Cycling accident compensation claims

Injured cyclists may be entitled to claim compensation for their injury if the accident was caused by another road user:

• tailgating, driving or overtaking too close;
• failing to see the cyclist and colliding with them;
• failing to give way at a junction or roundabout (if cyclist’s right of way);
• speeding or driving too fast for the road conditions;
• losing control of their vehicle or veering from their lane;
• failing to comply with the Highway Code;
• driving an unroadworthy vehicle (defective lights, indicators, tyres, or brakes);
• driving whilst distracted or on a mobile phone.

An injured cyclist may also have a claim against the highway authority, police, or other agencies responsible for safety on the road, if their negligence caused their injury. These claims often follow an injury caused by:

• a defective road surface,
• unmarked ramps,
• unlit skips or road works.

We have helped recover compensation for clients after cycling accident injuries left them with:

• Head injury, brain injury, skull fracture;
• Spinal injury, paraplegia, tetraplegia;
• Amputation;
• Major trauma and multiple injuries;
• facial injuries;
• degloving injury (needing skin grafting);
• severe scarring and disfigurement;
• Fatal injury (death)
• PTSD and psychological injury
• CRPS, chronic pain

We assess each client’s compensation claim carefully to make sure that their needs arising from their injury are met. The amount of compensation that the injured person receives depends on their individual circumstances, including the severity of their injury and disability, their needs and financial losses arising from their injury, and any contributory negligence or liability issues relating to the accident.

Accident compensation claims for severely injured cyclists can include compensation for:

• pain, suffering, and disability;
• costs of rehabilitation;
• costs of care and case management;
• extra costs of suitable housing or home adaptations;
• specialist vehicles, prosthetics, equipment, assistive technology (IT);
• costs of medical or surgical treatment;
• therapies, such as:
  • occupational therapy (OT);
  • physiotherapy;
  • speech and language therapy (SALT);
  • hydrotherapy;
• psychological treatment, counselling, and support;
• vocational rehabilitation;
• financial losses, loss of earnings and pension;
• special education (SEN) costs (for a child);
• Court of Protection deputyship costs.

In claims arising from fatal injury, we help the deceased’s dependent family claim compensation for their loss of the deceased’s income or ‘services’ (childcare, housework, driving, DIY etc), as well as funeral costs and a fixed, statutory bereavement award.

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. The fact that a cyclist wasn’t wearing a helmet when their accident occurred rarely prevents them from making a claim.

When a cyclist claims compensation for injuries caused by a negligent driver, the driver’s insurer is only required to pay compensation for the injury that their driver’s negligence caused. If the cyclist’s own actions caused or contributed to their injury, the defendant’s insurer may try to reduce the compensation settlement in proportion to the cyclist’s ‘contributory negligence’.

Many injuries, including brain injury, spinal injury, 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, their injury compensation should not be affected. If the injury would have been avoided or less serious if the cyclist had been wearing a helmet, the cyclist’s compensation may be reduced or ‘discounted’.

Contributory negligence is sometimes used by insurers as a negotiating or stalling device. It is vital that the injured person’s solicitor has the necessary level of experience of these serious injury claims to ensure that the injured claimant receives their full entitlement to compensation. Our personal injury team are experienced in overcoming insurers’ unjustified attempts to reduce their liability on the basis of the cyclist’s contributory negligence.

Read more about how we help clients in claims involving contributory negligence.

Children on bikes are particularly vulnerable. They are smaller and less visible around parked or moving vehicles, and 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 cycling or on the roads. 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.

Just as children need extra care on the road, they also need extra care from the solicitor handling their claim. We understand the devastating and profound impact that a child’s sudden, severe injury has on the child’s life and the many ways in which affects their family. Parents can often suffer from conflicting feelings of anger and (misplaced) guilt after their child is injured in a cycling accident. These feelings sometimes make it very hard for them to claim their child’s entitlement to compensation.

We understand these concerns and work sensitively with the child’s parents throughout the claim, whilst always acting in the best interests of the child, to ensure they receive the rehabilitation, support, and compensation they deserve.

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.