By Cat Mulligan. Last Updated 8th November 2023. If you have suffered a motorbike injury in a road traffic accident, you might be eligible to make a personal injury claim. However, the process isn’t a straightforward one. That’s why we put together this comprehensive guide to explain how our panel of specialist motorcycle accident lawyers can help you.
In this guide, we’ll go through the motorbike accident claims process and the duty of care all road users owe. Additionally, we will also share some examples of the evidence you could collect to help support your claim. Furthermore, we will discuss some of the benefits of making a claim with a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel.
If, after finishing this guide, you have any further questions about motorcycle injury claims, you can contact our advisors. Our team is available 24/7 to help you and offer free advice for your potential claim.
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Motorcycle Accident Claims Guide
Choose A Section
- When Could You Claim With Motorcycle Accident Lawyers?
- How Long Do I Have To Claim For A Motorcycle Accident?
- Motorcycle Accident Statistics
- How Much Compensation Will I Get For A Motorcycle Accident In The UK?
- Possible Causes Of Motorbike Accidents
- Evidence To Help Support A Claim For A Motorcycle Accident
- How Can Our Panel Of Motorcycle Accident Lawyers Help You Make a Claim?
- More Materials On Working With Motorcycle Accident Lawyers
When Could You Claim With Motorcycle Accident Lawyers?
If you’ve been involved in a motorbike accident, you may wonder if you could make a motorcycle accident claim. The first step is establishing whether you were owed a duty of care.
All road users owe each other a duty of care. This means that they have to use the roads in a way that prevents causing harm to themselves or others. To uphold this duty, all road users, including motorcycle riders, must comply with the Highway Code and the Road Traffic Act 1988.
If your motorcycle accident was caused by another road user breaching their duty of care, and you were injured as a result, then you may be able to make a claim with the help of motorcycle accident lawyers.
In summary, to have good grounds to make a claim, you have to prove that:
- You were owed a duty of care.
- Another road user breached their duty of care.
- This caused you to become injured.
Contact our team of advisors today to find out if you could work with a lawyer for a motorcycle accident claim. Or, read on to get more information on the motorcycle accident claims process.
How Long Do I Have To Claim For A Motorcycle Accident?
It’s important to note that claims for motorcycle accidents must be made within the personal injury time limit. Generally, this is within 3 years of the accident occurring, as per the Limitation Act 1980. In some cases, your time limit could also be 3 years from the date of knowledge.
However, there can be some exceptions to this rule. A motorcycle accident lawyer could help you by reviewing your situation to see if any extenuating circumstances could apply to your time limit.
Exceptions may apply in the following scenarios:
- The claimant is under 18: Minors are not legally able to start a claim themselves. For this reason, the time limit is suspended until their 18th birthday, after which point, they have 3 years to start a claim. However, a litigation friend can start a claim on their behalf during the suspended period.
- The claimant has limited mental capacity: In these cases, the time limit is similarly frozen. This is until the claimant is deemed to have recovered if this ever occurs. However, a litigation friend can represent them and start a claim on their behalf during the frozen period. If they regain their mental capacity, their time limit will be unfrozen, and they have 3 years to make a claim if one has not already been started.
To see how a No Win No Fee lawyer for a motorcycle accident could help you, get in touch with our advisors today. If they think you have a good chance of success, they could potentially connect you with a lawyer for your motorcycle accident claim.
Motorcycle Accident Statistics
The department for transport last released which show some alarming figures. These include:
- There were, on average, 94 serious injuries involving motorcyclists and 6 fatalities per week.
- In the whole year there were 5197 serious injuries or fatalities (which is down 76% since 1979).
- Of the seriously injured or fatally injured riders, 94% were male victims.
- 68% of these accidents happened on rural roads.
- 33% of those killed or seriously injured were aged under 25 years old.
These stats show that young male drivers were the most vulnerable group, but it doesn’t explain why. The perception might be made that they ride too fast or that older riders ride their bikes more safely as they become more experienced.
Remember that not every accident will lead to a successful compensation claim. In cases of rider error or negligence (through dangerous or careless driving), you wouldn’t be able to make a successful claim.
If you’ve been involved in an accident that was caused by somebody, or something, else, we’ll provide information on what you should do before pursuing a claim for compensation.
How Much Compensation Will I Get For A Motorcycle Accident In The UK?
If you’ve been injured in a public place, you might start looking for a personal injury claims calculator to work out the amount of compensation you could be awarded. There is no average or specific figure set for motorcycle compensation. However, the table below includes compensation brackets which can give some idea of what you may be offered for certain injuries you may claim for following a motorcycle accident.
The brackets are based on the Judicial College guidelines and solicitors may use these for reference when calculating the value of your claim. These up-to-date figures are taken from the sixteenth edition that was published in April 2022.
| Injury Sustained | Severity | Compensation Bracket |
|---|---|---|
| Brain Injury | Very Severe | £282,010 to £403,990 |
| Brain Injury | Moderately Severe | £219,070 to £282,010 |
| Brain Injury | Moderate (i) | £150,110 to £219,070 |
| Back Injury | Severe (i) | £91,090 to £160,980 |
| Back Injury | Severe (iii) | £38,780 to £69,730 |
| Neck Injury | Severe (i) | In the region of £148,330 |
| Neck Injury | Severe (ii) | £65,740 to £130,930 |
| Damage to both hands | Serious | £55,820 to £84,570 |
| Shoulder Injury | Severe | £19,200 to £48,030 |
Not every injury is listed, as the list would be too vast, but when you contact a personal injury lawyer, they will be able to provide a good estimate of how much compensation you could be awarded.
The payments listed are graded for injuries ranging from minor to severe. One of the important roles of a lawyer is to prove the correct severity of your injury. In doing so, you should be awarded the correct amount of compensation.
Using a personal injury specialist to make your claim will mean you’ll be assessed properly by a medical expert to ensure the lawyer knows how badly you were injured.
Special Damages For Motorcycle Injury Claims
In motorcycle injury claims, special damages refer to compensation that is awarded to cover any financial losses or out-of-pocket expenses caused by your injuries. This head of claim is designed with the intention of putting you in the same financial situation you were in before you sustained your motorcycle injuries.
Different types of special damages you could claim for following a motorcycle accident, include:
- A loss of earnings – taking time off work to recover from your injuries may affect your earning capacity. Use a wage slip to provide evidence of this loss.
- Care costs – your injuries may leave you requiring a full-time carer to help you carry out daily activities. Retain any invoices from your carers.
- Prescription fees – you might have to pay for a prescription as you require medication to treat your injuries. Receipts of your prescription can act as evidence.
Please get in touch if you would like an expert motorbike accident solicitor to assess your special damages and give you a better insight into the compensation you might be awarded.
Possible Causes Of Motorbike Accidents
There are many different scenarios which can lead to motorcycle accident claims or a fatal motorcycle accident. Over the next few sections we’ll cover some of the more common reasons for motorcycle accidents today.
Remember though, even if the type of accident you were injured in isn’t listed, you could still claim. So long as the accident was caused by negligence and you were injured, you might be eligible.
Collisions In Filtering Traffic Or At A Junction
Junctions are one of the most common places for motorbike accidents. When vehicles are turning right at a T-junction, they don’t always allow for motorbikes passing on the right. It might be that they don’t see the bike as they’re concentrating on a gap in the traffic.
It can also be because they underestimate the speed of the approaching motorbike. The driver who is turning may well have seen the bike the first time they looked. Then they’ve taken a look at the oncoming traffic, spotted a gap, but then failed to re-check for the motorbike. They may have assumed the bike was too far back to consider. Motorcyclists should take extreme care when approaching junctions and slow down if there’s potential for a collision.
Motorcycle Accidents When Overtaking
Overtaking is another common cause for accidents in a public place involving motorbikes. Care should be taken when overtaking at a bend, a dip in the road, junctions and hills. It is also illegal to overtake where there is a solid white line in the road.
If you’re approaching a slow line of traffic, be aware the driver at the back of the queue may not be aware of you if they are concentrating on the car in front of them. They could pull out to overtake and not realise there is a motorbike behind them doing the same.
Rural Road Safety And Accidents
A fatal motorcycle accident is far more likely on rural roads than in urban areas. In 2016, according to ROSPA, there were 1015 rural road traffic fatalities versus 593 on urban roads.
A common claim that motorcycle accident solicitors deal with is where the biker is turning into a left-hand bend. The bike is positioned in the centre of the road so that the rider can see as much of the bend as possible. While the idea is good, it also poses a problem that the motorbike is now in position where it’s likely to be hit by any oncoming vehicle that is over the centre line.
Care should be taken when riding on rural roads. Take extra time and give yourself extra space to allow for anything unexpected that occurs.
Riders Losing Control Of Their Bike
All road users are expected to adhere to relevant rules and regulations found in the Highway Code as part of their duty of care. Rules 83-88 are for motorcyclists. Some of these rules are found in legislation. Complying with these rules and regulations can help avoid accidents.
However, even while adhering to the Highway Code, a motorcyclist may still lose control of their bike. Examples of how a rider could lose control of their bike include:
- Another vehicle clipping the motorcycle.
- Being hit from behind.
- A pothole or other road defect.
- A pedestrian or animal running into the road.
As with all personal injury claims, you would need to file the claim against the liable party. For example, if you suffer an injury in a motorcycle accident due to a road defect, you wouldn’t claim against another driver but your case might be made against the local authority.
Our advisors can help if you lose control of your motorbike and suffer an injury. Please get in touch using the details at the top of the page and we can connect you with a specialist motorcycle accident solicitor from our panel.
Evidence To Help Support A Claim For A Motorcycle Accident
One benefit of working with a motorcycle accident lawyer is that they can guide you through the process of making a claim. Evidence is an important part of claiming, and can help prove the severity of your injuries, who is responsible for the harm you suffered, and any financial losses caused.
Some examples of evidence that you could use to prove a claim for motorcycle injuries include:
- Photographs of the accident site
- CCTV or dashcam footage of the accident
- Photographs of your injuries
- Witness contact details
When claims are made for motorcycle accidents, lawyers can help claimants gather evidence and ensure all areas of the claim are considered. To find out how a solicitor from our panel could help you, contact our team today.
How Can Our Panel Of Motorcycle Accident Lawyers Help You Make a Claim?
If you are eligible to make a personal injury claim, you may like to do so with the support of a lawyer. If so, one of the motorcycle accident lawyers from our panel could help with your case. They usually provide their services under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).
When your motorcycle accident solicitor uses a No Win No Fee arrangement to work on your case, there generally won’t be any upfront or ongoing fees for their services. They also won’t ask you to pay for their services if your claim fails.
But, should your claim be successful, your solicitor will take a success fee. This is a small percentage of your compensation which is capped by law, allowing you to keep the majority share.
If you have any questions about making a road traffic accident claim or checking your eligibility, an advisor from our team could help you. If it seems like you have valid grounds to claim, you could be connected to one of the solicitors from our panel.
To speak to an advisor:
- Call 0800 408 7825
- Contact us online for a call back.
- Ask your question in our live chat.
More Materials On Working With Motorcycle Accident Lawyers
Hopefully, you now have enough information about making a motorcycle accident claim so that you know whether to claim or not. For more information, we’ve listed a few useful references below:
- Head Injuries – An NHS article about head injuries and how to treat them. For major head injuries, seek immediate medical treatment.
- Think! Road Safety – A government campaign to reduce motorcycle accidents and other road traffic accidents.
- Pothole Injury Claims – This guide covers how to make a claim for an injury caused by a pothole which could include a motorbike crash or other public injury claims.
- Public Transport Accidents – Information on how to claim compensation for accident in a public place involving buses, taxis, trains or coaches.
- How to Claim Motorcycle Accident Compensation
- Motorcycle Accident Claims – for more advice on compensation payouts, the criteria to claim and No Win No Fee agreements, please get in touch.
If you need any more help or advice on working with our panel of motorcycle accident lawyers please get in touch.