Personal Injury Claim after coming off bicycle on cobbles

[Deleted User]

Amazing that this thread is still continuing over a month later...

I think the adage "do not feed" is appropriate here.

now3d

Mersey wrote: »

I've known Claimants succeed where cobbles were loose, but not merely wet.


Local authorities tend to use a s58 Defence if you instructed a solicitor to send a Letter of Claim.


Obviously every claim turns on the individual facts.


A district judge decides what is reasonable in all of the circumstances, as well as whether there was a system in place to maintain the road surface or pavement etc. Local authorities keep records. Equally these days cycling and disability orgs kept records of accident 'black spots' in relation to unprepared potholes and so on.

TfL informed me they did make a repair, but I am unclear what work they did.

No idea if it was a lose cobblestone

now3d

Nasqueron wrote: »

Firms are banned from advertising on here. If their employees work on here, they can only post on behalf of a company with approval from the site and cannot advertise.

If you want specialist bike legal services just google them, loads of firms do them and if you get the opinion of people about a specific firm you could then ask.

Meeting TFL spec or not (and I can guarantee the ones in Yorkshire were there long before TFL and people ride on them fine) riding over them is a well known hazard and should always be done carefully even in the dry, in the wet it's just one of those things you need to accept, not try and make it about blame as it was your fault, not the road surface.

Many thanks for the replies.

Had TfL spec not listed "non slip surface", I would have left it at that. I'm satisfied that TfL have indicated they will replace it with "non slip surface" in the future.

now3d

lincroft1710 wrote: »

If black ice forms on a road and a car driver skids and has an accident, whose fault is it? You don't have to be going fast to skid on black ice or even white ice. Have you ever heard of an authority, responsible for a particular road on which there was an accident as a result of black ice, being sued?

Your circumstances are similar. Unlike the car driver and black ice, you had an alternative, to get off and walk.

A further point, how can you prove that you didn't fall off because of your own negligence in failing to properly control your bike?

I am not being confrontational, just pointing out what you are up against

Good points

I've not heard of the black-ice example or any claims. Only pot-hole damage claims.

I was told that it all depends if the highways authority maintenance was "adequate". That would be the point of contention to be proven. in my view, adequate is quite a basic standard, its not "perfect", therefore my incident on cobbles or a blackice incident would be hard to prove. Of cause, the flip side is people making successful claims for slipping on icey footpaths. Seen in the press each winter. There is a balance to find.


I'm not actively pursuing this, LCC are aware, and they will pressure TfL to comply with their own "non slip" spec over the next decade I expect. I support them however I can.