BikePGH Message Board Archive

Mysterious Wipe Out...HELP

This is kind of a long shot but yesterday my buddy was riding solo on his tandem (having dropped his boy off at day care) and wiped out near the junction of Forbes and the Birmingham Bridge.

He is now in Presby with a deep concussion and a broken collar bone. Because of the head injury he has no memory of the accident and has no idea whether he was hit or just wiped out on his own.

The thing is that someone must have called the paramedics. There must be some kind of police report or paper trail to help figure out what happened.

Can anyone suggest who I might call to dig into this a little bit? Better still, did anyone see the incident or hear anything on the grapevine?

Advice would be good.

Thanks!

scouse

2009-07-03 14:44:42

if you call the police (via 911.. sorry if it seems obvious, but covering all the bases) they will probably be able to help a spouse or child, or maybe parent (but not you) there should be a police report if he was transported in an ambulance and they'll probably charge you 10 bucks to get a copy of the report... once you do that you'll have names or numbers of people on the scene (witnesses), ambulance info, and investigating officers name... i'd just call the investigating officer and if it involved a car call marc reisman and ask him what to do next... he's a great guy and will take care of your buddy and his family.

imakwik1

2009-07-03 16:03:51

marc reisman is 412 288 9200

imakwik1

2009-07-03 16:04:58

What you want is a Limited Power of Attorney ("to act as my attorney in all matters regarding my bicycle accident of July 2", etc etc). That will give you the authority to talk to the police and paramedics. Find out where his bike is now - you might find clues from that. Yes, somebody called the paramedics. Odds are good that it was your buddy himself but he can't remember. If he called 911 there should be a recording, and that might include the information you need.

Reisman can draft the POA for you or you can write your own, starting with some boilerplate from the Internet or a Nolo Press book. Get your buddy to sign several originals in the presence of two witnesses (and a Notary Public, if you can find one who will visit the hospital room.)

The content of the thing doesn't matter that much, it's just a tool to convince people to talk to you. You'll want to keep it short and simple, so that the lowest-level functionary who sees it will trust their own ability to understand what it means and won't be scared off by the complexity and insist on referring to yet another lawyer -- that will take days. But you need it to "look official". Even though a handwritten letter would be legal, strictly speaking, it probably wouldn't be effective.

Good luck, and let us know what you learn.

lyle

2009-07-03 17:40:09

i wouldn't worry about the poa for you unless he is immobile/incapacitated... it's kind of a mess and some people won't recognize it anyway without lots of trouble. call the cops, talk to a lawyer.

imakwik1

2009-07-03 18:58:16

You might want to go look at the area around the intersection, there might be something there.

Although with the scant information you have, I would nto be surprized if the accident was some distance from the intersection. I'd get the police reprot first, if you can.

Mick

mick

2009-07-06 15:54:10

does he know if he was hit? or just wiped out?

erok

2009-07-06 18:27:52