Bike

Yes. If the accident was someone else’s fault, you’re entitled to claim compensation. However, if the court finds that your injuries would have been less severe if were wearing the correct protective clothing, the amount you receive may be reduced.

Where wearing a helmet would have prevented the injury completely the deduction from your settlement is at the discretion of the court. By not wearing protective clothing you have increased the risk of sustaining further injuries e.g. gravel rash. In these circumstances, we would consider the evidence and advise on a case by case basis. Minster Law seriously advocates wearing appropriate and safe riding gear when necessary.

Yes. As a passenger on a motorbike, you are able to claim for personal injuries whether the accident was the fault of the rider of the bike or another party.

However, in some situations Minster Law Scotland cannot act for both rider and pillion at the same time as this could be a conflict of interest e.g. in a liability dispute case. In these circumstances, we would discuss next options with you.

Losses can include costs relating to your vehicle being damaged, hire charges, medication and treatment, loss of earnings, damaged property or belongings, travel, care and assistance and loss of enjoyment.

Bike claimants who may have leathers and helmets damaged should photograph their items and keep them in a safe place. Frequent losses we see include prescriptions, gym memberships, vehicle excess and loss of earnings.

Generally, NCD is reduced following any incident unless you have a protected NCD, but we would always request enquiries be made via your insurers. If you are later found to be not at fault your insurers would usually reinstate your NCD. Again, this enquiry should be referred to your insurers at the time of the accident.

If we are pursuing your claim for bike damage we may instruct an independent engineer to inspect and value for repairs, or pre-accident market value if not repairable. However, this often will be dealt with by your insurance company completely separate from your personal injury claim with Minster Law Scotland. You should still tell us about any out of pocket expenses you have related to your vehicle e.g. excess.

With regards to your injuries we will arrange for you to be medically examined by an appropriate medical specialist and then we will seek to value your claim dependent upon the findings of the expert.

This will depend on the severity of injuries and the position on liability. Often, we will wait until the end of your prognosis to ensure full recovery.

As an example, if you decided to settle before your prognosis has concluded then your claim may be limited to that point. If your injury became more severe after you had decided to settle we would not be able to claim any further. This is why you may wish to wait for full recovery or for more serious injuries a definitive long-term prognosis.

To learn more about prognosis and other phrases that are used in a personal injury claim visit our glossary.

Yes, if the other party is not insured, we will refer your case to the Motor Insurers Bureau. The MIB are set up to compensate the victims of uninsured and untraced drivers.

Yes, resolving liability will be more complex without independent witness evidence, but this does not stop you from making a claim.  There are other means of investigating fault i.e. damage, area of impact, location, road markings and case law.

Minster Law Scotland would always advocate that bikers, as vulnerable road users, utilise their headcam in their day to day riding, as this proves to be invaluable where liability is in dispute. If you have CCTV footage you should send this to us as soon as possible. We cannot accept video files over INK, if you do have footage of the accident please send this to us via email if possible. However, if the file is too large please let the team know and we can provide you a secure link to Microsoft Sharepoint where you can upload your footage. You should also ensure to keep a copy yourself.

If you believe a business near the accident may hold some CCTV footage, you should contact them or notify us asap as within certain timescales this can be destroyed

Whilst this may impact upon cover with your own insurance company this would not stop you from pursuing a claim against the party you believe to be at fault.

There is no legal requirement for cyclists to be insured and yes you can most certainly claim

The DWP has contacted you to determine if the third party insurers have to repay any money paid to yourself under welfare benefits. For many cases, this isn’t applicable but it’s important you fill it in to avoid any delays.