The MCM legal column is compiled by managing partner Andrew ‘Chef’ Prendergast and his bike-riding barristers and solicitors at White Dalton Motorcycle Solicitors.
The firm deals with personal injury claims and its sister company, Motor Defence Solicitors, deals with all the motoring offences.
White Dalton lawyers have a vast knowledge of bike law, and they have full bike licences, too. They don’t act for insurance companies or the prosecution.
White Dalton is Britain’s premier specialist motorcycle law practice, and if its professionals don’t know the answer to your question, there probably isn’t one. Don’t rely on the advice from your insurance appointed solicitor, get proper independent advice.
Missed medical appointments
06 Aug 2015
Some silly old bint knocked me off my R6 after she drove onto the wrong side of the road. Liability was admitted. I hurt my neck and fractured my ankle. Her insurer agreed to pay for some physiotherapy but then I forgot to go twice and they cancelled it.
Crash & Burn
30 Jul 2015
This is random and I wonder if I am the most unlucky biker in the world! I am a courier in London and was riding my old rat of a CX500. As usual traffic was rammed so I was filtering but as I passed an HGV the driver dropped a lit fag out of the […]
Failed bike repayments
02 Jul 2015
I bought a brand spanking new Ducati Panigale 1299 a couple of months ago ready for the summer. I couldn’t wait to go and do some track days. A week later I got wiped out by some snotty nosed teenager in his mum’s Nissan Mica.
Dealer woes
25 Jun 2015
I got a new scooter about six months ago but I have had nothing but grief with it.
Fireblade Track Day
18 Jun 2015
I’ve trashed my new Fireblade and bust my arm after I fell off on a track day; I lost the front-end after I tried to overtake the instructor on a bend.
Hit by a bus
27 May 2015
Last November my Yamaha R6 was knocked over by a bus driver while it was parked. He admitted doing it, and his insurance company paid for it to be repaired by a shop it recommended.
Speeding on a provisional
16 Apr 2015
My wife insured me to ride her old Kawasaki ZZR600, but I recently got clocked for speeding, doing 35mph in a 30mph limit.
Motorway madness
09 Apr 2015
I have commuted into London every day for the last five years on my Honda Blackbird.
Bike too big for my house
02 Apr 2015
I have been biking for many years, and decided to treat myself to a new Triumph Explorer with all the gear on it – the side boxes, racks, engine bars… the full works.
Broken Brakes
26 Mar 2015
I have a Honda CBR600F, but I’m not that mechanically minded. I have been using my local dealer for years to service the bike, and I’ve always found that he does a really great job.
Stag Do Trials
19 Mar 2015
My brother was getting married and I arranged his stag do in Wales. The plan was a day out at an off-road motorbike school, and then a night out on the beer.
Poodling Around Town
12 Mar 2015
I have a few bikes, but I use a classic Vespa scooter to pootle – or poodle – to work on. The word is fairly apt because it was actually a poodle which ran out in front of me, knocking me off my bike.
Do I cancel my policy?
08 Jan 2015
I sold my bike to a mate who happens to be old bill. He told me if I don’t tell my insurer I have sold the bike it’s fraud. I don’t really want to tell them as there will be a cancellation fee of £30, and the policy only runs for another two months.
Speeding with a foreign licence
01 Jan 2015
I live and work in England but have a French motorcycle licence. I was caught speeding to work on my MT-09 the other morning; as it was early and no one was around, I was caning it and got clocked doing 98mph in a 30mph zone.
Clause for concern
18 Dec 2014
I got bashed off by an ambulance. Ironic as I’m a policeman. The ambulance service admitted liability and I have just been offered £100,000 to settle my claim.
Reasonable Hire Bike
11 Dec 2014
I was bimbling to work last week on my battered old scooter worth about £300 (I save the Harley for the weekends and the car when it’s raining!) when some silly old sod pulled out and knocked me off. No real harm done, and I didn’t get hurt thankfully.
Up the creek without a paddle?
13 Nov 2014
I bought a second-hand sportbike off a mate for some summer fun. It was mint. The dealer round the corner serviced it and told me the manufacturer had put out a recall for the front brake. I gave them the go-ahead and they changed the master cylinder on the handlebars.
Failing to fess up
06 Nov 2014
I’d been out ragging around the Lake District with some mates – we had been flying if I’m honest as it was pretty quiet. A week later the dreaded Notice of Intended Prosecution landed on my doorstep. 85mph in a 60mph limit.
