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Reconstruction: Crash investigation wins cyclist’s claim

Crash investigation wins cyclist’s claim This claim was difficult in many ways and all of these factors put together had the potential to cause great hardship to the injured cyclist and his family making it important that the facts were established quickly. These are the facts that we were presented with and which our investigations were based upon:

  • The incident involved a collision between a Class l LGV and a cyclist.
  • There were no witnesses. Other road users assisted almost immediately but none were present when the accident occurred.
  • The cyclist suffered severe brain injury and therefore had no recollection of events.
  • The cyclist was self employed and so when he wasn’t at work he wasn’t earning. The cyclist had a wife and 3 children and was the main breadwinner.
  • The Insurers of the LGV alleged that the cyclist was negligent and would not deal with the claim until the conclusion of police investigations. The driver of the LGV indicated a not guilty plea to the charge of driving without due care and attention.

 

The family of the injured cyclist were under severe financial pressure as they travelled from their home to three different hospitals where he was being treated and rehabilitated. This was not helped by the fact that the criminal investigation into the incident was ongoing and the police could not disclose anything above the names, addresses, and insurance details of the parties involved. If the family in this claim had waited until the investigation had concluded they would now be facing significant financial hardship.

In order to get things moving more quickly our team set about investigating the incident ourselves. The first thing to be established was the exact location of the accident and after a few telephone conversations with the appropriate people we narrowed the location down to within 100 metres.

We then established the make and model of the LGV and some research with the manufacturer led to an accurate width for the Tractor. This proved to be very useful in our investigations.

Our investigators attended the scene of the incident at dawn in November 2008 and using the information we had obtained regarding the tractors positioning, the dual carriageway was marked to show us the corridor in which the cyclist was expected to ride. It became glaringly obvious that he Tractor had not left the cyclist with enough room to proceed safely. This was backed up by the relevant section of The Highway Code which states that when being overtaken, cyclists should be left with as much room as you would allow any other vehicle. This had not been the case.

We were so confident that we could prove the driver had been negligent that we issued civil proceedings seeking damages for the cyclist before the conclusion of the criminal investigation and before the release of the police investigation report.
 

We continued to collect evidence using a vehicle mounted camera to trail a number of identical LGV vehicles along the same dual carriageway past the scene to illustrate the absence of space left for a cyclist.

Once civil proceedings were up and running it was possible to ask the managing Judge to allow an interim payment of damages to ease their financial strains and although the criminal proceedings remained unresolved the insurers made a £30,000 interim payment to the cyclist.

Nine months after the accident occurred, the LGV driver saw the error of his ways and pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention. It was a further 3 months before his insurers admitted 100{9b4a2c8832b2482ca7eb937f6bfa363e1f3f7cb05e1b42927da41c9eadde8c32} liability.

The reconstruction and investigation work we carried out in this claim was especially important for 2 reasons:
 

  • Firstly, If the civil court process had not been utilise it is unlikely that the cyclist or his family would receive any compensation until at least nine months after the accident. This would have meant nine months of additional expenses and zero income.
  • Secondly, there were no witnesses. Without our own evidence this claim would not have gone anywhere.

 

When the police file was finally made available it revealed that the accident had occurred in exactly the position we had predicted. It also came to light that the damage indicated an impact between the front of the LGV and the rear of the cyclist. There was no wavering or wobbling by the cyclist whatsoever.

People aren’t always aware of the fact that a claim for compensation can only be made once. It is important that you choose a specialist with the relevant skills and expertise to ensure your claim is dealt with correctly from day one.

For more information about our services or to start your claim, call 0808 100 9995 and speak to one of our specialist solicitors. We’re here to help. You can email us or schedule a callback.

Written By:

Emily Pheysey

Litigation Executive

Emily has over 7 years of experience in the legal sector, handling road traffic accident claims to recover compensation and support her clients. Her focus is to ensure all clients feel comfortable and at ease with the claims process so that they can focus on their recovery.

Emily considers rapport to be an essential part of the role and strives to always provide excellent client care.

Away from work, Emily enjoys spending time with her family and friends and travelling as much possible.

Diane Holderness

Litigation Executive

Diane is a Ministry of Justice (TOJ) Team Leader within our Cycle Department. She has 11 years’ experience managing road traffic accident claims, and 6 years’ experience managing MOJ claims.

Diane enjoys a challenge and always strives for the very best results for her customers; something that is clear in the way her team continually adapts its strategies in order to secure the most desired outcome. Diane has worked her way through the legal ranks here, and is proud to now have a strong, specialist team that is committed to customer satisfaction.

Diane believes that happy clients make a happy working environment, and it is this that ensures a productive and efficient workforce.

Nina Haddock

Chartered Legal Executive

Nina has over 30 years’ experience in the legal sector. She specialises in recovering compensation for injury claimants as a result of road traffic accidents. Her focus for each and every claim is to help her clients secure the funding that they need to pay for ongoing treatment and support.

Nina became a CILEX Fellow in 2006 and now helps her clients and their families at a time when they have been through a traumatic experience, and everything they hold dear to them appears to be changing.

One case Nina is particularly proud of is supporting a client who had successfully sought asylum in the UK, following a road traffic accident. The claim was successfully pursued through the MIB and the client was left with significant injuries. Her client was able to use the compensation to aid family members with their applications to seek asylum in the UK.

Julian Fox

Cycling Accident Solicitor

Julian qualified as a Solicitor in 2005 and has worked in all areas of personal injury since 2000. Julian has a well-rounded understanding of personal injury law, having represented both claimants and defendants.

Julian always aims for maximum damages to meet his clients’ needs for injury and rehabilitation expenses, and can often secure interim payments to help meet clients’ financial needs. Julian is highly proactive in ensuring cases are progressed, ensuring a timely conclusion.

When not at the office, Julian is a keen cyclist, both on roads and virtually -he will often do an hour of ‘Zwifting’ in the mornings before starting work.

Richard Atherton

Cycling Accident Solicitor

Richard has 12 years of legal experience and qualified as a Solicitor in February 2014. He has been a Team Manager with us since 2019. Throughout his career, Richard has specialised in personal injury, handling an array of Road Traffic Accident cases, in addition to employer and public liability.

Richard prides himself on his very strong strategic and planning skills, which come into their own in complex injury cases where more technical arguments are involved. On every case, he is committed to ensuring that his clients receive full compensation for their injuries.

Away from work, Richard enjoys sport; he is a season ticket holder at St Helens Rugby Club and a Liverpool FC fan. Not only a spectator, Richard also likes going to play golf as often as he can.

Dave Gardner

Litigation Executive

Dave has over 20 years of experience in the legal sector. His specialism is personal injury and he has dealt with hundreds of cycling injury claims during his career. Excellent client care and communication is paramount to Dave. He prides himself on being accessible and available, attending court hearings where damages are in dispute to ensure the best outcome for his clients. One case Dave is particularly proud of is when he supported an elderly client who suffered serious injuries following a road traffic incident. The police had not taken any action against the defendant, so Dave had to be proactive and act within a 24-hour window. The case proceeded and the client was in receipt of £30,000 in damages, which he would not have been entitled to had the client not approached Dave. He is also an avid supporter of Glasgow Rangers and travelled abroad on many occasions to see them play in European competitions.

Gerard Horton

Partner

Gerard is a Senior Solicitor at Cycle SOS. In his 13 years of experience, Gerard has built a national reputation in the catastrophic injury sector, dealing with high value and complex cases. Alongside his legal role, Gerard supports several charities including Headway Central Lancashire, Northwest Regional Spinal Injuries Centre and spinal injury charity, Back Up.

Julia Eyton

Partner

Julia brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the Cycle SOS team.

Specialising in representing those who have had life changing injuries, Julia handles some of the most serious and complex personal injury cases both within Cycle SOS and nationally.

She often works on high value claims and is skilled in winning complex liability cases.

NADIA KERR

Partner

Nadia has over 30 years of legal expertise and has represented hundreds of vulnerable road users. With a focus on ensuring timely rehabilitation, speedy repair or replacement of bikes and kit, and securing fair compensation, Nadia is committed to advocating for justice and client rights. Alongside her legal career, Nadia actively participates in national campaigns to benefit vulnerable road users and acts as a Trustee/Director for the national cycling charity, Cycling UK. Nadia was named in Cycling UK’s ‘100 women’ and was a founding member, now running a women’s cycling group, TeamGlow in South Manchester. Among her many achievements, Nadia takes pride in her spot on BBC Breakfast, where she provided expert commentary on long term government funding for pothole repairs.

Caroline Morris

DIRECTOR OF SERIOUS INJURY

Caroline has specialised in personal injury for over 25 years, recovering more than £56 million in damages during that time, to help clients rebuild their lives after injury.

Caroline is committed to achieving rehabilitation options early, meaning her clients benefits from the best care and treatment at the earliest stage possible.