Cycling Accident Compensation Claims

How Cycling Accident Claims Work

As a cyclist on the road, you are a road user, and as such you owe other road users a ‘duty of care’. In turn, you are also owed a legal ‘duty of care’ by other road users as well. This includes from pedestrians, other cyclists, passengers, motorcyclists and anyone else who uses the road. As a road user, you must take reasonable care to ensure that any action you take, or any action you fail to take does not cause injury to any other road user. 

If you should not take such reasonable care then you would be in breach of this ‘duty of care’ meaning you have been negligent in causing the said injury or damage. You could then be found liable/responsible for causing an accident, should you be in breach of your statutory duty.

Common types of cycling accidents involve as follows:

• Accidents caused by cars pulling out of junctions
• Diesel & oil spills
• Filtering and vehicles turning left
• Head on collisions
• Accidents involving pedestrians
• Other cyclists
• Road surface (potholes defects etc.)
• Stationary car accidents

If you suffer an injury or damage as a result of another road user being in breach of their statutory duty to take reasonable care in using the road, including by pedestrians and other cyclists, then you would be eligible to make a claim.

If you do wish to make a claim for an accident, then you have 3 years from when the accident took place to bring legal action otherwise the claim will become statute-barred. However, if the claim should relate to a child, then the time limit to bring an action is 3 years from when they have reached their 18th birthday.

Starting a Cycling Accident Compensation Claim with JCP Solicitors

If you’ve had a cycling accident in which you have been injured and/or suffered damage and you wish to pursue a claim for personal injury with JCP Solicitors, we offer a free consultation in which you will put in contact with one of our dedicated team members. During the initial consultation we will take your contact details, the details of the person who caused your accident and/or their insurers' details and the circumstances of the accident you have been involved which will then be passed onto one of the senior members of the team to consider whether you have a valid claim and whether that claim has sufficient prospects of success.

If you have a valid claim with sufficient prospects of success, then we will open a new file for you and send you our initial documentation, which will also include a draft letter of claim or claim notification form, for your consideration. Once this has been approved we will then send it to the person who caused the accident, (the Defendant), or their insurers to start the claim process.

Our Conditional Fee Agreements, also known as ‘No Win No Fee’ agreements, are popular amongst clients as it allows those involved in a cycling accident to pursue a claim for personal injury without the potential of added financial stress.

Should your claim be unsuccessful then you will not be charged, however, if your claim is successful we then charge a percentage of the compensation you receive. This percentage is limited to a maximum of 25% but only relates to the compensation you received for the injury element of your claim and any past losses, it does not relate to any future losses included in your claim.

Building Your Cycling Accident Claim

If you proceed with your claim, we will send the letter of claim or claim notification form to the Defendant’s insurers. They will then carry out necessary investigations in order to determine whether their insured party is liable (responsible) for your injury or not. Once this decision has been obtained, we will begin compiling the necessary evidence in support of your claim. This evidence includes:

• Medical Evidence: This takes the form of a medical report prepared by an appropriate independent medical expert following a review of your medical records and examination of you
• Evidence of your out-of-pocket expenses: If you suffered any out-of-pocket expenses due to the accident, such as travel expenses, loss of earnings, care costs or treatment costs, you may be able to claim these back. In order to do so, you will need to provide evidence of these costs such as wage slips, invoices/receipts and travel tickets
• Engineering Evidence: This independent expert evidence will be required in cases in which the mechanism or cause of the accident needs to be proved, such as in some road traffic accidents where perhaps the cause of the accident is uncertain or where liability is denied

Once the evidence is finalised and approved by you, it will be disclosed to the Defendant’s insurers for their consideration. In claims where liability is admitted, we will then proceed to value your claim by considering the ‘medical evidence’ prepared in order to allow us to value the injuries you have suffered, these are known as ‘General Damages’. We also value your claim for your out-of-pocket expenses, known as ‘Special Damages’ using the evidence that you have provided.

Securing Compensation for Your Cycling Accident

There are two ways of securing compensation, either through an out of Court settlement or, before a Judge at a Court hearing. The majority of claims are settled out of Court. This benefits both parties involved as it is less costly than proceeding to Court and also eliminates the stress or worry of appearing before a Judge and giving evidence.

More importantly, it also allows us, as your legal representatives, to negotiate the best settlement for you, with your input throughout, rather than placing all your faith in an independent Judge in Court, where it is often difficult to predict the outcome.

On occasion, commencing Court proceedings will be necessary, for example in claims where:

• The Defendant denies liability
• The Defendant is delaying matters
• The claim is complex and there has been an accident of a serious nature, such as head, spinal injuries, amputation injuries or a fatal accident

If it is necessary for a claim to proceed to Court we will prepare the necessary paperwork to issue Court Proceedings on your behalf and talk you through each stage of the Court timetable and process, making you as comfortable and equipped as possible.

Why use JCP Solicitors for pursuing your  Cycling Accident Claim

Whatever the circumstances of your cycling accident claim, here at JCP Solicitors we will ensure that you as our client, have the practical and emotional support you need during the process of pursuing your claim.

Our Personal Injury team has many years of experience within this field and holds the Law Society Personal Injury accreditation as well as tier 2 Personal Injury ranking in The Legal 500 and Band 1 Personal Injury ranking in Chambers & Partners.

We also have close ties with charitable organisations such as:

• Headway - who specialise in helping and supporting people who have suffered from head and brain injuries
• Spinal Injuries Association - who specialise in helping and supporting people who are affected by spinal cord injuries

We have helped thousands of clients in securing the compensation they deserve as a result of Road Traffic Accidents, ranging from whiplash-type claims to life-changing claims involving head and spinal injuries.

We are based throughout South Wales with offices in the following locations:

• Cardiff
• Swansea
• Caerphilly
• Carmarthen
• Cowbridge
• Haverfordwest
• St Davids

If you have been involved in a Road Traffic Accident and have sustained an injury, please get in touch to arrange a free consultation to discuss your potential claim with us today by phone on 03333 209244, by email at law@jcpsolicitors.co.uk, fill out an enquiry form or speak to our 24/7 Live Chat team.