People rarely want to accept liability in a motor accident, even though they could be responsible for seriously hurting someone. This is no truer than in motorcycle accidents. Some car drivers will put their no-claims bonus above any consideration for an injured or even a dead motorcyclist.
As road traffic accidents, the principles generally applied to all vehicle accidents are applied to motorcycle accidents. However, the application of broad principles by someone who does not know what they are doing, can lead to negotiated settlements apportioning much greater liability to the motorcyclist than is justified, or likely to occur, if the case goes to Court.
Responsibility for an accident, referred to as "liability", is rarely clean cut. It can often boil down more to what you can prove and how good your solicitor is, than what actually happened. Motorcyclists are less likely to have witnesses, usually because they are the one lying in the road unable to move and any passenger may not have been able to see further than the rider, and may come up against prejudices within the system.
Statistics confirm that in two out of three collisions between cars and motorcycles, car drivers are at fault. This does not unfortunately prevent many drivers regarding motorcyclists as the party at fault.
Regardless of whether the car driver was fully or only partly to blame, you can still claim compensation from them or their insurer. The liability percentage split varies with each case, ranging from 0% to 100%. Insurers and their lawyers have occasionally been known to be selective in the law they put forward and weak solicitors have been known to crumble in the face of this. We never settle liability without giving you full advice first and discussing the matter with you. Once we have advised you, if the other side will not come up to the level appropriate, we are believe it is best to go to Court. We pride ourselves on being pro-active, positive and professional.
Less specialist solicitors will sometimes advise clients to accept more responsibility than they should, or even advise them there is no case at all. Additionally, they have been known to claim against completely the wrong person. Over the years we have taken over a large number of cases that have either been heading nowhere, or in completely the wrong direction. So if you are thinking of changing solicitors, why not give us a call to see if we can help you.
Some solicitors are not keen to take on cases where liability is difficult to prove, such as in the areas shown below. At Routh Clarke we know the best ways to seek the evidence needed to help your case. So if your insurer has told you to accept higher liability than you want, or that solicitors will not take on your case, why not contact us and see it we can help you.
We are experienced trial lawyers who are used to dealing with all levels of motorcycle claims in all types of situations. We could be shy about our experience, but as motorcyclists ourselves, we get frustrated seeing the poor service motorcyclists sometimes receive in the open market. Nick Routh has been riding a motorbike for nearly 25 years and was encouraged by his father, who was in the Royal Marines Motorcycle Display team. His experience in motorcycle accident claims is second to none, particularly in the more difficult areas shown above. If you would like to speak to a solicitor who speaks your language and who truly understands motorbikes and motorcycle accidents, then call Nick Routh today for a no obligation chat about your case.