Forum Member cooperlola

[odile]

Very happy to hear you got thre safely - and sorry for 'badgering' (some here may find it a good choice of word) you - but had your Deb woken up, I'm sure she would have liked you to squeeze her hand. by the way - try to talk to her, she may hear you, and a squeeze of the hand won;t hurt either - so she knows you are there for her. I'm sure you won't thank me for this (I don't know circumst.) - but wouldn't this terrible accident be a good opportunity to bury the hatchet with MIL? Maybe not become her best friend - but...    thinking of you   hope Deb will wake up soon and that she will find you near her. Good luck with the transfer to Le Mans.

Mes meilleurs voeux a tous 2

[Russethouse]

LOL Odile - are you familiar with the expression 'there isn't enough yarn in the basket to knit socks for those feet' ?[:D][:D]

[Poppy]

Odile, depends what you mean by bury the hatchet [6] [:D]

[5-element]

[quote user="Russethouse"]-  the expression 'there isn't enough yarn in the basket to knit socks for those feet' ?[:D][:D][/quote]

 

Is that expression anything to do with unsollicited advice, RH? (I have never heard it, that is why I am asking)[:D]

[Bugsy]

I think its more to do with 'foot in gob'

[cooperlola2]

Sadly no info on socks here - although I'm in the middle of washing plenty of cooperlola socks and undies and teeshirts and - hey what's a dress doing in here? A dress? Must have been when she was staying on Dartmoor with MIL - dressing for dinner, perhaps.

I have two other things that I need help with. First these posts  - how the hell do I get the dreadful Times font off, once and for all? It looks as though it was devised in 1732 - and it should have stayed there! Arial please. Also every para seems to be double spaced, and there is apparently no spell-check. What sort of cheap and nasty package is this - it has no place in C21! If there's no answer to all that, you won't hear from me after cooperlola returns, that's certain.

More seriously, I am well hacked-off with MAAF. Having rung the claims lady, a Madame Beauvoir, twice, she is au fait (hey, French, what!) with the fact that Deb is out of it, and has multiple injuries - I even listed them to her, So she writes to Deb, and sends a standard claim form, even asking for Deb's driving licence number - which Deb must have shown to the agent when the contract was signed. And what does the number have to do with anything, anyway - it's so French!There is an insulting form for Deb to sign that  is to certify she was sober, and it's up to Deb to provide details of the vehicle that hit her, the name of the driver, and so on. So, sitting in her crumpled car, with multiple injuries, she used her broken wrist to note down names and numbers. Yeah, right. Then we get to a part of the form where the number of children is to be listed. What? Are they gonna pay more to mothers than women who choose not to have kids? Discrimination! And of the environmentally wrong sort - the planet's hopelessly overloaded, and the last thing we need is kids! The French insurance industry is an expensive closed shop - no Direct Line-type predators to shake it up - and the dodges like registering letters to ensure receipt are off any scale of reasonable business practice. Too many offices, with, on this evidence, incompetent staff. Again, anyone with ideas for making this woman's incompetence known to her employer - and what that does for his business, will be enjoyed!

[Russethouse]

Bugbear - ten out of ten

Ian, You can select Arial from the drop down font list, but I suspect you will have to do it each time. As for spelling I installed a little utility called iespell from iespell.com

The double spacing makes the forum easier to read (?)[:)]

Sunday Driver is your man for the insurance questions, I believe he invited you to PM him ealier in the thread....the PM button is at the bottom left of each post (except you cannot see your own PM button)

Good news about a possible transfer - so much easier[:)]

[Cat]

That's very encouraging news about the possible transfer Ian, you must be delighted.  I hope it happens soon for you.

It sounds as if both you and Deb are doing fine. All of those procedures that Deb is silently submitting too are probably just the kind of things that she herself would take care of if she weren't doing her sleeping beauty impersonation (washing, drinking, eating, and... erm... stuff). 

 

[JSA Aude]

As per usual late again!  Just like to say thinking of you both and wishing Deb a very, very speedy recovery.

[Sunday Driver]

[quote user="cooperlola2"]

More seriously, I am well hacked-off with MAAF. Having rung the claims lady, a Madame Beauvoir, twice, she is au fait (hey, French, what!) with the fact that Deb is out of it, and has multiple injuries - I even listed them to her, So she writes to Deb, and sends a standard claim form, even asking for Deb's driving licence number - which Deb must have shown to the agent when the contract was signed. And what does the number have to do with anything, anyway - it's so French!There is an insulting form for Deb to sign that  is to certify she was sober, and it's up to Deb to provide details of the vehicle that hit her, the name of the driver, and so on. So, sitting in her crumpled car, with multiple injuries, she used her broken wrist to note down names and numbers. Yeah, right. Then we get to a part of the form where the number of children is to be listed. What? Are they gonna pay more to mothers than women who choose not to have kids? Discrimination! And of the environmentally wrong sort - the planet's hopelessly overloaded, and the last thing we need is kids! The French insurance industry is an expensive closed shop - no Direct Line-type predators to shake it up - and the dodges like registering letters to ensure receipt are off any scale of reasonable business practice. Too many offices, with, on this evidence, incompetent staff. Again, anyone with ideas for making this woman's incompetence known to her employer - and what that does for his business, will be enjoyed!

[/quote]

Calm down, Ian........[:D]

Madame Beauvoir is only following the normal routine insurance claim procedure.

She has to write to Deb because Deb is the policyholder and their contract is with her. 

She has sent her the standard claim because it covers all types of accidents. 

I expect they want the driving licence number to check that it has not been suspended since being originally produced when Deb took out the policy.

The alcohol certificate allows them to make any interim payments to Deb on the basis that they can recover them if it turns out she was under the influence at the time of the crash.  The local gendarmes also will have routinely obtained a sample of Deb's blood from the hospital to check for presence of alcohol.

As regards the other driver's details, MAAF will receive a copy of the police report in due course which will give them all the information they need about the other driver and the circumstances of the accident and they'll be happy with that.

Finally, the inclusion of a list of children who were in the car at the time will be in case any of them may be potential claimants.  If there are no children involved, then there's nothing to answer.

Far from demonstrating incompetence, I found that my own claim was dealt with by MAAF in exactly the same way and was handled in a very efficient manner.

 

[kizpip]

I was sorry to read this thread, having been in a similar situation when my parents were involved in a fairly serious traffic accident in France in their British car. It can be a traumatic time for everyone, although in our case we often consoled ourselves with the phrase "It could have been worse" (if you know what I'm getting at . . . )

My parents couldn't remember the exact circumstances of the accident and it was the police who related the gory details to me. I think it was also as a result of their intervention that within several days of the accident the insurance agent for the other driver rang me to confirm that they were accepting full responsibility and not to worry about the claim for compensation!! (Never heard the likes from an insurance company before!) If you're still in touch with the police, it may be worth explaining that you're having difficulty as regards the insurance claim and ask when the police report may be available. Submit this to the nice lady at MAAF and it might by-pass all the standard claim crap to confirm that Debs was in no way at fault.

In my parents' case, their legal cover did not extend to accidents abroad so I dealt with both the claim for uninsured losses (against the French driver/AXA) and it went far more smoothly than the claim for insured losses (against my father's own insurers in the UK). Despite what I was advised to the contrary, the French do have a very clear and concise compensation system following such accidents. MAAF will, of course, cover for losses included under your policy (the car, etc.) and you may well have legal cover to aid you in the claim for personal injuries and other losses (such as ALL expenses incurred as a result of this accident. NB: keep petrol receipts, etc. for all those trips to hospital).

For future reference (and I don't want to sound money-grabbing here) but, on a solicitor's advice, never accept an insurance company's first offer (personal experience has taught me, their first offer is never a very fair one, be it for the value of the vehicle or personal injury compensation.)

Best wishes to Debs for a speedy recovery and I hope the insurance claim goes as smoothly as possible. I did learn quite a bit while dealing with my parents' claim so please don't hesitate to PM me if you find that MAAF continue to act like a typical insurance company . . .

[cooperlola2]

Have just come home very tired after another Rouen trip, during which I spent over 2 hours in the waiting room making small talk with MIL, followed by another brief visit to Deb’s room. Some signs of waking, apparently, with twitching toes etc, but then she became agitated, so they had to suppress that. They also remain concerned about the breathing, and though they have taken x-rays, I think she will be given a camera down the trachea tonight. None of this is much fun, and I am running out of steam. Oddly, her left hand has some small bandages on a finger or two - one of which glows red with an internal light source! Is this some sort of LED skin therapy?

 

[mint]

Dear Ian, what can one say except to express a hope that all will come right?

Best wishes

[Acoustic]

I've been keeping up with this thread as an observer only as I know neither you or cooperlola, although I suspect she has almost certainly given me some input on various queries before now.  I feel that you are really feeling the strain now, what with the long distance you have to travel, the uncertainty about your wife's current state of health, the insurance, MIL, etc, etc.  All I can suggest is that you take advantage of the people offering various offers of help on this site.  They are all making genuine offers and I suspect you really could benefit from these.  Hopefully your wife will be transferred to a hospital much nearer to you very soon.  That round trip must be horrendous, especially when you obviously don't get much input when you actually get there.  I suspect I am certainly not the only one who has been watching this thread but not made any comment until now.  Many people are thinking of you both and hoping things work out.

[Russethouse]

This must have been a very long 8 days - is there anyone who could drive you there and back ?

Its so easy to say 'no' to any offers, practice saying 'yes' [:)]

Is there any more news about a move to Le Mans or is that for a later stage ?

We're all thinking of you and Deb.

[cooperlola2]

I have concluded - prompted by my brother - that until Deb awakes, my visits are simply counter-productive. I can't say that anyone has been offering to drive me to Rouen - but then once she's awake and in a proper ward, there will be plenty of volunteers, I'm sure. Visiting at present is a very unrewarding experience, certainly! Tuesday I was out for 12 hours, and spent less than an hour in her room!

Filling in the wretched forms for MAAF I think I have just about now done, but there is another spectre on my horizon. I have just over a week to produce all the data to justify our continuing use of the CMU. Deb spent ages doing this last year, just before the healthcare issue emerged, of course, and she'd have done the same thing in a day on her return. it all adds to pressure which I don't need just now!

[Cat]

Ian, if you need someone to ring your local CPAM office and explain your situation, with a view to extending the deadline for return of the CMU paperwork, there are forum members who could do this for you.  Just say "yes please"  [:)]

 

[Ron Avery]

Ian

All you need to do as an existing member of the CMU is to sign the form and attach a copy of all the pages of your recent tax advice.  You have until 15 September to do that but I doubt that the axe will fall if you are a couple of days late.

Deb has said in the past that there is an English speaker at your CPAM so if you can find the papers do as above or go into your CPAM and explain the situation, they won't bite and will probably help you with copies and your return if you take the papers to them.

[cooperlola2]

I think I'm saying "yes please". The letter is unsigned, but may have come from Lille, so there is no contact point at CPAM.

It probably goes without saying that I strongly resent the fact that Deb and I have "joined in" with all the French systems since we arrived here in 2004. Deb has, as you all know, been very precise about doing so. We know plenty of Brits who live here most of the year, but are still claiming to be on holiday. They get none of this justification stuff, while we, because we have "joined in", get the gestapo treatment. This does not suit my over-developed sense of injustice!

[Cat]

Ian, if you'd like to PM me your phone number I can give you a ring and talk you through the form.  It really is a doddle to fill in, and you only need one piece of paperwork to go with it, it's just that the dratted thing looks so complicated.

You just need to go find your Avis d'Impot 2007.  It would have arrived recently, and is a rather dull green colour.

(To PM me, just hit the PM button on the bottom left-hand-side of this post).

[Russethouse]

 Ian, I think your brother is right, exhausting yourself with these trips won't help anyone - but if you did want to go, perhaps at the weekend, how about getting some company on these trips and bribing someone (or couple) with the promise of lunch or dinner en route ? Or staying over in Rouen....?

The French are not alone in this adherence to the rules and regs - I remember phoning the tax office for a friend undergoing a mastectomy, their response was virtually an audible yawn 'that old chestnut'

Any news on how the camera to check on the breathing problems went ?

 

[Maricopa]

[quote user="cooperlola2"]

- one of which glows red with an internal light source! Is this some sort of LED skin therapy?[/quote]

Hi Ian

Probably a saturometre, used to measure the level of oxygen in the blood.

Continued best wishes for coops speedy recovery

M

[Red Dwarf]

Ian

I've dropped you a PM.

Stephen  (Red Corvette)

 

 

[cooperlola2]

Deb is awake! She can't yet speak - too many things in her mouth, but she is awake and alert to some extent, I understand. A sample of tissue has been taken from her lung area and is currently being analysed. I expect they'll identify it correctly as Gauloises!

Needless to say, I will be ready and waiting at visiting time - 1500 tomorrow!

[Gemonimo]

What wonderful news!  I just wish I lived near you and could help out with the driving but I'm thinking of you both nonetheless.  Jen