Cycling injury victim awarded £55,000 in compensation

Ray was cycling his bike to work one morning when a driver failed to give way at a roundabout and crashed into him, knocking him off his bike.

Ray suffered an injury to his right elbow and wrist as well as breaking his left thumb. His bike was ruined.

“After the accident, my one real concern was my bike and getting it replaced. As a car driver you know you are covered by insurance but for a cyclist there is no way to claim otherwise.

“I came across Digby Brown by chance after looking through websites online. I didn’t know how to go about it so I just picked up the phone and it went from there really.”

Ray’s cycling claim was assigned to personal injury solicitors based in Digby Brown’s Aberdeen office.

“The service was brilliant; I was treated incredibly well. I knew my solicitor had my interests at heart and that he knew what he was doing.”

The impact of the injuries on Ray's employment

Ray is an electronics engineer which can involve working with very small components. Now, with his injuries, he finds that work very difficult to do and he requires help.

Ray’s job is very specialised and his injuries prevent him from carrying out the more intricate hand work. He would find it more difficult to get a similar role elsewhere if he needed to, putting him at a disadvantage in the labour market.

“I’m trying to do some DIY at moment – 3 years on from the accident - and my right wrist is throbbing. I can’t lift things or grip things as well as I used to before the accident. I’ve lost dexterity so turning a screw driver with my left hand is very difficult.“

Developing a fear of cycling on the road

“I haven’t been on a bike since the accident. It was my main way to keep fit before but I can’t grip the handle bars properly now so couldn’t manage rough terrain.

“I now have a genuine fear about going cycling on the road again. Even though I bought a new bike, I haven’t taken it out the box. I don’t know if I ever will to be honest.”

The impact of the injuries on Ray's home life

Ray was unable to help care for his children, dress himself or drive for around three months after the accident. His two favourite hobbies - ten pin bowling and playing snooker/pool - are now impossible.

The insurers made a low offer of £17,500. With Ray’s disadvantage on the labour market and the impact of the accident on his everyday life, our solicitors advised this did not properly compensate him for his losses.

“There were two occasions I could have accepted a far lower offer and I would have been happy but my solicitor encouraged me to ‘see it through’ as he knew the true value of my case.”

Shortly later, they made another offer of £30,000 which was also rejected by Ray after our expert legal advice. In the end, the case settled for over three times the original offer at £55,000.

“Tireless support throughout the claim process”

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your tireless support during my claim and also for helping me through the difficult times when I was at the point of giving up and accepting an offer which you obviously knew was less than it should have been.

“Thanks to Digby Brown I can confidently state that I have received an award which really will change my life and that of my family. The money awarded has gone a long way to compensate me for what happened.”

“My solicitor told me that he would try to make it, as much as possible, as if the accident had never happened or if they can’t truly do that, to get enough money to compensate me.

“I can’t fully rotate my hand or use my left thumb as a result of the cycling injury and that will impact the rest of my life. This money has gone a long way to compensate me for what happened.”