Pothole injury claim

[russ.will]

My partner had a bit of a nasty one late on Friday. She hit a badly repaired pothole of a defunct catseye, the wheel bit, flipped her on the spot and she landed on her face. Proper hard and flipped so hard, she broke her panier light.

We'll gloss over the obvious bike damage which actually isn't too bad, or our blood soaked clothing from trying to keep her comfortable whilst an ambulance took four hours to arrive.

No, it's the triple fracture to her face that required her teeth to be wired after they reset the top of her palette, stitched the lip they'd pierced, cleaned the grit out of the multiple face wounds and put the skin in one finger back together.

Can anybody recommend a legal firm better than your average ambulance chaser? It's not our normal style, but this piece of road has been undermaintaned for years. The traffic island that forces you out has been 'temporarily' signed (incorrectly) for over a year. Although the island isn't the issue, it's symptomatic of Cambridgeshire Highways attitude to anywhere north of Cambridge, so we may as well get something out if it.

Russ

EDIT: Someone has seen fit to share this post to a local village Facebook page. Whilst I may have shared the more shocking images on here, we have not done so on social media as there will be many people who will know us locally, including peripheral and elderly family members who do not (did not?) know about this accident. We don't want the fuss, or to seek attention among our friends, or create undue worry which, as a result of the FB post, very much happening.

Please take the FB post down and in future, don't share a story that is not yours to tell.

 

[Brandane]

That looks horrendous , and a 4 hour wait for an ambulance? Sign of the times, but totally unacceptable.
Re the claim, are you a member of Cycling UK, or British Cycling? They offer legal assistance for such incidents.
Others will be along shortly to name the better known legal firms who specialise in cycling injury claims. Good luck, and best wishes to your partner for a full and speedy recovery.

 

[tinywheels]

How awful , I trust she is now home.
Beware of the vultures masquerading as legal types.
From bitter experience I would recommend approaching a cycle institution for proper advice.

 

[C R]

What a horrible thing to happen. Hoping for a full and speedy recovery.

Regarding a claim, your home insurance may include legal protection. Check to see if claims against third parties are included.

 

[classic33]

How long have those lights, and Keep Right sign*, been there?

There's Alyson France & Co. Solicitors, if they're near to you. Otherwise contact the law society for suggestions.



*Almost certain that its being used incorrectly, it should be facing down and in the direction they want you to go.
Its a "keep left sign, incorrectly displayed.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

Wow - hope it isn;t as bad as it looks - and hope she gets better soon

I was just catching up with the TdF and noticed this lot are sponsoring the ITV coverage

I have no idea if they are any good but it might be worth giving them a ring and seeing what they say
I would do the same with a few and take it from there

let us know how it goes

and again - best wishes to your partner

 

[russ.will]

How long have those lights, and Keep Right sign*, been there?

There's Alyson France & Co. Solicitors, if they're near to you. Otherwise contact the law society for suggestions.



*Almost certain that its being used incorrectly, it should be facing down and in the direction they want you to go.
Its a "keep left sign, incorrectly displayed.

It is. 27 years in construction tells me that's a definite! And a year plus, minimum. It is very poorly sited anyway. If you are doing 30mph in a car, then the point at which you commit to proceed does not give you or oncoming 30mph traffic time to pass the island. If you slow, before passing even less time is allowed.

However, the island per se isn't the issue; it's the potholes 1.5ft to the right exactly where you should be cycling.

 

[roubaixtuesday]

What an awful incident. The very best for a full recovery to your wife.

On the specific question, AIUI, you need to show the council to have been negligent to win a claim.

The mere existence of potholes does not show this, unless they've not followed their own schedule of inspection, or ignored reports. Horrendous injury from a poorly maintained road doesn't necessarily give you a good chance of recompense.

I suffered a similar accident, although without any injuries and reported the pothole as dangerous. A later cyclist suffered injuries as a result, and won damages as the council were negligent in not responding to my report.

But this is an extremely amateur interpretation. You need proper legal advice and likely need to seek disclosure from the council of maintenance procedures and prior reports to know if you have a case or not.

 

[cougie uk]

How awful. Hope she recovers as quickly as possible.

Another vote for https://www.alysonfrance.co.uk/

She's a cyclist herself and the firm sponsors cycling events too. She's done good work for a few family and friends.

 

[midlife]

Oh my that looks nasty, hope all heals well. I'd be tempted to go back and take some more pics using a ruler as a visual guide rather than a coin. Been a while but I seem. To remember that to be a pothole in needs to be over a certain depth?

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

SLightly off topic - but this shows why it is a good idea to report any potholes that you notice

a) then the counsel know about them and can fix them
and
b) if there is an incident on it afterwards then the victim can claim - if it has never been reported it is far more difficult

 

[vickster]

Bott & Co another firm who do plenty of cyclist injury work

https://www.bottonline.co.uk/road-t...-much-compensation-claim-for-bicycle-accident

GWS to her

 

[classic33]

Check sites like fixmystreet & FillThatHole to see if it's been reported before.
It can make your claim stronger if it has.

I mentioned the lights and the sign because it gives a general indication of how they're treating it.

 

[presta]

They're horrendous injuries, I hope she recovers well, it's a bit worrying that they resulted from a pothole I don't think I would have paid too much attention to before now. A couple of personal injury specialists I know of, but have no experience of:

Slater Gordon
Irwin Mitchell

They're national companies, and both have offices in Cambridge. I think they're a pair of the biggest names in the business, not cowboy outfits, but I suppose that might put them at the pricier end of the market.

 

[Kingfisher101]

Its very doubtful you will get anywhere with trying to make a claim. You should come round here, the potholes are miles worse than that and nothings done. I hope your partner makes a full recovery and I'm very sorry this happened. If I were you I wouldnt waste your time and money trying to get compensation from the council. It wont happen.