One cyclist from Calderdale has recently received a £2,000 personal injury compensation award after he hit a pothole and was thrown from his bicycle.
According to accident claims specialists writing for the Hebden Bridge Times newspaper, Heptonstall native Peter Lodge, from West Yorkshire, had been on his way home from a cycle ride when he was catapulted from his bicycle after coming into contact with the pothole. The fifty two year old Mr Lodge, who works as an engineer consultant, sustained numerous bruises and cuts in the accident.
After taking legal advice from the CTC, the national cyclists’ organisation for the UK, Mr Lodge decided to make a personal injury claim for his injuries.
After discovering that the pothole had been in fact from a valve cover that was owned by Yorkshire Water, Mr Lodge sued the water authority and was awarded £2,000 in compensatory damages. Stressing the importance of reporting such potholes to the proper authorities in a swift manner, Mr Lodge remarked that such potholes posed a serious danger to cyclists.
The cyclist also stated that he was lucky that he had been on his way home well past the rush hour. He remarked that he dreaded to think of what the possible consequences could have been if he had set off just one hour earlier.
Remarking that potholes were a serious and substantial risk to not just bicycle riders, one spokesperson from Mr Lodge’s legal team added that all users of the road needed to keep a sharp eye out for them and to report them to the proper authorities as soon as they possibly could.