Cyclist
Cyclist Personal Injury Compensation Advice
If you have been involved in an accident on a UK road while cycling, you could be entitled to compensation. If you would like to speak to a lawyer, local to you, with expertise in personal injury compensation and with the proficiency to help, simply fill out the easy to use and secure online form to your right and someone will get back to you.
Cyclist Injuries On The Increase
Injuries to cyclists on UK roads are high and rising. In 2009 there was a major increase in the numbers of cycle injuries and cyclist deaths on UK roads. If you are a cyclist who has sustained an injury recently on a UK road, either due to bad road conditions, the action of another motorist, including collision with a vehicle, another cyclist or pedestrian, or any other reason at all; you may be entitled to legal compensation.
Main Types Of Pedal Bike Accidents, Resulting In Claims
The main types of cycling accident which result in a personal injury accident compensation claim include cycle accidents caused by other vehicles, such as being knocked off your pedal cycle due to the negligence of a car driver, motorcyclist, lorry driver or another cyclist.
Other compensation claims involve cycle accidents caused by pedestrians – pedestrians stepping out into the road, as well as drivers opening car doors without looking. Poor road conditions, including pot holes and inferior road surfaces during bad weather, which have not been maintained properly, are other types of cycle accident personal injury claim.
Even if no one else was involved in your accident you could still be entitled to compensation if the cause of your accident was a fault with your cycle: snapping handle bars, faulty pedals, etc; all of which could be the basis of a successful claim for personal injury compensation following a cycle accident.
Typical Road Traffic Cycling Injuries
Most bicycle/pedal cyclist hospital admissions are the result of injuries to the arms and shoulders or the head and face, according to the Department for Transport (DfT).
A high proportion of cyclists, compared to road users, are admitted to hospital with arm/shoulder injuries.
The majority of cyclist accidents, unsurprisingly, happen in urban areas; these accidents accounting for 73 per cent of all pedal cyclist KSIs, Killed or Seriously Injured casualties in 2007.
Other Vehicles Involved in Cyclist Road Traffic Accidents
The vast majority of pedal cycle accidents involve a pedal cycle and a car.
Accidents between a pedal cycle and a HGV result in the most serious injuries.
In 2007 nearly one in four pedal cyclists killed were in accidents with HGVs.
Someone’s failure to look properly is generally the most common factor for accidents involving pedal cyclists and other vehicles – the DfT figures showing it is usually the responsibility of the other vehicle rather than the cyclist.
UK Cyclist Accident Figures
Department for Transport figures show that in 2007, there were 136 pedal cyclist fatalities and 2,428 seriously injured casualties with the number killed or seriously injured increasing over the previous three years.
There were a total of 182,155 personal injury road accidents. 16,460 of these – around one in every 11 – involved at least one pedal cyclist.
DfT figures released late in 2009 show that 820 cyclists were killed or seriously injured in the three months to June that year, a 19 per cent increase on the same period from 2008.
All the research shows that UK roads continue to be a dangerous environment for cyclists.
If you have been involved in a recent cycle accident and have been injured why not benefit from some professional legal advice and find out if you are eligible to make a claim?
