I wasn't sure where exactly to post this, but I guess "insurance" is close enough

Last weekend I was involved in a bicycle accident, victim to the dreaded "inattentive driver opens car door without looking" I got off fairly easy: simple broken arm, a couple of stitches over the eye, and lots of bruises just about everywhere.

The police report was filed, the insurances notified and normally I'd say that this is where the process ends. Except....

The two police officers in charge of the investigation mentioned that the driver will be prosecuted and fined and I have 3 weeks (months? I can't recall) to notify them if I want to personally prosecute them additionally. At the time, it seemed like a silly thing. I should heal fine, the bike is covered, missed work is covered...but as I (and my husband) spoke to others, we heard stories from people who did not prosecute further and regretted it. Years later, physical injuries showed up that were clearly linked to their accidents.

So my question is: how does this work?

If anyone has any information about this, I would really appreciate hearing more. This is my first accident in Switzerland and it is nothing like anything I've experienced before

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"You don't know unless you ask"

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Sorry I have no personal experience to share. Just thought I'd say that I was in your shoes I would call my legal insurance helpline and get their advice...maybe worth exploring that if you are covered?

Get well soon!

I have a friend who was on the opposite side in a similar scenario.

The guy she hit was off work for months dues to his injuries and after initially saying he wouldn’t press charges against her himself he eventually did for exactly the reasons you stated. It’s a kind of insurance against future problems linked to the injuries and his legal insurance advised him to do it.

It didn’t really make much difference to the outcome in the short term but the option is always there to claim from her liability insurance in the future.

OMG, DD..get well soon! I agree with Belgianmum. I developed bad arthritis in one joint that was injured years before, and a cut on the head may mask some deeper injury.

Not sure if future things like arthritis for instance could be explained by a prior injury (arthritis is an autoimmune and inflammatory disease), but I agree it's better to consult one's legal insurance just in case.

Prosecuting the driver won’t make you heal any faster.

What you do need to do is ensure you informed your insurance company of the full circumstances of the accident and your injuries.

If in some months, or even years, you have problems resulting from the accident, your insurance company will try their best to wriggle out of it. Their first ploy will be too much time has passed to entertain a claim…

The driver will be prosecuted for his violation of the traffic rules. Because your broken arm will likely be considered on a "light injury" (leichte Körperverletzung) it will only be prosecuted if you file a complaint (Strafantrag) - 3 month deadline. Only then will the driver also be prosecuted for this.

According to these guys (https://www.schadenanwaelte.ch/erste...%A4diger%20bzw.) unless you are out for vengeance you will only need to do it if the driver (and his personal liability insurance) do not recognize the driver's fault in full.

In any event, it makes sense to talk with your legal insurance (or if you do not have that you can also try talking with your accident insurance) about what to do. Or else pay a lawyer to have a look at it.

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Liability for any statements hereinabove excluded! - Need a Swiss lawyer PM me.

In addition to talking to your own legal insurance, if you have any, definitely ask to speak to the legal department of your accident insurance.

• If you are not employed, then this accident insurance will be a matter between you and your medical insurance, as an extra module.
  
  
• If you are employed and you work for an average of less than 8 hours per week, your employer's accident insurance is Berufsunfallversicherung (BU = work accident insurance) and covers you only while working and on your direct, uninterrupted journey between home and work. You need your own insurance for accidents in your free time.
  
  
• If you are employed and you work for an average of at least 8 hours per week, your employer's accident insurance is Berufsunfalls and Nicht-Berufsunfallversicherung (BU as above, plus NBU = free-time accident insurance) covers you for work, the journey between home and work, and also all your free-time.

In any event, you need to be given an Accident Number. This will be required of you (from insurers and medical facilities) if you need any further treatement.
Here's to a swift recovery.

Thanks for all of the replies - I appreciate the effort taken in providing so much information.

I am looking into what legal advice is available to me via my employer and will be talking to someone "soon", I hope!

As a proud sufferer of several autoimmune diseases (psoriasis, rosacea, psoriatic arthritis, and regular arthritis--thanks to my Scandinavian genes), I know that. However, the joint (shoulder) that had the traumatic injury is the one that requires cortisone injections...the rest is tolerable.