A successful claim for compensation consists of convincing the court of two separate factors. The first factor is that you were involved in an accident, and that the accident in question was caused by the negligence of a third party. The second factor is that you’ve suffered injuries as the result of this accident.
In order to convince a court of the truth of both of these claims, your personal injury solicitor will set about building as full and complete a picture of what happened as possible. This will be made significantly easier if you report the incident to the police at the earliest possible opportunity, since this immediately creates an official written record of your side of what happened. Although the blame for the accident may seem obvious to you, the other party or parties involved may disagree, meaning it is up to you and your representative to convince the court that you’re telling the truth.
The Citizens Advice Bureau offers advice on what to do after an accident, and amongst the steps they recommend is contacting the police promptly. As well as speaking to the police you should seek medical help as soon as you can for two very good reasons. The first is that you may well be in need of treatment to minimise the effect of any injuries, and the second is that the medical report will form another part of the case you present to the court.
As someone who rides a motorbike you may also have to fight against a degree of prejudice, and the assumption that motorcyclists tend to be more reckless. Going through all the official channels and building the strongest possible case will alleviate this tendency and make it far more likely that you’re awarded the compensation you should get.
