pedestrian causes cyclist serious injuries – can I sue?

Ok so technically more road bike related but i am a mountain biker at heard

I’ve just spent the weekend in hospital haveing my face rebuilt with metalwork…

On friday night whilst cycling home through central london, i got to the junction at the top of the strand and had positioned my bike out ahead of the traffic and was primed to make a quick getaway down the strand staying clear of the buses I was leaving behind. When the light changed I accelerated away hard and crossed the junction (a good 80 metres) in the idle of the traffic lane. At the top of the strand a pedestrian ran accross the road whilst staring down at his phone directly into my path. I hit him! I had plenty of lights and a helmet on.

We were both transported by ambulance to St Thomas’ for head injuries, i was later transferred to King College Hospital where I have undergone some surgery to repair my jaw which was fractured in several places. I’ve lost feeling in my face which may or may not be permanent. My teeth no longer engage so more surgery may be required which risks giving me permanent facial or weakness (similar to stroke victims) or face eating through a straw forever.

Quite upsetting to me is the fact that I will be eating through a straw for my upcoming wedding.

Can I sue? Is there anyone to sue? the police have his details but would they release them to anyone?

Does that not count as an RTA, in which case you can get his details for an insurance claim?

They may have cover included in their household insurance. Be pretty hard to prove without independent witnesses though. Even from your side of the story it does sound completely clear cut.

When the light changed I accelerated away hard and crossed the junction (a good 80 metres) in the idle of the traffic lane. At the top of the strand a pedestrian ran accross the road whilst staring down at his phone directly into my path. I hit him! I had plenty of lights and a helmet on.

50:50 at best. You seemed able to see what he was doing but not control your bike enough to avoid him. I’d be surprised if he doesnt sue you to be honest.

Nearby CCTV?

Not wishing to sound negative, you want to make sure they don’t throw it back at you for some sort of cycling in a dangerous manner. They could claim that they didn’t see your lights against the background lights of the other traffic behind you.

So the pedestrian runs into road in front of cyclist without looking? Well clear of a junction too which should take away ambiguity. Sounds pretty clear cut to me.

Edit: obviously witnesses will help

If you have BCF or LCC membership or anything similar, start there. Otherwise legal helpline with home
insurance.

Wanmankylung how do you make it 50:50?

In Goddard & Walker v Greenwood [2003] RTR 10, the CA found a pedestrian liable for 80% of his injuries for crossing with the lights against them. The CA said that the fact that the lights were green (in the car driver’s favour) was not an absolute use of reasonable care – in other words, just because the crossing lights are green does not obviate the need to keep a close look out.

There’s plenty of case law, the quote above being one of them.

I suggest you see a professional.

Wanmankylung how do you make it 50:50?

Accelerating away hard is never the safest thing to do. In this case it prevented the rider from taking effective evasive action. Just saying it like a lot of others would. Personally I hope the OP takes them to court wins a fortune and gets a load of publicity which ends in folk taking their heads out of their arses – wont happen though.

There should be nearby cctv, he ran out leaving me very little time to re-act.

This is a sweeping guess but he didn’t seem like the kind of person that would own a house and therefore house insurance.

Who knows what problems you may have in the future.

I’m sure he didn’t mean to do it, but it very much sounds his fault and you are going to have a good few tough months in front of you.

I would definitely contact lawyer specialising in these sort of things.

Yes. A mate ran over a women on his motorbike and hospitilised her. He successfully sued her for several grand in damages.

I’m sure he didn’t mean to do it either, he did the classic listening for traffic

Try not to get too wound up over the legalities for now, plenty of time for that once you have mended and the extent of the injuries are apparent. It could just turn into extra stress/anguish when you should really be looking forwards to your wedding.

(Plus, you need to imagine what the CCTV shows…if it looks like you cross the junction with your head down trying to race the traffic, it could result in him suing you – not that it matters if you have some sort of insurance)

Can I sue? Is there anyone to sue?

I’d hope so. In your position I’d be trying to get some sound advice as well as the internet opinion.

No help to you now but one reason I joined the CTC was in case I found myself needing legal advice.

I think you may struggle to apportion blame from your description. The way that sounds you crossed the stop line on red, and accelerated hard, presumably much harder than the motorised traffic behind or they’d have hit you and the ped too. If he gets legal representation expect them to identify every technical issue with your bike (pedal reflectors, non BS lights) and to criticise your actions – it’s hard to imagine that nothing you did contributed at all.

Even if you prove the fault was his, what chance do you think you have of ever seeing any award you are given. If he has no insurer you are unlikely to get anything meaningful. If he has an insurer expect them to fight hard and protract things.

I’d be inclined to focus on getting better, and treat pedestrians like wild animals….

Will suing help you get better any sooner – i.e. would the extra money pay for treatment you would not otherwise get?

Will you suffer financial hardship due to unpaid time away from work?

If no to both the above I suggest you put your efforts into getting better for the moment and deal with this at a less stressful time (although securing witnesses now might help in the future).

Get well soon, and I hope the pedestrian does too.

and treat pedestrians like wild animals…

This seems like a sound approach both to preventing accidents and not getting wound up about their aftermath.

Wait until you are better

Legal action has a clear negative impact on recovery. You’ve got 6 years to take action

If the worst happens and the pedestrian sues the cyclist what insurance would cover him?
We’ve just renewed our house insurance which has a £100000 legal fees cover.
That’s fine but what about the damages?
Where does that come from?

Presumably British Cycling membership would be the key cover. And then possibly some sort of legal representation if you have a good home insurance policy…never checked to see exactly what it covers.

The lights were green for me and the traffic, It’s pretty easy to out accelerate busses and taxis in london, the bus had to do an emergency stop to avoid running over the collided mess of both of us and bike.

The answer to both converts questions is probably no.

I think the main issue is i feel pretty upset that someone can put me in this position through i believe, no fault of my own and not face consequences

You can probably do both, concentrate on getting better and prepping for the really bad news that is marriage… 🙂 At the same time, use your CTC/BC insurance (or an ambulance chaser) to progress your claim.

If you have no insurance cover for your potential liability (including household insurance) have a think about the potential consequences of not winning (i.e . the whole thing being flipped onto you) and let that inform your decision to proceed (or not).

And, get well soon.

Former motor claims handler here, in a previous lifetime.

You can always sue, the question is how successful you would be. But if you were both taken to hospital there should be a police report which would be the place to start.

Without witnesses and/or CCTV it is your word against theirs. As others have suggested, it may not be found 100% in your favour, so you may be partly liable for their injuries as well.

Then there is the actual ability for him to pay if you are successful. He may well have liability cover under a household insurance policy, otherwise you are gambling that he personally has the ability to pay potentially a few thousand in compensation and costs.

If you have BC or CTC membership, you have legal cover to get proper advice and get it rolling, or you may have cover under your own household insurance. Otherwise you can swim with the no win no fee sharks.

Most importantly, I hope you get the medical help you need and make a good recovery

and not face consequences

I think being transported to St Thomas’ with a head injury is a consequence he would rather have avoided. It was not a malicious act with you as the only person hurt.It’s not your place to ‘fine’ him further through legal actions – just recover what you have lost (if you need to).

People should not step off pavements in front of moving vehicles right enough but be prepared to answer questions about why you were unable to stop/avoid him too.

I remember a guy on here was upset over how the NHS had handled his personal effects, once he had recovered he posted an update on how his attitude had changed once he had some time to reflect. (granted, he was posting on STW from his hospital bed, but like you I imagine it was all pretty raw at the time, plus he was probably on mildly mind bending pain relief)

How is the pedestrian anyway…momentary lapse of concentration may have caused it, but he’s still human and you never know, could be wracked with guilt?

Ok head down accelerating hard , it reads really bad, just out of interest were you on a drop bar bike and in the drops ?

People really need to get out of there phones, hope you get better soon and the other guy.

Yes, you can sue.

I’d get the details sooner rather than later, so they aren’t lost in the system.

You need to be specific about what you are suing for though, cost of surgery, lost time of work, fixing bike costs etc.. If its not much, it’ll be in small claims court.

Might be better waiting just so you’ve got an idea of what those costs are.

You can’t just sue someone because you want them to face consequences though.

Sometimes there’s nothing you can do. Someone ran out in front of me on a bike too, I didn’t even have time to hit the brake.

http://www.royds.com/our-people/profiles/partners/james-millar-craig/

..is the man to speak to. Right on your doorstep.

I feel for you OP, perhaps I’m being cynical, but the Police generally aren’t as good as prosecuting road offences when there’s not a registered vehicle involved.

As for suing, of course you can sue, you can sue anyone for anything really, but winning is another matter. You need to speak to a solicitor. I might suggest one of the those ‘no win, no fee’ lot, if they take it, at least you know you’ve got a fair chance of winning.

Whether the other party has got any money though…

get one of these for when you have recovered

I think the main issue is i feel pretty upset that someone can put me in this position through i believe, no fault of my own and not face consequences

The OP reads like there’s fault on both sides. The pedestrian should’ve looked, obviously, but head down going as fast as you can doesn’t sound like the best plan for a city centre.

The lights were green for me and the traffic, It’s pretty easy to out accelerate busses and taxis in london, the bus had to do an emergency stop to avoid running over the collided mess of both of us and bike.

Would the bus driver have seen enough to be a witness?

I think the main issue is i feel pretty upset that someone can put me in this position through i believe, no fault of my own and not face consequences

No fault of your own? That there is the problem. We expect car drivers “to be able to stop in the distance they can see to be clear” but for some reason complain like hell when someone expects a cyclist to do the same. You did play a part in it, you are partly to blame – suck it up princess.

People should not step off pavements in front of moving vehicles right enough but be prepared to answer questions about why you were unable to stop/avoid him too.

I don’t agree, the ped shouldn’t have been there. Any traffic on the highway has the right of way, the ped should have been more responsible and aware and should not have walked out in front of the cycle, it is entirely his fault, the op wasn’t cycling on the pavement.

You need to be specific about what you are suing for though, cost of surgery, lost time of work, fixing bike costs etc.. If its not much, it’ll be in small claims court.

Pain, suffering and loss of amenity is the head of claim. Plus loss of earnings, etc. This sounds bigger than “small claims” – likely to be Fast Track.

Get some professional help. Your own household policy may have a legal helpline and/or legal cover but as several have mentioned above go get some specialist help. Do it straight away so they can help get CCTV and medical evidence.

If it turns out you are liable for some injury to the pedestrian, then your Personal Liability section of your household contents cover should respond. Again, get professional help and see if you need to notify insurers.

Don’t just read a list of responses on tinternet from a bunch of people and pick the ones you think are best, which is what seems to happen on here with law/insurance queries.

Get well soon!

Get well soon. In terms of your injuries, I’ve broke my jaw in numerous places and had to have extra surgery.

It’s fine now, the surgeons can fix pretty much anything so you will be able to eat properly, it may just be a question of how many ops you need.

Must have been one hell of a whack.

Any traffic on the highway has the right of way,

Can open worms everywhere. Can you show me where it says in any law that traffic on the highway has right of way?

No fault of your own? That there is the problem. We expect car drivers “to be able to stop in the distance they can see to be clear” but for some reason complain like hell when someone expects a cyclist to do the same. You did play a part in it, you are partly to blame – suck it up princess.

If the pedestrian was already in the road yes, but if they step out in in front of you, your statement doesn’t hold true.
And princess?

Any traffic on the highway has the right of way

No it doesn’t.

the ped should have been more responsible and aware and should not have walked out in front of the cycle,

Agreed.

it is entirely his fault,

No. The cyclist was going as fast as he could and was unable to make any attempt to stop or avoid the pedestrian. He is partially to blame.

Would the bus driver have seen enough to be a witness?

The bus would have several cameras on it. Whether you can get the footage is another matter.