Compensation awards for injuries are valued on the extent of pain and suffering you have experienced, or may permanently experience. But they also include an appreciation of how your symptoms have affected your life.

For many motorcyclists, biking is their passion. And so, if your injuries have affected your enjoyment of riding your motorbike – physically or psychologically – this should also be reflected in your compensation claim.

In addition, a motorbike accident will almost certainly cause you to incur other losses. These could include damage to your motorbike itself, your leathers, helmet, and other damaged items.

As a general rule, losses can be included in your claim if they were caused by the accident, or as a consequence of your injuries. Some other common categories of loss include:

• Travel expenses – such as taxi fares or mileage.
• Medical expenses and treatment costs – such as physiotherapy or the costs of a wheelchair.
• Lost earnings – such as reductions in your normal income or lost bonuses.
• Care and assistance – whether provided by professionals, friends, or family.

Besides losses you have already incurred, you can claim for losses which you are likely to suffer in the future. For example, these could be future treatment costs or any future disadvantage your injuries may cause if you are required to find a new job.

Personal injury claims have time limits applied to them by law.

In general, if 3 years have passed from the date of the accident – and court proceedings have not been started – you will no longer be able to claim compensation for the accident.

There are some exceptions to this, however, and in some situations extra time may be granted by a court.

If you have been involved in a motorbike accident and you are concerned about these time limits, contact us right away to discuss your situation.

Funding a personal injury claim can often be a worry, which is why Truth Legal tries to help people on a ‘No Win, No Fee’ basis wherever possible. Where the accident was not your fault, we can usually offer a No Win No Fee Agreement.

We will always explain funding arrangements before your claim begins. You can read more about No Win No Fee Agreements here or you can look at the various methods of funding which may be possible for a personal injury claim.

Compensation claims are intended to ‘undo’ the negative effects of the harm you have suffered. After a motorbike accident, this harm will often be your injuries and any other losses you have incurred because of the accident.

Whilst money cannot reverse all of the effects of an accident, claiming personal injury compensation can bring many benefits. These include:

• Helping to counter financial worries – An accident can affect many aspects of your life, including your income. This can cause significant financial worries which a compensation claim can help to alleviate. In certain circumstances, compensation can be obtained whilst your claim is ongoing through ‘interim payments’.
• Assisting recovery by allowing quicker access to treatment – Quick access to treatment can make a big difference to your recovery. However, often the fastest way to obtain treatment is to pay for it privately, and doing so yourself may be difficult. When making a claim, funding can frequently be arranged through a medical agency or from the other party’s insurance company, allowing you to access treatment quickly without the financial burden.
• Providing some measure of redress – if you have been injured in an accident that fact, sadly, cannot be changed, whether you claim compensation or not. However, if you do not claim, none of the harm you have suffered will be redressed – whereas bringing a claim offers you the opportunity to be compensated.
• Recovering money to which you are entitled – If you can establish your claim successfully then you are legally entitled to be compensated for your losses.