Cyclist Awarded £12,000.00 for Injuries Sustained when a pothole in the road caused him to fall off

On the 10 March 2016 Mr W, as was his custom, was cycling to work in London, when his front wheel went into a pothole and he went over the handlebars, landing on his left hand.

He was taken to hospital, where an x-ray revealed a broken bone in his left thumb along with soft tissue injuries to his shoulder and elbow.

He contacted our lawyers and on his behalf we lodged a claim against the local Council for their failure to ensure that the roadway on which he was travelling was in good repair.

The Council initially denied liability, but when it was shown that they had not properly inspected the area for many months before the accident, they relented and accepted liability.

A medical report was prepared and we submitted that document along with details of his financial losses, which included private health treatment, loss of enjoyment of a golfing holiday, extra travelling expenses because he had to travel by tube rather than use his bicycle, loss of use of a gym which he was unable to attend because of the injury and damage to his watch.

In addition, because of the injury to his thumb he had to rely on friends and members of his family to help him do domestic tasks for the first couple of months following the accident.

The Council, through their insurers, initially offered £8,125.00

On his behalf we responded in terms that that figure was unacceptable and dealt with various issues that they had raised with regard to the lost holiday, the extra transport costs, the damage to his watch and the gym.

They initially came back at £9,625.00 but after further negotiation they increased their offer to £10,500.00.

Believing this to be too low we contacted the insurers by phone and carefully went through the case with them and pointed out the reasons why we felt that their offer was insufficient.  They finally put forward a proposal to settle the claim at £12,000.00 which offer was accepted.

On being informed of the settlement Mr W was delighted and informed us that should any member of his family or friends have a similar accident, they would undoubtedly be advised by him to go to us to pursue the claim on their behalf.