Cyclist wins compensation
It has been revealed that a cyclist has been awarded £2,000 compensation from an accident claim he filed due to a road accident.
The incident took place two years ago and the victim suffered severe personal injuries after he slipped on his bike due to an oil spill.
He suffered shoulder, arm, knee and hip injuries after sliding on an oil spillage near the junction on Delph Lane, near Garstang, Lancashire in June 2007.
To begin with, the biker’s first accident claim was rejected by the Highway Authority and Motor Insurance Bureau (MIB), because the accident had not been reported to the police and liability for the spillage had not been proven.
However, a witness to the accident informed the victim that the oil spillage had been caused by a farmer who had attempted to cover the spill with sand.
The victim commented on his ordeal: “It took weeks for the grazing to heal and several months for the bruising on my shoulder and hip to recover, but I continued to feel a muscular ache on my right hip for sometime after the accident.”
Therefore, the victim’s personal injury lawyer, Paul MacBeth, took on the case and won compensation.
He stated: “His case was brought forward under the 2003 Untraced Drivers Agreement and his application was initially refused. He successfully appealed as, upon closer inspection of the evidence, the untraced driver was found to be negligent.”
He furthered: “The payout in the case accounts not only for the injury caused by the accident itself but also the stress and problems that arose subsequently.”
As a result, bike safety groups such as CTC, have urged cyclists to take action to help decrease the chance of further similar accidents, by reporting poor road conditions.
Campaigns coordinator Debra Rolfe said: “It is really important for the safety of cyclists and other road users that the condition of the road is safe. That is why we urge all cyclists and motorists to report road defects like oil spillages and potholes on our website. The site automatically notifies the council or the Highways Agency so that they can fix the problem before someone gets hurt.”
Cycle insurance
In similar news, shocking results have shown that 98% of cyclists do not have adequate bike cover.
A bike insurance company, which held the study, stated that around five million regular bikers may be putting themselves in danger because they do not have basic third party cover.
In addition to this, bicycle sales in the UK have increased by 20% on an annual basis in June, therefore there are fears that accidents could increase.
Andrew Davis, from the group said: “It's risky for a cyclist to assume that their household insurance policy will cover road traffic collisions, as many do not.
“Third party insurance is compulsory for motorists, but we know of only two per cent of regular cyclists who have insurance that would pay out if they caused damage to a person or property.”
James Pickering, Managing Director of online bicycle insurer commented: “Most cyclists don't give third-party insurance any thought. Cycling is safe and healthy, but it's dangerous to ignore the threat of legal action in the event of an accident. Although some household insurance policies offer a degree of third-party cover, many exclude road traffic accidents.”
Updated on 9/9/2009