£11,979 Settlement
Pryers recovered £11,979.45 for their client Phil, a keen cyclist, who was knocked off his bike in a hit and run accident.
Phil was riding his bike on a fine spring day, along a dedicated cycle lane on a residential A road, near to where he lived.
He was travelling slightly slower than the slow-moving traffic, at approximately 20mph, when a car turned across his path immediately in front of him – a manoeuvre some cyclists call a ‘left hook’. This forced him to apply both of his brakes to avoid a collision, but resulted in him going over his handlebars.
Despite the car leaving the scene without stopping, Phil managed to identify the make, model, colour and approximate age of the vehicle. A passer-by, who also witnessed the hit and run, helped Phil to call an ambulance. The police also attended, and our client was taken to hospital where he was diagnosed with a broken collarbone and fractured elbow. In addition to his physical injuries he sustained almost £850 of damage to his bike and would go on to lose approximately £2,000 because he was unable to work.
Despite managing to contact a nearby business who had CCTV showing the vehicle which caused the accident, the police said they were unable to assist since the footage did not show the accident, nevertheless, our personal injury team were able to help recoup some of the financial losses suffered as a result of the accident, under the Motor Insurers’ Bureau’s (MIB) Untraced Drivers’ Agreement.
After submitting Phil’s claim to the Motor Insurers’ Bureau, he met with their agents and gave a detailed statement, which led to them confirming that they would compensate him. He then underwent independent medical examinations to establish the long-term impact of his injuries. Pryers assisted with questioning the expert, who concluded that the following injuries were caused as a result of the accident: –
- A fractured elbow, which took 11-12 months to recover;
- A fractured collar bone which left mild symptoms; and
- A graze to his knee.
Our client agreed with our recommendation that the Motor Insurers’ Bureau’s initial offer to settle his claim was too low, so we negotiated on his behalf and reached an agreement to settle his claim for £11,979.45. This included compensation for his injuries, loss of earnings, travel expenses and medication. Unfortunately, we couldn’t recover the damage to his bike, because the Motor Insurers’ Bureau will not pay compensation for property damage where the vehicle which caused the accident was unidentifiable.
If you have been involved in a cycling accident, even if it was a hit and run, and the person who caused is responsible is untraceable you can contact our team for a no obligation assessment. We will advise you for free, whether we can act for you on a no win no fee basis.
