Bike Accident - Helicopter

About 4 weeks ago I had an accident on my bike. I really don't know what happened. One minute I was riding along about 15mph on a road that I ride frequently - not doing anything particularly risky, and the next thing I remember is being in an ambulance. My husband, who was in front (so did not see anything) says that there was a loose piece of asphalt in the bike lane which I guess I did not see. I was trying to catch him to draft as there was quite a headwind. The bike lane gets a little narrow there and there is lots of eucalyptus debris, also mottled light.

I hit my head and the helmet cracked and I had a slight concussion, facial road rash and a broken finger. Because I had been briefly unconscious the EMT said I needed to go to a hospital with a trauma center. I did not know that we don''t have one in this county. I also did not know that my medical insurance only covers $1000 of transport. The bill for this helicopter flight is $23,000. Basically, they told my husband that if I did not get to a trauma center in an hour, I could die.

So, I want everyone to know that they should check their county for trauma center availability and check their insurance coverage. It seems there are some helicopter companies where you can get insurance or membership - wish we had known about that. We will try to negotiate it down - but really this is ridiculous.

Anyway, my face is healing nicely. And my finger is ready for physical therapy. The one thing they did not tell me in the hospital is just how fatigued I would be for weeks after the accident. Apparently, that is normal after a head trauma. I am starting to get my energy back.

I almost get sick watching these people bike by me without a helmet. I'll be fine, but if I did not have a helmet on, I might not be.

Just an aside - my carbon bike (Ruby) was fine. I did have it checked out by a professional. All she needed is new handlebar tape. I guess I took the impact rather than the bike.

I really don't understand how I fell. All the damage was to my right side, yet my husband said he found me on my left side with the bike on top of me. The only damage to the bike was a few scratches and the front part of the shifters on both sides is very scraped (like I went forward on the handlebars). So, how did I fall?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by featuretile

About 4 weeks ago I had an accident on my bike. I really don't know what happened. One minute I was riding along about 15mph on a road that I ride frequently - not doing anything particularly risky, and the next thing I remember is being in an ambulance. My husband, who was in front (so did not see anything) says that there was a loose piece of asphalt in the bike lane which I guess I did not see. I was trying to catch him to draft as there was quite a headwind. The bike lane gets a little narrow there and there is lots of eucalyptus debris, also mottled light.

I hit my head and the helmet cracked and I had a slight concussion, facial road rash and a broken finger. Because I had been briefly unconscious the EMT said I needed to go to a hospital with a trauma center. I did not know that we don''t have one in this county. I also did not know that my medical insurance only covers $1000 of transport. The bill for this helicopter flight is $23,000. Basically, they told my husband that if I did not get to a trauma center in an hour, I could die.

So, I want everyone to know that they should check their county for trauma center availability and check their insurance coverage. It seems there are some helicopter companies where you can get insurance or membership - wish we had known about that. We will try to negotiate it down - but really this is ridiculous.

Anyway, my face is healing nicely. And my finger is ready for physical therapy. The one thing they did not tell me in the hospital is just how fatigued I would be for weeks after the accident. Apparently, that is normal after a head trauma. I am starting to get my energy back.

I almost get sick watching these people bike by me without a helmet. I'll be fine, but if I did not have a helmet on, I might not be.

Just an aside - my carbon bike (Ruby) was fine. I did have it checked out by a professional. All she needed is new handlebar tape. I guess I took the impact rather than the bike.

I really don't understand how I fell. All the damage was to my right side, yet my husband said he found me on my left side with the bike on top of me. The only damage to the bike was a few scratches and the front part of the shifters on both sides is very scraped (like I went forward on the handlebars). So, how did I fall?

---

Ouch. Gentle hugs. I'm glad you're okay, at least mostly. And I'm glad your bike is okay too. ;)
My guess is you hit the chunk of asphalt, endo'd, and rolled.

I've got no advice on the insurance, but it sounds familiar. When DBF crashed (going 30 miles an hour), his parents' insurance (since he was in 8th or 9th grade at the time) initially refused to cover helicopter flight to the hospital. It took a statement from the EMT/paramedic who had made the call (uh, guys? Potential head+ neck injury...) to get them to cover it. They also initially refused to cover the various procedures to fix his face, because they saw that the doc who had performed them was a plastic surgeon. :rolleyes:

Yikes! What a scary experience! So glad you are feeling better. Hope you heal quickly.

Sorry that you now have the added stress of financial garbage to your healing process, but I'm glad you experienced nothing worse.

After my daughter's wreck, we signed up for AirEvac. They had the helicopter on standby for her, but didn't end up using it.

Wow. ((((((featuretile)))))) So sorry you're having to go through this - glad your injuries weren't worse, wish our health care system was better. :(

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by featuretile

Because I had been briefly unconscious the EMT said I needed to go to a hospital with a trauma center. I did not know that we don''t have one in this county. ... Basically, they told my husband that if I did not get to a trauma center in an hour, I could die.

---

Say this in every conversation with your insurance. Remind them often.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by featuretile

I really don't understand how I fell. All the damage was to my right side, yet my husband said he found me on my left side with the bike on top of me. The only damage to the bike was a few scratches and the front part of the shifters on both sides is very scraped (like I went forward on the handlebars). So, how did I fall?

---

Maybe you hit hard on your right and then rolled over.
Both of my crashes I have wondered about this too.

Good healing to you.

Wow, I'm just glad you're okay. Good luck with the insurance company. What a pain, but at least you walked away without any major injuries.

Oh wow. That sucks at every level. Glad you are healing up well, and that is the most important part.

As for your crash, it sounds like that loose asphalt and/or the eucalyptus debris was a factor, you may have lost traction in the debris and/or hit the loose asphalt and lost control. I hate to say it too, as others have, but maybe a lawyer? The city is responsible for the bike lane as it is for the street (unless you were on private property). I hate to sound like 'Oh joy, time for a slip and fall lawyer' but there may be something here other than you just la-la'd out and fell over.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by featuretile

About 4 weeks ago I had an accident on my bike. I really don't know what happened.

---

Oh my! I think I read a brief news article about your crash on the local paper's website. The article didn't say much - just that a rider had been helicopter evac'ed after a no-cars-involved crash.

Hope your recovery goes fine!

Oh my! I am so glad you were not injured worse than you were and so sorry that you have to deal with the insurance issues - I hope you are able to resolve this soon so that stress can be removed.

I'm glad you're ok and hope that the rest of your recovery is smooth and swift.

Oh my gosh. How terrifying. I'm glad you're mostly okay and I hope your rehab goes well. Hopefully, the provider (not sure if the helicopter is a service of the hospital or seperate entity) will be willing to negotiate with you. Thanks for bringing the issue to our attention. I can't say that I've ever thought about what would happen if I needed a helicopter, be it from a bike or car accident. But now that I live outside the Indianapolis metro area, that is something to think about.

Glad you're healing featurile. That is scary.

And that helicoper airlift bill-- shocking. Let us know of outcome.

First of all I'm glad that you are healing fine and sharing your experience with us here, TODAY. A big hug from me!!

I'll echo what others said here, you should get a lawyer with accident/injury experience to help you with this and to negotiate the bill with the helicopter company. Hopefully he won't charge you more than what you owe to the helicopter company :eek:. I do really hate the "get a lawyer" route but, what can you do? Oh, also thanks for the helicopter service heads up. I live in Orange County FL and I will search for this service and how it works here.

This is funny (not funny like ha ha) but yesterday when we were driving back home through the Florida I-4 route, I saw hundreds of billboards of lawyers offering the: Did you have an Accident? Are you Injured? service and I was so tired of the billboards that I told my husband that if I see one more I was going to throw up. And look at me today, advising to you to look for one. Ironic...