Bicycle Accident Claims

Cycling has become an increasingly popular pastime with more and more people taking to their bikes  for the daily commute to and from work.  From a claims perspective however, this puts a greater number of cyclists on the road for a greater amount of time and statistically this increases the chances of an accident involving a cyclist.

Unlike the occupants of a car, cyclists are not secured to the push bike by way of a seat belt nor do they have the outer body or crumple zone of a car to protect them in a collision. Cyclists therefore have a greater exposure to a risk of injury and often these injuries can be serious or even fatal.

As well as the risk of coming into contact with other road users cyclists must also contend with dangerous and poorly maintained roads containing potholes.  They must also contend with occupants of a parked car throwing the car door open as the cyclist attempts to pass the parked car.

Compensation for Bike Accidents

Not only do we recover compensation for any injury sustained through a bike accident, but we also look to include the cost of repairing or replacing the bike.

Increasingly, specialist bikes are being manufactured from high-tech materials such as carbon fibre and this can translate to a replacement cost of a bike which is on a par with the equivalent cost of a small motor vehicle or indeed motorbike.

If the injury sustained through the accident is so severe as to prevent you from going to work then your lost earnings will also need to be included.

What to do if you have had a bicycle accident?

As a road user, a cyclist is entitled to make a formal incident report to the police if they believe that the driving of another road user has been dangerous and/or negligent. The act of reporting the accident to the police provides a contemporaneous record of the incident which can be useful at a later stage.

Details of any witnesses or bystanders to a collision involving a bicycle should also be taken at the scene if as it can be difficult to trace reliable witnesses after the event.

As with most injury cases it is important to make a contemporaneous record of the incident by attending upon your GP or better still the Accident & Emergency Department at your local hospital. Treatment first and foremost is the priority but it will do no harm to the claim if the collision can be properly evidenced and recorded.

Case Study

Mr H was riding his bicycle when he was knocked from his bike by the defendants car, suffering serious head injury.

The defendant blamed Mr H for his failure to have lights on his bike,  for wearing dark clothing and failing to wear a helmet.

Despite these assertions being correct we pursued the defendant on the basis that the roundabout was well lit and had he paid adequate attention to other users of the road, he would have seen Mr H.

We successfully obtained an admission of liability from the defendants insurer and despite persistent attempts by the insurer to reduce the compensation payable to the claimant due to his failure to wear a helmet, we recovered over £10,000 for the client.

Need Our Help?

Contact us here If you believe that the fault/negligence of another party has been a factor which contributed to this type of  accident and you are looking to make a bike accident claim, please contact our team who will be happy to assist.