Cyclist suffers extensive injuries after collision with HGV

The incident  

Our client, a cyclist, had been cycling along a main road when a HGV driver collided into the rear of him, resulting in him going over the handlebars of his bike and colliding with a parked car. Our client remained conscious and was attended to by a member of the cycle club that he is a part of. He was moved off the road and an ambulance was called, where he remained waiting for the paramedics to arrive.  

The aftermath 

Our client suffered extensive personal injuries and had to remain in hospital for a total of 7 days. He was X-rayed and given regular physical assessments to assess the level of his injuries. Due to the impact of the collision, he sustained a fracture to his left shoulder, with a possible rotator cuff injury, 5 broken ribs, puncture to his left lung and a soft tissue injury to the head, which had to be treated with staple clips. He was also fitted with a chest drain to remove a build-up of fluid on the lung. He was then moved on to the ward and kept under observation until he was discharged. 

Once out of hospital our client tried to piece his new life together, but due to ongoing pain, had to attend his GP again and was referred for an MRI scan and further checks at the hospital. Once he had been assessed by the Musculoskeletal (Physiotherapy) Services, he was advised that he had suffered a partial dislocation of his shoulder and would need to attend physiotherapy sessions. 

The case 

This case was handled and settled by Solicitor Dave Gardner.  Before taking on the claim it was imperative we got as much information from our client as possible to help understand how the incident had occurred and who was at fault. We requested possible images that were taken at the scene and a sketch of the accident so we could help establish who had been at fault.   

Our client was also sent out for medical examinations with both a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon and Consultant Cardiologist. The reports helped assess the level of damages we would be seeking and helped put a relevant time frame on when to expect our clients’ injuries to heal and what his future prospects would be. 

A claim form was sent to the defendants via the portal in April 2023 and the claim was accepted right away.  

Luckily liability was admitted by the defendants which meant that they were willing to pay any losses that were proven to be a foreseeable consequence of the accident. This also ensured that they would arrange and pay for any physio treatment on a private basis, should our client need and request this. 

The case outcome 

A timely offer was made by Fletchers, and eventually the counteroffer was accepted by us on behalf of the client. The claim was settled for £18,044 – a figure that was within the range we wanted – so it was a successful outcome for our client.  

Our client was happy with the result and was able to fund any necessary treatment and items he needed to assist him in his journey towards healing. It was important to secure the best result, as he was advised in his medical report that his ‘shoulder issues’ would most likely be permanent.