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Cyclists are more vulnerable on the road than many other road users. The weather, road and traffic conditions, their smaller size relative to other vehicles, and the awareness and attitude of other drivers around them can all reduce their visibility and safety.
Cyclists are more likely to suffer serious injury from a road accident, collision or fall. They do not have the ‘crumple zone’ protection that the structure of a car gives its driver and passengers or an airbag to cushion their fall. Whilst cycle helmets provide valuable protection from skull fracture in lower impact accidents, a cyclist remains vulnerable to severe injury to their brain, spine and other parts of the body if hit by another vehicle.
Children on bikes are even more vulnerable. They are smaller and less visible around parked or moving vehicles. They may be less able to see other vehicles when emerging onto or crossing a road. Their road sense and control of their bicycle may be less developed than adult cyclists, so extra care needs to be taken by motorists around children on bikes. Even where children are not immediately visible, motorists are expected to anticipate that children may be cycling in residential areas, near to schools, shops, parks, playgrounds and other leisure facilities, and to slow down and take extra care.
If a cyclist suffers a serious injury which was caused by the negligence of another road user, they may be entitled to claim compensation for their injury and its consequences. Serious injury claims need early advice and specialist handling from experienced solicitors to give the injured person the best chance of recovery and full compensation.
Call our specialist legal teams Monday - Friday, 9:00 - 17.30 for free, no obligation advice.
Complete our simple form to start your claim and get a call back back from our expert legal team.
Injured cyclists may be entitled to claim compensation for their injury if the accident was caused by another road user:
An injured cyclist may also have a claim against the highway authority, police, or other agencies responsible for safety on the road, if their injury was caused by their negligence. These claims often follow an injury caused by:
We have helped recover compensation for clients after cycling accident injuries left them with:
The first step is to speak with one of our cycle accidents experts by contacting us for a free, no-obligation consultation. This initial conversation is to hear your account of the incident and how it has impacted you and your family. At this stage we can advise you on whether we believe you have a claim.
If you decide to make a claim through our solicitors we will then discuss your funding options and the next steps we will need to take.
The amount of compensation that you can receive in a cycle accident claim is determined by a number of specific factors, including the seriousness of the injury, the degree of any permanent disability brought on by the injury, the effect the injury has on your life moving forward.
We will obtain medical evidence about the nature and extent of your injuries and any non medical evidence about the long term needs and financial implications of your injuries such as care or equipment needs.
Once we have gathered all the required data and reports, we will give you advice on the amount of compensation you should anticipate receiving and get in touch with the at-fault party's insurer to negotiate a settlement on your behalf.
Contact us online or by phone at 0800 124 4845 to begin the claims procedure.
We can claim compensation for:
Common examples of a cyclist’s contributory negligence include not wearing a helmet, not wearing high visibility clothing if cycling at night, or the cyclist’s dangerous overtaking or other behaviour.
The fact that a cyclist wasn’t wearing a helmet at the time of their accident rarely prevents them from making a claim.
Cycle helmets are recommended by RoSPA, Headway and Cycle Smart because they can help reduce serious injury from skull fractures in an accident, but they are not compulsory under English law.
Many injuries, including brain injury, spinal injuries, amputations or major trauma, are not avoided by wearing a helmet.
Where an injury was not made worse by the cyclist’s failure to wear a helmet, the amount of compensation for the injury should not be affected.
Where an injury would have been avoided or less serious if the cyclist had been wearing a helmet, there may be a ‘discount’ or reduction in the amount of compensation that they receive.
Contributory negligence is sometimes used by defendant insurers as a negotiating or stalling device. It is important that the injured person’s solicitor has the necessary level of experience and understanding of these serious injury claims to ensure that the injured claimant receives their full entitlement to compensation.
Boyes Turner’s personal injury team are experienced in overcoming insurers’ unjustified attempts to reduce their liability on the basis of the cyclist’s contributory negligence.
A sudden, severe injury can affect every aspect of the injured person’s life. Serious brain injuries, in particular, cause physical, cognitive (mental or intellectual), neurological, sensory and psychological disability. These injuries are not simple to evaluate or to adjust to.
The injured person may need a lengthy period of specialist, multidisciplinary rehabilitation, ongoing therapies, and help with psychological adjustment to their disability, reduced independence and mobility. They may not ever be able to return to former activities, walk, drive or return to work. This causes financial hardship and stress within the family.
Chronic pain, PTSD and psychological reactions can affect the injured person’s ability to respond to treatment, which is often misunderstood in the context of a compensation claim. A staged, skillfully managed approach to the client’s recovery, rehabilitation and their claim is needed in these complex cases. Our team’s supportive relationships with these client families often continue long after the conclusion of the claim.
Where our client is seriously injured in a road accident, we can often secure immediate funding from the negligent driver’s insurer to get our client’s rehab underway. For many clients, this maximises their recovery by allowing a seamless continuation of treatment from acute hospital care to rehabilitation. The earlier the rehab, the better the recovery.
At Boyes Turner, we believe that our severely injured clients deserve the best chance of recovery. We help them achieve this with rehabilitation.
Every small gain in the client’s recovery gives them more benefit from their compensation. This might come from being able to use assistive technology to communicate, learn, access education, entertainment or work. It might improve their independence through the use of prosthetics, specialist wheelchairs or adapted vehicles. It might be the difference that allows them to live independently, with support, in adapted accommodation.
Following rehab, a client’s ongoing needs and abilities will determine how every aspect of their lives can be improved with the help that can be provided by compensation.
Rehabilitation is not a substitute for compensation. Clients who have not recovered to a level where they can make use of available help do not achieve the highest levels of compensation. Serious disability will affect the client for the rest of their life.
Their quality of life, and their ability to participate and live a meaningful life, will come from achieving their maximum recovery, assisted by compensation. Any solicitor or injury claims handler who fears the effect that a client’s recovery from rehabilitation might have on their claim is not acting in their client’s best interests.
Just as children need extra care on the road, they need extra care from their solicitor in handling their claim.We understand how deeply, and the many ways that a child’s severe injury affects the child and their family.
Parents often suffer from conflicting feelings of anger and (misplaced) guilt depending on the circumstances of the child’s accident. These feelings sometimes make it very hard for them to claim their child’s entitlement to compensation.
Our lawyers understand these concerns and work sensitively with the child’s parents throughout the claim, whilst complying with our duty to act in the best interests of the child.
Claims for children are subject to different time limits and must meet additional court requirements, for example, in the way that their settlements are agreed and their money is managed.
These requirements are for the protection of the child and are often reassuring to parents, particularly when the child’s injury gives rise to a substantial compensation claim. Boyes Turner’s claims solicitors are experts in achieving maximum settlements for severely injured children. We act for the child, whilst supporting their parents throughout and often long after the conclusion of their claim.
When a cyclist dies from injuries caused by somebody else’s negligence, their dependent family members may be entitled to claim compensation. Depending on the circumstances of the case, eligible family members may also be able to claim compensation for the deceased’s pain and suffering leading up to their death, a statutory bereavement payment, and reasonable funeral costs and other expenses arising from the death.
We provide support and representation for the families of deceased accident victims at inquests, protecting their interests and guiding them through the process by which the coroner establishes the facts surrounding the accident and the cause of the deceased’s death.
The sudden loss of a family member is always hard to come to terms with but is often made worse by the financial hardship which follows the death of a parent or partner. Where the family relied on the deceased’s income or their responsibilities within the home, such as childcare or domestic tasks, we can provide some relief from the financial worry by securing interim payments and making a ‘loss of dependency’ claim.
At Boyes Turner your serious injury claim will always be handled by an experienced solicitor.
Our personal injury lawyers are APIL accredited and top rated nationally by Legal 500 and Chambers Directory for their expertise in serious, high value personal injury claims.
Our work with charities such as Headway and Cycle Smart means that we understand the catastrophic impact that a sudden, devastating injury has upon the individual and their family. We are skilled in helping our clients and their families through the rehabilitation and recovery process which follows a life-changing injury and, with the help of compensation, supporting them to rebuild fulfilling and meaningful lives. By choosing Boyes Turner’s personal injury team you can be sure that your claim will be handled by experienced solicitors with the skills to recover your full entitlement to compensation, even in the most severely injured or complex claims.
We are recognised specialists in personal injury cases involving complex liability, medical or financial issues. We help clients with claims involving multiple possible defendants, conflicting witness evidence, contributory negligence allegations or highly complex injury.
We often secure rehabilitation and compensation successfully for clients whose claims were turned away by other firms, owing to their legal or medical complexity. Our serious injury lawyers have the skills and the experience to help our injured clients meet their needs.
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May 2020
A personal injury is an injury to the body. Sometimes the physical injury or the circumstances in which that injury was suffered also leads to a psychiatric or psychological injury.
When someone is injured as a result of another person or organisation’s breach of their duty of care (negligence), the injured person may be entitled to claim compensation for their injury and its financial consequences. The claim for compensation is made against the person or organisation that was responsible for the injury and is usually met by their insurer. The legal process of claiming compensation for injuries that are caused by negligence is known as a personal injury claim.
Boyes Turner’s personal injury team specialise in claims involving severe or catastrophic injury. Most of our clients have been injured in road traffic accidents (RTAs) and accidents at work.
For compensation claims relating to injuries which occurred in England or Wales the general rule is that court proceedings must be issued (formally started) within three years of the date of the injury. In most cases, before a claim can be issued work must be carried out to investigate the claim, notify the defendant and the insurance company against whom the claim is being made and obtain a medical report to support the claim. The sooner you contact us after an injury has occurred, the sooner we can begin to help you, and the better we can investigate and prepare your claim.
Longer time limits apply to children whose three-year time period only begins to run from the age of 18, meaning that their time limit expires when they reach the age of 21.
Time limits do not apply for those who lack mental capacity. Where an injured person’s mental capacity is uncertain, we work closely with our Court of Protection team to determine whether our client has capacity to bring their own claim. As with other claims, it is always advisable to contact us as soon as possible after the injury, to ensure that evidence can be preserved, rehabilitation started (where needed) and financial help secured via the claim.
In exceptional circumstances, the court may extend the time limit (or limitation deadline) for those including:
You can make a personal injury claim for:
Court proceedings are issued (started) in many cases but this does not mean that the case will end in a trial. There are many reasons why court proceedings might be issued:
The duration of a serious injury claim depends on the individual circumstances of the client’s case. Claims take less time to conclude if:
Claims are more complex and may take longer to resolve where:
We work hard to secure cooperation with defendant insurers, to provide immediate needs assessments and timely funded rehabilitation for our clients to maximise their recovery in the all-important period immediately following an injury. Wherever possible, we also secure interim payments to ease our clients’ financial hardship long before their claims have concluded.
By taking the time that is needed for the client’s rehabilitation and the careful assessment of their long-term needs, we can be confident that each client receives the full support and the compensation they deserve.
Compensation is carefully structured to make the best provision for the injured person’s needs. There are rules protecting compensation for children or adults who lack mental capacity. Compensation may be paid in one or more of the following ways:
If you, or someone in your family has been seriously injured in an accident that was somebody else’s fault, you may be entitled to make a claim. If this feels daunting, alongside everything else that you are coping with in the aftermath of an accident, it may help to remember that:
If you decide that you want to go ahead with making a claim, we will gather as much evidence as we can to support your claim. This evidence may include:
We will also contact the defendant and their insurers to begin working towards meeting your immediate needs and settlement of the claim.
Our personal injury lawyers are specialists in catastrophic and severe injury compensation claims. Our clients have often suffered life-changing injury resulting in permanent disability, and we aim to assist their recovery by securing funded rehabilitation, whilst supporting them in adjusting to the changes to their lives and securing compensation to meet their needs in the future.
Our clients usually have suffered one or more of the following:
If you have suffered a serious injury as a result of somebody else’s negligence (breach of their duty of care), we may be able to help you make a claim for compensation.
Depending on the circumstances of your accident and the severity of your injury, we may also be able to help you claim compensation:
The vast majority of our clients’ serious injury claims are settled without the need for a court hearing (trial). Our clients very rarely need to go to court.
Our personal injury specialists are highly experienced in investigating and assessing the strength of each client’s case. From the outset, and throughout the claim, we advise our clients clearly and honestly about their prospects of success.
We work hard to prove each client’s claim, based on evidence of the circumstances of their accident and the impact of their injury. We encourage cooperation with the defendant’s insurers and negotiate the best possible settlements for our clients. On the rare occasions when a claim cannot be settled without a court hearing, this will be because:
In the following circumstances, the law requires a judge to approve an out-of-court settlement, for the protection of those involved:
In these cases, the approval hearing will be a short hearing at which the lawyers for both parties explain the circumstances of the case and the settlement terms to the judge. In most cases, our client will be expected to be in court during the hearing, accompanied and fully supported by members of our legal team.
The amount of compensation that an injured person receives in a personal injury claim depends on a number of individual factors:
Depending on the client’s injury and the way it affects their life, their claim may include compensation for:
An interim payment is a part-payment of compensation which is paid to the injured person, in advance, whilst the claim is ongoing. We can usually secure an interim payment from the defendant’s insurer where they have admitted liability (accepted fault) for our client’s injury.
We use interim payments to help the injured person and their family, who may be suffering financial hardship as a result of the injury. Where insurers are not willing to provide Rehabilitation Code funding, we sometimes obtain interim payments to ensure that our client receives the rehabilitation, case management and therapies that they need straight away.
Interim payments may be used to meet any genuine need, but it is important that the injured person and their family understand that the sums that they have already received as interim payments are deducted from their final compensation at the end of the claim.
Depending on the client’s injury, an interim payment may help meet their needs for:
By understanding and targeting provision for our clients’ rehabilitation and other essential needs early in the claims process, we help restore our clients’ mobility, independence and ability to participate fully in family and social life, long before the claim has concluded.
When claiming for compensation, Boyes Turner will help you gain:
The easiest way to get started is to talk to one of our friendly, experienced solicitors. You can talk to us free and confidentially about your potential claim, with no obligation, by contacting us by email.
It costs nothing to talk to us to find out about making a claim. Our initial advice is free.
When you first contact us, we advise you whether we can help you make a claim. We discuss how your claim will be funded, and advise, fully and clearly, how that works and what it will mean for you.
We offer a range of funding options, but the majority of our clients’ claims are handled on a conditional fee agreement (CFA) basis, often known as ‘no win no fee’. This means that there is nothing to pay at the outset or until the claim is settled, and you receive compensation. If you win your claim, the defendant’s insurer makes a contribution towards your legal costs. You pay nothing if your claim does not succeed.
Mar 2020
Our medical negligence and personal injury teams have been nationally recognised for over 20 years because of their expertise, empathy and commitment to securing maximum compensation for our clients.
Almost 5 years ago my sons suffered a life changing brain injury accident. A new life for everyone, so many unknowns so many difficult decisions. I met Claire and the team shortly after the accident. So many questions answered but more than that, amazing lovely people. Claire has been guiding me and the family throughout this ordeal with such compassion, there every time I needed her we couldn’t of asked for a nicer person. I have met many others with in Boyes Turner and all have been genuine lovely people, I’m now working with Ruth and Lindsay from the court of protection. Again, I can't say enough about them amazing lovely people. They truly do won't the best for my son and they did and continue to do so.
Claire is exceptionally knowledgeable in the personal injury legal domain, especially in the specific area of my injury. From our very first conversation, she was clear in explaining the potential different routes that the process could take and provided me with expectations of what I could expect along the journey. She ensured that all bases were covered, organising meetings, discussions and necessary specialist appointments, in order to bring together the case and take it forward. Claire was then able to use her extensive pool of contacts, to appoint an "area leading" barrister, to represent me. Overall, I was very pleased with appointing Claire and Boyes Turner to act as my solicitor for the legal claim that I pursued. Thank you for all of your support.
I approached Claire Roantree of Boyes Turner in regards to making a claim about a workplace burns injury. It was something that had scarred me physically and mentally and taken a huge toll on the lives of me and my family. Claire wasted no time in finding out what happened and made sure I was treated by known experts and quickly finding an answer to my burns scarring and how I could be treated to help manage my pain. Claire also helped me by appointing a psychiatrist to understand my situation and help me cope with post traumatic stress disorder. As well as taking as much stress of the claim away, she was thorough in every situation, making sure I had the best possible claim, and handled it all expertly, I am so very grateful to her and her team. They have helped guide my life back into a positive direction and I can't thank her enough!
Excellent service from Claire and her team at all times. We were kept up to date at each stage of our claim. The outcome was much better than we expected and we would not hesitate to recommend Boyes Turner to family and friends.
Kim handled my personal injury claim after a car accident with immeasurable expertise and compassion. Boyes Turner arranged every part of my private rehabilitation, which greatly improved the speed and quality of my recovery. Each stage of the litigation process was dealt with efficiently and succinctly. This was then always explained without using unclear legal jargon. On both health and financial levels, I would be in a far worse position without Kim’s invaluable input. I cannot recommend this firm enough.
