A Guide To Bike Accident Claims

By Stephen Anderson. Last Updated 15th February 2023. You may be looking into bike accident claims because you’ve suffered an injury from a cycling accident. In this instance, you might be able to claim if you’re a cyclist and have been injured due to another party’s negligence. This guide will explain the bike accident claim procedure, what damages you could receive and the advantages of using a No Win No Fee personal injury solicitor from our panel. 

bike accident claims

A guide to bike accident claims

If you have any questions or queries about making a personal injury claim, please contact our advisors. You can contact them any time that works for you as they’re available 24/7. They offer legal advice that is completely free and can inform you if you’re eligible for compensation. Furthermore, they can also put you through to a solicitor from our panel who could help you build and present your case. 

However, please remember that you’re under no obligation to use our services should you contact us. So, what’s to lose? Get in touch using the details below. 

Read on to learn more about how you could receive bike accident compensation. 

Select A Section

  1. What Are Specialist Bike Accident Solicitors?
  2. Who Could Make Bike Accident Claims?
  3. What Could Cause Bike Accidents?
  4. What Is The Limitation Period For Cycling Accident Claims?
  5. Bicycle Accident Claim Tips For Proving Liability
  6. How Much Are Bike Accident Claims Worth?
  7. Why Make No Win No Fee Bike Accident Claims?

What Are Specialist Bike Accident Solicitors?

Bike accident claims revolve around proving that third-party negligence was the primary reason for your injury. You could claim for multiple injuries if they all occurred from the same accident.

Certain parties have a duty of care. This includes road users and authorities in control of the roads. You can only claim if the party that caused your injury had a duty of care. This is because to receive compensation; you need to be able to show that:

  1. The party had a duty of care; and
  2. They breached this duty; and
  3. This breach caused your injury. 

This guide will show the different types of negligence you could experience that could cause a bike accident and how to claim compensation for your injuries. Furthermore, we will illustrate the different types of compensation you could receive from a road traffic accident. To learn more about this, please contact our advisors for free legal advice using the above details. 

Who Could Make Bike Accident Claims?

You could make a compensation claim if you’ve been involved in a bicycle accident due to someone else’s negligence. Every road user has a duty of care as found in The Highway Code. It outlines how different types of road users need to conduct themselves. They need to be responsible when using the road to ensure their safety and everyone else’s. 

This is the foundation for making bike accident claims: proving that another person’s negligence caused or worsened your injuries. If the accident is deemed partially your fault, the compensation you receive from a successful claim would be adjusted accordingly. 

This is why it can be difficult to answer questions like, “how much compensation will I get for a bike accident?” As this guide will show, it’s dependent on many different factors. 

Could I Claim For Another Person?

In certain instances, you can claim compensation for another person by becoming a litigation friend. The injured person can appoint any eligible family member, friend, loved one or trusted individual to begin claims proceedings on their behalf. Examples of instances where you could make bike accident claims in this way include:

  • If the injured person lacks the mental capacity to claim. 
  • If the injured person is a child. You’re unable to make a compensation claim directly until you are eighteen. Therefore, if a child wants to claim, they would have to appoint a litigation friend. 

What Could Cause Bike Accidents?

You already know that to claim successfully, you need to prove that your bicycle accident was caused by another party’s negligence. This section will look into how a road traffic accident involving your bike could occur and provide examples of when you may be able to claim. 

Bike Accidents Caused By Poor Road Maintenance

Duty of care doesn’t just apply to road users in the UK. Under the HIghways Act 1980, local authorities should ensure that roads are properly maintained.

For example, local councils control many public roads. As such, they have a duty of care to ensure that the roads are safe to be used. Therefore, if you injure yourself due to poor road maintenance, you may be able to claim against the council by proving that they breached their duty of care, causing you injury. 

Accidents Caused By Other Vehicles

You may be looking into bike accident claims because another road user’s negligence caused your accident and injuries. You may be able to make a personal injury claim if you can prove this. Examples of these types of incidents include:

  • A car crashing into you because the driver didn’t check their mirrors when merging into another lane. 
  • Slamming into a car door because the driver opened it without checking the road. 
  • A driver turning into a junction at the wrong time, resulting in a collision. 
  • Suffering a soft tissue injury due to a driver turning and colliding with your bicycle after failing to check their surroundings. 
  • A car colliding with you because the vehicle drove through a red light. 

These are just some of the types of incidents you may be able to receive cycling accident compensation for. 

You may also be able to receive bike accident compensation if an uninsured or untraceable driver has hit you and caused you injury. Usually, you would claim through the driver’s insurer. However, in these instances, you’re unable to, so you would claim through the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB)

You’re able to claim through them because car insurers finance them. In this instance, you can still use a personal injury solicitor to help you. If you have questions about this procedure, please don’t hesitate to contact us. Our advisors are available 24/7 and will be more than happy to help. Contact us using the above details. 

What Is The Limitation Period For Cycling Accident Claims?

This section will highlight the time limit you have to make bike accident claims and the exceptions to it. In most instances, you have three years to claim from the date of the incident or from the date you were aware that your injury was caused by negligence. 

In England and Wales, the time limit is outlined in the Limitation Act 1980. However, there are exceptions to this rule. For instance, if you want to claim on behalf of a loved one that lacks the mental capacity to claim, there is no time limit for beginning claims proceedings unless they recover the mental capacity to claim. If they do recover mental capacity, they’d have three years to claim for the date of recovery.  

Furthermore, if you want to claim on behalf of a child, you have until their eighteenth birthday to claim as a litigation friend. However, if nobody claims on behalf of the child, they could claim for themselves from the date they turn eighteen. They would have three years from the date of their eighteenth birthday to begin the claim. 

Bicycle Accident Claim Tips For Proving Liability

To make a successful cyclist accident claim, you will need evidence to support that the accident that you are claiming for did indeed occur, caused you injury and happened due to negligence by another party that owed you a duty of care. It is always best to start collecting evidence as soon as possible, once you have sufficiently recovered from the injuries you’ve gathered.

There are several forms of evidence that you may be able to collect for bike accident claims, depending on the circumstances of your incident. Possible examples could include:

  • A medical report that confirms the injuries you suffered from your cycling accident.
  • Camera footage from your bicycle helmet or bike if it’s available.
  • CCTV footage from any cameras that cover the area where the accident took place.
  • Contact details from any witnesses who saw your cycling accident.

If a cycling accident solicitor supports your claim, then they can assist with the process of gathering evidence to build your case. For more tips on bicycle accident claims, please contact our team of advisors today.

How Much Are Bike Accident Claims Worth?

You may be wondering, “how much compensation for a bike accident could I receive?” There are two potential types of compensation from a personal injury claim. Your general pain and suffering are compensated through general damages compensation. This accommodates for any physical or psychological damage caused by the accident. 

Should your claim be successful, the amount of general damages compensation you could receive will be based on many factors, including: 

  • The extent of your injury
  • Whether you’ve suffered any permanent health issues 
  • The length of recovery time

The Judicial College provides a greater indication of what you could receive for general damages. They compare previous payouts for personal injury with the nature of the relevant injury to build compensation brackets, such as those you can see in the compensation table below. These brackets only indicate what you could receive for general damages as every case is different.

Edit
Injury Type Severity Compensation Amount Description
Neck Severe (ii) £65,740 to £130,930 Injuries in this bracket include damage to discs in the cervical spine and serious fractures causing issues such as permanent brachial plexus damage.
Back Severe (iii) £38,780 to £69,730 Cases in this bracket include disc lesions or disc fractures or soft tissue injuries causing chronic conditions such as impaired agility, depression and impaired sexual function.
Leg Moderate £27,760 to £39,200 Injuries in this bracket include multiple fractures or severe crush injuries that usually occur to a single limb.
Elbow Less Severe £15,650 to £32,010 Injuries in this bracket cause functional impairment that doesn’t create significant disabilities or major surgery.
Injuries to the Pelvis and Hip Moderate (ii) £12,590 to £26,590 These cases may result in requiring surgery such as hip replacement.
Arm Simple £6,610 to £19,200 This bracket is for simple forearm fractures.
Psychiatric Damage Generally Moderate £5,860 to £19,070 This bracket is for psychiatric damage resulting in the injured person struggling to return to a normal social and work life. However, there is a marked improvement by trial and the prognosis is good.
Shoulder Moderate £7,890 to £12,770 Injuries in this bracket include frozen shoulder that causes limitation of movement with symptoms persisting for around two years.
Back Minor Up to £2,450 This bracket is for less serious sprains, strains, soft tissue injuries and disc prolapses that recover without surgery where a full recovery is made within three months.

You could also claim for special damages. These are the financial losses suffered due to the injury. You could claim for such losses such as:

  • Loss of earnings
  • Loss of future earnings
  • Private healthcare costs if the NHS weren’t able to provide their services
  • Travel costs (such as to and from healthcare appointments)
  • Adjustments to your home if you suffered a disability

You would need financial evidence, such as bank statements, invoices and receipts, to prove the value of the losses. However, please remember that you wouldn’t receive any compensation for special damages if you don’t receive general damages. This is because, by not receiving it, it may mean that the third party has been judged not to be liable for your injury. 

Why Make No Win No Fee Bike Accident Claims?

When reading about bike accident claims, you may have heard the phrase No Win No Fee and may be unsure what it means. A personal injury solicitor can offer their services on a No Win No Fee basis, meaning that: 

  • You don’t need to pay their fee during the claims process. 
  • There are no hidden costs or fees. Your solicitor will inform you of all potential costs before you agree to use their services. 
  • You only have to pay the solicitor’s fee once a settlement has been reached. They take a small, legally capped amount of your compensation to cover these costs. 

Due to these factors, you can rest assured knowing that our panel of solicitors only accepts bike accident claims when there is a reasonably good chance of success. 

If you have any questions or queries about your bike accident and how to claim, please contact our team of advisors at a time that works for you. They’re available 24/7, give free legal advice and can tell you in just one phone call if you’re eligible to claim. They can also provide you with an estimate and get you in touch with a solicitor from our panel. 

Our panel of solicitors can help with bike accident claims and have years of experience in building compensation cases. Please remember that you’re under no obligation to use their services to claim should you contact us. However, if you would like to contact us, do so using the below details. 

Motorcycle And Bike Accident Resources

Please use the links below if you have further questions about making a personal injury claim. 

If you’ve suffered a musculoskeletal injury due to the accident, you can find medical guidance on the NHS website. 

While you would be unable to use the Whiplash Reform Programme in a bicycle accident claim, you may be able to use it to receive compensation for another type of road traffic accident. Use this link to find out more. 

The Department for Transport provides road accidents and safety statistics for Great Britain. 

Have you suffered a fractured kneecap? If so, and you’d like to know if you can claim, please refer to this article on our website. 

If you’d like to learn more about s​​car settlements, please read this guide. 

Would you like to know more about what to do after a cycling crash? If so, please read this guide containing useful information. 

If you have further questions about bike accident claims, please contact our advisors for free legal advice using the above details. 

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