses" of attention.

Driving is not the place for ill-attention to the task at hand, if people had the consequence to themselves in their head (cos lets be honest, Boob Johnson will be living with this while little miss 18 is snorkelling in Fiji with her friends and the rest of it) they may just take the due care needed to operate a ton of steel.

Also, while I'm ranting, I don't buy into the "we all know how dangerous it is on a bike" crap. We are all well aware and are better off for it BUT schoolkids have no armour or helmets and less awareness but can still be plowed into buy a car with a shit/dopey driver. Doesn't make it the kids fault for going out of the house without safety gear. Do we want to be (generalization ahead!:dodge:) Americans who drive round in SUV's cos WHEN they get hit they'll be safer or like alot of Europeans who buy vehicles that are designed to PREVENT accidents?

the end for now..... you've all got off lightly this time!Pancakes for President :Punk:


Try living a day in the shoes of a victim before you spout of "worldly wise philosophies"


[/QUOTE]BJ where do you get the card from as i had a weeee fall and now have bolts, plates and screws in ankle and leg

go back to ACC and ask them why they didn't go back over the last 12 months because you normaly work ot etc... and that you had just had a weeks sick leave you should also get a lump sum for a permanent injury and "if you don't ask you get"
get well[/QUOTE]I haven't tried to get it yet, last thing on my mind has been international travel to be honest :innocent:

Dude ive had it out with ACC & am well versed on the system now, im getting all I can for my personal circumstances :angry:

But thanks for the encouragement



Actually ... ACC is supposed to replace ALL payments of that kind.

Boob, once upon a time you would sue the other party for damages and hurt and disability but the ACC Act expressly prohibits that - so I think you did damned well. Somebody must have told a tear-jerker about you in court.

Lucky sodA tear jerker? Have u seen the x ray's from my original thread? Have u seen the scar ive got? You obviously can't feel the pain and discomfort I live with everyday but thanks for your thoughts. I feel lucky that I came out of it alive but to think im a "lucky sod" in the way you put it :no:



Oh yeah! you should be able to ask for a longer period of income to be looked at if you feel the time they took didn't reflect your actual income. I believe the norm is to average the last 6 weeks but you can ask for the average of a year to be taken as many jobs have up and down seasons.It works like so........your previous 4 weeks income, the switches to the last 12 months. Unfortunately I was running a family business so my taxable income was pretty much the same :angry:



Yeah - which he has paid for and will continue to no doubt.

Appealing it will get you nowhere. Our family were out of pocket over a hundred grand from the impaired driver who killed my Mum. Dad had to sell house fast being down to one income and too cheap, brother lost his high paid job due to mental breakdown from stress killer put on us and could not get the dole or any income for round a year as he quit to avoid being sacked, so he lost his house too. And theres more like burial, travel to court hearings, lawyers etc...

But the Judge ordered us no reparation - not one brass razoo - as the killer incorrectly stated on oath that he was broke. Hadn't stopped him spending thousands on his defence tho.

NZers get the worst deal out of all developed countries for crime reparation.
Private death or injury insurance is prolly necessary here tho I don't have it at the moment. I think tourists need to be told this (how primitive our victim rights) as look how :gob: smacked the koreans who lost arms were at the insulting raw deal they got from ACC.My condolences to your family Candor. This is a prime example of why ACC is a shit system. Either way we pay!!! We can pay into the shithaus ACC system or we can pay insurance companies and actually get what it's worth to have your body fucked up or worse.


Anyone that has had the rough end of the ACC stick will no doubt agree.

[Grahameeboy]

Actually ... ACC is supposed to replace ALL payments of that kind.

Boob, once upon a time you would sue the other party for damages and hurt and disability but the ACC Act expressly prohibits that - so I think you did damned well. Somebody must have told a tear-jerker about you in court.

Lucky sod

That GBP25,000 would just be for the injury (pain and suffering)....then you add loss of income etc on to that.

[Grahameeboy]

My condolences to your family Candor. This is a prime example of why ACC is a shit system. Either way we pay!!! We can pay into the shithaus ACC system or we can pay insurance companies and actually get what it's worth to have your body fucked up or worse.


Anyone that has had the rough end of the ACC stick will no doubt agree.

ACC is a red carpet compared to say Disability (born with)......sorry my pet thing. ACC is an insurance policy bit there will always be exclusions but agree the way ACC is advertised suggests othewise.

[jonbuoy]

If you could start suing people for damages etc like in the UK expect your insurance premium to triple. Its a nice idea but people take the piss - you get rear ended on the motorway play up like you got serious whiplash and get a juicy payout. These No win no fee companies will tell you exactly what to say to the Doctor, how it hurts etc..

[ozrobo]

better than oz i hit a guy who stopped on the highway and the fellah took off it blew apart my knee twisted my hip broke my scafoid in my wrist 18 months later i got nothing even the insurance wouldnt pay cause no 1 took the fellahs number plate still cant run but im more carefull on the highways

[MacD]

The down side of this,As has been mentioned already in the thread is the USA style sue,sue,sue culture that is now rife here in the uk. If you go to a shopping centre there will be a team from some personal injury firm badgering evry person who walks in with the opening line "had an acident in the last 3 years mate? we can get you some money".


In my particular line of work you can make quite a nice living in the USA as an expert witness. Turn up at court, make an expert statement to suit which ever side of the action you are on, and pocket a nice fee. True justice eh?

While ACC is far from a perfect system, and seems too dependent on the whims of case managers, the alternative is not a great option. For every headline large payout there are countless ongoing court arguments resulting in wealthy lawyers, large insurance premiums and little else.

[Matt_TG]

Boob mate, Richard was only stating the facts about the situation, in that in NZ the system is 'no fault'. The law removes the right to sue. Richard was spot on in saying that the $1,000 was for emotional distress, she isn't paying for the operation or the fact you have a messed up body for life. It's a statute, made by the asses we elect.

I don't see Richard commenting the amount was 'fair', which is what you are getting at.... and you did mention in your first post that it was like a 'pools win' - hence his other comment that the subsequent debate has created more stress.

ACC has in fact paid - for the operation to repair your hip. Other countries, where you can sue (but not guarantee you'll actually get paid) you'll need insurance to cover that or pay for it yourself.

None of us want to be in this situation and I believe that all bikers reading this will feel deeply for you mate, we all see the possibility of ourselves in the same position, it's just that at the end of the day there I don't think that there's too much more that can be done, which sucks.

[rwh]

Firstly - my apologies. I knew it sounded harsher than I intended, but went ahead and hit send anyway. I shouldn't have done that.


My hip covered by ACC??? Are you for real Richard? Did you read ANY of this thread?


That's what the 'or otherwise' was supposed to cover. I didn't mean to imply that the ACC payout was adequate, just that that's the only place you can get anything from for your hip - you can't sue the perpetrator. Personally, I like that. Everybody makes mistakes; occasionally those mistakes will cost a horrendous amount of money - and the more our hospitals can do, the more it will cost. The fact that hospitals are getting better is better for you (the victim), but could bankrupt the person who made the mistake, if they had to pay it themselves. And they probably couldn't afford it, so you'd either go without treatment, or you'd have to pay for it yourself, or the state would have to step in anyway. Unless we all had private third party insurance, of course, which is probably the best alternative.


ACC are paying a pathetic % of my wages.

And, presumably, a whole bunch of hospital expenses. I accept that it's not enough.


I might be flippant about my situation but that's just my way of trying to stay positive about it all. I refuse to be beaten by ANYTHING, but im farked if ill listen to the horse shit that's flowing from your keyboard right now. Sorry if that came across as a little harsh but I really don't think you thought before you typed the above.

Accepted. I usually spend a fair amount of time both thinking and editing my posts before I submit them, but I didn't do enough of that for this one, and I knew it at the time, and sent it anyway.

I'm sorry.

Richard

[fireliv]

The guy who bashed my mate on duty in the face and broke his nose in three places permanently disfiguring it got $100 fine and 10 hours community service with no reparation. But then my mate is a cop and nobody gives a fuck. It was even on Police Ten Seven video for the Judge to see.

Sorry mate but the minimum community work that can be imposed by a judge is like 40 hours so he must have gotten more, unless it was dealt with outside of court. Unfortuatly the laws percieve that if you are a cop then you know the risks when u sign up, so penalties are lower than if it was a member of the public (not sure I believe in that since I see it as civil disobedience).

I know ACC is crap, but at least we have something to try and help us... many countries dont and you have to fend for yourself.

As for the $1000 it is a pity the judge didnt have reparation figures from you cos hopefully you would have gotten more.

Good luck with recovery

[smoky]

Um? Just to clarify im guessing you didn't read my original "binned it" thread? I was on the open road (100Km/h zone) doing well under the posted limit, the experts estimated between 70 & 80Km/h to be my speed. .....Im fully aware of the risks but im obviously not to blame in this accident in any shape or form...

hey man - no one said you were to blame - when i said;

I often wonder; we know full well what the risk is with riding a bike on the road, so then why do we expect anything when it all goes wrong?...
I was referring to the added risk of no protection around you - no crumple zone dude. If you have an accident, no matter whoes fault it is, odds are it's gonna hurt more than if we were in a car.

I understand your point about people on the sidewalk - but in reality thats not as comman as a bike accident is it?

[Boob Johnson]

Boob mate, Richard was only stating the facts about the situation, in that in NZ the system is 'no fault'. The law removes the right to sue. Richard was spot on in saying that the $1,000 was for emotional distress, she isn't paying for the operation or the fact you have a messed up body for life. It's a statute, made by the asses we elect.

I don't see Richard commenting the amount was 'fair', which is what you are getting at.... and you did mention in your first post that it was like a 'pools win' - hence his other comment that the subsequent debate has created more stress.

ACC has in fact paid - for the operation to repair your hip. Other countries, where you can sue (but not guarantee you'll actually get paid) you'll need insurance to cover that or pay for it yourself.

None of us want to be in this situation and I believe that all bikers reading this will feel deeply for you mate, we all see the possibility of ourselves in the same position, it's just that at the end of the day there I don't think that there's too much more that can be done, which sucks.Yeah I think I did over react a bit Splatty it just came across like he was meaning a $1000 was more than enough for my pain n suffering.

Just to clarify I wasn't sure what to expect as ive never been in this situation before, so initially when I opened the letter from the courts I was like "oh a grand........sweet" then I thought about it a bit more and went "hold on, a $1,000 for what ive been through plus a lifetime of uncertainy sounds a lil cheap to me".

Yes ive had a top notch surgeon, yes ive got a few bucks coming in from ACC to put a few viddles on me plate but ive paid taxes for many years (and ACC levies when I was self employed) so that's where that comes from, insurance paid for my bike & gear replacement but im getting practically nothing for a lifetime of inconvenience! Just doesn't quite add up in my book, certainly now im in the hot seat as it were.

From where im sitting, I would much rather have the same or similar system to the states. Either way it's gunna cost a similar amount each right? ACC levies or personal insurance? Whats the dif?


It looks like i've landed myself a very well paid job with an oil company, on Thursday I went for a drug test & physical (they ignored all the morphine in my system :-p). But im not sure ill get it due to my injuries & what about in years to come if this injury comes back to haunt me (ie: arthritis etc) what then? Off to a crap paid job because I cant do what I was doing? I would prefer the big payout from an insurance company to be honest, at least then I would have a lot more options up my sleeve like studying for a more appropriate job.

I totally agree everyone makes mistakes, the young girl had a blonde moment, we all have them at times, were human, im not pissed with her at all. She wouldn't suffer under the US system because her insurance would cover the payout to me.



The guy who bashed my mate on duty in the face and broke his nose in three places permanently disfiguring it got $100 fine and 10 hours community service with no reparation. But then my mate is a cop and nobody gives a fuck. It was even on Police Ten Seven video for the Judge to see.The system in this country is just wrong sometimes. Really sorry to hear about your coppa mate, they deserve so much better. What kind of asshat judge gave that verdict????


Privatise the jails I say, lock idiots up for a lot longer. At least then they will be off the streets for many a year and someone is makin money off of it because they usually just go out and do it again. Victims in NZ are REALLY victims in the true sense of the word!



Firstly - my apologies. I knew it sounded harsher than I intended, but went ahead and hit send anyway. I shouldn't have done that.
All good Richard, soz for over reacting. It's easy to read things differently to how they were meant to come across on the internets :innocent:


Appreciate the reply :niceone:

[The Big J]

hi mate

Congrats on having a good attitude.

I was always blown away by a guy I worked with who lost both legs to meningitis at age 18. Happily married, loved his kids, everyone at work liked him, just didn`t allow himself to be a victim when many others would have.

I think you have a good point about the amount of money but the fact it is was probably included as a concession not a genuine attempt to redress your emotional damage. The courts very rarely compensate victims sufficiently. People commenting that you`re lucky for what you get are speaking comparatively.
ACC is the legal system here, I think you have more chance of perhaps talking to a lawyer for an hour about the system regulation and whether a case to plead or a change to their payout calculation is possible. If the court give you an extra grand will it really matter?

Anyway the point I want to make is that shit happens. The girl is to blame, the system doesn`t redress your loss sufficiently but what amount would?
The fact is you have to make a decision whether to be angry about it or continue life in spite of it. It sounds to me like you`re making the right decision there and despite being emotional about it (who wouldn`t) you aren`t living in the negative.

good luck on the recovery if you have any physical recovery etc. - I haven`t read your other thread.
Hope to see you back on the bike soon. Congrats on the job.

[Boob Johnson]

hi mate

Congrats on having a good attitude.


good luck on the recovery if you have any physical recovery etc. - I haven`t read your other thread.
Hope to see you back on the bike soon. Congrats on the job.Thanks mate. Can't go round feeling sorry for ya self aye just gotta live life with the cards you have been dealt & if your any good at euchre go for the march :Punk:

I have 9 pins & a titanium plate screwed to the hip for life, but they reckon I should make a full recovery, the question mark is things like arthritis in later life, so im taking omega 3 fish oil now to combat that.

Haven't replaced the bike yet, will do as soon as the job is 100% confirmed.

[Sanx]

Congratulations on your sterling attitude, BoobJ. It's obvious you're not letting yourself be run down (excuse the pun) over this; just getting on and dealing with it.

ACC has its flaws, but I think it's one of the fairer systems out there. In the US, and increasingly in the UK, litigation is the immediate recourse to all ills. There's a blame culture in these places; doesn't matter what happened, someone's always to blame.

Councils can be sued if someone trips over a broken paving stone. Motorists are sued after they cause an accident. There've been plenty of cases in both countires where thieves breaking into a house have succesfully sued the homeowner because they tripped going down the stairs whilst carrying something they've just stolen. Everyone knows the story of the woman who succesfully sued McDonalds after ordering a coffee from the drive-thru, putting it between her legs to hold the cup, and then spilling it. She got a considerable amount of money (in the $100,000s) because the drive-thru monkey didn't tell her the coffee was hot...

I like ACC, although I've never had to make a claim on it for anything. By preventing NZers suing for personal injury, insurance costs are kept down and the litigious nature of some other western societies is kept out. Yes, some people lose out and it would seem that BoobJ is one of them, however consider this; under the US system, if you didn't have health insurance, you'd have to pay for your treatment. Not just loss of income or the sundry expenses incurred, but the tens of thousands the plate and pins cost plus all the rehabilitation. Your only option would be to sue the 18 yr-old who caused the accident. Which means paying a lawyer, and they take (typically) a third of the payout as their fees.

If the girl didn't have insurance then she'd have to pay out of her own pocket, which would mean that BoobJ would get $50 a week for the next twenty years. But the lawyer would want his third instantly, regardless of the other party's ability to pay. Boob would end up not only owing the hospital for extremely expensive treatment, but owing his lawyer for a third of whatever damages he was awarded.

In my view, ACC may have its flaws but it's a hell of a lot better than most systems where the only winners are the lawyers and insurance companies.

[Roj]

I normal do plenty of overtime, its a normal part of my pay check but in the month leading up to the accident there was no overtime to be had & I had close to a full week off due to a nasty flu, so ACC took that shithaus month's pay, sliced 20% off it then taxed that 80% by a further 19.5% and im left spending the $1000 for pain in suffering to cover my living costs while I hang about the haus feeling sorry for myself.



I do feel for your plight, ask your ACC case manager for a review, showing the previous 12 months wages,

If you make alot of noise ACC can be very good, but they will not tell you what you can have, you have to ask for every single thing. get on to your case manger, ask what they can do for retraining as you can't do things you could before

As for the $1000 "emotional distress" , the nz system will never give you what would be a truly fair amount, accept it for what it is, for an 18 year old that is a a lot of money.

My wife got knocked off her bike just over 12 months ago, the driver was unlicensed driving an unregistered car. She suffered 12 broken bones, has 7 plates and 35 screws, almost 4 months in hospital, has had 5 operations so far, and at least another 2 more that we know about, she got no payments for emotional distress at all, and we did a very full victim impact report. however we have managed to get reparation for expenses and the driver has to repay the insurance company, at $25 a week it will take the driver over 9 years,

We looked and "restorative Justice" but found what it meant was "sit quietly while the driver apologises":sick:

It is sometimes unfortunate that victims are not truly compensated for these things, but would you prefer to be in NZ or the USA where if you happen to scratch someones car you could be sued for large sums of money?

[Kflasher]

As some of you may have read last month I was the victim of a senseless accident where an 18 yr old girl pulled out in front of me when I was almost on top of it leaving half a nano second to react.

Long story short for those that never read the thread I ended up in hospital going under the knife to have 9 pins and a plate screwed to my hip for life.


Anyway today I got a letter from the courts in the post saying she appeared in court & got nailed for careless driving causing injury which cost her $750 + $130 court costs & a further $1000 to be paid to me for "emotional damage".


Ive never been to hospital before and had nothing to do with any of this prior so wasn't sure if I was going to get a red penny so when I opened the letter initially it was like a small pools win lol. Then I took another look at the xray pics on my cell phone and thought aboutl having all that steal with me for life and wont have full use as I did prior + the possibility of complications in the future ie: arthritis.


My question is: Has anyone here had a similar situation? What did you get paid?


I kinda feel like $1000 for the damage done is kinda cheap.


Am I being a bit too Jewish?

Are you sure the was not an option to take a bat to her bones, in lue of payment???

[Boob Johnson]

Are you sure the was not an option to take a bat to her bones, in lue of payment???lol, im not pissed at the girl. We all make mistakes, we are human after all. I made a few silly mistakes at 18 behind the wheel, thankfully didn't damage anything other than metal. I threw a mates HQ into a swamp at 3am (pissed of course) chasing a rabbit over Bowentown way, wrote the HQ off. No police involved thankfully but I still paid him back for the car. He got one hell of a surprise when I turned up on his doorstep with a bundle of cash with his name on it lol

[xwhatsit]

OK. RWH is talking good stuff here.

$1000 for emotional reparation. Not for your hip, not for ongoing injuries, not for arthritis, not for potential lost jobs on oil rigs or whatever.

That $1000 is for emotional reparation. Scary nightmares or flashbacks or quaking fear everytime you see a motorcycle or whatever. Are you so terribly emotionally injured by the accident that you feel you need more than $1000? Serious question here, not taking the piss.

If not -- you certainly haven't indicated you're mentally fucked up about this, just worried about injuries and jobs etc. -- then there's no reason to dispute the $1000. What you are complaining about falls under ACC's duty to you. You need to ring up your case manager and discuss this with them.

If you're looking for some kind of lump sum for your injuries, then you're shit out of luck -- your original thoughts before you got the $1000 were correct, in NZ they don't do that sort of thing. Injuries and on-going medical problems caused by the accident will be compensated by the ACC.

[Boob Johnson]

OK. RWH is talking good stuff here.

$1000 for emotional reparation. Not for your hip, not for ongoing injuries, not for arthritis, not for potential lost jobs on oil rigs or whatever.

That $1000 is for emotional reparation. Scary nightmares or flashbacks or quaking fear everytime you see a motorcycle or whatever. Are you so terribly emotionally injured by the accident that you feel you need more than $1000? Serious question here, not taking the piss.

If not -- you certainly haven't indicated you're mentally fucked up about this, just worried about injuries and jobs etc. -- then there's no reason to dispute the $1000. What you are complaining about falls under ACC's duty to you. You need to ring up your case manager and discuss this with them.

If you're looking for some kind of lump sum for your injuries, then you're shit out of luck -- your original thoughts before you got the $1000 were correct, in NZ they don't do that sort of thing. Injuries and on-going medical problems caused by the accident will be compensated by the ACC.I think this thread has done it's dash mate, we've covered all that needs to be said, just re hashing what's already been said.


We all know the system, yes ive made a complaint about getting a pathetic amount per week from ACC & there is nothing they can do, they followed the letter of the there own laws, I lucked out, it's just one of those things according to them.


Yes I have emo damage, seriously, not trivialised like you put it but genuine truama. Everytime a car even looks like it could pull out in front of me im freaking out. Every time I drive past the intersection where it happened im freaking out, even if there isn't any cars waiting to pull out. And no it's not a freaking out as in having a epileptic fit, it's the emotion's/thoughts/memories of pain that flash through your head, it's not pleasant.....you ever had a major prang before? Puts the shits up ya mate.


My original point was a $1000 is fark all, irrelevant of what country you are in. And despite the points some have made about the US etc where im sitting right now, I prefer there way because the ACC levy would just be replaced with insurance premiums. No the US system isn't perfect but neither is ours. At least the victim comes out of it with a bag full of cash for his troubles