A Guide To Motorcycle Accident Claims
By Stephen Hudson. Last Updated 11th October 2024. If you have been injured in a motorcycle accident which was not your fault you could make a compensation claim. Whether you or a loved one suffered life-changing, serious or even fatal injuries, our team could help with motorcycle accident claims.
In this guide we look at when and how motorbike accidents happen, when you could be eligible to claim compensation, take you through the motorbike injury claims process and look at the different types of injuries you could claim compensation for. We also look at how compensation could be awarded for motorbike injuries. To conclude, we look at how a No Win No Fee solicitor could help you and provide further accident claim references.
To learn more about motorbike accident claims, please contact Legal Expert.
- You can call our team on 0800 073 8804.
- You can make a claim online using our contact form.
- Or you can use our live-chat.
Jump To A Section
- What Is A Motorcycle Accident Claim?
- What Causes Motorcycle Accidents?
- How Do I Claim Motorbike Accident Compensation?
- What Is The Time Limit For Motorcycle Accident Claims?
- Can I Claim For The Death Of A Loved One After A Motorbike Accident?
- How Much Compensation For Motorcycle Accident Claims?
- What Is A No Win No Fee Motorcycle Injury Claim?
- Read More About How To Claim For Serious Injuries
What Is A Motorcycle Accident Claim?
If you have been injured in a motorbike accident you could make a personal injury claim against the party responsible for the accident.
All road users, such as drivers, motorcyclists and pedestrians, owe each other a duty of care. This means that they must ensure that they use the roads in a way which is safe and responsible.
Drivers, motorcyclists and other road users must follow legislation such as the Road Traffic Act 1988. They must also follow regulations and guidance set out in the Highway Code. Failure to do so would be a breach of duty that could result in an accident.
To make a motorcycle accident injury claim, you must show that:
- The other road user owed you a duty of care (as discussed above).
- They breached this duty of care, such as by failing to pay due care and attention to a motorbike rider and colliding with them.
- You suffered injuries as a result of this breach. For example, you sustained injuries in a collision caused by car driver failing to look for other road users when pulling out of a driveway.
Please contact our team to discuss motorcycle accident claims. They can also check the eligibility of your motorbike injury claim.
What Causes Motorcycle Accidents?
Below we have included several examples of different circumstances in which you could make a claim for a motorbike crash.
According to statistics from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (ROSPA) the most common causes of motorcycle crashes involving other road users are:
- Collisions at junctions, such as a T-bone accident. According to data in the ROSPA resource, around half of all motorcycle accidents take place at junctions. A collision could happen where a driver is not paying due care and attention to other road users and pulls out of the junction into the path of an oncoming motorbike.
- Collisions when overtaking. Motorcyclists may be vulnerable whilst overtaking other road users whilst they are moving slowly or stationary. If the driver of a car or van is not checking their mirrors in slow-moving traffic, they could collide with an overtaking motorbike.
- A road user may fail to judge the speed or the path of an oncoming motorbike and fail to correctly manoeuvre.
This information was published in 2020 by RoSPA. The RoSPA campaign to reduce avoidable accidents.
You can learn more about the causes of reported road casualties affecting motorcyclists in this government factsheet.
Our team could handle motorcycle accident claims for injuries caused in the accidents highlighted above.
How Do I Claim Motorbike Accident Compensation?
When making motorcycle accident claims, as with any personal injury claim, you need to be able to prove liability for your injuries.
Following your accident, you can take the following steps to gather evidence to support your motorbike accident injury claim.
- Your first step should be to seek medical attention for your motorbike injuries. As well as ensuring that you get the treatment you need, this will also help to start gathering medical evidence showing your injuries.
- Report the accident to the police. All road traffic accidents involving injuries must be reported to the police. The police report on the incident can also be used as supporting evidence in your claim.
- At the scene of the accident, if possible, you can take photos of the scene of the accident and damage to your motorcycle and other vehicles. If possible, you can also take photos of your injuries.
- Accidents at junctions and other spaces may be recorded by traffic or CCTV cameras. This government resource provides advice on how to request CCTV footage of yourself.
- Request the contact information of anyone who witnessed the accident take place. If you have these details, they can be contacted later on in the claims process for statements.
You should report the accident to your own insurance company.
Finally, you could contact a motorcycle personal injury lawyer. They could help with gathering evidence to support motorcycle accident claims.
What Is The Time Limit For Motorcycle Accident Claims?
There’s a three-year time limit in place for starting motorcycle accident claims. This time limit is set by the Limitation Act 1980. It will usually begin from the date of the incident. However, this time limit can function in different ways under certain circumstances.
If an injured rider lacks the mental capacity to make a motorcycle accident compensation claim on their own, then the time limit for claiming will instead be suspended indefinitely. When this happens, a litigation friend could make a claim on behalf of the injured rider. However, if the injured party should later recover their mental capacity and a motorcycle accident claim has not been made already, then the three year time limit for the party involved will instead start from the date of recovery.
If a child has been injured in a motorcycle accident, then the three-year time limit won’t become active until the day they reach their 18th birthday. Before they reach that age, a litigation friend could instead make a claim on behalf of the injured child.
Speak to our advisors today to discuss whether you are eligible to start a motorcycle accident injury claim.
Can I Claim For The Death Of A Loved One After A Motorbike Accident?
In order to make a fatal motorcycle injury claim, it will need to be shown that the death was caused by another road user failing to comply with their duty of care. Claims for fatal motorbike accidents may be made by either:
- The deceased’s estate: as set out in the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1934, during the first six months from the death of the deceased, only the estate of the deceased may start a compensation claim. The estate may claim for any pain and suffering of the deceased as well as related financial losses incurred before their death.
- Relatives of the deceased: if a claim is not brought by the estate in the first 6 months, a qualifying relative (defined in the Fatal Accidents Act 1976) may submit one.
Find out how much compensation may be awarded for fatal motorcycle accident claims in our guide.
How Much Compensation For Motorcycle Accident Claims?
How much motorcycle accident compensation you may be awarded will depend on what injuries you have sustained, how serious these are and the wider emotional and financial impact the accident has had on you. You may be entitled to claim compensation for your injuries (general damages) and for the financial impact (special damages).
Personal injury solicitors or other parties responsible for calculating motorcycle accident claims may refer to the guidelines published by the Judicial College to help them value injuries. This document looks at guideline compensation amounts for various injuries in differing severities.
The table below uses figures from the Judicial College to highlight what could be awarded for different injuries. Figures in the first row illustrate what you could claim inclusive of special damages and are not taken from the Judicial College Guidelines. As all settlements are awarded on their individual merits, this table should only be used as guidance.
| Injury | Severity | Guideline |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple injuries as well as special damages. | Severe or serious inclusive of special damages. | Up to £1,000,000+ |
| Injuries involving paralysis | Paraplegia (b) | £267,340 to £346,890 |
| Brain injuries | Moderately severe (b) | £267,340 to £344,150 |
| Brain injuries | Moderate (c) (ii) | £110,720 to £183,190 |
| Post-traumatic stress disorder | Severe (a) | £73,050 to £122,850 |
| Psychiatric damage | Moderately severe (b) | £23,270 to £66,920 |
| Back injury | Moderate (b) (i) | £33,880 to £47,320 |
| Elbow injury | Less severe injuries | £19,100 to £39,070 |
| Shoulder injury | Serious (b) | £15,580 to £23,430 |
| Knee injury | Moderate (b) (ii) | Up to £16,770 |
Can I Claim For Loss of Earnings After A Motorcycle Accident?
As part of your motorcycle accident settlement, you may be awarded special damages. This is to compensate for the financial losses caused by your injuries, including your lost wages for time off work recovering.
Special damages could compensate you for:
- Medical costs. This may include the cost of prescriptions, medication or treatment necessary to support your recovery.
- Care costs. As a result of your accident you may require care in the home, in a care facility or with day-to-day activities.
- Travelling to medical appointments. You may need to pay for travel to hospital, GP or other medical appointments. These costs could be included as part of your claim.
- Loss of earnings. This includes past, present and future losses.
In order to claim for any of these costs, you will need to supply evidence of your losses. How much compensation may be awarded for motorcycle accident claims will be unique to each case. Find out what could be awarded for your motorcycle accident injuries by contacting a member of our team today.
What Is A No Win No Fee Motorcycle Injury Claim?
Our solicitors have years of dedicated experience dealing with motorcycle accident claims. They can help you with your case in many ways, including:
- Collecting the evidence required to strengthen your claim
- Taking witness statements
- Arranging for a medical report that details your injuries
- Advising you about the value of your claim
- Negotiating with the third party or their insurer
- Completing necessary paperwork such as court forms or documents
If your case is accepted, our solicitors can offer you a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This is a type of No Win No Fee agreement. This type of agreement comes with some benefits that you should be aware of:
- At the start of your case, you do not need to pay upfront for your solicitor’s work
- As the case continues, you will not be asked to pay your solicitor’s ongoing fees
- If your case does not win, then there are no solicitor fees to pay
A winning motorcycle injury claim will be subject to a success fee that is paid to your solicitor. This is a percentage of the compensation awarded and has a legal maximum size (of percentage), which means you keep the bulk of your damages.
To find out if you are eligible to work with one of our lawyers for your motorbike accident compensation claim, you can:
- Phone an advisor now on 0800 073 8804.
- Start your claim online.
- Talk to us on our live chat.
Read More About How To Claim For Serious Injuries
We have included further examples of guides from our site which could be helpful if you have had a motorbike accident as well as reference materials.
- Find out what types of life-altering injuries you could claim for in this guide.
- Learn more about claims for death caused by careless driving in this guide.
- If you have had an accident on a moped, find out how much you could claim in this guide.
References
- In this NHS resource, you can learn more about mental health conditions, such as post-traumatic stress disorder.
- This government resource looks at what safety equipment you may need when riding a motorcycle.
- Learn more about motorcycling from Think! The government resource.
We hope our guide to motorcycle accident claims has helped you. For further information on how motorcycle accident solicitors could help you claim compensation, please contact a member of our team.
Motorcycle Accident Compensation Claims - FAQs
Below, you can find answers to questions we often get asked about claiming motorcycle accident claims.
Who is at fault in a motorcycle accident?
There is a range of parties that could be responsible for motorcycle accidents, including the motorcyclist involved.
However, if a third party is to blame for causing an accident, they could be held liable. Proving they owed you a duty of care that they failed to uphold, causing you to suffer. As a result, you could be able to claim them.
Can motorcycle accident claims be made by a passenger?
Yes, if you can establish that your injuries were caused by the negligent behaviour of another road user. This road user could even be the person in control of the motorcycle on which the passenger was riding.
The rider has a duty of care to make sure any passengers are kept as safe as reasonably possible. They can do so by taking steps such as observing the speed limit and obeying traffic lights.
Otherwise, they could be held accountable for the injuries to their passengers and have a motorcycle accident injury claim made against them.
Top tips for proving motorcycle accident claims
If someone else’s negligence has caused you to be injured in a motorbike accident, compensation being awarded to you may depend on how much evidence you are able to present to support your claim.
Here are some examples of some evidence you can gather to support motorcycle injury claims:
- CCTV footage – Along with photographs of the incident, video footage can be very useful when establishing negligence. You can request a copy if you appear in the footage. It’s advised that you do this as soon as reasonably possible.
- Witness statements – Make sure you have a way to reach any witnesses to the accident that caused your injuries. If you have their contact details, then a solicitor such as ours can assist you in gathering statements.
- Medical records – These will hold vital details pertaining to your injuries and treatment.
How much are motorbike accident claims worth?
Every personal injury claim will be valued differently. The reason for this is that each claim comes with a unique set of circumstances that can influence how much you could be awarded. All the factors of your claim need to be individually assessed before a value can be given.
Get in touch with our advisors today, and they can provide an estimate of what your claim could be worth.
What are the odds of surviving a motorcycle accident?
Motorcyclists are among the most vulnerable road user groups in Britain, with one of the highest casualty and fatality rates per mile travelled. Therefore, they’re a particularly at-risk group for severe, if not deadly, accidents.
Can you get PTSD from a motorcycle accident?
It’s not uncommon for victims of motorcycle accidents to suffer from PTSD in the wake of their incident. Symptoms can range from developing specific motorcycle-related phobias to suffering from debilitating flashbacks and anxiety, which can severely affect their quality of life. These impacts could all be compensated as part of a PTSD compensation claim.
How much compensation for a motorcycle or motorbike accident could I be awarded?
The amount you’re awarded could hinge on a number of variables. For example, it may depend on how severe your injury is. Some injuries may be minor and could heal within a matter of weeks or months.
However, it’s possible that motorcycle accident claims could be made for injuries of a more serious nature. They could take years to fully heal, or they may never fully heal at all. Certain injuries could have a lasting effect on your quality of life.
Because of this, there is no broad example of a figure we could give that would be accurate in all cases.
Useful Links
Below, you can find lots of useful links on motorcycle accident claims
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