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Home | Services | Services for you | Personal Injury | Road traffic accidents | Cycling accident claims
Cycling accident claims
Being on two wheels means cyclists are much harder to see and are more likely to be killed or seriously injured in an accident than people in a car or lorry.
There are specific issues involving cyclists that must be considered in making a claim for compensation. As specialist cycle solicitors we have extensive experience in dealing with all aspects of cycle accident claims, including:
- Wearing helmets and reflective clothing
- The legal requirements for fitting lights and reflectors
- Road design and cycle lanes
- Turning vehicles and their blind spots
- Car doors being opened into the path of a cyclist
- Defective road surfaces
- Fault with the cycle itself
As with any other serious road traffic accident, a collision involving a cyclist should be reported to the Police. It will be important to take the name, address and vehicle registration and insurance details of the driver of the motor vehicle. If there are any witnesses to the accident then their names and contact details should also be taken.
We have dealt with a wide variety accident circumstances involving cyclists and have successfully won compensation for cyclists who have suffered relatively minor injuries to those that have unfortunately suffered severe and traumatic injuries.
Wearing helmets and reflective clothing
One area that insurance companies investigate when a claim is made against them is whether the cyclist was wearing the appropriate protective clothing. If the protective clothing was not being worn at the time of the accident the insurers will argue that the cyclist should accept a reduction in their compensation as if they had been wearing the protective clothing this would have either prevented or reduced the seriousness of the injuries sustained.
A fundamental piece of protective equipment is a helmet, although the wearing of helmets is not yet a legal requirement for cyclists. An approved safety helmet that fits your head correctly acts a physical barrier to prevent impact and also helps to absorb as much of the force of an impact as possible. Once a helmet has sustained an impact it should be replaced, as it may no longer be as effective in protecting you head if a further impact were to occur.
Although a helmet is a priority and can significantly reduce the seriousness of injuries sustained in an impact, unfortunately head injuries can still happen where the full force of the impact is not absorbed by the helmet or the helmet comes off in the accident.
Safety equipment such as knee or elbow pads are also designed to protect you as much as possible from injury or at least to reduce the seriousness of the injury sustained. In addition, insurers that are defending a claim will want to know whether a cyclist was wearing high-visibility clothing or reflective strips when riding at dusk or in the dark. These are reflective in the dark and fluorescent during the day helping make the cyclist more visible to other road users.
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