Free Guidance On How You Make A Cycling Pothole Claim
Throughout this guide, we explore the steps you can take after a cycling accident caused by a pothole, such as seeking medical treatment, reporting the pothole to your local authority, and seeking legal advice regarding your eligibility to start a cycling pothole claim.
Furthermore, we provide examples of different types of cycling accident injuries and how they could be sustained in a pothole accident.
Later in our guide, we look at how compensation for personal injury claims is calculated to address the different ways you’ve been impacted by your injuries.
Finally, we discuss the benefits of working with a No Win No Fee solicitor when making a pothole claim and how our panel of expert solicitors could assist you.
If you have any questions regarding your potential public liability claim, please get in touch with an advisor. They’re available 24/7 to offer free advice. You can reach them via the contact details below:
- Call on 020 3870 4868
- Contact us online
- Use our live chat function below to discuss your cyclist pothole claim
Select A Section
- How Do You Make A Cycling Pothole Claim?
- Types Of Cycling Accident Injuries
- What Should I Do After A Cycling Pothole Accident?
- How Much Compensation Could You Get For Your Cycling Accident?
- What Is A No Win No Fee Cycling Pothole Claim?
- Further Public Liability Claim Resources
How Do You Make A Cycling Pothole Claim?
As per the Highways Act 1980, those with a responsibility to maintain the highways network have a duty of care placed on them. This means they need to ensure the highway is maintained in such a way that means it’s reasonably passable for ordinary traffic of the neighbourhood without danger caused by its physical condition. This can include fixing any potholes or other road defects. If there is a failure to do so, it could lead to a cycling pothole accident in which you suffer an injury.
The type of road will dictate who is responsible for carrying out repairs. For example, local roads are managed by the relevant local authority whilst Highways England manages motorways and major A roads. Cyclists are not allowed on certain roads, such as motorways and some dual carriageways. As such, if a cyclist has an accident on a local road due to poor road maintenance, it is likely their claim will be directed against the local council.
However, in order to begin a cycling pothole claim after sustaining an injury in a pothole accident as a cyclist, you need to be able to prove the following occurred:
- A third party owed you a duty of care at the time and place of the accident.
- This duty was breached.
- You became harmed physically and/or psychologically as a result.
The criteria above form the definition of negligence in tort law. You must gather evidence of negligence to seek personal injury compensation.
What Is The Limitation For Personal Injury Claims?
In addition to showing negligence occurred, you must also start legal proceedings within the time limit for personal injury claims when claiming compensation. As set out in the Limitation Act 1980, this time limit is generally three years from the date of the accident.
However, certain exceptions could apply, such as in cases where the injured person is a child, or where the claimant has a reduced mental capacity to claim compensation for themselves.
To learn more about these exceptions, you can get in touch with our helpful team of advisors. They can also assess your cycling pothole claim for free and determine whether you’re eligible to pursue compensation.
Types Of Cycling Accident Injuries
There are several types of injuries a cyclist could suffer in an accident involving a pothole. The severity and type of injury suffered can depend on the nature of the accident. Some examples could include:
- Brain or head injuries
- Sprains and tears to ligaments/muscles
- Back, neck and spinal injuries
- Broken or fractured bones
- Soft tissue injuries, such as cuts, bruises, and lacerations
You could experience several cycling accident injuries. You may suffer a significant amount of physical pain and suffering as well as an impact on your mental health, leading to anxiety or depression due to a serious injury. This could have an overall impact on your quality of life.
Furthermore, you could experience a financial loss due to your injuries, such as loss of earnings through having to take time off work or medical costs, such as prescriptions for medication needed to treat your injuries.
In cases where you meet the eligibility criteria for personal injury claims, you could seek compensation to address these impacts. Call our team to find out more about pothole claims using the number above.
What Should I Do After A Cycling Pothole Accident?
There are several steps you could take after a cycling accident involving a pothole if you want to make a personal injury claim. For example:
- Seek medical treatment: First and foremost, regardless of whether you are planning to pursue personal injury compensation, it is always advisable to seek medical attention. If you have suffered an injury, it’s important to seek medical attention from a trained medical professional so that you can get the treatment and care you need to make a recovery. In doing so, you can request a copy of your medical records. These can be used as evidence to strengthen a potential cycling pothole claim if you’re eligible to seek compensation.
- Report the pothole: You can report a pothole to your local authority. Or, if the pothole is on a motorway or A road, you should contact Highways England.
- Collect evidence: When you make a claim for a cycling accident, it’s important to gather evidence to prove third-party negligence. For example, you could collect pictures of the pothole or road defect and of your injuries and witness contact details so statements can be taken later on in the claims process.
- Seek legal advice: You could seek legal advice from a specialist solicitor from our panel. They have experience handling claims for cycling accidents and can assist in helping you build a strong case as well as ensure it is brought forward within the relevant time frame.
For further guidance on the question ‘What to do after a bicycle accident?’, please get in touch with an advisor using the number above.
How Much Compensation Could You Get For Your Cycling Accident?
After a successful cycle pothole claim, you could be awarded compensation to address the different ways your cycling injuries have affected you. Two heads of loss can make up a payout if your claim succeeds:
- General damages: Compensating for the pain and suffering of your injuries, physical, psychological or both. An independent medical assessment may be required as part of the claims process. This can produce a medical report detailing the full extent of your injuries which can help when valuing general damages.
- Special damages: Compensating for the financial losses incurred due to your injuries. This can include loss of earnings incurred due to time taken off work, care costs, travel expenses, and medical bills, such as for prescriptions. It could also include bike repair costs for bike damage. Evidence can help prove these losses, such as receipts, payslips, and invoices.
Those responsible for valuing general damages can use the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) in addition to the independent medical report. The JCG contains guideline award brackets for different types of injuries.
Compensation Table
You can find a selection of figures from the JCG in the table we have created below. Please only use this table as a guide. Also, note that the first entry is not from the JCG.
| Injury Type | Severity Level | Notes | Guideline Compensation Brackets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multiple Severe Injuries with Financial Losses | Severe | Compensation for the pain and suffering of multiple severe injuries and the financial losses incurred as a result, such as lost income, medical bills, and care costs. | Up to £1,000,000+ |
| Brain Damage | Very Severe | The person will show little, if any, evidence of having a meaningful response to their environment, poor language function, and double incontinence. They will need full-time nursing care. | £282,010 to £403,990 |
| Moderate (i) | A moderate to severe deficit of intellect, change in personality, an effect on the senses, significant risk of epilepsy and no employment prospects. | £150,110 to £219,070 | |
| Neck | Severe (ii) | Injuries often involving serious fractures or damage to the cervical spine resulting in disabilities of a considerable severity. | £65,740 to £130,930 |
| Moderate (i) | Severe immediate symptoms that may require a spinal fusion as a result of dislocations or fractures. | £24,990 to £38,490 |
|
| Leg | Severe (ii) | Injuries of a very serious nature causing permanent mobility problems. | £54,830 to £87,890 |
| Less Serious (i) | An incomplete recovery from fractures are included in this bracket alongside serious soft tissue injuries. | £17,960 to £27,760 | |
| Arm | Permanent and Substantial Disability | One or both forearms suffer a serious fracture leading to significant and permanent residual disability. | £39,170 to £59,860 |
| Elbow | Severe | An injury to the elbow causing a severe disability. | £39,170 to £54,830 |
If you call our team, they can provide a free estimate of how much compensation you could potentially be awarded for your cycling injuries caused by pothole damage after a successful claim.
What Is A No Win No Fee Cycling Pothole Claim?
If you are eligible to make a personal injury claim for a cycling accident involving a pothole, you could instruct a solicitor from our panel to assist you. They have experience handling claims of this nature and can assist you with different aspects of the claims process, including negotiating a fair settlement on your behalf and collecting as much evidence as possible to support your case.
Additionally, they can offer their helpful services via the terms of a No Win No Fee contract known as a Conditional Fee Agreement. This typically means:
- No fees to pay for the solicitor’s services upfront or as the claim proceeds.
- No fees to pay for the solicitor’s work if the claim fails.
- Following a successful cycling pothole claim, you will need to pay a success fee to your solicitor. They will take this as a percentage of your compensation. However, due to the legal cap on the percentage a solicitor can take, you will receive the majority of your awarded settlement.
Contact Us About Claiming Compensation
If you have any questions about your potential compensation claim and whether a solicitor from our panel could assist you, please get in touch with an advisor using the contact details below:
- Call on 020 3870 4868
- Contact us online
- Use our live chat function below
Further Public Liability Claim Resources
For more of our helpful guides:
- Discover if you could make a public liability claim due to no wet floor sign being placed causing you to slip and fall and suffer an injury.
- Find out if you could claim for an accident on public transport in which you suffered an injury.
- Learn if you could make a personal injury claim after a slip and fall accident caused by a negligent third party.
For more external resources:
- Find out if you could claim Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) with this helpful government guide.
- Helpful information on first aid after an incident from the NHS.
- Statistics and information on potholes from freedom of information requests from Highways England.
If you have any questions regarding how to make a cycling pothole claim, please get in touch on the number above.
