EPIC FAIL!!!!! - on my part.....

[CajunRider]

Well... to start off, let me first say that I'm OK... sort of... There's a few bruises and scratches, but nothing broken.

So early April I got my hands on a 1999 Triumph Thunderbird Sport. It was beautiful!!!!!

On April 17th, I went to pick her up in Virginia.

Here she is... or was...

http://vrcc.photostash.com/vrcc_26895/Before.jpg

About 5 hours into the trip back, somewhere in South Carolina, I decided to find a hotel for the night. I fueled up and headed towards a hotel I could see from the interstate. Suddenly, I woke up in a hospital!!!!!! :eek:

Well... the police told me that someone pulled out in front of me. I hit them just behind the front tire and did a flying superman over the hood of the vehicle. I remember NONE of it!! Maybe that's a good thing???

So anyways... 5 hours into ownership and the Thunderbird Sport was totaled.

Here she is now... still in South Carolina...

http://vrcc.photostash.com/vrcc_26895/After1.jpg

http://vrcc.photostash.com/vrcc_26895/After2.jpg

:fireangry::fireangry::fireangry::fireangry:

Well... At least I still have my Valk!!!!! :D

I'm healing well... the bruises are going away and the scratches are now just scars...

THANK HEAVENS FOR FULL GEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[SVTFreak]

Glad your ok man! Impressive lack of injuries considering the way you got off it!

[Katy]

someone pulled out in front of you on the interstate? holy crap how fast do they think you were going? you dont remember any of it? thats looney!!

thank god youre ok!!!

[king4456]

Wow is it totalled? Good to see you faired ok. Take some pics of your injuries and the gear you were wearing.

[I_FLY_LOW]

damn the luck, huh? sure glad it wasn't worse.
Hate to hear that, but glad you're here to tell the tale!

[Klantz]

man, that's crazy! Glad you are alright... is the bike at all salvageable?

[Juice]

Damn man, glad to head that you are for the most part ok.

[scootertrash]

Bikes can be rebuilt, but not so easy to rebuild a human. Sorry about the bike, but glad you didn't get dead, or paralyzed.

[cbbr]

^^ What he said. What kind of gear were you wearing?

[mattc]

Glad you're ok. It's a shame to see such a nice bike smashed up that way.

[Britton]

I'm glad your in good shape!!!! ATGATT!!!!

[scooterhose]

Way to cheat death dude!:respect:


Glad you're OK!


Insurance?

[2Evil4U]

Good to hear there wasn't too much personal damage. This reminds me though, I need to re-up my MedJet Assist policy before it expires.

[Swampy]

Glad your OK.. Whats up on the insurance? Did you have any?/ Are they gonna cover it?

[allanj255]

Sorry to here about your Thunderbird sport, one of my favourite bikes. Just glad to here you came out of it better than the Triumph. Not so much as an Epic Fail as an Outstanding Survival

[Ritten]

Great to hear you're ok. I agree with allanj255.....it's not an epic fail if you're still around to tell the tale!!

[CajunRider]

someone pulled out in front of you on the interstate? holy crap how fast do they think you were going? you dont remember any of it? thats looney!!

thank god youre ok!!!

Thankfully, I wasn't on the interstate at the time... i was on a side road trying to get to a hotel. I'd imagine that I was only going about 30-40 mph at the time they pulled out on me... after a quick brake/dodge manuver that aparently didn't work, I'd guess 25-35 at impact. Otherwise, I thing the front forks on the bike would be "L" shaped.

And no... I remember NOTHING of it... one second I'm looking for a drive to the hotel, the next I'm in a hospital. Freaky!!!!

[CajunRider]

man, that's crazy! Glad you are alright... is the bike at all salvageable?

I though about doing that, but I looked at the bike in the scrap yard, and it'd be silly. All tins are shot, all lights are shot, the top end of the motor is cracked, the front forks are all banged up, and the frame is tweaked. :fireangry:

C'est la vie... I guess I'll have to go for a Dorsoduro or a KTM Super Enduro instead... :D

[CajunRider]

^^ What he said. What kind of gear were you wearing?

Someone else asked this earlier... while I have no pictures of the bruises (they're gone now) or the gear, I can tell you what I had.

I was wearing a leather jacket that was armored. A pair of leather gloves. A pair of work jeans (dual layers of denim). And a full face Shoei helmet.

The gloves are fine... the jeans got cut off at the hospital... the jacket is scuffed, but not badly (I'll probably replace it anyway)... and the helmet is shot. The helmet actually has paint missing in a couple of places and a few scuffs. I do believe it saved my life, cause even with it on, I had a concussion.

[CajunRider]

Glad your OK.. Whats up on the insurance? Did you have any?/ Are they gonna cover it?

The insurance of the other driver should cover everything. I have insurance also if they try to pull any tricks... I'll just hand everything over to them and let them duke it out.

It's $3200 for the bike, $300 or so in gear, and about $9000 for the hospital bills (They X-rayed everything AND a CAT Scan...)

[CajunRider]

Great to hear you're ok. I agree with allanj255.....it's not an epic fail if you're still around to tell the tale!!

Well... I didn't think of it that way!! :D

I was more referring to buying a bike that never made it home... :D

In any case... thanks for that... It made me think of it a different way. :)

And with that... I think I got all the questions covered for now... I'll try to answer any others that come up.

Thanks ALL!!

[lovethewater72]

Glad to hear you are ok.

[2Evil4U]

Don't settle with the insurance until they cut you an additional check for "Pain & Suffering." That in and of itself should be worth 1-1.5x the hospital bills, lost work, co-pays, prescriptions etc. (If you were out of work, claim those hours too, even if you're salary.) (If you used your personal medical insurance to cover the stuff, watch them as they are likely to come after part of the settlement to cover their expenses.) Keep good records and stick it in their ass. They'll settle. Drag that part of it out as long as you can too. Claims agents become more willing to talk if their boss keeps asking why the hell the claim is STILL open. I wrote up a huge essay on my blog about our experiences after a car wreck several years ago.

Few lawyers would take it as you're still in one good piece and the $$$ prospects aren't too high and I am in no way suggesting you sue, but you should definitely be compensated for the aggravation.

[wjcook]

Glad to see that your are alright. Sock it too them. get as much as you can.

[pi3832]

It's $3200 for the bike, $300 or so in gear, and about $9000 for the hospital bills (They X-rayed everything AND a CAT Scan...)

Just think how much money you could have saved if you were not wearing a helmet.

[scotte]

your lucky you came out with such little wounds and luck another car didn't run you over. I'll buy that bike from you for a $100.00 :)

[CajunRider]

your lucky you came out with such little wounds and luck another car didn't run you over. I'll buy that bike from you for a $100.00 :)

I can get the insurance info for you... :D

I don't think you want it though... the frame is tweaked and the engine is cracked at the mounts. (I already looked into buying it back... :D ) I just don't think it's worth fixing.

[CajunRider]

Just think how much money you could have saved if you were not wearing a helmet.

Yeah.... but the CAT scan proves I'm not insane!!!

Well... That's what I'm telling people anyway... that's my story and I'm sticking to it! :D

[scotte]

I can get the insurance info for you... :D

I don't think you want it though... the frame is tweaked and the engine is cracked at the mounts. (I already looked into buying it back... :D ) I just don't think it's worth fixing.

just trying to lighten the mood....

However I have been in a few wrecks over the years and I have always settled (being a numb teen). I wish I had done it smarter. My good friend got in a wreck about 3 years ago, he was going to settle after the first mouth because he was feeling fine. I convinced him to wait and it was a good thing, about 8 mouths after he started having real bad back problems. To this day he still gets everything paid by the other guy's insurance for his back problems. They offered him a good amout of money at first but if he would have taken that, it would have ran out after a year of treatment. I guess what I am trying to say is that make them sweet it out, it is not worth the lump sum or your health. injures can start to show up a year after the wreck. trust me on this I have been in my fair share and got the scars to prove it.

[wjcook]

Injury to the back will cause arthritis years later. I hurt my back, 3 herniated discs and now I have trouble with arthritis. I found the best relief from a tilt table, hanging bed , it really does more than anything else I've tried. Just my 2 cents....good luck and keep up on your health care...

[Juice]

Details?



I found the best relief from a tilt table, hanging bed , it really does more than anything else I've tried. Just my 2 cents....good luck and keep up on your health care...

[Fitty]

Details?
Something like this maybe?

http://www.losethebackpain.com/inversion3.html

[CajunRider]

Injury to the back will cause arthritis years later. I hurt my back, 3 herniated discs and now I have trouble with arthritis. I found the best relief from a tilt table, hanging bed , it really does more than anything else I've tried. Just my 2 cents....good luck and keep up on your health care...

Ouch... sorry to hear about that. That must suck pretty bad.

Luckily for me, my back wasn't injured... just the bike, my knee, and my pride. My knee is healed up now, so it's almost back to 100%. I've never been one to sue, so I simply waited to see what the insurance would do for me. They agreed to pay for the bike, all the hospital/doctor bills, and all the gear that was damaged, so I'm not suing for anything.

Only problem I have left is a little patch on my knee where the skin was removed... the nerves are shot, so one part has no feeling and the other part has some crazy thing where I touch it with a finger and it feels like my whole hand... In the end, it's just an agrivation, not a problem. All the cartlidge and ligaments are fine. It'll probably turn into arthritis by the time I get old, but by then the statute of limitations will be up anyway.