Hit by a car while walking or cycling

You do not need insurance of your own

This is the misconception that stops more of these claims than anything else. People assume that because they do not own a car, do not hold a policy and may not even hold a licence, there is nothing to claim against. It is the wrong way round.

Compulsory third party insurance attaches to the vehicle’s registration and covers injury to any person caused by that vehicle. A pedestrian, a cyclist, a child, somebody on a mobility scooter — all of them are “any person”. The driver’s cover is what you claim on.

If the driver did not stop, you are still covered

Every state and territory runs a nominal defendant scheme, or an equivalent, that stands in the place of an unidentified or uninsured vehicle. A hit and run does not leave you with nothing.

These claims come with an extra requirement: you generally have to show that proper inquiry and search was made to identify the vehicle. That is what a police report, canvassing for CCTV, and asking witnesses on the day are for. Some states also apply shorter deadlines to these claims than to ordinary ones, and in at least one the outer limit cannot be extended at all.

Report it to police

For a driver this is sometimes optional. For a pedestrian or cyclist it is usually the difference between a straightforward claim and a difficult one. You have no vehicle damage, often no independent record that the collision happened at all, and frequently no exchange of details because you were on the ground.

The police report is the objective record that it occurred, when, and where. Get the event or report number and keep it.

Claim for what was damaged, not just for the injury

A cyclist knocked off a bike usually loses a great deal more than most people put on a claim form. All of it is property damaged in the accident.

• The bicycle itself, including wheels, frame and groupset — carbon damage is frequently invisible and a frame that has been hit should be assessed rather than eyeballed.
• Helmet, which must be replaced after any impact.
• Clothing, shoes, eyewear and gloves.
• Phone, watch, computer, lights and camera.
• The cost of getting home, and of getting to appointments afterwards.

Photograph all of it before anything is thrown away or repaired, and keep the damaged items if you can.

Get checked, and say it was a motor vehicle

Be seen the same day if you can. Pedestrians and cyclists absorb the impact with their bodies rather than through a car’s structure, and injuries that seem minor at the roadside routinely turn out not to be.

Make sure the medical record says the injury was caused by a motor vehicle accident and gives the date. Schemes run on that record, and a note that says only "fall from bicycle" creates work for you later that a single accurate sentence would have avoided.

These claims are worth more than people expect

Pedestrian and cyclist injuries are, on average, more serious than the injuries of people inside vehicles, and the claims reflect that. People routinely settle early and low because they did not think they had a claim at all, and anything offered feels like a windfall.

Get advice before agreeing to anything, particularly if you have been off work, if you are still receiving treatment, or if anybody has put a figure in front of you in the first few weeks.

Children

A child hit while walking or cycling is claimed for by a parent or guardian on their behalf. Two things are worth knowing. The deadlines for children work differently from those for adults, and they work differently again in each state — the common belief that everything simply waits until they turn eighteen is not reliable, and in New South Wales it is close to the opposite of the rule.

And the mandatory contributory negligence findings that apply to adults in some states expressly do not apply to minors. Notify now and take advice on the timing rather than working from what you have been told.