I've been commuting for a couple of weeks and had my first incident last night - I was cycling along a main road when a taxi driver pulled out of a junction straight in front of me. I had time to pull the brakes (was travelling about 20mph) but was going too fast to stop, so I crashed into the driver's door.
He was very apologetic, fully admitted liability and gave his details with no problems. I also got the number of a witness, a passenger he was bringing to work, just in case his story changes.
I was pretty shaken up, but the bike doesn't seem to have been too badly damaged - the front wheel twisted but didn't buckle when it hit the car, and one of my light holders snapped off. Chain also came off and got jammed between the cassette and the frame, which was a bitch to get back out. Fortunately I had a multitool to tighten up my stem/headset, or I'd've been walking home. My helmet hit the edge of the roof of the car but it wasn't too hard.
My wife was very upset and was giving it the "I told you so" routine. She's been worrying about me starting back cycling since I first mentioned it to her a while back. Not even the promise of thighs of steel is swaying her.
Anyway, as it happens, my bike was booked in for a service this morning, so I dropped it in and asked them to check for damage as a result of the accident, along with the usual wear and tear. My wife is adamant that I should be calling up this guy and demanding he pay half of the costs, whereas I'm kind of "meh, it needed to be checked anyway". I know it was entirely his fault - he said the sun was in his eyes so he couldn't see me - but I also have some sympathy. I was very angry just after it happened, but still had another 12 miles to cycle to get home, so by that time the adrenaline rush had died down and I was thinking a bit more clearly.
What I was thinking of doing was only contacting him if they identify damage specifically caused by the crash. If there's nothing needing done besides the usual servicing, I will leave it there. Anyone think I am being foolish? I'm not a big fan of the whole claim culture but some people at work are saying I am being stupidly naive - lots of stories about people getting brand new bikes after similar accidents, etc. I'm not really comfortable with that.