Motorcycle Accident Claims – No Win No Fee Injury Compensation

By Ian Morris | Updated November 29th, 2022

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Motorcycle accident compensation is an extremely specialised area of personal injury law. Your solicitor must understand all of the liability arguments which will be used by the other driver’s insurance company to prevent your claim from being successful.

Riders and pillion passengers of motorbikes involved in collisions with other vehicles often suffer serious and life changing injuries. The value of compensation can be very high as the injuries can be so bad.

Apart from a high likelihood of suffering serious physical injuries, anyone in a motorbike accident faces the prospect of suffering from post-accident stress or psychological trauma – commonly known as PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). In many circumstances, the time taken for a person to recover from psychological injuries can be far longer than the process of recovering from physical injuries.

What you need to claim motorcycle accident compensation

To make a successful no win no fee claim your accident has to be someone else’s fault, resulted in medical treatment, and happened in the last three years (unless you’re under 18). Starting your claim early will give your solicitor time to build a successful case and collect as much evidence to support your claim as possible.

If they are possible to get, witness statements and photographs of the accident site can provide vital evidence to support your claim.

If you haven’t yet sought medical treatment, and the accident happened recently, do visit your GP or hospital as you may still be in shock and not notice your injuries. Your claim can cover any treatment you might need, such as physiotherapy, pain management, or osteopathy.

If you don’t know the identity of the liable party (vehicle registration, driver name etc), then you should report the incident to the police. In the case of a hit and run accident, an injured motorcyclist may still be able to recover compensation through the Motor Insurers’ Bureau, who compensate victims of untraced and uninsured drivers.

Claiming for psychological trauma

A surprising amount of people injured in what are often traumatic and upsetting accidents have no idea that they can claim psychological damages as part of their personal injury claim.

One of the problems that many personal injury claimants face is that they suffer in silence. Whether it’s the ‘stiff upper lip’ of the British that means that we don’t tell our doctors of our problems – particularly those relating to psychological injuries – or the perceived stigma that can accompany certain mental health issues, it is a problem that needs addressing. Without proper diagnosis of an injury, it is very hard to then add the extent of an undiagnosed injury to a personal injury claim. Therefore, it is vital that any person suffering with psychological trauma after an accident sees their GP and asks for a referral to a specialist.

This is all part of ensuring that you properly report and record your accident. Any claimant must prove to a 3rd party insurer just as to how badly any injuries that they have sustained have affected their life. By ensuring that all injuries – including those that can’t be seen, such as psychological trauma – are reported to the medical profession and that treatment is received, it is then possible to maximise the value of any settlement awarded to you as the 3rd party will not be able to dispute the medical evidence that supports your claim.

The kind of psychological trauma that victims of motorcycle accidents suffer can vary greatly and come in many different forms. Some ex-motorcyclists will struggle to get back on their bike and may well give up riding and use other forms of transport. Some with more severe problems may struggle to walk near moving vehicles and therefore have great difficulty living a normal life. Regardless of the severity of any PTSD issues, all people wishing to make a claim for personal injury compensation should see their medical professional and make sure that the injuries caused in their accident are on record.

The process of claiming

We have arrangements in place to provide replacement motorcycles within hours of the accident if you are fit to drive. We can also arrange replacement helmets, leathers and all other damaged items. Direct2Compensation will take care of you from start to finish. If ever you have a question, you can call us or the solicitor we have appointed for you. You will discover we are always happy to help you.

After assessing your case along with the supporting evidence and information, your claim will be submitted to our panel of specialist personal injury solicitors. A motorcycle accident solicitor will evaluate your claim and contact you to discuss and confirm the details of our claim file.

We will manage your personal injury claim on your behalf, ensuring that your relationship with the solicitor is simple to understand and that any complicated paperwork that may be sent to you is explained in a simple and clear fashion should you so need.

Your solicitor will work towards prompt settlement of your claim to get appropriate compensation for your injuries and losses. They will also seek effective treatment for your injuries to return you to your pre-accident medical condition.

In the event that your no win no fee claim is not successful, you will never be liable for the costs incurred.

How much compensation will I receive for my injuries?

It’s impossible to say as every claim is different, but there are guidelines issued by the courts and we use solicitors that are experts in handling motorcycle accident claims, and know how to use these guidelines to ensure you receive the right amount of compensation for your injuries and losses. Once initial evidence has been collected you will be advised as to the likely level of compensation to expect.

There is no charge for assessing your claim, so you have nothing to lose and much to gain if you can make a successful one. As a specialist claims company which has been successfully recovering compensation for victims of motorcycle accidents for some years now, we have all the expertise required to conclude your claim as swiftly and efficiently as possible.

To find out more about your compensation rights or to start your claim today, call us on 01225 430285 or if you prefer, .

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    Questions

    Read on for questions and advice about claiming, plus motorbike accident claim examples...

    Hi there, hope you can help.
    I stopped my motorbike for a red light on a roundabout, placing my right foot flat on the tarmac to maintain balance. Next thing I know I’ve been rear ended, my beautiful near new Indian has shot across the junction into road furniture (headstock snapped in two) and I’m laying in the road about 5ft from where I left my bike. I knew immediately I had dislocated my knee and managed to realign the joint (I have hypermobile joints and often reset my left knee to save a trip to A&E) Police and ambulance attended, both 3rd party & I were breathalised (zero for both) and interviewed under caution. I went to hospital and my self diagnosis was confirmed, thankfully no breaks just soft tissue damage. The 3rd party told the police officer he thought I wasn’t going to stop (? red light ?), was following my riding line and couldn’t stop in time.
    My questions are:
    1 – given he said under caution he couldn’t stop in time to avoid hitting me does it mean his insurer cannot deny liability? He is not facing any prosecution.
    2 – can his insurer claim my hypermobility was a contributing factor to the dislocation even though my right knee has never dislocated before, meaning they will feel justified in making a low PI offer especially as I do not have any x-rays or CT scan showing it dislocated?
    3 – given my hypermobility is a life long condition I have learnt to live with and I know that as a result of this injury my knee will now be weaker for the remainder of my life, is this going to make the PI claim time scale longer than normal i.e years instead of months? I want this sorted quickly as it’s such a hassle dealing with these things.
    I should point out the 3rd party was my husband – is this in itself going to make the whole claims process longer?
    BTW, yes we are still together, yes he is very sorry and no I’m not giving him a hard time because it was an accident not an on-purpose. Plus his insurance premiums are going to shoot up next year and his beloved Harley was damaged as well. That’s punishment enough I think!
    Any answers appreciated. Thanks.

    Ian Morris

    You certainly have a valid claim and one that we would be happy to help you to pursue. With regards to your points, you need not worry as you were clearly the innocent party in this incident and the defendant is likely to struggle if they attempt to deny liability. With regards to any hyper-mobility issues, a medical expert will provide an opinion on this and that will decide the value of any claim. The fact that the 3rd party is known to you is irrelevant in any claim.

    Please call us on 01225430285 or use the start your claim for compensation page of our website to make further contact.

    Reply

    On the 8th February at 5:30am Monday morning whilst commuting to work, I rode my motorcycle along a main high road in Enfield. 
    I’ve ridden carefully in snow before and been fine as the roads were gritted. In this case myself and drivers who stopped to help believe the road was not gritted. I was approaching a red traffic signal at a junction and was travelling slowly anyway. 
    Both wheels lost traction on a slight downhill gradient, causing the bike to fall to the right, falling on my right leg, breaking my Tibia and Fibula. 
    I am now out of work for the past 6 weeks and Dr’s say it could be 6 months before I can return to work. I’m only on Statutory Sick Pay which is not enough to live on. 
    I have suffered financial loss, damage to my credit file, incredible pain, a metal rod inserted in my leg, damage to my bike, inability to sleep, strain and burden on my partner who is burning out. 
    I have done some research and believe that Enfield Council did not take enough precautions under the Highways Act 1980 to make the road safe as reasonably as practicable. 
    I’d like to sue them please. According to Enfield Council, this road should be gritted. I don’t believe it had been that morning and other drivers found it very slippery also.

    Ian Morris

    Our specialist Solicitors will be in contact with you to advise you further and seek to pursue action against the local authority for the injury you have sustained and the losses you are incurring as a result.

    Reply

    It’s 2 years since my motorcycle accident. Months after the accident my elbow & shoulder area kept hurting. My GP sent me for physio, 4 months of physio & the symptoms remained. A few weeks ago I decided to get a chiropractor to look at it; Following xrays the chiro opinion is I’ve damaged my neck due to trauma to the neck, ie; a whiplash injury. Hence causing the pain in my elbow & shoulder due to C6 been out of place. I contacted the solicitor who sought advice from the barrister.
    His advise was to forget about claiming for this injury as the case is too long gone & will now be hard to prove. Does this sound correct in your opinion.

    Ian Morris

    I am surprised that the advice is to simply ignore the potential to add the neck problem to the heads of claim without having at least asked a medical expert to look at the x-rays, your symptoms and see if they can draw a causal link between the index accident and your current discomfort.

    Reply

    Hi, I was hit while riding my bike yesterday. The driver has admitted fault to the police. I have broken my ankle lower back and collar bone. For the ankle, I have the choice between having surgery or letting it heal naturally. Both have similar recovery times and there aren’t any major benefits to either. My question is, would my claim be a substantial amount more if I take the surgery? Many thanks!

    Ian Morris

    It is impossible to say whether surgery would lead to a higher settlement value. In all honesty, it should not make a difference as the value of the claim will be reached on the basis of a medical experts assessment and report. That report should look at the severity of the injury and what the long term prognosis is (whether there is a full recovery or partial or how long recovery takes) and not whether surgery was needed. In your case, so long as the Consultant is of the view that there is no material benefit to undergoing surgery – in that either way of treatment will lead to the same outcome at a similar recovery rate, there is no concern for any claim.

    In terms of your claim, please call us on 01225430285 so that we can help you start the process of recovering compensation for your injuries, damaged cycle, any loss of income and enable you to access specialist private rehabilitation therapies during your claim.

    Reply

    I was involved in an accident on 14/1/2020 I was rammed off my moped while stopped at the lights. My solicitor has now sent the paperwork and reports to the insurance company for my claim (whiplash/psychological effects). I was just wondering under what protocol this would be dealt with RTA or personal injury as this is the first time I have gone through this process so I’m not sure.

    Ian Morris

    You are making a claim for personal injury compensation. The settlement should account for both the physical and psychological injuries and for any lost income or other costs you have incurred.

    Reply

    I was knocked off of my moped in March 18 and the other party accepted full liability, I was riding on the main road and she came out of a side road and hit me head on.

    I am mid claim with another solicitors but they haven’t contacted me since October despite my emails asking for an update.

    I’ve been in a lot of pain with my back and am on a lot of medication (23 tablets a day of Lansoprazole, gabapentin, naproxen, amitriptyline and tramadol, plus a morphine patch), I’ve recently had an MRI and found out the results today, I have a dehydrated disc (Degenerative Disc Disease) and a disc slightly bulging. In your experience would any of those be classed as a pre-existing condition brought on by the accident or would it continue as a new injury? And as it’s an issue that can’t be fixed and is a lifelong condition, what would that do to my compensation?

    Also, is it too late to change solicitors as mine have given me 3 different solicitors and their GP lied in my med report, they haven’t filled me with confidence.

    Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated, thanking you so much in advance.

    Ian Morris

    It is not too late to change Solicitors. However, switching Solicitors should be a last resort and whilst your Solicitors certainly appear to have been poor in their handling of your requests, it does not mean that you should yet switch Solicitors. In the first instance, if you are unhappy with your Solicitors (lack of updates, failings etc), you should make a formal complaint to them and give them a final opportunity to rectify their errors and sort the matter out. Their complaints procedure should be available on their website (or by request) and by making a complaint you are likely to get the matter sorted. If they are unable to satisfy your concerns during the complaints procedure, you should then seek to switch Solicitors.

    The pre-existing problems found in your spine by the recent MRI scan are likely to be considered during the claim. Whether they are taken in to account with regards to your claim will depend on whether the injuries/symptoms that you are claiming for are unrelated or not to these pre-existing issues. It may be that medical experts take a view that your pre-existing conditions and severity of symptoms have been sped up by the accident, in which case your compensation will reflect this.

    Reply

    Car driver ran over my feet while i was filtering traffic on the motorbike in traffic. I called police and recorded injuries in A&E. I submitted claim for personal injury 4 months ago. Insurance passed my claim to claim handlers. So far the car driver did not accept liability and the claims handlers are waiting for a police report.
    Is there any chance they can make me pay legal fees for the claim investigation?

    Ian Morris

    If you have a specialist Solicitor acting for you on a No Win No Fee basis, you will not have to pay for any such fee.

    Reply

    Hi Ian, my husband was hit head on by a car driver whilst he was on his motorbike 2 years ago. Full liability was admitted straight away. He had full motor legal expenses cover so no % will be deducted upon settlement of his claim. He sustained numerous injuries some still ongoing today but we are satisfied by the medical expert’s prognosis. He also suffered PTSD. So my questions we have are; today we received an amount the legal exec is suggesting for the injuries. We believe (but of course we are not experts) that she has seriously underestimated his claim. I have gone back to her requesting a full breakdown of what value she has put on each injury. Are we entitled to receive this. She has also deducted the physio and psychiatrist’s fees (over £2k) from his total claim. I am confused by this as it was the medical expert she instructed who recommended that my husband should have this and no conversation ever took place about who would be responsible to pay this. As an aside we have had terrible service from this company, not returning calls, taking on average 3.5 weeks to respond to an email and we are now on our 4th case handler. We are happy with the out of pocket side of the claim. What are our choices (if any) to ensure that my husband receives the full amount he is entitled to? thank you.

    Ian Morris

    You do need to query with them why they have deducted the £2k+ fee for pyschiatrist and physiotherapy fees without having obtained your authorisation to do so prior to instructing the experts to provide treatment. It could be that they will go on to seek recovery of those fees and reimburse you for them in due course.

    As for the appropriate value, you should be entitled to receive the Barristers opinion that would have provided the value range for the claim.

    Reply
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