FAQs

Normally, you have three years from the date of the accident to claim. 

However, if your injury develops over a period of time, then the three year period starts when you first realise you have an injury connected to the accident, usually at the point at which your doctor diagnoses it.

Claims involving children

You have up to a child’s 18th birthday to start a claim, no matter what time the child was injured. After their 18th birthday, they are subject to the three year time period.

A No Win, No Fee agreement is referred to as a ‘Conditional Fee Agreement’ and means that we will not charge you any legal fees if  we are unsuccessful in getting you compensation.

If we are successful, we will expect a success fee as a deduction from the settlement.

Ministry of Justice regulations restrict solicitor’s success fees to a maximum of 25% of the total compensation award.

Cycling Injury Legal’s No Win, No Fee guarantee

As part of the Quittance Personal Injury Network, we work with a panel of solicitors who work on a No Win, No Fee basis.

This means that you still pay no legal fees if your case is not successful.

Please be aware, under our Conditional Fee Agreement we receive the rights to levy fees if you refuse to cooperate, abandon your claim after our legal work has begun, or if your claim is fraudulent.

Claiming on behalf of a child

According to UK law, children cannot file their own injury claim. If a child is hurt in a cycling accident you may make the claim on their behalf. 

Claiming on behalf of another adult

If a loved-one or friend is left without the capacity to make a claim, post-accident, you may make a claim on their behalf.

Awards of damages

If a claim, on behalf of a child, is successful, the Court will retain any awarded compensation and invest it on behalf of the child. The child will receive the funds when they reach 18 years old.

For a protected party, such as an adult with diminished capacity, the Court will decide, on medical evidence, whether the claimant can reasonably manage their finances. If not, the Court of Protection will appoint a suitable deputy to manage the protected party’s monies.

The concept of the “eggshell skull”

This  rule states that ‘you take your victim as you find them’. This means that if someone hits you and you suffer an injury far worse that what most people would from the same kind of impact, you are protected as your injuries, no matter how severe, will be considered standard for you. This also applies to pre-existing conditions, such as heart conditions that might act up as a consequence of your accident. It is important that we get as much medical evidence as possible to show that your conditions were caused by, worsened by or accelerated by the accident, so that they can be factored into your compensation.

You can still make a claim, even if you are partly responsible for the accident. When the Court assesses who is at fault, they may find that you played a part in the accident, such as swerving without looking while someone turned into you, knocking you off your bike. This is known as your ‘contributory negligence’ as it contributed to your accident. The Court usually breaks blame down into percentages. This means that if you were found to be 25% at fault then you will only receive 75% of the compensation you would have otherwise received.

With over 700 medical premises in the UK, it is highly likely that we can arrange a professional to see you in your local area. Medical assessments are highly important, as they provide you with evidence for your claim and ensure that you are not at risk of developing any life threatening complications.

If you had a collision with another road user, or had an accident because of a defect in the road, such as a pothole, you likely have a claim. You should contact us on 0330 053 4044 to talk through your experience and see if you have a claim. As explained above, even if you feel partly to blame for the accident, you should still contact us to see if you can get a partial settlement.  

If there are no witnesses around you when the accident occurs, you should document the area to establish your own evidence. A good way to do this is taking photographs.

Trust Cycle UK prides itself on being able to progress all claims without having to physically meet. If you are inconvenienced by travel, as a result of your injuries, you can relax in the knowledge that we can deal with you entirely digitally. Call us on 0330 053 4044or email us on info@trustcycle.uk  to start your claim today.

Most personal injury solicitors get paid on a conditional fee basis, commonly known as “No Win, No Fee.” If your claim is successful, then the majority of your solicitor’s fees will be paid by the other side.

In addition, a solicitor will typically charge a success fee. This is an extra amount which is deducted from your compensation – although it can be no more than 25% of the damages awarded.

Under a Conditional Fee Agreement, you will not pay any fees if the claim is unsuccessful. The solicitor will not earn any money at all if you lose.

What does this mean for the solicitor?

Personal injury solicitors usually will only agree to work under a Conditional Fee Agreement if you have a strong chance of winning your claim. When you contact a solicitor, they will do a detailed evaluation of the merits of your case to determine whether the claim is worth pursuing.

If a solicitor does agree to proceed on a No Win, No Fee basis, you can be confident that your risk of losing is low, based on the information provided. The solicitor is reasonably confident that you will be awarded an amount of compensation – and that they will also get paid.

How much will a solicitor deduct from my compensation?

When signing a Conditional Fee Agreement, make sure that you understand what the percentage success fee will be before you proceed with your claim. This fee could be the maximum 25% of the damages recovered in the personal injury claim. Some solicitors work on lower success fees, allowing claimants to retain more of their compensation.

Suppose, for example, that you hit a pothole in the road, causing you to come off your bike. You sustain a minor neck injury, together with some cuts and bruises.

The Highway Authority admits liability and agrees to pay damages of £1,200 for pain and suffering. They also agree pay a further £800 to cover the cost of a repayment bike and additional travel costs.

Until this point, your solicitor has received no money. After the case is closed, the solicitor will be entitled to recover legal fees of £500 from the defendant. This £500, however, is less than the total fees they have incurred working on your claim. The solicitor may also charge you up to the maximum success fee of 25%. You pay this money out of your award or settlement.

Under our Conditional Fee Agreement, you will not pay us fees if the claim is unsuccessful. 

If we succeed, our fee could be the 25% of the damages recovered in the personal injury claim. 

For example, if you are awarded £800 in a claim, we can claim up to £200, which is 25%.

Additionally, any costs for the repair/replacement of your bike and clothing will be taken from the third party insurer of the person or body you are claiming against.

The likelihood of claim success depends on the circumstances of the accident and the level of evidence gathered. We need to prove two things:

1. You were injured.
2. Your injury arose as the result of someone else’s negligence.

The more evidence you provide, the easier it will be for us to satisfy these two components; and, once these two requirements are satisfied, we can move on to determining how much you should receive as compensation for your damage. 

If the person at fault for your accident refuses to accept responsibility, we will take them to court, on your behalf. Because of the time and stress involved in the courts procedure, we try to avoid court. But, if it is required, we will fiercely litigate on your behalf.

The length of a cycle injury claim depends on the following three considerations:

1. The severity and longevity of your injuries.
2. The circumstances of your accident.
3. The willingness of the defendant to be responsible.

Injuries can take time to fully diagnose and provide a prognosis for. This means that the worse your injuries are, and the longer they take to heal, the more time is required to document them and determine a treatment plan. Until these details are ironed out, we cannot proceed with the claim; rushing past this stage could lead to you not getting all of the compensation you deserve.

Whether the circumstances of your accident affect the timeline or not revolves around the maximum payout for the claim. If your claim is for less than £25,000 the process is fast tracked as we can use a special online Claims Portal to quickly process the claim. Claims in excess of £25,000 are typically more complex and therefore usually result in longer processing times. 

Finally, if the person or body you are claiming against refuses to accept responsibility or is unknown then this lengthens the process, as they will have to be litigated against (taken to court) or identified.

Regardless of the technicalities of your claim, we endeavour to get your case sorted in a respectable time frame. Additionally, we commit to paying for a replacement or repairs for your bicycle of up to £15,000 – and we will also pay for up to £500 for any of your cycling kit that was damaged in the accident.

Deciding to make a cycle accident claim can be a daunting endeavour. Call us now on 0330 053 4044 to talk it through. 

While we promise to make the process as hassle free as possible, if you do pursue a claim with us, and withdraw before an outcome, and after we have started our legal work, then you could incur costs. Therefore, it is important you think it through before pursuing a claim. However, we do offer free consultations, so don’t be afraid to call us and talk it through.

The short answer is yes. If you suffered any injuries to your person (known as general damages) or any damage to your personal effects or bike (known as special damages) you have the potential grounds to make a claim. Even if the other road user caused an accident entirely by accident, you can still claim damages against them. The idea behind this is that the Courts can restore your position, at least financially, to the place you were in before the accident.

General damages are awarded to claimants for any instance of pain, suffering and loss of amenity (collectively known as ‘PSLA’) they have experienced as the result of a cycling injury.

Whereas, special damages are awarded to compensate claimants for any accident related financial losses, such as loss of earnings or damage to a bicycle as well as any costs incurred as a result of the injury. These are awarded in proportion to provable costs brought forward by the claimant, such as a receipt showing the cost of fixing a damaged bike.

No, we work under a Conditional fee agreement or ‘No Win, No Fee’ principle. This means that if we are unsuccessful in winning your case, we will not expect you to pay our fees.

However, it is worth noting that there are some extra costs known as disbursements. They include the costs of medical reports by GPs, the costs of representation in court (contracting a Barrister) or expert witness and accident report costs. Normally, these are paid by the defendant. If the case is unsuccessful, you are technically liable to pay the defendant’s costs. However, most solicitors will take out an ‘After the Event’ insurance policy to protect you from those costs.

You have three years to make a claim, so you should talk to an expert, such as those on our team, as soon as possible. If it has been nearly three years since your accident, you should contact us immediately, but we cannot promise we can process your claim within extremely limited time periods. If you have recently developed an illness as a result of a previous accident that happened over three years ago you can still make a claim, provided you found out about this developing illness less than three years ago.

If you are claiming for a dead family member, the period of three years commences from the date of their death.

Compensation relates to General or Special damages. Please look at the below table to see minimum and maximum damages for different types of injuries:

A Conditional Fee Agreement acts as a protection for you against possible legal costs. It is also known as a ‘No Win, No Fee’ agreement. This means you will only need to pay us if your case is successful. The maximum we can ask for is 25% of your compensation award.

It may be possible to bring a claim for compensation even if the other party is unknown, for example in a hit-and-run incident. Solicitors will normally work with the police to identify the person responsible where possible, using witnesses or CCTV footage and any clues left at the scene. If the driver is found and they have a valid insurance policy, then a personal injury claim may be made as usual against the driver’s insurance company.

When the negligent party cannot be traced, then it can be possible to make a claim to the Motor Insurers’ Bureau. The Motor Insurers Bureau exists to compensate innocent members of the public who have been injured by untraced or uninsured drivers.

Yes, these are known as ‘Special Damages’. Any income that we can prove you couldn’t earn as a result of your injury or complications surrounding your injury can be directly factored into your compensation amount. Often, we need financial proof in the form of pay slips or regular income predictions to prove this. Similarly, if your ability to earn in the future is compromised from injuries sustained in the accident, compensation can be awarded to mitigate this.

Technically, no. However, the vast majority of cycle injury claims cannot proceed without one. It is usually  necessary to have a medical examination to appraise the severity and existence of your injuries. A medical examination is best conducted in the days following the accident, rather than after a period of time in which you have healed. The costs of private medical examinations can often be arranged through your solicitor so you can get the best care at the expense of those who injured you. 

It is worth noting that specialist injury experts are the best to talk to after an injury. You Doctor is an alternative, but they might lack the expertise required to fully appreciate all facets of your injury. Consequently, your Doctor’s assessment might not get you the amount you deserve.

To stand your best chance at winning a claim, you will have to release your relevant medical records.

Usually, third party insurers who represent the body or individual involved in the accident will try to make a low initial offer. Here, they are banking on your taking the expediency of the offer and potentially getting paid less than you deserve. You should consider their offer, but it is advisable to speak to a cycle claim expert (such as those on our team – reachable at: 0330 053 4044) before you take an offer. We will be able to tell you if the offer is fair or not, and give you guidance on whether you should take it. The Financial Conduct Authority recently found that Claimants who instruct a solicitor, rather than simply accept the first offer, typically receive two to three times the compensation first offered by an insurance company.

Under our Conditional Fee Agreement or ‘No Win, No Fee’ agreement, we will only take 25% of your compensation award. This means that you will only be charged if your claim is successful.

ATE insurance is an insurance policy that is designed to cover the legal expenses associated with litigation. It usually means you do not pay your solicitor a penny even if you lose. For Example, ATE insurance normally negates liability for the defendant’s costs when your claim is unsuccessful; It will also pay off any disbursements that are not covered under a No Win, No Fee Agreement. 

Your solicitor will normally discuss getting ATE insurance with you. In some cases ‘qualified one-way cost shifting’ means that defendants might not be able to get their legal costs paid even if they successfully rebuff a claim. Qualified one-way cost shifting activates under certain conditions, which your solicitor can explain to you in greater detail.

If you are partly responsible for the accident. When the Court assesses who is at fault, they may find that you played a part in the accident. This is known as your ‘contributory negligence’ as it contributed to your accident. The Court usually breaks blame down into percentages. This means that if you were found to be 25% at fault then you will only receive 75% of the compensation you would have otherwise received. Contributory negligence won’t prevent you from making a claim or invalidate your claim, but it may decrease the amount of compensation you are likely to receive.