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Motorbike Crash Compensation Claims

By Danielle Jordan. Last Updated March 2024. If you have been physically or psychologically injured in a motorbike crash due to another road user breaching their duty of care, you could be entitled to make a personal injury claim. As we move through this guide, we will discuss how a motorcycle crash can happen, what injuries you could sustain and the compensation you may be eligible to receive. 

Motorbike crash

Motorbike crash compensation claims guide

Under the Road Traffic Act 1988 road users have a duty of care to navigate the roads in a safe way. In addition to this, The Highway Code outlines rules for road users to follow to minimise the risk of accidents, some of which are backed by laws. Therefore, if another road user breaches this duty of care and causes you to suffer an injury, you could be eligible for compensation. 

Continue reading this article to learn how No Win No Fee solicitors could offer an agreement that assists you in accessing their services and helps you to present a complete claim. Also, if you have any enquiries or would like to discuss the validity of your claim, contact a member of our team for free. Our advisors at Legal Expert can provide you with confidential legal advice 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

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Select A Section

  1. What Is A Motorbike Crash?
  2. Vehicles That Are Most Commonly Involved In Motorbike Crashes
  3. What Are The Most Common Injuries In A Motorcycle Accident?
  4. How Long After A Motorbike Crash Can You Claim?
  5. Estimated Payouts For A Motorbike Crash
  6. Starting A Motorbike Crash Claim

What Is A Motorbike Crash?

A motorbike crash is a road traffic accident involving a motorcycle. A motorcycle may have crashed into a static object or collided with either one or multiple other road users, or the accident may have been caused by poor road conditions. This type of accident could be caused by another road user breaching their duty of care. To make a personal injury claim, it is important to prove that the other road user or third party was liable for your injuries. 

There are various ways in which a road user could breach their duty of care and cause you harm, for example: 

  • A road user is driving under the influence of a dangerous amount of alcohol and consequently swerves onto the wrong side of the road, knocking you off your bike in a head-on crash. As a result, you suffer a broken arm injury and a leg injury. 
  • You are stopped at a red light when a car that is driving too quickly fails to stop, resulting in a rear shunt accident. As a result, you suffer a severe head injury. 
  • A driver may fail to carry out the appropriate checks and collide with you by merging into your lane when it is not safe to do so. Subsequently, you sustain a serious shoulder injury. 

If you have been injured in a road traffic accident for which another road user was liable, you could be eligible to claim compensation. Please contact our advisors for more information.

Vehicles That Are Most Commonly Involved In Motorbike Crashes 

The Reported road casualties in Great Britain: motorcycle factsheet, 2020, from the GOV.UK website provides useful statistics on motorbike accidents. It states that a total of 103,903 motorcycle casualties were reported in road accidents from 2015 to 2020. Other vehicles involved in these accidents include:

  • 1 car – in 66,399 of all casualties.
  • 1 light goods vehicle – 6,215 of all casualties.
  • 1 motorcycle – 2,058 of all casualties.
  • 2 or more other vehicles involved – 7,405 of all casualties.
  • No other vehicles involved – 18,115 of all casualties.

It is important to note that not all crashes will result in you being eligible to make a personal injury claim. You must have sustained injuries for which another party is liable. Contact our advisors to learn more. 

What Are The Most Common Injuries In A Motorcycle Accident? 

The injuries you could sustain in a motorbike crash can vary in severity. 

For example, you could suffer: 

  • Broken bones and fractures
  • Sprains and strains
  • Brain and head injuries
  • Nerve damage
  • Dislocations
  • Scrapes, lacerations and similar wounds
  • Amputations
  • Psychological injury

These injuries could have life-altering effects on your quality of life. If you would like to find out how much compensation you could be awarded for your injuries, please speak with an advisor from our team. 

How Long After A Motorbike Crash Can You Claim? 

If you are eligible to make a motorbike accident claim, you must initiate the legal process within the limitation period. The Limitation Act 1980 usually gives you three years from the date of the accident to start proceedings.

However, in certain circumstances, there are time limit exceptions. These include:

  • Those who do not have the mental capacity to bring forward their own claim. In this case, the time limit is suspended indefinitely. During this time, a court-appointed litigation friend could act on their behalf. Should the injured party regain this mental capacity and a motorbike accident compensation claim was not made for them, they will have three years from the date of recovery to launch proceedings.
  • Those under the age of 18 also cannot start their own claim. The time limit is paused until their 18th birthday. Before this date arrives, a litigation friend can seek motorbike crash compensation on their behalf. However, if they turn 18 and proceedings were not started for them, they will have three years from their 18th birthday to bring forward a claim.

If you would like to find out if you are within the time limit to start a claim for personal injury compensation, please contact one of the advisors from our team.

Estimated Payouts For A Motorbike Crash

The damages that could be awarded for a successful motorbike crash claim can consist of up to two potential heads. These are called general damages and special damages. 

General damages seek to compensate you for the physical or psychological injuries you sustained due to a road traffic accident. 

We have drafted a table of compensation amounts that have been taken from the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). They should only be used as guidance. This is because each personal injury claim is completely unique, and your settlement could differ. 

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Injury and Severity Compensation Brackets Details
Arm Amputations (a) £240,790 to £300,000 The amputation of both arms which leaves the injured person fully aware of their state of considerable helplessness.
Arm Amputations (b)(i) Not less than £137,160 Where one arm is lost at the shoulder via amputation.
Leg Amputations (a)(iii) £104,830 to £137,470 The amputation of one leg above the knee.
(D) Injuries to the Pelvis and Hips – Severe (i) £78,400 to £130,930 Back joint disrupted due to extensive fractures of the pelvis.
(D) Injuries to the Pelvis and Hips – Lesser Injuries (i) £3,950 to £12,590 Fracture to the pelvis or hips that has recovered in two years.
Back Injury – Severe (a)(ii) £74,160 to £88,430 An injury that has special features placing it within this bracket, such as nerve root damage which leads to further associated problems, such as impaired mobility and loss of sensation.
Hand Injury (b) £55,820 to £84,570 Within this bracket both hands will have been seriously damaged, which causes permanent cosmetic disabilities as well as a significant loss of function.
(L) Ankle Injuries – Very Severe £50,060 to £69,700 Transmalleolar fracture of the ankle
Shoulder Injury – Serious (b) £12,770 to £19,200 This bracket will cover injuries that involve the dislocation of the shoulder and damage to the lower part of the brachial plexus. This will result in multiple problems, such as pain and sensory symptoms.

Additionally, special damages look to reimburse you for any financial losses incurred due to the injury.  

For example, a disabling neck injury may force you to make home adaptations which could be reimbursed by special damages. Overall, this head of claim aims to return you to the financial state you were in prior to the accident. 

It could also account for: 

Keeping records could be useful to strengthen your chances of being reimbursed for any financial harm sustained. 

If you would like more information as to how much compensation you could be entitled to, please contact an advisor from our team. 

Starting A Motorbike Crash Claim 

Entering into a No Win No Fee agreement, such as a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) with a personal injury lawyer, means that no upfront fees are needed. Instead, when the claim is won, the solicitor is owed a percentage of the compensation. This is called the success fee. Success fees are capped by the Conditional Fee Agreement Order 2013. Should the claim not succeed no success fee to pay. 

An advisor can assess your case for free. If they judge you to have a strong case, they could connect you with a personal injury solicitor from our team. 

Useful Resources 

Here are some more of our own guides that could be useful when looking to make a personal injury claim: 

We have also provided you with further reading that could be beneficial to you: 

Thank you for reading this guide on how to claim if you have been injured by a third party in a motorbike crash.