A Guide To Motorcycle Accident Claims

By Stephen Hudson. Last Updated 25th July 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

1. What Is A Motorcycle Accident Claim?
2. What Causes Motorcycle Accidents?
3. How Do I Claim Motorbike Accident Compensation?
4. What Is The Time Limit For Motorcycle Accident Claims?
5. Can I Claim For The Death Of A Loved One After A Motorbike Accident?
6. How Much Compensation For A Motorbike Accident?
7. What Is A No Win No Fee Motorcycle Injury Claim?
8. 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 for starting road traffic accident claims, such as a motorcycle claim, as established by the Limitation Act 1980. The time limit will usually start 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 claim on their own, then the time limit will be put on hold indefinitely. When this happens, a litigation friend could start a claim on behalf of the injured person. However, if the injured party later recovers their mental capacity and a motorcycle injury claim hasn’t already been made, then they will instead have three years to start their own claim starting from the date of recovery.

If a child has been injured, then the time limit for them to start a motorcycle accident compensation claim won’t become active until the day of their 18th birthday. A litigation friend could claim on the injured child’s behalf before they reach that age.

Contact our advisors for free today if you would like to discuss your eligibility to start a claim for motorcycle accident compensation.

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 A Motorbike Accident?

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.

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?

If you have been injured in a motorcycle accident, you may like to make a compensation claim with a solicitor’s support. One of our No Win No Fee solicitors could be able to help with your case. Our solicitors have experience in helping injured parties to make successful motorcycle accident claims.

Our motorcycle accident lawyers could handle your case through a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This is a type of No Win No Fee agreement. Under a CFA, you will not need to pay your solicitor for their services until your claim is successfully resolved.

If you are not awarded compensation, your solicitor will not charge for their services. However, if you are successful, your solicitor will deduct a success fee from the compensation awarded to you. How much they can charge (as a percentage of your awarded compensation) is legally capped.

Get in contact with our team today to find out if they could help you make a motorbike accident injury claim.

• 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.