Wow, that's a long time to feel in limbo. Was it a weight off your shoulders once it was over or was it normalised by that point?
There was a lot of sleepless nights second guessing whether I had any impact on the accident as I couldn't remember it. I know logically I wouldn't have been doing anything wrong, the police said I wasn't doing anything wrong, witnesses said I wasn't doing anything wrong but because it was 5-6 months before she went to court and didn't have a definitive answer it caused a great deal of anxiety. The insurers couldn't show any prejudice towards the criminal case so couldn't say who was at fault...although when I woke up and checked my phone I had emails from them saying they are at fault and want to help...this was rescinded.
It was 12 months from the accident here for everything to wrap up. I was told I was lucky I was hit by someone insured by a large insurer as they know what they're looking at and know what to do to quickly get it to go away. Same as you though, I had a case management team employed by the insurer to manage my rehabilitation which was actually invaluable. Lots of physios, private appointments, CTs/MRIs, psychological assessments etc...I will continue what they advise. There was a lot of emphasise on the psychological side due to being a "Brain Worker".
Definitely had similar experiences with my imagination. I would have fleeting thoughts of thinking I could just wake up in hospital again any moment now with a nurse telling me I've been in an accident. Horrible!
I'm not sure I'll ever be where I was physically but I guess you have to move on. If only I could bring back the quad on my left leg!
The good that came out of my accident is that friends and family made sure they replaced or improved their gear. Strangely enough it didn't put a lot of people off doing their Direct Access, my fiancé did hers that year, a family friend did theirs and my cousin did his also! A friend said the accident couldn't have happened to a better person due to the protection I wore and everywhere there wasn't padding, I broke!
I think at that point, it was just another part of my life - I knew that it would conclude at some point, and sometime in 2011 I heard rumblings from my Solicitors that it would be soon. So it became a bit like waiting for Christmas day I guess; I had also heard from various people (customers, friends of friends etc) over the years, about pay-outs they had heard of for similar accidents/injuries, and figures of 30-60k were being mentioned! In my head I began planning on a deposit for my first house etc etc... when the pay out came it was about 14k if memory serves.
I had the option to contest this in court, where there was every chance I would get more - but also, there was a chance that I would get less; and if that were to happen, the small print in my contract revealed that I would then be picking up the tab for both side's legal fees! So much as I was a bit down with the figure being low (going by all the stories I had listened to), I treated it like a windfall I wasn't expecting or relying on - it helped pay for buying another bike after selling up and moving to Bristol with the then girlfriend (now Wife) and also covered rent and buying house stuff for the place we rented for a few years.
It was nice to put a line under it to be honest, though I do think getting back on a bike so soon after the accident, certainly helped me to move on - iirc the accident was in June 2008, and I was back at work sometime in October; I purchased my R1 in December and run it in over the Winter months.
My family weren't best pleased about me getting back on a bike mind, I was 27 at the time, and both my Mum and Dad were having kittens at the prospect at be being back on two wheels - I probably didn't help the case, as I was high in resus planning on buying an R6 loudly
Trouble is, I was bitten and had the bug - and couldn't envisage giving up riding.
Even now, with an 18 month old, I can't think about giving up on motorcycles - I always tell my Wife that when I'm riding, I don't think about her or my daughter; it's nothing selfish, it's just I love a spirited ride and want to keep my head in the game when I ride like that. If I were to start thinking about them, I'd probably just go into worry mode, and end up pulling over and just turning the bike off.
During my accident, the star of the show was my mate behind - he had only passed DAS a few months earlier, and saw everything - said that the car must have seen him in the mirror, so sped up to make their turn not realising I was in the blind spot. When I got hit, apparently both me and the bike went up in the air, and I came clattering down sliding towards a set of traffic lights - I am thankful I wasn't speeding, as if I'd hit road furniture I might have done myself some more serious injuries.
Said mate was able to collect witness details for about five people - two never responded to my solicitor, one sided with the driver and said I had hit him after speeding, one person said they thought I had hit something in the road and that lead me to hitting the car, but the star witnesses were an older couple directly behind the driver for most of his journey through Swindon; they said he had been constantly weaving between lanes, and was clearly lost/looking for somewhere before he just cut into my lane.
Oh - and I got breath tested in the back of the ambulance too! I know it is standard for RTAs, but trying to blow into that device, with my collar bone and lung both screaming in pain, was agony! It certainly woke me back up, as did the very bumpy painful ride to the hospital. Apparently, the Police shouldn’t have done this - my sister was dating a WPC at the time, and she said that they should have requested a blood test for alcohol, as they couldn't be sure of my injuries.
I had a funny moment a few years ago too - I was working in Trowbridge, and took my lunchbreak in the Highstreet there (shudder), where there was large Police display thingy going on - I got chatting to one of the coppers, and both he and I stopped and did the whole "I know you from somewhere"... but neither of us could put a finger on where. Looking at some of the local paper photos taken of my accident though, he appears to be one of the traffic cops who attended! Small world.
Beautful bike. Really hope you do fully recover.
