Cycling Accident Claims - Claiming Compensation If You've Been Hit By A Car

When you make a claim with Bott and Co, not only are you drawing on a combined 100 years of legal experience representing cyclists, you’re choosing a cyclist to represent you.

We understand that bicycle accident claims are unique and are best managed by those who understand the road from a cyclist’s point of view.

Key Points

• You may be able to claim compensation for your injuries and out of pocket expenses. The amount of compensation for your injuries is based on the Judicial Board Guidelines.
• Amounts can vary considerably and are based on the severity of your injuries.
• You have up to three years from the date of the accident to make a claim.
• You will always keep 100% of the amount of compensation we recover for your bike and equipment.
• We have a combined 100 years’ legal experience in representing cyclists.

Bicycle Accident Claims – Handled by Cyclists For Cyclists.

Cyclists are vulnerable road users, and cycling accidents can cause severe injuries, particularly if they involve being hit by a car or by being knocked off a bike. If you’ve been injured in a bicycle accident, you may be entitled to claim compensation.

Over the last 25 years, we’ve grown to understand from our own experiences on the roads, and by successfully representing thousands of cyclists what is most important to you when you’ve been involved in an accident.

You need the best legal advice, support and understanding following a bike accident.

You need cycling experts who know first-hand the impact of a cycling accident and life-threatening injuries can have.

You deserve a law firm that is committed to helping you get you the compensation, rehabilitation, and support you need.

Over the last 25 years, we’ve grown to understand from our own experiences on the roads, and by successfully representing thousands of cyclists what is most important to you when you’ve been involved in an accident.

Zero Deductions For Damages

Unlike many other firms, when Bott and Co recover compensation for you, we do not make deductions from the total amount of damages received.

It is common for most solicitors to make a 25% deduction from the total damages they recover for you. We take a very different approach, please see the table below.

The example below is for a client who is unable to work and experiences a loss of earnings of £4,000, requires a replacement bike of £5,000 and bike equipment and accessories at £600.

* The £56 deduction for ATE (After the Event Insurance) includes Insurance Premium Tax.

Cycling Accident Claims Solicitors

You deserve the best possible care and support following a cycling accident. Our care and dedication to cyclists comes from not only years of experience but very personal experiences of our senior management who have suffered serious injuries from cycling accidents, so we can empathise with your situation.

Your case will be managed by one of our experienced, specialist cycling accident solicitors, and overseen by our Legal Manager Tony Tierney, a dedicated cyclist and experienced lawyer of over 25 years, who has recovered millions of pounds in compensation for cyclists and people injured in road accidents.

Additionally, our legal teams are headed up by David Bott, a fellow, and past president of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) and a keen cyclist who has completed numerous stages of the Tour de France.

We mean it when we say we’re not just solicitors, we’re cyclists that are experts in cycling accident claims – and we understand what you may be going through.

Along with the other members of our cycling claims team, we have a combined 100 years’ legal experience in representing cyclists who may have been knocked off their bike or hit by a car.

With a long history of success, recovering over £101m against insurers, we use all our experience and knowledge to recover the maximum possible compensation and provide the best possible support to get you back on the saddle.

So we mean it when we say we’re not just solicitors, we’re cyclists that are experts in cycling accident claims – and we understand what you may be going through.

A No Win No Fee Guarantee – With A Difference

You need to feel safe in the knowledge that you’re getting the very best legal advice when you choose a law firm to help you with your cycling accident claim.

Our services are offered on a No Win No Fee basis, meaning you are not at any financial risk if your claim is unsuccessful. However, our ‘No Win No Fee Guarantee’ goes the extra mile to make sure you receive as much compensation as possible.

This means you receive our top-class award-winning legal services and support at the lowest possible cost.

If you’re ready to make a claim, or to have a chat with our team on the claims process and how much compensation you could be entitled to then contact us today and we will answer any questions you have.

So Much More Than Just Financial Compensation

When you’ve suffered injuries as a result of being knocked off your bike, we understand that you’re not just concerned about your injuries. You’re concerned about your bike, equipment, and getting back out on the road.

We can manage every aspect of the claim process tailored to your specific circumstances.

Cyclists that we speak to are often more concerned about the damage to their bike than the damage to their body – although we’re sure their friends and family don’t necessarily share that view.

We know there are different needs and concerns following an accident, so our service is designed to provide so much more than just injury compensation – we can manage every aspect of the claim process tailored to your specific circumstances. This includes:

A True Understanding Of The Value Of Your Bike

Your bike may well be worth more than the car that hit you. Many of the cyclists we help have spent thousands on their bicycle and equipment and when a bike is hit by a car, the damage is considerably more extensive to the bike than the car.

Our cycle team understand bike brands, parts, and the real value of what you’ve lost, where insurance companies might not.

We’ve settled claims for bikes worth in excess of £10,000 with several hundreds of pounds of clothing and equipment on top of that. Without our knowledge and experience it can be hard for you to convince the insurers of the true cost of a bike.

Our cycle claims team understand bike brands, parts, and the real value of what you’ve lost, where insurance companies might not. We will make sure your bike and equipment isn’t undervalued and we will never take any fees from the compensation recovered for this, so you can use 100% of your bike compensation to get a replacement.

Rehabilitation After A Cycling Accident

If you wish, we can create a bespoke rehabilitation service for you, depending on the nature of your injuries, to help you get back on the road as soon as possible. All the costs of the treatment we arrange for you will be added on to the claim so you won’t be left out of pocket.

We can create a bespoke rehabilitation service to help you get back on the road as soon as possible.

This part of our service could include private healthcare to assess and treat the injuries, physiotherapy to help you get back to fitness, and even psychological treatment if you are suffering with PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) or have any fears about getting back on the bike.

A True Understanding Of Your Accident And Your Claim

You need the best available help to take on the insurance company who may have an interest in settling for the lowest figure they can.

We’re highly experienced in the battle against insurers and represent more than 100,000 individuals each year to successfully recover compensation from a range of companies and insurers.

We’re highly experienced in the battle against insurers. We work for you and our job is to make sure you receive the highest possible compensation amount.

We work for you and our job is to make sure you receive the highest possible compensation amount.

We take the time to obtain all evidence in respect of liability/circumstances of the accident and we forensically review the same. Our medical experts will provide the evidence needed to value your claim and our expert team will study all the evidence, with a view to maximising the damages recoverable.

Your claim evaluation could include information and evidence from a number of sources, such as;

We are very familiar with reviewing Strava data if this was in use at the time of the accident.

A One To One Legal Experience

You’ll receive our award-winning customer service when making a claim with us. While many claims can be managed over the phone and by email, we’ll visit you at home or in the hospital if required, to discuss your case in depth.

You will be able to speak to your lawyer any time during our office hours, you can even keep up to date with the claim 24/7 through our Bott and Co claims app.

Our Legal Manager Tony Tierney oversees all our cycle claims personally and will be able to answer any questions you might have about the claim and the process.

This means you don’t need to worry about the claim and you can concentrate on getting better and recovering from your injuries.

We’ll handle all the claim details and will make sure you’re looked after not just for the injury compensation but for the damage to your bike and equipment, medical and physio costs, and any other out of pocket expenses.

Choosing The Right Cycling Accident Claims Solicitors

Insurers may want to limit the amount they payout, but our job is to make sure you receive the maximum possible compensation.

When choosing a solicitor to assist with your claim, in our opinion you should make sure they are fully independent from the insurance company, experience suggests that your interests will not be best served otherwise.

At Bott and Co we take the time that is necessary to conclude your claim. We find insurers on the other hand attempt to settle at the earliest opportunity and prior to all relevant medical evidence being available. We are experienced in this respect and will advise you tactically how to proceed.

We are ranked as the number one law firm in the entire UK for revenue per lawyer and among the most profitable, and we couldn’t achieve this by not securing the highest possible payouts for our clients.

What Compensation Can I Claim For If I’ve Been Knocked Off My Bike?

We want to make sure you’re not left out of pocket following a cycling accident so our solicitors will fight on your behalf to recover the maximum amount possible in the shortest time, so you can put it all behind you.

The Judicial College have guidelines on how much compensation you are entitled to depending on the injuries you’ve suffered. This can vary massively, for example, a wrist injury can be valued at between £2,300 and £39,300 – so the skill of our solicitors in negotiating the best settlement is vital here.

The Judicial College have guidelines on how much compensation you are entitled to depending on the injuries you’ve suffered.

We can also recover any out of pocket expenses such as travel to medical appointments and healthcare or assistance costs while you are rehabilitating. In extreme cases, we’ve recovered in excess of a million pounds to cover on-going care.

Our legal team will also negotiate a settlement for any loss of earnings if the injuries you suffered led to time off work or missed bonuses. The compensation for anything other than the injury is known as special damages and includes:

It is important that you keep receipts for any out of pocket expenses as we can add these into your claim. We will even arrange for interim payments to you while the case is on-going if you need help covering expenses.

How Much Compensation Can I Claim For A Cycling Accident?

We totally understand when there’s been trauma, pain, impact on personal income or excessive expenses that financial compensation is first and foremost in our minds. This is why one of the most commonly asked questions that our customers want to know is how much their claim is worth.

The ‘how much’ question is very difficult to answer until our legal team has been through the details of your accident and injury.

However, we pride ourselves on securing the maximum possible compensation for you and our track record in recovering millions of pounds over more than 25 years of legal practice speaks for itself.

Our interactive calculator below will help you find out how much compensation you may be able to claim for your injury.

The amounts listed are based on average settlement figures awarded by Judges at Trial and are intended to ensure a fair settlement is reached.

Please be aware that compensation amounts vary on a case by case basis. These figures are intended only as a guide towards what your claim may be worth.

As part of claiming with Bott and Co, you will undergo an independent medical assessment. It is following this assessment, that we will know an accurate amount of compensation we may be able to claim for you.

The actual final amount we can secure for you depends on a number of circumstances including:

For serious injuries, we also recover compensation to cover additional costs that arise as a result of your accident, including; loss of future earnings, a lifetime of care and treatment, help with chores, medication, state-of-the-art prosthetic limbs and custom-built accommodation.

At the end of this guide is a list of some of the more common injuries and the compensation guideline amounts. The figures are taken from the Case Law on general damages in personal injury cases. The total compensation figure can be hugely increased when factoring in the special damages such as loss of earnings, care and assistance and rehabilitation.

How Long Do I Have To Claim After A Cycling Accident?

Claims for cycle accidents are covered under UK limitation laws for this type of compensation case and the current limitation is three years.

This means you have a maximum of three years from the date of the accident, or the date you discovered your injuries were a result of the accident, to make your claim.

If you are very close to the three-year time limit it can be difficult to get the process established in time but give our team a call if you are unsure.

Cycle accidents are covered under UK limitation laws for this type of compensation case and the current limitation is three years.

For children under the age of 18 it is possible to make a claim at any time before their 21st birthday, regardless of when the accident happened. We always recommend starting the process as soon as possible to give you the best chance for success.

If you are claiming on behalf of someone who does not have the mental capacity to make their own claim then there is no specific time limit on this.

If your loved one has sadly passed away, you have three years from the date of passing, or from receiving their post mortem results to start your claim.

When Can I Claim For A Bicycle Accident?

If you’ve been knocked off your bike, the chances are you will have a claim. It is unusual for motorists not to be at least partly at fault when they collide with cyclists.

You might also be able to claim if the accident was caused by a pothole or poor road surfaces or if your equipment is defective and causes an accident.

You could claim when:

Most Cycle accidents usually involve a motor vehicle such as a car, taxi or HGV vehicle etc. Involving common circumstances such as a vehicle turning across a cyclists path, emerging from a junction or changing lanes on a roundabout.

Accidents often occur at T-junctions and can be down to a failure to look properly by the vehicle driver.

Many accidents are caused by motor vehicles, including buses and lorries. Common circumstances involve lorries failing to leave sufficient room, vehicles emerging from side roads and vehicles turning in front of cyclists.

However, there does not have to be contact with a motor vehicle for you to be able to claim. We have represented a number of cyclists who have had to take evasive action to avoid a collision. The road sometimes looks more appealing than the bonnet of a car.

We are experienced in dealing with what is generally termed as “dooring”, we have recovered significant sums for individuals involved in such incidents. “Dooring” is a term used where an individual in a parked motor vehicle opens their door into the path of a cyclist, having failed to check properly before opening the door.

For accidents caused by potholes and poor road conditions, the local authority has to be able to prove that they have a “sufficient system of inspection” in place at the time of the incident. We are experienced in respect of requesting all relevant records and reviewing the same.

Meet The Team

Tony Tierney

Legal Manager Tony Tierney, is a dedicated cyclist and experienced lawyer of over 25 years, who has recovered millions of pounds in compensation for cyclists and people injured in road accidents.

He is a member of both Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) and The Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEx).

The Cycle Claims Process

Our impeccable track record and vast experience and knowledge in cycle claims means you have the best team available on your side to take on the insurance company.

We have worked very hard to make the claims process as simple and easy as possible for you, while we do all the legal work to recover the maximum compensation and let you concentrate on getting better.

We have worked very hard to make the claims process as simple and easy as possible for you.

Our numerous awards, including for customer service and innovation, have elevated us to one of the leading consumer law firms in the UK.

The claims process usually consists of a number of specific parts:

When you contact us, your call will be handled by our award-winning customer response team who are experienced in the claims process and will take all the relevant accident details we need to assess your claim.

Our Legal Manager, Tony Tierney, will then review the claim details and most likely call you personally to discuss the case and what he believes is a realistic outcome.

We will then begin working on the case by obtaining all relevant evidence in respect of both liability and quantum. When finalised we will provide our detailed advice in respect of both tactics and settlement.

The rules and timeframes in respect to bringing a claim are set by the government. We will explain the same in order that you are informed in respect of timescales.

Throughout the claim we will update you as to what’s happening and let you know where the negotiations are up to.

We can arrange for interim payments to be made so if you’ve lost earnings as a result of the accident, you will have peace of mind that the bills are being covered.

We will arrange for medical assessments and for physio and rehab where required. The medical assessments will help put a ‘value’ on the injuries you’ve sustained so that we can negotiate from a position of strength with the third party.

You will always have a point of contact at Bott and Co and are free to call any time to speak with us if you want an extra update, or just have questions about the process.

Below is a list of some of the more common injuries and the compensation guideline amounts.

The amounts listed are based on average settlement figures awarded by Judges at Trial and are intended to ensure a fair settlement is reached.

Please be aware that compensation amounts vary on a case by case basis. These figures are intended only as a guide towards what your claim may be worth.

As part of claiming with Bott and Co, you will undergo an independent medical assessment. It is following this assessment, that we will know an accurate amount of compensation we may be able to claim for you.

Contact us today for a free, no obligation claim consultation.