Cycle accident victim recovers £40,000 compensation
We recently represented a young man from north Cornwall who sustained multiple injuries in a cycle accident.
He was out on his bike when a car driver visiting from Germany pulled out of a side road directly into his path. Our client had no chance of avoiding a collision. He crashed into her car, smashing through the back window. He was knocked out despite his helmet and had no real memory of the accident.
He was taken to North Devon District Hospital in Barnstaple by ambulance. He suffered fractured ribs and vertebrae. His collarbone was badly broken and he had numerous cuts and bruises to his body. He also had a head injury and a bleed into his lung.
We agreed to deal with his cycle accident claim on a No Win, No Fee basis.
We traced the German driver via the police and made contact with her insurance company’s UK representative.
Fortunately the insurer admitted liability for the cycle accident quickly and agreed that he was entitled to compensation. This admission meant we were able to concentrate on getting our client the treatment he needed to get his life back on track. This included both physiotherapy and counselling.
We arranged for him to be examined by an independent orthopaedic consultant. Unfortunately our client’s collarbone did not heal as it should and further surgery was required. We therefore obtained an ‘interim payment’ from the insurance company, in advance of his compensation.
We also arranged for him to be examined by a thoracic surgeon to report on his chest injury, and a psychiatrist for a report about the mental impact of the accident and subsequent immobility.
In addition, we arranged for our client to be seen by a plastic surgeon who was able to recommend treatment to improve the appearance of his surgical scars which was causing him distress as people commented on them.
We gathered evidence of his financial losses, including lost earnings from his time off work and damage to his bike and cycling equipment. As he was immobilised following the accident and his subsequent collarbone surgery he needed care from his partner and we were able to make a claim for the value of the care she provided him.
Once all the evidence was in place an offer of settlement was then put forward to the insurance company. After a short period of negotiation our client accepted an offer to settle his cycle accident claim for over £40,000.
