A Complete Guide To Motorcycle Accident Claims

Have you been involved in a motorcycle accident that wasn’t your fault? Did you suffer injuries as a result? If so, please read our useful guide on motorcycle accident claims and learn how you could receive a compensation pay-out.

Essentially, this guide aims to provide you with all the information you will need about making a personal injury claim for a motorcycle accident.

What You Need To Know

  • You could make a motorcycle accident claim if another party was negligent and breached their duty of care, causing your injuries.
  • You could still make a claim if you were involved in a hit and run
  • You will generally have 3 years to start your claim
  • You will need to provide evidence to make your claim, such as medical records and photographs of the accident scene
  • A No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel could help you make a claim

Our advisors work meticulously around the clock to answer any questions you may have about making a claim. As part of the free services we offer at UK Law, our advisors can provide a free eligibility assessment to look at the merits of your claim. Get in touch by:

Motorcycle laying on the side of the road

Frequently Asked Questions (Choose One)

  1. Can I Claim Compensation For A Motorcycle Accident?
  2. The Common Causes Of Motorcycle Claims
  3. How Much Motorbike Injury Compensation Can I Get?
  4. Can I Also Claim For Financial Losses?
  5. What If I Am Involved In A Hit And Run?
  6. Accidents Caused By Faulty Motorcycling Equipment
  7. Motorcycle Accident Caused By Road Conditions
  8. How Can Motorcyclists Avoid Accidents And Injuries?
  9. How Can I Make A Motorcycle Injury Claim?
  10. Do I Need A Solicitor To Make A Motorbike Accident Claim?
  11. More Information

Can I Claim Compensation For A Motorcycle Accident?

Yes, you could claim compensation for a motorcycle accident provided that you meet the eligibility requirements. Essentially, it must be established that another driver was negligent, resulting in your injuries. To prove this, the following requirements must be satisfied:

  • You were owed a duty of care
  • This duty of care was breached by a third party
  • This breached directly resulted in your injuries

For road traffic accident compensation claims, all road users owe each other a duty of care to navigate the roads safely and to avoid causing harm to others. Furthermore, all road users must adhere to the rules of the Highway Code and the Road Traffic Act 1988 as part of their duty of care. Examples of road users adhering to their duty of care may include adhering to speed limits and complying with the rules of pedestrian crossings.

Please note that the term ‘road users’ is not only limited to cars and motorcycles, but also extends to:

Therefore, you will be eligible to bring a claim as any of the above, provided that there was a breach in duty resulting in your injuries.

If you want to check your eligibility to make a claim, please contact one of our friendly advisors today.

Am I Able To Make A Motorcycle Claim For Someone Else?

Yes, you could make a motorcycle accident claim on behalf of a loved one for injuries they have suffered in a motorcycle accident. The courts could appoint you as their litigation friend to make decisions on behalf of the claimant and to protect their best interests. Litigation friends are often family members such as parents, guardians, aunties, uncles or even solicitors.

You could be appointed as a litigation friend for someone else in the following scenarios:

  • The claimant lacks the mental capacity to claim by themselves, or;
  • They are a minor under the age of 18, and so they cannot claim on their own.

If you want to find out more about claiming on behalf of someone else, please contact our advisory team.

What If I Was Partially At Fault?

In essence, you could still make a personal injury claim for a motorcycle accident even if you were partially at fault. Accordingly, you could make a split liability claim, which essentially means that both parties will accept a degree of blame for the accident. The degree of blame between yourself and another party will be entirely dependent on the accident circumstances.

For example, you may suffer a rear-end collision with another road user who wasn’t paying attention and was using a mobile phone whilst driving. However, you could have unnecessarily braked in front of the third party’s vehicle.

How much compensation you would receive would depend on how liable you were deemed to have been. If you were deemed to have been 30% liable, you would receive 70% of the total compensation had you not been at all.

Please note that split liability agreements are made between a solicitor and a third-party insurer. Therefore, if you are solely responsible for the incident, you will not be able to bring a motorbike accident claim.

To discuss split liability in motorcycle accident claims, please contact one of our helpful advisors today.

The Common Causes Of Motorcycle Claims

There are many instances where motorcycle accidents could occur. Critically, motorcycles do not provide the same protections as cars, and therefore, motorcyclists can be classed as vulnerable road users. According to the Department for Transport, between 2019 and 2023, it was estimated that around 102 motorcyclists were seriously injured per week in road traffic accidents, and 6 were fatally injured.

Some examples of how a motorcycle accident could occur include:

  • Left-turning cars. For example, a third party could fail to check their mirrors and fail to notice your motorcycle in the left-hand lane when turning at a junction. It could therefore cause a side collision, causing you to fall off your motorbike and endure broken rib injuries.
  • Lane-switching. For example, a coach could switch lanes on a busy motorway, failing to see your motorbike in the parallel lane, as they had not properly checked it was safe to switch lanes. As a result, the bus could collide with your bike, causing you a broken back injury.
  • Head-on collisions. For example, a HGV driver could accidentally swerve across the road into oncoming traffic due to them using their mobile phone. Consequently, you could suffer a head-on collision, falling off your motorbike and suffering with serious injuries.
  • Reversing collisions. A car may reverse in a car park without looking, colliding into your motorcycle, causing you to fall off, resulting in broken foot injuries.

To gain advice about your personal situation, please contact our friendly advisors.

A motorcycle lays on the road with a helmet following a collision with a car

How Much Motorbike Injury Compensation Can I Get?

If your claim is successful, you could be entitled to two types of compensation known as general and special damages. The aim of general damages is to compensate you for any physical and psychological pain you experienced as a result of the accident.

The Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) are commonly referred to by lawyers when assigning values to injuries. This is due to the fact that this document contains compensation guideline brackets for injuries at various severities.

All entries in the table below, aside from the first entry, have been taken from the JCG. Please note that they are merely guidelines and do not provide a guarantee of how much compensation you will receive.

InjuryCompensation
Multiple serious injuries and special damagesUp to £1,000,000 +
Very Severe Brain Damage£344,150 to £493,000
Moderately Severe Brain Damage£267,340 to £344,150
Severe Back Injuries (i)£111,150 to £196,450
Severe Back Injuries (ii)£90,510 to £107,910
Severe Neck Injuries (iii)£55,500 to £68,330
Moderate Pelvis And Hip Injuries (i)£32,450 to £47,810
Serious Shoulder Injuries£15,580 to £23,430
Moderate Shoulder Injuries£9,630 to £15,580

Can I Also Claim For Financial Losses?

Yes, you could claim compensation for financial losses you incurred as a result of the injuries you suffered. These losses would be compensated under the head of loss known as special damages, as it aims to reimburse you for any financial burdens you suffered due to your injuries. To illustrate, you may have been required to pay out-of-pocket for rehabilitation fees.

Some examples of losses you may be able to claim special damages for include:

  • Loss of earnings
  • Medical expenses
  • Childcare costs
  • Home modification costs
  • Travel expenses

It is important to note that special damages must be evidenced if you wish to include any in your claim. Special damages can be evidenced through:

  • Payslips
  • Bank statements
  • Invoices
  • Receipts

If you want to find out more about special damages, please get in touch with our advisors for free.

Interim Payments

You could also be entitled to claim interim payments, meaning that you could receive compensation throughout the claims process for immediate necessary costs. For example, you may need to pay for medical treatment to aid your injuries, and your solicitor could agree that you would benefit from ongoing supportive payments.

Please see the following examples of personal injury claim interim payments:

  • Payments for any travel expenses to and from appointments
  • Payments for any ongoing loss of earnings whilst you recover from your injuries
  • Payments for physiotherapy, doctors appointments, and childcare costs

For a solicitor to deem you eligible to receive interim payments, the following criteria must apply to your claim:

  • It is likely that your claim would be successful in the event of a trial or;
  • The defendant has admitted liability for the accident.

To learn if you could claim interim payments, please contact our friendly advisory team. They can also help answer any questions you may have about the motorcycle accident claims process.

What If I Am Involved In A Hit And Run?

If you were involved in a hit and run accident, you could still make a claim provided that you have sufficient evidence of the accident.

Typically in road traffic accident claims, a solicitor pursues the third party’s insurance company for compensation. A solicitor will then provide evidence on your behalf, and a liability stance will be established between both parties.

However, if the third party is untraceable, due to a hit and run, you would make a claim through the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB), an organisation that aims to provide compensation to victims of accidents with untraceable and uninsured drivers.

One of the solicitors from our panel could deal with the MIB on your behalf whilst gathering evidence after your motorcycle accident. Please continue to read this guide to find out what kinds of evidence you could provide to help your claim.

If you wish to find out more about claiming after a hit and run accident, please contact one of our helpful advisors today.

Accidents Caused By Faulty Motorcycling Equipment

You could still make a motorcycle accident claim even if your accident was caused by faulty motorcycling equipment.

Where there is equipment that has malfunctioned that wasn’t your fault, such as a bike chassis or engine failure, it is possible that your solicitor could claim against the manufacturer of the equipment. However, if the accident was caused by faulty equipment that you were aware of, such as damaged brakes, that you did not repair prior to using the roads with your motorbike, establishing liability may be more complex.

Nevertheless, please contact our advisors if you have experienced an accident caused by faulty motorcycling equipment. Our advisors can provide a free eligibility assessment and can advise of your claim’s chances of success.

An ambulance drives down a dual carriageway

Motorcycle Accident Caused By Road Conditions

For motorcycle accident claims, you could still be eligible to make a claim if you were injured due to poor road conditions.

Instead of claiming against an insurance company, a solicitor would alternatively claim against a local authority or highway agency for the poor road surfaces. The claim will therefore be made against whoever is responsible for maintenance of that specific road.

It is also important to note that local authorities and highway agencies such as National Highways, have a duty of care to maintain the road under the Highways Act 1980.

Please also note that any injuries sustained on a private road could be claimed for under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 if the roads were a danger.

To find out more about accidents caused by poor road conditions please contact our helpful advisors today.

How Can Motorcyclists Avoid Accidents And Injuries?

Ultimately, motorcycle accidents cannot be avoided completely. However, the risk of accidents occurring could be reduced by motorcyclists taking greater care and precaution. Please see the following examples of steps you can take to reduce the risk of motorcycle injuries:

  • Increasing your visibility, such as wearing brightly coloured clothing and ensuring your headlights are on for other drivers to see you.
  • Investing in protective clothing such as good quality helmets, gloves and leather items to prevent serious injuries in the event of a crash.
  • Adapting to weather conditions and slowing down to suit snow, hail and icy conditions to reduce the risk of high-speed collisions.
  • Avoid overtaking in busy traffic and being aware of blind spots when making turns at junctions.

Do you want to know more about motorcycle accident claims? Please contact our advisory team today.

How Can I Make A Motorcycle Injury Claim?

To make a motorcycle accident claim, you must provide evidence of the third party’s breach of their duty of care. Please see the following examples of evidence you could provide:

  • CCTV or dashcam footage of the accident. You have a legal right to request any CCTV footage of yourself.
  • Contact details of any eyewitnesses
  • A police report if they attended the scene of the accident
  • Copies of your medical records that detail your injuries
  • Photographs or videos from the accident scene

Furthermore, the time limit to claim after an accident is 3 years. The time limit runs from the date of the accident as per the Limitation Act 1980.

To find out more about what evidence you could provide for your claim, please contact one of our advisors.

Do I Need A Solicitor To Make A Motorbike Accident Claim?

Our helpful advisors are available 24 hours, 7 days a week to answer any questions you may have about making a claim. Following a free case check, our advisors could connect you with one of the experienced No Win No Fee solicitors from our panel to claim on your behalf. Therefore, you could enjoy benefits such as regular updates and support for your injuries. By offering their services to you under a Conditional Fee Arrangement (CFA), you could experience the following:

  • In the event of an unsuccessful claim, you won’t have to pay any solicitor’s fees.
  • Not having to pay any solicitor service fees upfront or as the case is ongoing
  • In the event your claim is a success, you will only be required to pay a small success fee for the work your solicitor has completed. The percentage amount will be deducted from your compensation and is legally capped, so you will always be rewarded with the bulk of the compensation.

A solicitor helps a client with the motorcycle accident claims process

Contact Us

For more information regarding motorcycle accident claims, please contact us, and we will be able to help. Get in touch:

More Information

To learn more about personal injury claims, please see some of our other guides:

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