Cycling accident claim solicitors

If you have been injured whilst cycling, we can provide specialist legal advice to get you the compensation you deserve.

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Here to help when you've been injured in a cycling accident.

We're cyclists as well as solicitors, and we bring that passion and insight to bear when you're injured in a cycling accident that was not your fault.

We succeed with difficult cycling accident claims. Our broad range of experience includes vehicles colliding with cyclists, car dooring, defective components causing accidents, crashes caused by dangerous road surfaces, or even, on rare occasions, injuries caused by animals, such as a dog or horse, knocking riders off their bikes. It is this broad range of experience that means we are confident getting the compensation you need to get on with your life.

  • How long does a cycling accident claim take, and what is the process?

    Our specialist solicitors will quickly assess the merits of your cycling accident claim on a ‘no win, no fee’ basis – meaning you won’t pay a thing if the case is unsuccessful – and will continuously advise you on the timescale for concluding your claim.

    The time it takes to conclude your case will greatly depend on whether liability is disputed as well as the complexity of your injuries. That makes it hard to estimate how long it will take to conclude your claim at the outset; complex claims can years to settle.

  • How much compensation will you receive?

    If we succeed with liability, the amount you receive for a cycling accident claim will depend on the extent of your injuries and the amount of your financial losses (to date and in the future).

    When the time comes to assess the value of your claim, we will undertake thorough research before advising you. We will be happy to obtain part payments towards your claim as it progresses in case you need money for particular expenses, such as medical treatment or replacement of your bicycle.

One of our primary roles is enabling you to focus on maximising your recovery, by conducting your claim as efficiently as possible. We will add value by ensuring you receive the maximum amount of compensation, including payments as your claim progresses to pay for expenses like rehabilitation

  • No Win No Fee funding available
  • Supportive and collaborative
  • National experts
  • Proven track record

If you would like to speak to our team, please contact us on

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Client experience

Hear from a satisfied client

Hamish was knocked off his bike on his way to work and suffered a broken shoulder. Having to face six weeks off work as well as ongoing pain, his confidence in cycling was shaken. That's why he was glad to have our team to rely on.

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Mark Hambleton, specialist cycling solicitor, has often commented on road.cc about cycling and the law.

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faqs

Making a claim for a cycling accident

Here, we have gathered together some of the main questions people ask about four different situations. If you’d like to skip to the section that’s relevant to you, simply click the relevant section below.

  • First, what should you do in the event of a cycling accident?

    In the event of any accident on the road, you should always do the following:

    • If you are able to, either at the time of the accident or shortly thereafter, record key pieces of evidence. This may be the size and location of a defect in the road surface, or details of the defective component that caused your accident. If you’re involved in a collision with a motor vehicle, try to obtain details such as the registration plate.
    • It is a good idea to take photographs to record details. You should also record evidence of injuries, and the damage to any equipment.
    • Keep copies of correspondence and receipts arising from your accident. For example, evidence of payment for bike repairs, letters from your GP or hospital, correspondence with your employer and a diary of your symptoms. This can include treatments and day-to-day difficulties.
    • Keep a diary of domestic assistance and medical treatment (even if you don’t pay for it privately). These are often things you will be asked about at a later date, by which time your memory might have faded.
    • It is often in your best interests to avoid corresponding with the other party (or their representative) directly. We will be able to advise you on the merits of bringing a cycling injury compensation claim in terms of liability and we can act in your best interests to assist you in arranging a programme to assist your rehabilitation.
    • When it comes to funding your claim, we regularly act for injured cyclists under the terms of a ‘no win, no fee’ agreement. This is otherwise known as a Conditional Fee Agreement. We also find out whether you have any ‘Before the Event’ insurance as an alternative funding option.
  • If you’ve been knocked off your bike by a car

    The benefits of cycling far outweigh the small chance of an injury. But, if you are unfortunate enough to be knocked off your bicycle by a careless driver or injured in a collision with a vehicle whilst riding your bike, then you are entitled to expert legal advice.

    We aren’t afraid to take on difficult and complex compensation claims. We are passionate about achieving justice for our clients, and as an independent firm we are not on any panel lists for cycling insurance claims.

    Recently, for example, we have successfully represented injured cyclists in the following circumstances:

    • Cycling injury claims following collisions between cyclists and motorists; including cars, vans, lorries and buses;
    • Cyclists knocked off their bikes by motorists opening car doors;
    • Bike accident claims following collisions at roundabouts and junctions;
    • Traffic filtering accidents;
    • Vehicles performing U-turns and knocking cyclists off their bikes;
    • Cyclists wishing to transfer their matter to RWK Goodman because they were not happy with their bicycle injury lawyer; and
    • Overtaking accidents where vehicles collided with bikes in circumstances where they failed to allow sufficient room to overtake safely.
  • If you’ve had a cycling accident at a cycling event or sportive

    The circumstances of your accident may be such that you believe you are entitled to bring a claim against the organiser of a cycling event, such as a sportive.

    This could be a possibility if you believe the event was negligently organised or supervised. Examples might include;

    • inadequate signage
    • inadequate warnings of hazards; or
    • a failure to check the route before the event.

    This could be in relation failing to identify dangerous road surfaces or flooding that might not have been visible when the route was planned.

    We will advise you on your rights and whilst it is unusual to pursue a claim against an organiser of a sportive, it is not out of the question.

    Another consideration might be if the event organiser failed to supervise the closure of the road or failed to use Marshalls at appropriate checkpoints.  There might also be a claim arising from a collision with a motor vehicle, if it found its way onto the course having ignored warnings or road closure signs.

    If you or a friend were able to gather contact details for anyone present at the time you sustained your injuries and photographs of the scene of the accident that will often be of assistance in assessing the merits of your claim. However if this was not possible at the time then it is still possible to investigate your claim.

  • If you’ve had a cycling accident with an uninsured or untraceable driver

    Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for motorists to drive uninsured or fail to stop after being involved in a collision with a cyclist.

    In these ‘uninsured driver’ and ‘hit-and-run’ cases the driver may not have the means to meet your claim personally and it can be very difficult to track the driver down unless there are witnesses or good CCTV footage.

    However, in these circumstances, you can still make a cycling compensation claim by going to something called the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB).

    What is the Motor Insurers’ Bureau?

    The purpose of the MIB is to:

    • Compensate victims of accidents caused by uninsured drivers
    • Compensate victims of accidents caused by untraced drivers

    To operate the Green Card System in the UK i.e. to compensate UK citizens who are involved in accidents with foreign registered vehicles, either in the UK or within the European Economic Area.

    If you are injured while riding your bicycle as a consequence of the actions of a careless uninsured or untraced driver, then it is most likely that your claim for damages will be dealt with by the MIB.

    Such claims should be acted upon promptly.

    Compensation is only payable where fault can be established on the part of the driver identified as having caused the accident. The MIB will investigate those allegations and if it believes you are entitled to damages, it will assess the sum you are entitled to.

    As a fund of last resort, accidents are only covered by the MIB if they happen on a road or other public place. The Uninsured Drivers’ Agreement deals with claims arising from the negligence or intentional assaults of uninsured drivers.

    How do you make a claim with the MIB?

    On receiving your enquiry, our first step will be to try and discover if there is a motor insurer. If there is no insurer or if the driver is untraced, we will submit the claim to the MIB.

    Claims for injuries must be made within 3 years of the accident date. The MIB will expect to see that the accident has been reported to the police within 14 days.

    The MIB then gather the evidence to make a decision as to whether there is a valid claim and assess its value.

  • If you had a cycling accident whilst abroad

    If you have been unlucky enough to be injured whilst cycling abroad, we would encourage you to contact us straight away for advice as, depending on which country your claim will be brought, the limitation period for that country may differ to the general three-year rule in the UK.

    We are passionate about getting the message across to the cycling community that if an accident occurs abroad you should instruct someone to investigate your cycling accident claim.

    Claims of this nature can be complex and the below does not constitute legal advice, it is simply intended to help you understand the different types of cycling claims that may be available to you. For more information you can always contact us for an informal discussion.

    In which country should the claim be brought?

    If you have a cycling accident during a cycling holiday/foreign trip, where you are knocked off your bicycle by a motorist in Europe you are entitled to:

    • bring your claim directly against the insurer in the courts of your home country; or
    • directly against the driver in the courts where the accident occurred; or
    • against the courts of the driver’s home country.

    If the accident happened outside Europe, the claim will have to be made in that country but there are certain exceptions to this rule.

    Which country’s laws apply in the event of a foreign cycling accident?

    Even though your claim for an accident in Europe can be brought in the courts of your home country, it is the law of the country where the accident happened that should be applied.

    Your chosen solicitors should be able to liaise with specialist solicitors based in the country where your accident happened for advice on the applicable law. This can be beneficial if the law of the country where your accident happened is more sympathetic towards cyclists involved in road traffic accidents.

    The courts in your home country will apply the law of the country where the accident happened to establish whether you are entitled to bring a claim i.e. establish liability on the part of the motorist and, if successful, dictate the appropriate sum of compensation.

    The systems for calculating compensation vary from country to country and are likely to be different to the sum you would receive if your accident had happened in your home country.

    What if the cycling accident occurred on a package holiday?

    If your cycling accident occurred during a foreign package holiday then you are well placed to bring a claim against the package tour provider.

    Some travel agents and tour operators have got wise to this and seek to avoid the regulations by selling holidays which fall outside the definition of a ‘package holiday’, but there are further regulations that provide further protection if your cycling trip was a flight + arrangement. Essentially, it provides protection wherever a flight out of the UK is sold with accommodation and/or car hire outside the UK.

    Claims under these regulations should be brought at home in England and Wales and do not apply the law of the country where your accident happened.

    These regulations protect cyclists injured in collisions with motor vehicles and other causes of foreign cycling accidents such as failing to exercise reasonable care and skill in leading a group of riders as contracted for in the holiday or providing a defective bike for hire.

    What about foreign uninsured or untraced drivers?

    If an accident is caused by a foreign hit and run or uninsured driver in Europe then you will probably have the opportunity to bring your claim against the Motor Insurers’ Bureau at home.

    The MIB provide a fund of last resort to compensate victims of accidents in this country caused by uninsured or untraced drivers.  The MIB will also deal with such claims if they happen abroad.

    Does a foreign solicitor need to be involved?

    When we are contacted by cyclists who have been injured abroad, we take a history so we can advise on these issues.  We will thoroughly advise you on your options as to the most appropriate remedy to seek because the compensation available to you differs depending on the nature of the claim that you pursue.

    This is why it is particularly important we speak to a specialist solicitor in the country where the accident happened to compare the approaches between that country and at home; this is likely to be a very important consideration from your point of view.

  • If you were injured due to faulty cycling equipment

    If you have suffered a cycling accident as a result of defective cycling equipment such as the bike frame or brakes you should consider obtaining legal advice on the merits of bringing a personal injury claim for compensation. There are a number of ways this can be done:

    Sales of Goods Act 1979

    Sellers and suppliers of goods might be contractually liable under the Act. There is an implied term that goods are of “satisfactory quality” for the purpose for which those goods are ordinarily used.

    For example, the frame of a mountain bike would not be expected to fail during reasonable off road use or the brakes on a road bike would be expected to work assuming they have been reasonably well maintained.

    There is no need to prove fault on the part of the seller or supplier. If the equipment or component is defective, liability follows. Claims brought under the Act can be pursued by the injured cyclist against the person or business that sold or supplied the goods but not against the manufacturer or wholesaler with whom there was no contract.

    Negligence

    An injured cyclist may have a claim for personal injuries and consequential losses against a negligent manufacturer or assembler of a product. It is unlikely that the injured cyclist will have a contractual claim against the person or company that manufactured and/or assembled the bicycle but that does not necessarily matter.

    In order to succeed, the injured cyclist must prove that the other party was at fault i.e. that they did not take such care as was reasonable in the circumstances. For example, manufacturers of a defective tyre have been found liable for injuries suffered as a result of a tyre exploding, despite the lack of specific evidence as to how the defect had arisen.

    We recently succeeded with a claim where a mountain bike frame collapsed and fell apart after a small jump. The negligence of the manufacturer caused the injury.

    Consumer Protection Act 1987

    Claims on behalf of injured cyclists under the Consumer Protection Act succeed without the need to establish fault providing the product is defective. There are statutory defences available to the Defendant. A product is considered to be “defective” if the safety of the product “is not such as persons are generally entitled to expect”. Much like the Sale of Goods Act, the onus is on the injured cyclist to prove that the product was defective (rather than a negligence claim where it is necessary to prove the other party was at fault).

    Sometimes it can take time to identify the Defendant. A claim for a defective bike may initially be pursued against the supplier/retailer but the retailer is only liable if they fail to state who they bought the product from, be it an importer, producer or those who hold themselves out as producers.

    This can be particularly important if a bicycle or piece of cycling equipment was manufactured abroad. Claims under this Act can only be brought against producers in England and the European Economic Area in English Courts provided the damage occurred in England. The same approach applies to claims against foreign importers.


    Some of these claims are excluded where it is a purely economic loss rather than a claim for personal injuries with associated losses.

    In cases where it is alleged that a product is defective or that the service or maintenance of a bicycle was negligent, it is very important to keep the relevant items for inspection along with any evidence of payment etc.

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