A man has been awarded £6,000 compensation with help from JMW after he was injured after being knocked off his bicycle by a car.

The Accident

Twenty-four-year-old LS was riding his bicycle along a residential street in the opposite direction to a car driver.  The car pulled out across the road to make a right-hand turn, directly into the path of LS, who was knocked off his bike as a result of the manoeuvre.

The accident was witnessed by three people who stated that LS was unconscious for about two minutes and was taken to hospital in an ambulance.

Diagnosis

LS was diagnosed with a broken left wrist and needed an operation to put in a metal plate.  He had soft tissue injuries to his back and felt a bit dazed for a few days from the knock to his head.

The Claim Process

LS contacted JMW four days after the accident and his lawyer started his claim process straight away. The lawyer contacted the car driver’s insurers who initially tried to say that LS was partially to blame because he was wearing dark clothing, did not have lights on his bike and was not wearing a helmet.  They offered settlement on a 50/50 basis which means only giving him half of the value of his claim. However LS’s lawyer pointed out that the accident took place on a mid-summer evening when it was light, a fact that was supported by the witnesses, plus the main injury was to his wrist which was not affected by him not wearing a helmet.

Compensation

LS told his lawyer that he would be happy to accept £1,500 but his JMW lawyer advised LS that the valuation of the claim for his injuries was between £3,750 and £4,250, a figure that did not include the damage to his bicycle or the loss of earnings he had suffered as a result of the accident. 

Following numerous offers of settlement and much negotiation LS’s lawyer secured a settlement of £6,000 for him which was far more than he had expected.

The Claims Process