Thomas came to Cycle Law Scotland in August 2019 after suffering injuries following a collision between his A2B Hybrid electric bike and an off-road motorbike on the Kelvin Walkway cycle path in Glasgow.

Thomas cycled this route often. The path has two lanes and so there is plenty of space for two cyclists to pass one another.

At the time of the incident, Thomas was cycling on a straight section of the cycle path when he noticed an off-road motorcycle travelling towards him at approximately 30-40mph in the middle of the path. As soon as he noticed the motorcyclist, he slowed down but unfortunately the motorcyclist did not slow down nor change direction and a collision occurred.

Thomas found himself lying on the ground with injures to his head and left leg. He lost his glasses in the collision but was able to make out a group of people gathering around the motorcyclist who had also been knocked from his bike. An ambulance was called and both the group and the motorcyclist left the scene.

A passing jogger later found Thomas still lying on the ground and helped him to his feet and towards the ambulance which was positioned on Dalsholm Road. By this point, the Police had arrived and a couple of them set off in pursuit of the motorcyclist and his friends who had taken off in the opposite direction.

Thomas was taken to Glasgow Royal Infirmary where he had a CT scan and x-rays, confirming that he had not sustained any fractures or broken bones. However, he did have injuries to his shoulder, back and several soft tissue injuries in addition to the permanent damage to his electric bicycle and phone.

Given that the motorcyclist had disappeared following the collision without talking to Thomas, we did not have any personal details in order to pursue a compensation claim. It also transpired that the motorbike rider had been uninsured which raised the question as to which Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB) agreement the claim would be processed under – the uninsured driver or untraced driver agreement. It took one year for the MIB to agree to investigate the claim under the uninsured driver’s agreement. They usually deal with incidents involving motor vehicles on the road and not incidents which occur on cycle paths.

Cycle Law Scotland were always of the view that this case should come under the uninsured driver’s agreement as the off-road motorbike should have had insurance and that took precedence over the fact the rider could not initially be traced. The process was also lengthened as the claim first had to filter through Police Scotland and the Procurator Fiscal who eventually charged the individual with driving an uninsured vehicle.

CLS pressed on with Thomas’s claim and gained a satisfactory settlement which allowed him to return to life as it was before the incident.

Thomas was delighted with the help he had received from us, saying:

“I can highly recommend CLS with the way they handled my case right from the outset. Their expertise, reputation and professionalism were much needed and welcomed by me as this was the first time (and hopefully last) that I have had to navigate the cycle accident/claims arena. Thank you CLS.”