By Jo Anderson. Last Updated 11th January 2024. Welcome to our guide to claiming cycle accident compensation, which discusses bicycle accident claim payouts and the average compensation for being knocked off a bike. Bike accident claims have the potential to be complex.
After suffering an injury while out cycling on your bicycle, the last thing you want is to go out gathering evidence and negotiating with the defendant while making a bike accident claim for compensation. But you can get help and support with cycle accident claims.
How to make a cycling injury claim
In this cycle accident compensation guide, we share bicycle accident claim tips you may find useful, as well as the latest bicycle accident claims payouts guidelines.
If you have been involved in a cycling accident cases that was not your fault, pursuing compensation could be a suitable course of action. Why should you have to suffer due to someone else’s negligence or carelessness? Throughout this guide, we are going to discuss cycling accident claims in greater length. Outlining steps to take, factors to consider, and more importantly, how a personal injury solicitor could be of assistance in ensuring you receive compensation for your injuries.
Our helpline is always open – seven days a week, 24 hours a day – so you can speak about cycle accident compensation at a convenient time for you.
- Call us: 0800 073 8801.
- Enquire online: Click here to use our online form.
- Email us: send us an email to office@accidentclaims.co.uk to begin your claim today.
- Online Chat: Click the icon on the right corner of the page to speak with an adviser.
Select a section:
- Average Compensation For Being Knocked Off A Bike
- How To Claim Cycle Accident Compensation
- Examples Of Bicycle Accidents
- Time Limits For Cycling Accident Claims
- Evidence That Can Support Cycle Accident Claims
- Make A Bicycle Accident Claim With A No Win No Fee Solicitor
Average Compensation For Being Knocked Off A Bike
Bicycle accident claim payouts vary between cases. This is because the specific factors of each case will be taken into consideration when calculating a payout.
However, following a successful personal injury claim, a compensation settlement could consist of general and special damages.
General damages compensate for the pain, suffering and loss of amenity caused by your injuries.
Those calculating general damages payouts could refer to a publication known as the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) for guidance. This publication gives guideline payout amounts for a variety of injuries at different severities. We have used some figures from the 16th edition of the JCG, published in 2022, in the table below. However, this is only meant to be used as guidance. It should also be noted, that the top entry does not feature within the JCG.
| Why are you claiming compensation? | Some extra notes | The typical payout for this sort of injury |
|---|---|---|
| Several Severe Injuries Plus Special Damages | Compensation for several serious injuries as well as financial losses such as care costs. | Up to £1,000,000+ |
| Severe Brain Damage (a) | This is for the most severe brain / head injuries. Individuals in this case will typically be unresponsive. | £282,010 to £403,990 |
| Moderate Brain Damage (c) (i) | Some side effects of injuries like this include a change in personality, mental disability, and loss of feeling in certain limbs. | £150,110 to £219,070 |
| Leg Injury (Amputation of both legs) (a)(i) | This refers to an amputation of one or both legs. Where the amputation occurs, i.e. whether it is below or above the knee, is also considered when determining the payout amount. | £240,790 to £282,010 |
| Severe Back Injury (i) | This refers to injuries that relate to the organs or have caused paralysis. | £91,090 to £160,980 |
| Moderate Back Injury (i) | The individual is likely to be in constant discomfort and/or pain due to soft tissue or ligament damage to the back. | £27,760 to £38,780 |
| Severe wrist injury (a) | This refers to cases whereby there is no function in the damaged wrist. The amount you receive depends on how long it takes you to make a full recovery. | £47,620 to £59,860 |
| Severe shoulder injury (a) | The individual will also have some tissue damage to the neck for their injury to fall into this category. As a consequence, elbow and arm movement may also be limited. | £19,200 to £48,030 |
| Serious Shoulder Injury (b) | Some common symptoms for these injuries include paralysis, limb numbness, and movement being restricted, with both the neck and shoulder being affected. | £12,770 to £19,200 |
| Moderate Shoulder Injury (c) | Most individuals will have moderate pain due to soft tissue damage or a frozen shoulder with limited movement. | £7,890 to £12,770 |
Special damages compensate you for the financial losses cause by your injuries. They could include, but are not limited to:
- Loss of earnings – You may have lost out on earnings because you needed time off work to recover.
- Medical expenses – You may have had to pay for prescription costs or mobility aids, for example.
- Care costs – You may have needed paid care at home because you couldn’t look after yourself due to your injuries.
- Travel expenses – You may have incurred travel costs getting to medical appointments or to meet with your lawyer.
To learn more about the evidence needed to claim special damages, or to get a personalised estimate of your cycling compensation claim payout, please contact an advisor.
How To Claim Cycle Accident Compensation
When you are using the road, you are owed a duty of care by other road users. All road users, including motorists, cyclists and pedestrians, must use the roads in a manner that minimises the risk of harm to themselves and others. Additionally, they must adhere to the relevant rules and regulations found within the Highway Code and the Road Traffic Act 1988.
If you have been injured as a cyclist, in order to have a valid cycling compensation claim, you must be able to prove:
- Another road user owed you a duty of care.
- This duty was breached.
- Due to this breach, you were injured.
To see whether you could be eligible to make a personal injury claim for compensation for a bicycle accident, or if you have any questions regarding how bicycle accident settlement amounts are calculated, you can contact our advisors.
Examples Of Bicycle Accidents
There are various ways in which somebody could suffer injuries in a cycling accident. However, you must remember that in order to have a valid personal injury claim, your injuries must have been caused by another road user breaching their duty of care.
Examples of accidents that could lead to a bike accident claim could include:
- A driver is driving the wrong way down a one-way street under the influence. This causes them to collide head-on into you while you are on your bike, and you suffer a serious neck injury and a back injury.
- A taxi driver fails to check whether a junction is clear before pulling out., which causes them to hit you while you are on your bicycle. This causes you to suffer multiple injuries, such as a broken arm and dislocated shoulder.
- A driver is distracted by their phone and crashes into the back of you on your bike while you are stopped at a red light. This causes you to suffer a broken like and sprained wrist.
These are just a few examples. To see whether you may be eligible to make a personal injury claim for cycle accident compensation, you can contact a member of our advisory team.
Time Limits For Cycling Accident Claims
If you are pursuing cycle accident compensation, it’s important that you start your claim during the limitation period.
The Limitation Act 1980 outlines that within three years of your cycling accident, a compensation claim should generally be brought forward. However, the time limit may be suspended under specific circumstances. For example, if a minor is injured in a bike accident, the three-year time limit is suspended until their 18th birthday.
Another example of when the time limit is suspended regards a person who does not have the mental capacity to begin their own claim. In this situation, the limitation period is suspended indefinitely unless the claimant ever regains the mental capacity required to make a claim.
Where the time limit is suspended for minors and claimants who lack the required mental capacity, a litigation friend can claim on their behalf. Anyone can be appointed a litigation friend, including parents, guardians or relatives, but they must be capable of making fair and competent decisions about the case.
For any other questions regarding the time limit for cycling accident claims, please don’t hesitate to get in touch for free advice you can trust.
Evidence That Can Support Cycle Accident Claims
If you are eligible to claim compensation for a bicycle accident injury, you will need evidence to support your claim. The type of evidence you are able to submit may depend on the circumstances of the accident. However, the following types of evidence could be helpful.
- Medical notes detailing the injury and any investigations and treatment you’ve undergone.
- Any photographs or video footage of the accident scene.
- A police accident report.
- Details of anyone who witnessed the accident. Your solicitor could approach them for a statement.
- Documents showing any costs or losses caused by your injuries, such as bank statements, receipts and payslips, for example.
One of our solicitors could provide you with assistance when it comes to gathering evidence for your claim to help ensure it was as strong as it could be. To learn more about what evidence could be useful in supporting your cycling compensation claim, or how we could help, please contact an advisor.
Make A Bicycle Accident Claim With A No Win No Fee Solicitor
If you are eligible to make a bicycle accident claim, you may wish to instruct a solicitor to help you with the legal process. One of our solicitors could support your case. They usually offer their services under the terms of a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). A CFA is a type of No Win No Fee arrangement.
When your cycling accident solicitor works with you using a CFA, they typically don’t charge upfront for their services. You also won’t be asked to pay any ongoing service fees. Furthermore, you won’t be asked to pay for your solicitor’s work on your case if you aren’t awarded compensation following an unsuccessful claim.
However, if your claim has a positive outcome, your solicitor will deduct a success fee from your compensation. This amount is a percentage that is capped by the law.
To learn more about bicycle accident settlement amounts in the UK and find out if you have valid grounds for a claim, please get in touch with one of the advisors from our team. In addition, if your claim is eligible, you could be passed onto one of our solicitors.
To speak to an advisor:
- Start a claim by filling in our form for a callback.
- Call 0800 073 8801
- Use our live chat feature.
Discover More Bicycle Accident Claim Tips
Below, you can find more bicycle accident claim tips and advice:
This link enables you to download the THINK! CYCLIST toolkit. THINK! CYCLIST is a campaign that has been launched by the government in an attempt to lower the number of pedal cyclists that are seriously injured and killed on the roads.
Statistics concerning road safety UK
This link also takes you to the UK Government website. Here you will find statistics and information on road safety, casualties and accidents per year. Publications date back to 2010.
Finally, this link takes you to the website for the THINK! CYCLIST campaign so that you can learn more about it and what it entails. There are also some good safety tips on this website too.
If, after reading our guide to cycling accident claims, you would like to speak to an advisor about matters such as the average compensation for being knocked off your bike, please contact our team for free today.
