The Collision Circumstances

Alan was knocked off his bicycle on 24 July 2017. He was on his way to work when a car driver, who had been parked on Easter Road in Edinburgh just pulled straight out in front of him without looking.

Alan was catapulted off his bike and landed heavily breaking his nose and injuring both legs. Interestingly, Alan was wearing a helmet, but it still did not protect his nose when he was knocked to the ground.

Cycling Injuries

Over a period of time, his injuries healed but Alan was unable to return to cycling. He felt anxious and just couldn’t return to his regular commute by bike. It’s quite common for those involved in collisions to feel anxious but when the anxiety impacts on their day to day activities, help is required. Realising that Alan was possibly suffering psychological trauma, we put the driver’s insurers on notice that further medical investigations had to be completed before we could place a value on Alan’s case.

Insurer tries to settle the claim

Despite this, the insurers released a cheque in an attempt to force Alan into settling his claim prematurely. We returned the cheque to the insurers on two occasions and explained the position to them in some detail, but they still refused to acknowledge the full impact of the incident on Alan. A stalemate was reached and so the only way ahead was to raise a court action. 

Court Action is raised

Once raised in Court, matters were settled swiftly taking into account the physical and psychological trauma. By raising a Court action, we were able to secure a payment for Alan that was almost double what the insurers had offered beforehand. The damages Alan received were fair and reasonable given the injuries he had sustained.

Bully boy tactics were not successful

This case highlights the ‘bully-boy’ tactics that can sometimes be used by a small proportion of insurers and why it is important to instruct a specialist solicitor. We understand the importance that cycling plays in our clients’ lives and the emotional trauma road traffic collisions can have. We will never compromise our clients claim to secure quick settlement and will always be ready to fight our clients’ corner.

Alan was delighted with the settlement. Thankfully, he has now returned to cycling after receipt of much needed counselling.