Law4bikers succeed where insurer-appointed firms have failed
Dr J was riding his motorcycle in Bath when he went to overtake a small hatchback. Without indicating the hatchback turned right and collided with our client causing him to sustain spinal injuries. Our client had been through two law firms prior to Withy King. One of the firms was appointed by his insurance company. They advised our client to drop the case as they believed he would not succeed and his insurer was about to do so until we intervened. Dr J then had proceedings issued against him by the car driver which we defended at trial and counterclaimed. The court held that the car driver was 75% to blame for the accident thus meaning that Dr J will receive 75% of his damages when the claim is settled. This highlights the poor advice provided by the insurer appointed panel firm who were not motorcycle law specialists. Dr J would have received nothing had he not believed in himself and contacted law4bikers.
2 cases against bikers dropped thanks to law4bikers
Mr PR, a biker, was being charged with driving at 103 mph in a 60 mph road zone. His licence and job at risk, he contacted law4bikers for advice. We successfully argued that the case against him should be dropped due to unsatisfactory evidence. The case was dropped shortly before trial and the legal costs claimed from the court service.
A biker's claim settled thanks to cross-border alliance
Mr Hopkinson was riding his Z750 motorcycle northbound towards the Kincardine Bridge. Traffic both north and southbound was slow moving. Mr Hopkinson was filtering alongside the slow moving northbound traffic. As he approached the turnoff for Powfowlis Manor, adjacent to the southbound carriageway, Mr Hopkinson joined the flow of northbound traffic ahead of a Ford Transit van. Suddenly, a 4x4 vehicle driven by the defender in Mr Hopkinson’s case, pulled out from the junction at Powfowlis Manor joining the northbound flow of traffic. It was alleged that a vehicle on the southbound carriageway had slowed to allow the defender to exit from the junction. The defender pulled across both lanes of traffic. The only opportunity for Mr Hopkinson to avoid a collision was to lay his motorcycle down. He slid along the road sustaining soft tissue injury. The insurance company for the 4 x 4 driver denied liability in full and then put forward an offer of a liability split holding Mr Hopkinson 80% to blame.
Through his policy of legal expenses insurance, Mr Hopkinson was referred to HBJ Claims Solutions in Glasgow who sent out a pro forma pack. He was also referred to McKeowns in St Albans who took over the handling of his claim. All this was done through his legal expenses insurers. The English firm of solicitors recommended acceptance of the liability split. Mr McKeown contacted Withy King Solicitors who then referred the case to Digby Brown as a result of the cross border strategic alliance between both firms. Upon receiving the papers, Digby Brown we immediately contacted the independent witness who was entirely supportive of Mr Hopkinson’s position. Neither of the legal expenses insurers’ solicitors had contacted the witness. Court proceedings were raised and a final court hearing on evidence was set down for 15th February 2008. On 29th January 2008, the defenders’ solicitors settled Mr Hopkinson’s claim on a full liability basis.
Mr Hopkinson had sustained bruising to his left elbow and hop, right thumb and forefinger. His bruising and stiffness resolved within two weeks and the pain in his finger was expected to resolve four months after the accident. Mr Hopkinson’s claim settled in the sum £2,500.
Good result for a biker despite unhelpful earlier case
Mr F was riding his motorbike on a single carriageway. He overtook a queue of stationary traffic and in so doing drove along the border of a chevroned area. A bus had stopped level with a junction on the left. The bus flashed its lights to signal to the Defendant to come out of the side turning on the left. As the Defendant came out of the side turning on the left with the intention of turning right there was a collision between the Defendant’s car and Mr F’s motorcycle which was overtaking the bus on the border of the chevrons.
According to the evidence Mr F was travelling at a speed between 15 – 30mph. The speed limit was 30mph.
Liability was denied and a month before the settlement of this matter the Solicitors acting on behalf of the Defendant invited us to discontinue acting for Mr F.
We subsequently managed to satisfactorily settle Mr F’s claim on an approximate 50-50 basis. This is a great result following the Court of Appeal case of Farley –v- Buckley 2007, which was very unhelpful to bikers in such circumstances. However, it is a reminder that each case is fact specific and Solicitors should fight hard to achieve justice for bikers.
Criminal Appeal Success for law4bikers
The law4bikers team has won its first Criminal Court Appeal taken on. The client had been convicted of a “S172 failure to furnish” offence. The appeal focused on the Court’s interpretation of the case law to mean that the requisite information must be supplied on the specific form provided. In fact, this interpretation was incorrect. The case law established only that the information could not properly be provided orally. Given that our client had supplied the information in writing attached to the form, the statutory requirements were met and so the appeal was allowed. An order for costs was made and the client was refunded his fine and had the points taken off his licence. Law4bikers is dealing with a number of other criminal appeal, defence and mitigation matters and hopes the success will continue!
Car driver turned right across motorcyclist Mr P’s path
Car driver turned right across Mr P’s path giving him no chance to avoid the car. The car driver was fatally injured. Mr P sustained a brain injury, personality change, flail chest, multiple rib fractures, fractured lumbar vertebrae, fractured wrist and fractured tibia and fibula. We represented Mr P at the inquest into the death of the car driver. Liability was admitted. Mr P went to a specialist residential rehabilitation unit paid for by the motor insurers of the deceased car driver to assist him with his head injury and orthopaedic injuries. Damages were recovered in full for Mr P totalling £205,000. Mr P was able to return to working with the help of the rehabilitation.
A motorist who failed to see a stationary motorbike
Mr C was smashed off his stationary Honda CBR 600 by a motorist who failed to see him. Mr C was a fit man who suffered un-displaced fractures to several lumbar vertebrae. In addition he suffered a mild head injury and neck injury. He was at the time of the accident a fire fighter. The accident accelerated degenerative changes in his spine which would have caused him to stop work in the next 5 years in any event. Surgery was arranged for Mr C paid for by the motorist’s insurers and he was able to retrain and find suitable alternative employment. Damages totalled £125,000 to include an element for the loss of congenial employment, albeit only 5 years early, and to take into account a small loss of pension.
Diesel on road – loss of control
We have acted for dozens of victims of diesel spills. These accidents usually happen on roundabouts or on sharp bends. One such victim sustained a fractured skull, 2 fractured wrists, a partial loss of hearing, taste and smell and scarring. Our client was very fortunate in that he made a remarkable recovery and returned to work. After much dispute as to the evidence of a diesel spill being the cause of the accident, we negotiated a significant 5 figure settlement. We also acted in the first ever fatal diesel spill case submitted to the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB), which admitted liability. We settled this case for £110,000.
Ice on road – loss of control
We acted for a late-middle aged lady when her moped skidded on a patch of ice on the road. She was thrown off her bike and collided with a lamp post. The drains in the road had been blocked causing surface water to accumulate and freeze on the road. The water authority admitted liability. Our client suffered fractures to the spine, ribs and clavicle together with post-concussional syndrome and chronic pain. The claim settled at mediation for approximately £80,000.
Car turning out of side road – claimant’s indicator still on - collision
We acted for a young man who at the time was in her Majesty’s services. He came off on a roundabout but unfortunately kept his left indicator on. The Defendant pulled out of a side road relying on our client’s indicator. We negotiated just a 25% reduction for contributory negligence in a situation that would usually have attracted a higher reduction. Our client sustained significant fractures to his leg which required extensive surgery. The problems were compounded by infection. Our client was medically discharged from his job. The claim settled for approximately £150,000.
Motocross spectator injuries
Our clients were spectators at a motocross meeting organised by the AA Club at the BB track. The family were keen motocross supporters and made sure they were safely positioned behind the safety rope after the flying finish and timing caravan.
At the end of a race, one of the competitors lost control of his motorcycle and skidded down the track, the machine slid into the crowd and struck our clients, breaking the mother's leg and hitting her son in the face, because he was lying on his stomach behind the rope. The clients were very reluctant to sue the club, because they were long time members and supporters, but due to the severity of their injuries a rigorous investigation was undertaken that eventually led to a successful settlement.
Although the club had carried out its own internal inquiry and decided that no blame could attach to the organisers or the competitors we analysed polaroid photographs of the scene, and freeze frames from another spectator's amateur video taken during the race, with technicians at the HTV studios in Bristol and established, on the balance of probabilities, that the organisers had failed to allow sufficient distance between the edge of the track and the spectator rope. The club’s own rule book dictated the minimum specifications for the tracks and by measuring known objects that appeared in the video footage it was possible (by reference to remaining fence post holes in the field) to reconstruct the distances and establish that the spectators had in fact negligently been allowed to stand in an unsafe area. This contributed to the severity of their injuries.
After denying liability throughout, following the issue of court proceedings, the club negotiated a full value settlement, without admission of liability. This settlement shows that the club were forced to concede liability in practice, not because motocross was intrinsically a dangerous sport, but because they failed to follow their own defined safety procedures.
That is why organisers of motor sporting events can be found liable, despite tickets bearing warnings that spectators attend at their own risk, and purporting to exclude liability for personal injuries suffered, if a competitor leaves the circuit. If they have undertaken a risk assessment and mandated a safe distance between the track and the spectator enclosure, or a particular height or thickness of protective fence, and then failed to observe their own standards, successful claims can and will be brought with the help of experienced solicitors.
Professional Negligence – Solicitors giving wrong advice
One such claim involved our client, a student lawyer, who lost control of his motorcycle on a large diesel spill in London. As a result he sustained severe head injuries and was in a coma for 3 weeks. It took him more than 10 years to return to law due to cognitive deficits but he eventually made it. His lawyers failed to advise him of his right to claim compensation from the MIB and the time for doing so had expired. The claim resulted in damages and costs of more than £1million. We have since acted in other cases of failing to advise clients about the MIB and have succeeded in all of them.
Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA)
We act for the motorcyclist who was knocked off his vehicle sustaining serious injuries after he was involved in a collision with a boy playing “chicken” on a dual carriageway. Our client had been to see 6 law firms prior to us, all of whom told him that there was no hope of compensation. We considered the claim carefully and advised an application to the CICA which compensates victims of violent crimes, which we argue the boys actions amounted to. Tragically, the boy died as a result of his injuries. This is the first such case ever to be submitted to CICA, which has now admitted liability and we are currently quantifying the claim.
Criminal Defence – “Youtube” biker
We were contacted by the gentleman pursued by the police and the national media as a result of him having been accused of riding at more than 100mph on a Yamaha R1 whilst filming the events before posting the footage on the internet video site YouTube. We immediately posted a statement on our client’s front door to ease the media pressure and called into question the methods used by the police and the evidence that they had. The case against our client was not pursued.
