I was hit by a pickup truck head-on. Driver was 100% at fault. I dislocated my finger. I was furious at the driver and was cursing. I had bright neon shirt and flashing headlight but this idiot still hit me. She said she didn't see me and I yelled at her that "you should have seen me!". I got a bike lawyer and sued her. During discovery her lawyer asked for the last few years of my income tax returns. I was very angry about this, it's none of their damn business. My lawyer said they were trying to determine if my income was a motivation to sue. I really wanted to refuse but my lawyer said to cooperate so I did. At deposition the driver outright lied and said I had no light, I didn't have bright clothing and that she was in her lane. All lies. Her lawyer asked me how fast I was going, how far away I was when I saw her, when I applied my brakes. All questions trying to pin any blame on me for not avoiding the collision. My lawyer had warned me to stay calm and just answer the questions calmly, which I did. But inside I was boiling because I'd done nothing wrong. We settled and I got a few thousand dollars, my lawyer kept 40%. This was in 2009. I had no camera with me. I didn't think to ask anyone to take photos of the accident scene. I WISH I HAD because it would prove the woman was lying. So my advice to bikers is to either wear a video camera or take photos because otherwise it's your word against theirs. You can't rely on the driver to tell the truth.
I hate to be the grammar police. But "hit by a car" is incorrect. The proper way is "hit by a driver," or "hit with a car," or "hit by a driver with a car."
