When Can You Make A Motorcycle Accident Personal Injury Claim?

By Cat Reeves. Last Updated 21st April 2023. This guide will answer the question, ‘When can you make a motorcycle accident personal injury claim?’

When Can You Make A Motorcycle Accident Personal Injury Claim

If you have been in a motorcycle accident that wasn’t your fault and are looking for information, then this article should assist. In it, we’ll provide guidance on personal injury claims and help you understand eligibility for making a claim.

We will explain the time limits you have to make a motorcycle accident compensation claim. What’s more, we’ll discuss the evidence you would need to gather and your next steps in making a claim.

You can represent yourself or have a solicitor take care of everything for you.

If you want to know if you could claim compensation, get in touch with our advisors via the below details.

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Am I Eligible To Make A Motorcycle Accident Personal Injury Claim?
Am I Eligible To Claim Through The Motor Insurers’ Bureau?
What Types Of Road Traffic Accidents Could I Claim For?
How Does The Claims Process Work?
Motorcycle Accident Personal Injury Claim Calculator
How We Could Help With Motorcycle Accident Personal Injury Claims

Am I Eligible To Make A Motorcycle Accident Personal Injury Claim?

If you were injured in a motorcycle road traffic accident and it was the other road user’s fault, you could be eligible to make a motorcycle accident personal injury claim. This article will help and offer you guidance. We also aim to answer the question, ‘How do I get the most money from my personal injury claim?’

Under The Highway Code, all road users have a duty of care. Motorists should use the roads with the standard care and skill of the average driver. This duty of care also applies to motorcyclists.

In order to know whether you could be eligible to claim, it’s important to establish negligence. You can do this by assessing whether the following are true:

The other party owed you a duty of care.
They breached this duty, causing an accident.
You were injured as a result.

On 31st May 2021, the government brought out the Whiplash Reform Programme. This programme is for road traffic accidents causing injuries that are valued below £5,000. Essentially, if your injuries are of low value, you could use an online portal to seek compensation.

However, injured motorcyclists would still need to follow the typical personal injury claims process, regardless of the value. Adults who suffered low-value injuries in vehicles such as cars, vans, buses and lorries can settle their claim online.

If you’re unsure of the value of your injuries, why not get in touch? Our advisors are available 24/7 and offer free legal advice with no obligation for you to proceed with the services of our panel of solicitors.

Am I Eligible To Claim Through The Motor Insurers’ Bureau?

You could make a motorcycle accident personal injury claim even if the driver leaves the scene or is uninsured. You could be able to do this through the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB).

The MIB works with the police and enforcement agencies such as the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) to find uninsured vehicles and have them removed from our roads.

In some accidents, drivers may leave the scene. This could be due to a number of reasons: the driver may not want to take the blame or they could be uninsured. If you have been a victim of this and were injured in the accident, then the Motor Insurers’ Bureau could help.

What’s more, a solicitor from our panel could help you make a claim through the MIB. Why not get in touch to find out more?

What Types Of Road Traffic Accidents Could I Claim For?

There are many causes of motorcycle accidents, such as excessive speeding, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or simply being careless and reckless whilst on the road.

Motorcyclists are classed as vulnerable road users. Drivers should take extra care because it can be difficult to see motorcyclists, especially if they’re moving off from junctions, for example.

Facts On Motorcycle Safety

Here are some government statistics on reported road casualties in Great Britain for 2020:

285 motorcyclists lost their lives in 2020.
4,429 were seriously injured and 8,890 slightly injured.
Motorcycle traffic reduced between 2004 and 2020. However, the percentage of reduction in non-fatal injuries increased, and slightly increased for fatalities.
Motorcycle injuries fell each year from 2014 to 2020.
In 2020 Motorcycle deaths fell 15% while motorcycle traffic fell by 18%.

How Does The Claims Process Work?

If you are injured in an accident on the road due to another road user’s negligence and you want to make a motorcycle accident personal injury claim, there are several steps you should take.

Always seek the appropriate medical attention if you or someone else is injured.
It is important to take down the name and address of the party that hit you. You can also collect their registration number and insurance provider details.
If there are any witnesses at the scene, make note of their contact details as having witness statements could be important to your case.
Make note of the weather on the day, check the visibility and road conditions.
Photographs can be useful evidence. You could have pictures of your injuries or CCTV footage of the accident itself involving both vehicles, the roads surrounding the area and visibility. This could all help to prove you are not at fault for the accident.
You may be invited to attend a medical assessment as part of the claim process. An independent medical professional would record the severity of your injuries and look at how this has had an impact on your life. They’d produce a report that can be used as evidence and a tool for valuing your claim.

It’s also important to contact your insurance company to let them know you have been in an accident. If you would then like to take legal advice, you could call a specialist solicitor. They would go through what happened and discuss the injuries you have suffered.

However, if you’d like to get free legal advice before contacting a solicitor, why not contact our advisors? If you have a valid claim, they can connect you to a solicitor from our panel.

Time Limits For Motorcycle Accident Claims

Usually, motorcycle accident claims have to be started within three years of the accident date. This time limit is outlined by the Limitation Act 1980. However, in some cases, you may have longer to start your claim.

For example, the motorbike accident claims time limit is suspended if the person is under the age of eighteen. It reinstates on their eighteenth birthday. During the time in which it’s paused, a litigation friend may make a claim on your behalf.

The time limit is also suspended if the person lacks the mental capacity to claim for themselves. In this situation, the limit is suspended indefinitely. If the person recovers the appropriate capacity, then the time limit will reinstate on the date of their recovery. If not, then a litigation friend can make a claim on your behalf.

To find out if you are within the motorcycle accident claims time limit, contact our team of advisors today for a free consultation.

Motorcycle Accident Personal Injury Claim Calculator

It is difficult to predict the exact amount of compensation you could receive in a motorcycle accident personal injury claim. Each motorcycle accident claim is calculated individually.

Your potential compensation would be valued using two potential heads of claim:

General damages relate to compensation for the mental and physical injuries you have suffered due to the accident.
Special damages compensate you for financial losses, such as loss of income or any medical expenses you have had to pay due to this accident.

Solicitors can calculate these damages using the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This publication has a list of potential awards alongside injuries.

If you are wanting to have more of an idea of what your claim could be worth, please see the compensation table below.

Edit
Injury	Additional Details	Amount
Shoulder Injuries	(c) Shoulder that is limited of any movement and symptoms continue for about two years. Soft tissue injuries with pain lasting longer than two years, but not permanent.	£7,890 to £12,770
Wrist Injuries	(a) Loss of function in the wrist.	£47,620 to £59,860
Hand Injuries	(b) Damage to both hands causing permanent disability and loss of function.	£55,820 to £84,570
Knee Injuries	(i) Serious knee injury where there has been disruption of the joint, the development of osteoarthritis, gross ligamentous damage, lengthy treatment, considerable pain and loss of function, and an arthroplasty or arthrodesis has taken place or is inevitable.	£69,730 to £96,210
Foot Injuries	(a) Amputation of both Feet	£169,400 to £201,490
Toe injuries	(a) Amputation of all toes, compensation will depend on factors such as whether the amputation was traumatic or surgical, and the extent of the loss of the forefoot together with the residual effects on mobility.	£36,520 to £56,080
Skeletal Injuries	(a) Le Fort fractures of frontal facial bones	£23,810 to £36,740
Multiple fractures of facial bones	Facial deformity of a permanent nature	£14,900 to £23,950

You may see your injuries in the table above and have an indication of what your claim could be worth. If you cannot, you could call one of our advisors and they could give you an estimated value of your claim free of charge.

Medical Assessment

As part of your claim, you would attend a medical appointment. An independent healthcare professional would check your physical or psychological injuries and make a report.

The professional would establish whether your injuries are consistent with those that could be caused by the accident. They’d also assess the severity of the injuries. The report they produce can act as evidence for your case.

If you decide to use the help of a solicitor to make a motorcycle accident personal injury claim, then they could use this report to value your potential general damages.

Special Damages

You could include any financial losses you suffer because of the accident. This could include:

Loss of earnings
Travel costs (to and from your medical appointments, for example)
Care costs if your friends or family provided gracious care to get you through your daily tasks. You could also recover the costs of professional help you paid for.

There are more special damages you could claim and if you call our advisors, they would be happy to talk these through with you.

How Do I Get The Most Money From My Personal Injury Claim?

To get more from your personal injury claim, it would help to gather all the relevant information you have regarding your accident. For example, evidence such as CCTV footage can help a claim.

It is important to communicate with your solicitor, if you wish to claim with the help of one, and follow all of their instructions on time. To chat with one of our advisors, please call the number at the top or bottom of this article.

How We Could Help With Motorcycle Accident Personal Injury Claims

The solicitors on our panel offer their services on a No Win No Fee basis. Under a No Win No Fee agreement, if your case loses, you won’t pay the solicitor their fee.

If the claim wins, you would need to pay the solicitor a success fee. It’d be deducted from the compensation awarded. However, this fee is capped by law. In addition, it’s only taken after the compensation comes through.

What’s more, there are no upfront or ongoing solicitor fees to pay under a No Win No Fee agreement.

If you have been injured in a motorcycle accident and want to make a motorcycle accident personal injury claim, reach out today. Our advisors give no-obligation, free legal advice.

Why not get in touch using any of the below details?