Cyclist accepts £6,000 after faulty bike causes injury

As a result of the bike shops faulty assembling of Dorothy’s new bike, the chain on the bike wrapped around the pedal leading the back wheel to lock, causing her to fall off the bike.

“My accident really rocked my confidence and I haven’t been able to go out on my bike since. I’m just too nervous now.”

After visiting Accident and Emergency, it was confirmed that she hadn’t broken her knee but her wrist was sprained.

“My daughter had to come and help as I really couldn’t do anything for weeks. I couldn’t walk up or down the stairs in the house which made everything really difficult. I couldn’t sleep either as I was in so much pain and I couldn’t get comfortable.”

After going back to the shop she bought the bike from, they admitted they had put the bike together incorrectly. She tried to deal with the bike shops insurers directly but they were slow to move things forward.

“They were dragging their heels and nothing was happening. I was in the car one day and heard the Digby Brown advert, did some research and everything I saw looked really positive so I decided to call.”

At Digby Brown, we have specialist solicitors that deal specifically with cycling defects. Barry Berlow-Jackson, Senior Solicitor in our Product Liability team took on Dorothy’s case.

“Barry was excellent, he kept me in the loop and would explain things every step of the way. I trusted him and the advice he gave me.”
The shop where the bike was purchased had already admitted liability for what happened. After Barry submitted expert medical reports on Dorothy’s injuries, the store’s insurer made an offer of £6,150.

“I was very impressed with the compensation, I really didn’t expect that much. For me, it hadn’t been about the money - I was more worried that this could easily happen to someone else and wanted to try and prevent this.

“I would tell anyone in my position not to bother trying to deal with a claim yourself, go and get legal advice from the experts at Digby Brown.”