The old boy and I swapped details, and he agreed it was his fault. I reported it to my insurer but since then I have had the ‘panel solicitor’ on the phone telling me I can claim for personal injury, and a bucket load of texts telling me there’s two grand waiting for me.
I have also had a bike hire company telling me I can have a brand new free hire motorcycle to use while my old scooter is taken off to be repaired, and the other side will pay for it. Do I have to claim against the old boy, and what’s the score with the hire bike?
Answer
The personal injury law world is a murky pond and there are a shed-load of leeches only too happy to suck some blood. Bluntly, if you haven’t hurt yourself you shouldn’t be claiming for personal injury… simple as that If anyone else tells you otherwise they either don’t know what they are talking about, or they are dodgy. Stay well clear.
Also, as a point of note a lot of ‘panel solicitors’ are owned by insurers nowadays, so if you make a claim the law firm/insurer earns money from the legal fees.
As for a hire bike, in a lot of circumstances it is reasonable to have one. However, the keyword there is ‘reasonable’. As you have a car and another bike a court is likely to find you were unreasonable in having a hire. In this situation, you could end up having to pay it personally, depending on what paperwork you have signed.
Andrew Prendergast
Motorcycle Monthly November 2014
