Life-changing Injuries – Focus on Cyclists

You may have recently come across in the news the case of Mr David Jones, 31 who was killed in Bridgend in May 2020 following a cycling incident. 

David Jones’ Cycling Accident – Case Background

Mr Jones, father of two, was cycling in Bridgend and sadly met his untimely death as a result of a driver who failed to brake or swerve before the fatal crash. The case made national headlines as the driver was given just a nine-month suspended sentence for causing Mr Jones’ death by careless driving.  

Charity Cycling UK said the driver should have been convicted of causing death by dangerous driving rather than careless driving and called it symptomatic of UK’s “broken road traffic laws”.  

Cycling accidents have consistently raised the question of the lack of safety for cyclists in the UK.  There has been a big increase in cycling following Covid-19 however unfortunately there has also been an increase in cycling accidents in particular in London.  

This is further highlighted by the TV presenter Dan Walker’s accident which occurred recently when he was knocked off his cycle at a roundabout.  

Life-Changing Injuries Sustained After a Cycling Accident

Cyclists are among some of the most vulnerable road users, and every year thousands of cyclists sustain life-changing injuries on UK roads, as some of these accidents have a long-lasting and devastating impact on the injured person and their families. 

It is important to understand that all road users owe each other a duty of care to keep each other safe on the roads. This means that they should use the road safely and pay attention to others around them. Most individuals believe that this only applies to motor vehicles, however, cyclists do have a right to be safe on the roads and are owed a duty of care by other road users which can avoid life-changing injuries from occurring in the first place.  

Life-Changing Injury in a Cycling Accident and Rehabilitation

If you have had a crash or sustained severe injuries in a cycling accident that wasn’t your fault, you may be able to bring a claim. However, who you can bring an injury compensation claim against is not always straightforward. 

For example, you may have sustained a personal injury due to poor road conditions (in which case you may be able to instigate a personal injury compensation claim against the local council), or you may have been involved in a traffic accident (in which case your solicitor may be able to instigate a claim against the driver of the vehicle responsible for the crash).  

In any event, cyclists who have sustained life-changing injuries after such a bicycle accident often require extensive rehabilitation. Life-changing injuries can have obvious consequences on the injured person and their families which may leave them vulnerable, and in need of financial aid not to mention that the injured person may require extensive help which may not be available for example on the NHS.  

Such rehabilitation can be obtained privately at the other party’s expense if there is scope that your personal injury was caused wholly or partly by their negligence at the time of the cycle accident.  

Making a Compensation Claim After Life-Changing Injuries

Those who suffer from life-changing injuries are usually left with long-term damaging effects either in the form of physical or psychological injuries, and sometimes both.  

Our award-winning specialist Injury and Medical Claims team understands these factors and have over many years assisted clients in cycling accidents involving life-changing injuries by ensuring that we put the client’s needs at the centre of the process. 

This means that their individual needs are met and the family concerns are heard but equally at the same time we fight hard to bring justice to this vulnerable group of road users.