In this guide, we look at the factors that can influence the bike accident claim amount that could be awarded following a successful personal injury claim. We also look at the eligibility criteria for cycle accident personal injury claims and consider the evidence that you could collect following a road traffic accident.
Additionally, we look at the duty of care different road users owe one another and the types of cycling accidents that can occur if this duty is not adhered to.
Finally, we explain the No Win No Fee service our panel of expert solicitors offer claimants with valid bicycle accident claims and how it might benefit you.
Get in touch with us for more information on how much compensation for a successful cycling accident claim you could potentially receive. We also offer advice for cycling accident claims and can review your specific case for free. You can tell us about your circumstances and enquire about making a claim online.
A Guide To Calculating A Bike Accident Claim Amount
Jump To A Section
- What Factors Can Impact Your Bike Accident Claim Amount?
- When Are You Able To Make A Cycling Accident Claim?
- Examples Of Cycling Accident Claims
- Evidence That Could Help In Cycle Accident Claims
- Make A No Win No Fee Cycling Accident Claim
- Learn More About Your Potential Bike Accident Claim Amount
What Factors Can Impact Your Bike Accident Claim Amount?
Some of the factors that are considered when calculating a bike accident claim amount include:
- The extent of the injuries sustained. For example, compensation settlements may be higher if you sustained very serious injuries that left you with a permanent disability, compared to compensation awarded for minor cycling injuries.
- Whether you’ve suffered permanent or life-changing effects.
- How your quality of life is affected by your injuries.
- Any loss of enjoyment due to the injury.
- The treatment you required and how long recovery took.
- Whether you sustained a single injury or multiple injuries in the same accident.
As such, settlements will vary depending on the unique circumstances of your specific claim. Generally, though, if you make a successful road traffic accident claim, two heads of loss can contribute to any settlement you receive; general damages and special damages.
General damages cover any pain, suffering and loss of amenity caused by your injuries while special damages cover any financial losses linked to your injuries.
When valuing general damages in a bicycle accident claim, different resources can be used to help. For example, the extent of your injuries will need to be verified by an independent specialist as part of the claims process. The medical report that follows can help those determine how much your injuries are worth.
Reference can also be made to the guideline compensation brackets in the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) which correspond to a wide range of injuries.
How Much Compensation For A Bicycle Accident?
The table that follows contains some potential cycling accident injuries along with their associated compensation bracket from the JCG. However, please remember that each claim is unique so the amounts listed cannot be guaranteed.
The first entry has not been taken from the JCG.
| Injury Type | Severity | Guideline Award Bracket | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multiple Severe Injuries and Special Damages | Severe | Up to £1,000,000+ | Compensation for the physical and psychological pain and suffering of multiple severe injuries. Also includes special damages to cover financial losses caused by the injuries, such as medical expenses, care costs, and lost income. |
| Injury Resulting From Brain Damage | Very Severe | £282,010 to £403,990 | Cases at the top of this bracket may involve some ability to follow basic commands but there will be little, if any at all, evidence of the person having a meaningful response to their environment. There will be poor language function and the need for full-time nursing care. |
| Moderate (i) | £150,110 to £219,070 | A moderate to severe intellectual deficit with a change in personality, an effect on the senses and no employment prospects. There is also a significant risk of epilepsy. | |
| Leg Injuries | Amputations (i) | £240,790 to £282,010 | Loss of both legs. |
| Back Injuries | Severe (i) | £91,090 to £160,980 | Nerve root and spinal cord damage causing a combination of very serious consequences. |
| Moderate (i) | £27,760 to £38,780 | An example in this bracket is a prolapsed disc which requires surgery. | |
| Neck Injuries | Severe (i) | In the region of £148,330 | Neck injuries linked to incomplete paraplegia. |
| Moderate (ii) | £13,740 to £24,990 | Soft tissue or wrenching-type injury and a severe disc lesion causing cervical spondylosis. | |
| Ankle Injuries | Very Severe | £50,060 to £69,700 | For example, a transmalleolar fracture with extensive soft tissue damage causing deformity. There will be a risk that a below-knee amputation will be required if there is any future injury. |
| Elbow Injuries | Severe | £39,170 to £54,830 | A severely disabling elbow injury. |
Claiming Financial Losses For Cycling Accidents And Injuries
If you have been left out of pocket following a cycling accident in which you were injured, special damages could form part of your cycling accident compensation payout. As mentioned, this head of loss compensates for the financial losses incurred due to your injuries.
Examples of the out of pocket expenses you could claim back include:
- Loss of earnings, past and future.
- Medical costs.
- Care costs.
- The cost of modifying your home to make it easier to cope with injuries that have led to a permanent disability.
When claiming compensation for a cycling accident, you’ll need to prove any costs you try to claim back. Therefore, it’s a good idea to retain receipts, bank statements and wage slips where required.
For more help on how the value of your bike accident claim amount is calculated and what you could potentially be owed, please get in touch with us using the contact form.
When Are You Able To Make A Cycling Accident Claim?
Road users have a duty to prevent themselves and others from experiencing harm or damage while using the roads. Generally, this duty can be upheld by adhering to the Highway Code and Road Traffic Act 1988. Additionally, as per Rule 204 of the Highway Code, cyclists are considered vulnerable road users and require extra care on the roads. If there is a failure by a road user to adhere to their duty, leading to you sustaining harm in a cycling accident, you might wonder whether you could seek compensation.
There is a set of eligibility criteria that need to be met for personal injury claims to be valid. As such, if you wish to seek bike accident compensation for a personal injury, you need to prove:
- You were owed a duty of care.
- There was a breach of this duty.
- The breach of duty caused you to suffer a physical and/or psychological injury.
In order for road traffic accident claims to be valid, you must demonstrate the three points above which form the definition of negligence in tort law.
If your claim meets the criteria set out above, why not get in touch today? We’ll assess your claim for free and could connect you with one of the cycling accident solicitors from our panel if your claim is deemed to be valid.
Examples Of Cycling Accident Claims
Below, we have provided examples of bicycle accidents that could occur if another road user, such as a driver, were to breach their duty of care.
- A car driver may cause a rear-end collision with a bicycle after failing to stop behind a cyclist waiting at a set of traffic lights because they were looking at their mobile phone. As a result, the cyclist may have sustained a serious back injury that led to paralysis.
- A cyclist may have been hit by a car that swerved into the cycle lane because its driver was under the influence of alcohol. As a result of being hit by a car, the cyclist may have suffered a head injury, such as a skull fracture leading to serious brain damage.
- A cyclist was knocked off of their bike by a car door because the driver failed to check the road before getting out of the car. The cyclist suffered a serious elbow injury as well as a severe soft tissue injury to their neck as a result.
These are just some examples of the types of cycling accidents that could be caused by a negligent motorist. However, not all bike accidents will form the basis of a valid personal injury claim. As such, you might not always be able to seek a bike accident claim amount.
Contact us online today to find out if you have eligible grounds to seek compensation for cycling accident injuries.
Evidence That Could Help In Cycle Accident Claims
In order to prove a personal injury claim meets the eligibility criteria, you should gather evidence of the injuries you sustained and of the accident that caused them. Evidence can also help when calculating your bike accident claim amount so it is important to ensure you have proof of the accident and the harm you suffered.
Examples of the types of evidence you could collect to substantiate your case include:
- Footage of the accident from a CCTV camera, dashcam or helmet cam.
- A diary of any medical treatment you received and how you’re injuries have impacted you.
- Contact details for any potential witnesses to the accident.
- A copy of your medical records.
- Photographs that show the layout of the accident scene and any visible injuries.
If you work with one of the specialist solicitors from our panel, they could help you claim for a road traffic accident. Part of their services includes building a strong case and ensuring it’s put forward within the relevant time limit. If you’d like us to check if you have a valid cycling accident compensation claim, please get in touch today.
Make A No Win No Fee Cycling Accident Claim
Our panel of expert cycling accident solicitors have experience handling bike accident claims. They can offer services such as helping you gather evidence to support your case and valuing your bike accident claim amount.
Additionally, they can offer to represent your compensation claim and provide their services on a No Win No Fee basis if your claim is valid and taken on.
This means they’ll offer a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) which means that you:
- Don’t pay your solicitor for their work upfront.
- Won’t pay for your solicitor’s work while the case is ongoing or if it is lost.
- Will pay a success fee if the claim is won. The success fee percentage that can be deducted from your compensation is capped by law to ensure you receive the most of your settlement.
To check if a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel could help with your bicycle accident compensation claim, you can enquire about making a claim online.
Learn More About Your Potential Bike Accident Claim Amount
Here are a few more of our road traffic accident guides that might prove useful:
- Learn how to claim for an accident with an uninsured driver that left you injured.
- Advice on how much compensation for a bike accident might be awarded after a successful claim.
- Find out about claiming for a life-changing injury and how compensation is calculated.
Also, here are some helpful external links:
- Some facts on pedal cycle accidents from the UK government.
- NHS information on how a head injury and concussion are treated.
- Information from Think! on cycling safety on the roads.
For more guidance on how a bike accident claim amount is calculated, and when you could claim compensation, please get in touch with our team.