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What a relief it is to have your update, Ian.

With Coops' courage and indomitable spirit, she will surely be healing fast and coming out of that Intensive Therapy Unit or whatever they call it very soon.

We are very touched you are taking the time and the trouble to let us have news of Coops.  She is much loved and respected here on the forum (and I am sure elsewhere) and there are many here thinking about her and eager to hear the good news.

Hope you yourself are OK with the worry and commuting to Rouen.

When you are able to talk to her, be sure to tell her that we are thinking of her and wishing her well.

Thank you, Ian.[:)]

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Circumstances of the accident have now been revealed, following my conversation with the gendarme responsible today. It was in no way Deb's fault. A lorry, which may have swerved to avoid a car or cars in front of it, came across the white line and hit Deb head on. No-one else was injured.

I have spent an hour retrieving things from the wreck of the car, and am very impressed with how little damage there is. The engine has stayed pretty much in place - quite different from the old days when it tended to try and join you in the cabin on such impacts. The rear passenger door still opened and closed. The roof is missing, having been removed by the Sapeurs/Pompiers in releasing Deb.Deb had always fancied a convertible Micra, and now she'd got one when too ill to enjoy it! Seriously, if you want a small car that will protect you, Nissan Micra is a good bet. I'm sure Deb would have another.

The gendarme, who acted brilliantly on the day, calling me twice to let me know where Deb had been taken, had taken her handbag, camera and laptop, as well as a couple of holdalls, into police care - they were handed over today, with her passport. But in the car there was a complete mess of horse-feed, Diet Coke and Heinz Baked beans (4-packs, of course). Surprisingly two jars of Sainsbury's Hollandaise Sauce survived, as did several bottles of Saumur which had clearly not been drunk in England. The camera - a Nikon D70 with new-ish 70-300 Vibration Reduction (ooh!) lens - is not going to take further pictures, I think. But if someone else was responsible for the accident, then a claim looks likely, so redress in some form may emerge in due course.

I expect to see Deb in Rouen tomorrow.

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[quote user="cooperlola2"]Deb had always fancied a convertible Micra, and now she'd got one when too ill to enjoy it![/quote]

Ian, how encouraging that you can find something to smile and joke about!

Give her our best and do look after yourself.

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Arguments between small cars and big lorries are inevitably one sided so very pleased that Debs car held up so well.

Gratifying to hear that the Gendarmes handled it professionally too, I believe that SD's recent experience with them in not too dissimilar circumstances was also exemplary. Generally one only hears only the bad side of the 'flics' but a round of thanks to them is in order I think.

Trust Debs is progressing well and not too uncomfortable (is she awake yet) and look forward to hearing more good news in due course.

Ernie

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so sorry to hear of the accident and my very best wishes to both of you. Is there anybody in or near Rouen who could visit?

PS - I know my OH's blood group and he knows mine - but I've just realised I don;t know my daughters' or grand-son. Will check asap as it could save time. Sadly it's taken this sad event to remind me. Bonne chance     Odile

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Yes, both airbags deployed. The one in front of Deb had some blood on it, but otherwise there was really very little of that precious stuff about, thank God. No doubt that helped her survival - she wasn't losing blood very fast.

I think I feel a need coming on - and one of you will know how to get closer to my goal. I am now faced with a journey of 240 miles, let's say every other day. Our remaining car is a 7-yr old Skoda, with 56k miles on it. I think, now the gendarmes have made it clear Deb was innocent, that I should have use of a hirecar with free fuel to make those trips, but my halting French isn't going to make a very strong case when the lady at MAAF explains why it can't be provided until the whole claim has been settled.

Where is my lever under her stone, please? Any ideas?

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Until someone else pops in with a definitive answer to I can only relate my own experiences in UK with accidents and hire cars.

The big question I think will be who's name the Micra was insured in. If it was Debs then you could be on a sticky wicket and I don't think I'd hold out too much hope for fuel either way, I could be wrong and hope I am. You need to read the policy to see what the insured is entitled to or get someone to help you if your French is not up to it.

Good luck.

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Assuming you are both named on the policy...

According to their website, you should have access to a replacement car if you have the "Tranquilité au quotidien" option:

Besoin d'un véhicule quoiqu'il arrive ? Choisissez Tranquillité au quotidien

Assistance 0 km

Votre véhicule est dépanné où que vous soyez.

Véhicule de remplacement

En cas de panne, accident ou vol, MAAF vous prête un véhicule de remplacement.

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Ian, some possible ideas....

I have had experience visiting close relatives in Intensive Care Units in the UK on two occasions and each time was given a room in a house to stay in by the hospital.  Does anyone on the Forum know whether French hospitals have such facilities?  Do you need someone to telephone the hospital to find out for you (my French wouldn't be good enough)?

Alternatively, do you need someone to telephone your insurance company for you to find out what you can and cannot claim for?  There are a number of good French speakers on this Forum.  Perhaps you would be entitled, for example, to be paid for accommodation near the hospital?  When I had a serious crash on a French autoroute, I claimed successfully for this but I had a RAC breakdown policy and it was sometime ago.

 

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Frenchie, how kind you are.  But then, you're that sort of person.

Ian, do feel free to take Frenchie up on her offer.  She'd help anybody!

(Frenchie, I won't remind you about Ilfracombe as you were so sympathetic!  Sorry, private joke...)

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Ian

Just a few quick points of information....

Our BMW was irreparably damaged in our accident (roof removed by pompiers to get me out on the 'plank') and I phoned MAAF to enquire about a hire car to use whilst looking around for a replacement.  They said I would have been entitled to a loan car provided by the bodyshop if my car was undergoing repair, but as they were in the process of writing it off and I'd be receiving my settlement imminently, the hire car facility did not apply.  You can find details in the terms and conditions of Deb's policy.

An alternative would be for you to pay for your own hire car then have Deb submit a civil claim through the Procureur when the other driver is prosecuted.  The gendarmerie should normally give her a victim information leaflet explaining all of this.

Re the write-off procedure, the gendarmerie will retain the carte grise and return it to the prefecture.  They will issue a retention certificate which you send off to MAAF. MAAF will then appoint an expert who examines the car, estimates the likely cost of repair and if appropriate, recommends a write off.  He will send Deb a written offer based on the Argus value of the car, plus the papers for signing ownership of the wreckage over to the insurer.  Once that's done, MAAF will send her the settlement by bank transfer.  They will retain her excess until they receive the gendarmerie accident report (usually within a few weeks) and once it's shown to be the other party's fault, they pay the excess over to her.

Deb will likely get a visit from the hospital's social assistant with an offer of home help.  It's a facility available to accident victims and paid for by your mutuelle.  You just phone the contact number and a local home help association will arrange for someone to come in a couple of times a week to do housework, shopping, etc.  The offer lasts for so many weeks and it costs you nothing.

The hospital will also supply ordnances for home visits by your local nurse if any ongoing daily care is required such as anti-thrombosis injections and so on.

Hope this helps.  You can PM me if you need any more info.

 

 

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Accommodation at the hospital is available and has been offered. Frankly, it is not what I need. That would be appropriate if Deb were at death's door, which is not apparently the case. I need to get back here every day to do this task of updating everyone else, to look after animals (yes, I've plenty of friends who would do that, and the dog has been away since Tuesday on that basis), and to do the admin. It also helps me to get my head together. Commuting is best in this case. Even when Deb is sitting up and has all her faculties, a couple of hours a day together will be fine for us. You will already be aware of Deb's independence in most situations - hence the fact that she'd just had a 3-week break in the UK, doing her own thing, as every year.

I think the option of talking to MAAF face to face works best, and I'll try to start that next week - I've several fluent-French-speaking Brits about. The conversations I've had to date were by phone in terms of reporting the accident. Now another tack seems necessary. Sadly, and bafflingly, I am unable to locate anything resembling a schedule for the insurance. This is unknown, because Deb is meticulous about careful filing - if it ain't in the file, it'll be in the filing tray, but no sign. We must have taken the papers to MAAF a few months back, when we signed up for my Skoda to be added to the policy, thus making a saving over existing cover by another assurer. That policy becomes effective 7.9.2008, but I have no idea whether it's been paid for! Whoops!

Anyway, with all the jolly problems that this set of facts seems to offer, I'd better toddle off, shower and go to Rouen.

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Sadly, today's news is not so good. I arrived about 16.15, waited an hour and a half, and then found Deb was still unconscious. I think there were fewer drug inputs, and fewer monitors - but she'd gained an oxygen tube, which is a bit worrying. Clearly Saturday afternoon staffing is more in line with NHS levels, and the few people on duty were busy. I did find a doctor, and expressed my concern that things were not as I'd been told to expect them when I saw the doctor on Thursday. As far as I can gather, they are not happy about her lungs, hence the oxygen, and had been doing tests to find out what is wrong. I asked about pneumonia, but that is not the problem. Perhaps nearly 40 years of puffing away is catching up with her when she least needs it. The left leg is now plastered round the ankle, so clearly that has gone ahead as planned. Deb had a cushion against the broken ribs. She has bad bruising on her left shoulder.

I'm sure this is a temporary blip, and next week things will get going again.
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Ian  try not to worry she will wake when ready , I was in a simular situation a few years back after a car crash , scared the bejesus out of every one .. but now Im back to normal and raring to go ..... it takes time ..... love to you both [kiss] 
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Many thanks for the update Ian. It must have been a shock today but I remember when my hubby was hospitalised in France a few years ago that nothing at all happened at the weekends. They were also very keen on keeping him very heavily sedated to the extent that he couldn't communicate at all. Everything was fine a couple of weeks later even though the original event was life threatening. Three weeks after the event we celebrated his birthday in a very posh restaurant with menu de jour which just happened to be steak followed by straws and cream. I'm sure you will be doing the same [:D]

PS  When I visited I stayed in a local hotel but in peak season it was often full so I asked hospital if I could camp out in same room as OH for some nights and they agreed. I did a lot of monitoring and makeshift nursing and I think they were grateful.

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Must say you lot do a good job of making light of my gloom - thanks for that! I'm going back on Monday, but I may ring first, on the basis that the full Monday contingent on the ward will have time to tell me what and how, perhaps, so I turn up with a better idea of what to expect.

Further txt on a related subject deleted by the poster!

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