Change location v

If you’re a cyclist hit by a car, compensation is possible

Getting hit by a car when you are cycling can have devastating effects. In a motor vehicle accident involving a cyclist, the cyclist is almost always injured far worse than anyone else. In addition to personal injury, a cycling accident claim may include pain and suffering damages.

The main goal when pursuing a claim for a bicycling accident involving a motor vehicle is providing the proof of fault and of your injuries and potential other losses. Your accident claim will need to be presented by a car accident lawyer who is familiar with cycling accident scenarios, and who will be able to give you the support you need.

At Gerard Malouf & Partners, we will work hard to get you the cycling accident compensation you deserve.

The claims process

If you are injured in a cycling accident and a motor vehicle was involved, one of the first things you should do is seek legal counsel. The team at Gerard Malouf & Partners can help gather the correct evidence, file the right paperwork for your claim, and pursue compensation for the maximum possible award.

Be aware of time limits involved with filing a cycling accident claim. In general, you have 28 days to report the accident to the police if they were not present at the scene of the bicycle accident, and receive an event number you can use to file your claim with insurers. You have three months from the date of the motor vehicle accident to file a claim for personal injury.

Cycling accident scenarios

You may be the victim of a bike accident if a car driver doesn’t see you and runs into you on the road. Alternately, you could be hit if a car failed to yield correctly at an intersection.

Finally, it’s not uncommon for cycling accidents to occur in bad weather if a motor vehicle accident begins and the cyclist or motorbike operator is caught in the way of an out of control vehicle.

Damages you can claim for a cycling accident

You may have a simple property claim you can submit right away to the car driver’s insurance to help defray the cost of restoring or replacing your bike. Then it’s time to talk to your cycling accident lawyer to discuss your personal injury claim. You may have a claim to recover medical costs for your immediate and ongoing care, lost wages, and pain and suffering caused by the biking accident.

CTP insurance

Compulsory Third Party insurance (CTP) is something all vehicles are required to be covered by in all states within Australia. It was reformed in 2020, and became Motor Accident Injuries Insurance (MAI Insurance).

This provides drivers with cover for any legal liability for injury and death that occurs as a result of an accident for which they are responsible – including injury to or death of other drivers, passengers, pedestrians or cyclists.

MAI ensures that everyone who is injured in a motor vehicle accident, regardless of fault, will be entitled to receive treatment, care and lost income benefits for up to five years. However, changes to “greenslip” insurance don’t take away your rights to pursue compensation for your cycling accident.

How much can I get in cycling accident compensation?

Injuries suffered as a cyclist involved in a motor vehicle accident can vary widely based on who was at fault and how much loss can be proven. In many cases, a car driver will be more than willing to settle, but never accept an offer without talking to your cycling accident attorney. You may be able to get much more by pursuing the claim through court.

A good example is the Sydney cyclist who sustained severe injuries, and was awarded a large payout by a Sydney Judge in the aftermath of her accident involving a motor vehicle.

Our client was cycling down a road in inner Sydney when a motor vehicle travelling in the opposite direction turned right and collided with the cyclist. She sustained a number of painful injuries from the car accident – the most notable being multiple fractures along her spine. She also sustained extensive bruising and grazing to her right elbow and both legs. She was admitted to hospital for a week, during which she underwent surgery to address the multiple fractures to her spine.

Despite the surgery, the cyclist continued to suffer from considerable pain in her spine and required rather heavy medication. Her injuries came to impact many aspects of her life. She was unable to return to work or drive her car for months. She was no longer able to play sports. She was extremely frustrated by her ongoing pain and its pervasive effect on her lifestyle.

She sought the legal advice of Gerard Malouf & Partners car accident lawyers to see if she could be compensated for her injuries. An appointment was arranged with Mr. Vrege (Reg) Kolokossian of Gerard Malouf & Partners who took her through all aspects of what was required to pursue a claim for compensation.

“For the vast majority of our clients, it is very important to take our time to explain all aspects of what work we will be doing and what can be claimed,” Reg said.

Our client took great comfort in the initial conference and the detail and time taken to explain the process to her. She was relieved and happy to instruct our firm to proceed.

We proceeded to prepare the claim form and serve it on the insurer. Although the insurer recognised that our client’s injuries would have a permanent effect on her, they were not prepared to offer a reasonable amount of compensation. Reg refused to accept this and took the matter to court. Reg, our expert team, and the barrister were able to present to the judge all the relevant evidence in support of our client’s claim, to successfully secure our client a substantial amount of compensation in excess of $650,000.

Breakdown of compensation received

As our client’s injuries exceeded the 10% whole person impairment threshold, Reg was able to successfully procure an amount in excess of $200,000 for general damages alone. This amount was twice what the insurer was initially offering to pay.

We were also able to claim a significant amount for future medical expenses in excess of $40,000 when the insurer was only initially offering to pay a mere $15,000. Reg argued that the insurer was not giving weight to all of the potential future medical needs that would arise in the future that the cyclist would not be able to afford with merely $15,000.

Reg was also successful in arguing that the insurer’s offer of $100,000 for future economic loss was nowhere near enough to truly compensate our client for the effects that her permanent disability would have on her employment. The insurer argued that the fact that she returned to her pre-accident role indicated that she did not require much future economic loss compensation.

Our team refuted this and presented to the court that our client should not be denied proper compensation simply because she had persevered through her pain at work to avoid losing her job. The court agreed with Reg and made an order for more than double the insurer’s original offer.

As a result of our team’s perseverance in this matter, our client received over $650,000 to compensate her for her suffering. Our client was extremely grateful to Reg for persevering with her cycle accident compensation claim and securing her a much larger result than the insurer would have paid her otherwise.

Gerard Malouf & Partners is one of the largest, most highly specialised personal injury and will dispute law firms in Australia, winning close to $4 billion in compensation for our successful clients. There would be less than a few law firms in Australia with this enviable record and as a direct consequence, insurance companies take our demands most seriously. We take cases on a no-win, no-fee basis so you can feel confident that we will pursue compensation to the fullest extent possible.

Explore

Our Case Summaries

About Us
Gerard Malouf & Partners have provided friendly, experienced legal advice to communities across Australia for over 35 years. Our Personal Injury Lawyers have taken on ten’s of thousands of cases and we are proud to have won billions of dollars for our clients.
Lawyers
Meet the diverse and dynamic team of compensation lawyers and supporting staff that have made this all happen below. Our multi-lingual team can discuss your claims in Arabic, Assyrian, Turkish, Greek, Italian, French, Serbian, Croatian, Armenian, Mandarin, Hindi, Punjabi or Malayalam.
Resources
Meet the diverse and dynamic team of compensation lawyers and supporting staff that have made this all happen below. Our multi-lingual team can discuss your claims in Arabic, Assyrian, Turkish, Greek, Italian, French, Serbian, Croatian, Armenian, Mandarin, Hindi, Punjabi or Malayalam.

Your location is currently: