Auto Insurance Claims: auto vs bycicle, mail return receipt, small claims court

Question
hello...we reside in florida.  yesterday, my wife was slowly making a left turn on a 4 lane road when the left turn arrow turned green.  she just started moving.  a bicyclist was speeding across this highway, trying to beat the light and did not see the innermost lane starting to turn green as the other lanes were stopped waiting for their green light.  she hit my wife on the front right quarter the car started to turn left.  the bicyclist was cited for failure to yield.  meanwhile, on the police report, apart from the bicyclist's address and phone number, all i have is witness information.  do i need to consult an attorney to protect us, even though we were not at fault according to the police?  also, if the bicyclist was at fault, how do we get reimbursed for our 500.00 deductible, as our car has damages over 1,000.00 to the front right corner.  thanks   festclass@aol.com

Answer
Hi Jay,

With the bicyclist receiving a citation and witnessess indicating that it was his fault, I do not believe you will have any issues that will require an attorney.

As for your deductible, you will need to draft a demand letter demanding payment of your $500.00 deductible. Send it to the at-fault party by certified mail return receipt requested as well as a copy sent by regular mail. You will need to demand that he contact you to make a payment arrangement with in 10 days or you will file suit. If he does not respond with a favorabe result then you would file in small claims court to obtain a judgement. Collecting the judgement however, is another matter, but its a start.

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh