How To Get Compensation After A Cycling Accident

How To Get Compensation After A Cycling Accident Claims Guide

This guide will explain when you can claim compensation for a personal injury following a cycling accident. All road users owe each other a duty of care as outlined in the Road Traffic Act 1988.

Therefore, in order for road users not to breach their duty of care, they must ensure that they do not act negligently while using the roads. Therefore, as a cyclist, if you are involved in a road traffic accident caused by the negligence of another road user, you could be eligible to make a personal injury claim.

Please get in touch with Advice today to see if you can claim compensation. An advisor will speak to you in detail about your accident. And if they can see that you are eligible to claim compensation, a cycling accident solicitor from our panel could help you.

Make your enquiry today to see if you can claim:

Call our helpline on 0161 696 9685
Contact us online to arrange a callback
Or speak with an online claims advisor using the widget in the corner of the screen

Alternatively, you can continue reading our bicycle accident claims guide to find out more.

Select A Section

What Is A Cycling Accident?
How Much Could You Claim For A Cycling Accident?
Time Limits For Cycling Accident Claims
How Does The Accident Claims Process Work?
What Steps Could You Take?
Start Your Cycling Accident Claim

What Is A Cycling Accident?

A cycling accident is an unwanted occurrence involving a bike on the roads. A cycling accident can happen because the conditions on the roads are unsafe. Moreover, cyclists can have accidents if they collide with another vehicle.

Examples of road accidents involving cyclists:

Collisions with motor vehicles, pedestrians, motorbikes, other cyclists or static objects.
A cyclist collides with a car door opened into their path, known as a car dooring accident.
Or, cyclists can fall off their bike because of a pothole accident or poor road surface conditions.

Cycling Accident Statistics

Cycling has many advantages, such as reducing your carbon footprint and exercising more.

Unfortunately, cyclists are also a vulnerable road user group because if an accident takes place, cyclists are not protected by the outer shell of a vehicle. According to the Government’s Reported Road Casualties for Great Britain in 2021, 111 cyclists were killed on the roads.

Moreover, government statistics also show us how cycling accidents have increased over time. In Great Britain, the following increases happened between 2004 to 2020:

The number of fatal cycling injuries increased by 5%
The number of serious cycling injuries increased by 26%
Pedal cycle traffic increased by 96%

How Much Could You Claim For A Cycling Accident?

If you experienced a cycling injury another party caused, you might be eligible to claim cycling accident compensation. Successful compensation claimants can receive up to two heads of claim.

Firstly, you can receive general damages to compensate you for the injuries the accident caused.
Secondly, you can receive special damages to reimburse you for any unavoidable costs associated with your injuries.

You can receive special damages for the following costs:

Medical costs
Travel expenses
Care costs
Reimbursement for loss of earnings
If you become disabled because of your accident, you could receive funds to pay to adapt your home or purchase mobility equipment.

Cycling Accident Claims Calculator

Instead of a cycling accident claims calculator, you can use the table as a guide to general damages. The table lists cycling-related injuries and their severities. The Judicial College Guidelines JCG (16th edition, 2022) was used to for the compensation brackets.

Injury	Compensation	Description Of Injury
Brain Injury - Very Severe (a)	£282,010 to £403,990	Response to environment could be minimal if any at all, language function is again very minimal and the need for full time care will be present,
Brain Injury - Moderately Severe (c) (i)	£150,110 to £219,070	Injuries leading to personality changes, the risk of epilepsy and moderate to severe intellectual deficit.
Neck Injury - Severe (a) (ii)	£65,740 to £130,930	A considerably severe injury which leads to disabilities.
Neck Injury - Moderate (b) (i)	£24,990 to £38,490	Dislocations or fractures in the neck. Symptoms are suffered immediately and are severe.
Ankle Injury - Very Severe (a)	£50,060 to £69,700	Unusual injuries which could either result in deformity or any further injury could mean amputation in the future.
Ankle Injury - Severe (b)	£31,310 to £50,060	An injury requiring extensive treatment and which could limit this person's ability to walk.
Wrist Injury (a)	£47,620 to £59,860	This person has lost all function in their wrist.
Wrist Injury (b)	£24,500 to £39,170	Whilst there are significant disabilities, there person does retain some useful wrist movement.
Knee Injury - Moderate (b) (i)	£14,840 to £26,190	An injury which has caused minor instability, weakness, wasting or which causes a mild disability in the future.
Knee Injury - Moderate (b) (ii)	Up to £13,740	Torn cartilage and meniscus or dislocation but of a lesser degree than the previous category.

If your cycling injury compensation claim succeeds, your compensation payment may vary. Please contact us today, and an advisor can value your claim based on your circumstances. We have not included special damages compensation in the table.

Time Limits For Cycling Accident Claims

Under the Limitation Act 1980, the normal time limit for starting a personal injury claim is 3 years. The time limit will normally begin on the date the accident took place. Or the time limit will begin from the date of knowledge.

There are sometimes exceptions to the time limits rule. For example, for a child under 18, a court-appointed litigation friend can claim compensation on their behalf. Or the child can claim compensation for themselves from the age of 18. The time limit will begin on their 18th birthday and last for three years.

How Does The Accident Claims Process Work

You may wonder how to claim compensation for a cycling accident. If a bicycle accident injures you, this does not mean that you are automatically entitled to receive compensation. To claim, you must provide evidence to prove you meet the right circumstances.

First, you must prove that another party owed you a duty of care. Under the Road Traffic Act 1988, drivers owe other road users a duty of care, which means that the driver must act responsibly on the road to protect others travelling.

Therefore you will need to prove that the party that owed you a duty of care acted negligently on the roads. Meaning they caused a road traffic accident which injured you.

If you wish to claim compensation for a cycling road traffic accident, please get in touch with Advice.co.uk for advice on how to claim. If we believe you can claim compensation, our panel of solicitors could help you claim compensation for your injuries.

What Steps Could You Take?

If you are involved in a bicycle accident, it is important to ensure you are safe. So, please prioritise getting the right medical treatment for your injuries. Moreover, the healthcare provider will update your medical records when you receive your treatment. Therefore the records can be used as evidence to support the claim.

Moreover, you can do the following to collect evidence to support your claim, but only if it is safe to do so:

If a driver is involved in an accident, please ask them for their insurance details and contact information. If the driver refuses to give this information, you can call the police.
Ask for the names and contact details of eyewitnesses. These people could provide a statement to support your claim.
Photograph any damage to your bike and the scene of the accident.
Photograph any visible injuries you have.
Ask the police who attend the accident for their numbers.

If you contact a legal representative to handle your claim, this information may prove invaluable to prove who is at fault for a cycling accident.

Start Your Cycling Accident Claim

If you suffered cycling injuries because a driver or another party acted negligently, you could make a cycling accident claim. Call our helpline, and a claims specialist will offer free legal advice.

Making A No Win No Fee Claim

Working with a No Win No Fee solicitor generally means no solicitors fee to pay during the claims process or any upfront. You will pay a success fee instead if you win your claim. However, you won’t pay a success fee if your claim fails.

Please get in touch with Advice to ask about beginning a claim: